GCSE History: Education, Churches and Persecution in Nazi Germany 1933–39

This material covers the social side of the GCSE History depth study of Nazi Germany – for example the 'life in Nazi Germany' key topic of Pearson Edexcel's 'Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39' and the sections on society and persecution in AQA's 'Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship'. The Hitler Youth, women, the Concordat and the basic terms of the Nuremberg Laws are covered in the existing Nazi Germany material in this category, and the economy in a separate material.

You revise how the Nazis controlled education: teachers were expected to join the National Socialist Teachers' League, the curriculum was changed to promote race studies, a Nazi version of history and much more physical education, girls were taught domestic skills, textbooks were rewritten, and elite schools such as the Napolas and Adolf Hitler Schools trained future leaders. You then study Nazi racial ideas – the 'master race', the labelling of other groups as 'Untermenschen' and eugenics – and how persecution of Jews grew step by step: the boycott of Jewish shops on 1 April 1933, exclusion from the civil service, the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938 and its aftermath, when Jewish communities were fined one billion Reichsmarks, about 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps and Jews were forced out of schools and businesses. The persecution of Roma and Sinti, homosexuals, people with disabilities – through the compulsory sterilisation law of 1933 and, from 1939, the T4 'euthanasia' killings – and so-called 'asocials' is also covered.

The material explains the Nazis' relationship with the churches: the attempt to control Protestants through the Reich Church and Reich Bishop Ludwig Müller, the Confessing Church, Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the growing conflict with the Catholic Church that led to the papal encyclical 'Mit brennender Sorge' in 1937 and the closure of Catholic schools and youth groups. Finally, you look at young people who refused to conform, such as the Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Youth.

The quiz tests key terms, dates and the stages of persecution, including a chronology question. The flashcards drill the vocabulary. The written work asks for explanations and a judgement about how far the churches opposed the regime. In the oral exam an examiner asks one question at a time and gives brief feedback at the end. The subject matter includes persecution and killing, and is treated factually.

The material is revision practice written by Zestly and is not produced or reviewed by any exam board; check the details of your own specification with your teacher.

• Describe how the Nazis controlled teachers, the curriculum and schools
• Explain Nazi racial ideas and how they shaped policy
• Describe the stages of persecution of Jews between 1933 and 1939, including Kristallnacht
• Describe the persecution of other groups, including people with disabilities, Roma and Sinti and homosexuals
• Explain Nazi policies towards the Protestant and Catholic churches and the opposition they met
• Describe non-conformity among young people

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE history subject content (modern depth study) and the content on society and persecution in options such as Pearson Edexcel 'Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39' and AQA 'Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship'.