Paper 1 Section A/B: Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship

June 2023

Q1: How does Interpretation B differ from Interpretation A about the lives of German

workers under the Nazis? Explain your answer based on what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, the interpretations differ about the lives of German workers under the Nazis because in Interpretation A they are oppressed and controlled and abused to produce as much as possible whereas in Interpretation B it is the opposite. The workers in Interpretation B are happy, and their lives have improved because they have work, wages and holiday benefits. For example, the interpretations differ about the lives of German workers under the Nazis because Interpretation A says they were miserable and Interpretation B says they were good.

Q2: Why might the authors of Interpretations A and B have a different interpretation

about the lives of German workers under the Nazis? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B and your contextual knowledge.

Answer:

For example, the interpretations differ because the authors’ experience of the German workers was different. The author of Interpretation B was at the time, a young Nazi who would have no personal knowledge of conditions before the Nazis came to power in 1933. However, the author of Interpretation A, on the other hand, has a different standard based on how American democratic laws worked, he judges the workers he saw under the Nazis as slaves. For example, Interpretation B was by someone who was very young when the Nazis came to power, he was a teenager at school and is giving impressions of adult life, whereas Interpretation A was written by someone who actually lived there and not German.

Q3: Which interpretation gives the more convincing opinion about the lives of German

workers under the Nazis? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, Interpretations A and B both have convincing opinions in a way because it depended which industry you worked in. Wages and benefits were good if you worked producing armaments or other essential goods like radios. But not so good if you worked in making consumer goods. German workers liked fixed food prices but some of them were high. However, as many Germans had small farms, some did not like the fixed prices because before the Depression they could charge what they liked. However at least under the Nazis they were guaranteed some income. The KDF did give some workers holidays but no one ever got a Volkswagen car which was used as an For example, Interpretation A is a convincing opinion about the workers lives under the Nazis because a lot of work was manual and low-paid. All men aged 18–25 had to spend six months in the RAD. This greatly reduced unemployment. However, the Depression had produced over 6,000,000 unemployed so many Germans might agree with Interpretation B and think any job and any pay would be an improvement. The KDF did organise leisure activities such as cheap holidays, and trips to the theatre but these were only incentives to meet targets of production as in Interpretation A. Also, Interpretation A is still correct because no alternative organisation was available and these benefits were not available to many low-paid Germans who still struggled to feed themselves. For example, Interpretation A is convincing because the Nazis abolished the unions and brought in DAF. They reduced unemployment by public works like the motorways, so people got jobs. The factories started making lots of For example, Interpretation B is more convincing because the Depression had been really bad in Germany.

Q4: Describe two problems Hitler faced when establishing his dictatorship after

January 1933.

Answer:

One problem Hitler had was that there were parts of the Nazi party that were powerful such as Rohm and the SA, and could threaten his power. They had been very useful to Hitler for demonstrations and street violence but he needed the support of other organisations like the Army and the SS to take over the German state. So, the SA had to be controlled in the Night of the Long Knives, Another problem Hitler had in becoming dictator was that Hindenburg only reluctantly made him Chancellor, and von Papen had promised to control Hitler, who had only two fellow Nazis in the Cabinet. Hitler needed a crisis like the Reichstag Fire on 27 February 1933 to panic Hindenburg into giving him more power in the ‘Decree for the Protection of the People and State’. For example, when Hitler became Chancellor, he did not have complete power there were still Communists, Social Democrats and other political parties that could oppose him.

Q5: In what ways were the lives of the German people affected by the Depression,

1929–1932? Explain your answer.

Answer:

For example, in desperation at the effects of the Depression the German middle classes and businessmen began to show support for the Nazis. As German politics became more extreme, they feared a Communist takeover in Germany and the loss of their wealth and position. Christians too were worried by the Communists. So, Hitler gained support because he promised to deal with the Communist threat. For example, the German people blamed the Weimar government for their problems. They were disillusioned with governments that could not agree on how to deal with the problems of the Depression. Brüning had to use Article 48 to pass laws to reduce wages and increased taxes all of which contributed to the misery and anxiety of the German people. For example, the Depression caused Germans hunger, unemployment and desperation. These circumstances in turn made many Germans pay attention to and follow extreme parties like the Nazis, and Communists. Desperate people were now prepared to listen to the simple solutions of the Nazis about how to get Germany out of the Depression. For example, the Depression caused widespread unemployment and hunger. About six million people became unemployed as German businesses went bankrupt. German politicians couldn’t agree on how to deal with it and argued about what to do, and so Brüning had to pass emergency laws. For example, the Depression caused unemployment.

Q6: Which of the following was the more important reason why Weimar Germany was

difficult to govern, 1919–1923: • economic reasons • political reasons? Explain your answer with reference to both bullet points. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contactthe Copyright Team.

Answer:

For example, both reasons are important and worked together. Weimar was difficult to govern because the economic problems led to political instability. The economic problems caused poverty which short-lived Weimar governments could not deal with effectively. Few people had faith in the new Weimar Constitution. Many political parties on the right and left saw the situation as an opportunity and tried to seize control. They wanted different things for example, the Kapp Putsch in 1920 wanted to restore the Kaiser. The Spartacists who wanted to copy the Bolshevik regime in the USSR and tried to take over in January 1919. Hitler also tried a takeover in Munich in 1923. No political group was strong enough to win through but it made Germany very difficult to govern and keep the peace. For example, Germany was difficult to govern for economic reasons because after the war the country still had enormous debts from paying for weapons, and the Reparations bill of £6.6 billion. When the government failed to pay in January 1923, the French and Belgians invaded the Ruhr. This led to hyperinflation and people’s savings became worthless. The government printed money which made things worse. Businesses went bankrupt. This led to For example, Germany was difficult to govern because there were economic problems, for example they had failed to pay Reparations and as a result the French invaded the Ruhr and this led to hyperinflation. Political uprisings such as the Spartacists threatened to upset the stable government of Germany. For example, Germany was difficult to govern because Germany had lost the war and the country was poor and everyone hated the Treaty of Versailles.