Questions on: National Socialism and the Second World War

The Weimar Republic was the first republic on German soil with a democratic constitution. The NSDAP (Nazi Party) began as a small splinter party and in this period grew into a mass movement.

Hitler's rule led to the persecution and murder of millions of people, including Jews, Sinti and Roma, and political opponents.

The Second World War cost millions of people around the world their lives and permanently changed the political map of Europe and Asia.

The National Socialists based their rule on propaganda, terror and the elimination of political opponents. Through the so-called Gleichschaltung (forced coordination), they quickly centralised power. The federal states (Länder), parties and associations were dissolved or placed under the control of the NSDAP (Nazi Party).

The Weimar Constitution laid down that the Reich President appoints the Reich Chancellor, who leads the government and can be voted out by the Reichstag.

After taking over the government, the National Socialists carried out a far-reaching transformation of the state and society that affected almost every area of life.

The “Third Reich” is the name for Germany under the rule of the National Socialists from 1933 to 1945. After seizing power, Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP (Nazi Party) abolished free elections, other parties and freedom of the press. Opponents were persecuted, imprisoned and murdered. A form of government in which one person or party rules without any control by elections, parliament and courts is called a dictatorship.

The Summer Olympics in Berlin served the Nazi regime as a stage for self-promotion. At the same time, large construction projects were meant to make the power of the state visible.

The wars of the 20th century shaped Europe and the world profoundly and permanently, with millions of dead and large movements of refugees.

The Gestapo was the political secret police of the Nazi state and worked closely with the SS. Today its files are among the most important sources for research into the Nazi era.

The resistance to National Socialism included people from all strata of society, from the nobility and the churches to working-class circles.

The exclusion of the Jewish population did not begin with violence but with laws, bans on working in certain professions and boycotts, which were tightened step by step.

9 November is regarded as a fateful day in German history. On 9 November 1918, Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic in Berlin.

Research often examines the era of National Socialism in terms of persecution, resistance and going along with the regime. People's everyday lives are also a focus.

In the last months of the war, the Allied armies advanced rapidly from east and west into the territory of the Reich. The advance fundamentally changed the situation throughout Central Europe.

The artist Gunter Demnig launched the project; the small brass stones are set into the pavement in front of people's former homes.

Days of remembrance in Germany are often marked with speeches in the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and with events at memorial sites. They are meant to keep the memory of historical events alive.