Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils undergo a period study that provides an unfolding narrative which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the chosen period.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain how Hitler created a dictatorship between March 1933 and August 1934.

Key Notes

• Röhm's radical SA posed a threat to the army, business elite, and Nazi Party unity.
• Hitler then removed internal Nazi opposition in the SA along with other opponents in the Night of the Long Knives.
• Hitler used the SA purge to gain the military's trust and secure their loyalty.
• Hindenburg's death let Hitler merge presidency and chancellorship, becoming Germany's supreme ruler (Führer).
• A new oath made German soldiers personally loyal to Hitler, not the constitution.

Vocabulary To Learn

• SA (Sturmabteilung): also known as Stormtroopers or Brownshirts; the Nazi Party's paramilitary wing who protected meetings and used violence to intimidate opponents
• socialist: a person who believes the government should own key industries to ensure wealth and resources are shared more equally among all people
• SS (Schutzstaffel): a highly trained elite paramilitary unit, originally formed as Hitler's bodyguards, later central to Nazi terror and repression
• purge: the forceful removal of people seen as unwanted or threatening, often involving violence against political opponents
• Führer: meaning 'leader'; a key Nazi idea promoting total authority under one ruler to end chaos, Hitler later adopted it to assert himself as Germany's supreme ruler

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Hitler was already an all-powerful dictator by 1934.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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
• Germany before the First World War Study Guide
• Germany's naval ambitions before the First World War Study Guide
• Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany Study Guide
• Industrialisation, social reform and the growth of socialism Study Guide
• Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities Study Guide
• Opposition and resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party Study Guide
• Stresemann's international achievements Study Guide
• The Final Solution 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 Nazi economy and WW2 Study Guide
• The Nazi Party and religion Study Guide
• The Nazi police state Study Guide
• The persecution of Jews Study Guide
• The putsches of 1919-23 Study Guide
• The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act Study Guide
• The Weimar Republic 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