Year 11 - History
The persecution of Jews
Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe how the Nazis' persecution of Jews changed between 1933 and 1939.
Key Notes
- Nazi persecution of Jews escalated gradually.
- The 1933 boycott marked the first state-backed antisemitic action by the Nazi regime.
- The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 legally stripped Jews of citizenship and rights in Germany.
- Kristallnacht in 1938 was a state-orchestrated pogrom falsely presented as public outrage.
- By 1939, Nazi persecution intensified amid fears of war and the drive to remove Jews from German life.
Vocabulary To Learn
- conspiracy: a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful
- boycott: a situation in which people refuse to buy, use or do something because they do not approve of it
- antisemitism: hate directed at Jewish people, or cruel or unfair treatment of people because they are Jewish
- citizenship: the status of being a legal member of a country and having rights and responsibilities because of it
- pogrom: an act of organised cruel behaviour or killing that is done to a large group of people because of their race or religion
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Hitler invented antisemitism.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
Nazi persecution of Jews escalated gradually. The 1933 boycott marked the first state-backed antisemitic action by the Nazi regime.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'conspiracy'
a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: Hitler invented antisemitism. Correction: Antisemitism had deep roots across Europe and the wider world long before Hitler. The Nazis built on these longstanding prejudices, turning them into official state policy and using them to justify persecution.
More Lessons In This Unit
- 1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation Study Guide
- Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles Study Guide
- Economic recovery under Stresemann Study Guide
- Employment in Nazi Germany Study Guide
- Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany Study Guide
- Hitler's creation of a dictatorship Study Guide
- How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany Study Guide
- Nazi control of the police and the legal system Study Guide
- Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities Study Guide
- Opposition and resistance in Nazi Germany Study Guide
- Social and economic change 1924-29 Study Guide
- Stresemann's international achievements Study Guide
- The early development of the NSDAP Study Guide
- The First World War and the German Revolution Study Guide
- The growth in support for the Nazi Party Study Guide
- The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party Study Guide
- The Munich Putsch Study Guide
- The Nazi Party and religion Study Guide
- The NSDAP's 'lean years' Study Guide
- The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act Study Guide
- The Weimar Republic Study Guide
- Threats to the Weimar Republic from the left and the right Study Guide
- Weimar culture 1924-29 Study Guide
- Women in Nazi Germany Study Guide
- Work and life in Nazi Germany Study Guide
- Young people in Nazi Germany Study Guide
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