The Nazis and Nazism Trivia Quiz

Answer: That Nazism was immensely destructive (to no good effect)

In this context, the word was borrowed from Hermann Rauschning's book "The Revolution of Nihilism", which appeared in English translation in 1939. (Its reliability as a historical document is in doubt, however).

Answer: Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism maintained that civilization, charity and government welfare provision were preventing the "normal" operation of the process of evolution by allegedly supporting the weak and placing burdens on the strong, and so hindering the "survival of the fittest by means of natural selection".

Some Social Darwinists believed that the state should actively accelerate "natural selection" by using various measures to weed out those with hereditary diseases, incurables, "degenerates" (variously defined) and "undesirables".

This ideology, combined with the view of whole races as "undesirables", lay at the very heart of Nazi ideology. Incidentally, Social Darwinism orginated in England with Francis Galton and enjoyed considerable popularity in the USA, too.

Answer: British appeasement

The two main conservative parties, the DVP (Deutsche Volkspartei - moderate conservatives) and the DNVP (Deutschnationale Volkspartei - hardline conservative nationalists) had lost much of their electoral appeal. Fear of Bolshevism in many European countries in the interwar period is widely regarded as the key factor in the sudden emergence of Fascism after 1918. Germany, more than any other European country, was severely affected by the Great Depression and early in 1932 had over six million unemployed.

This figure was equivalent to about 27% of those in work.

Answer: DNVP (German Nationalists)

Incredible as it may seem, the DNVP had more government ministers than the Nazis and initially saw themselves as the senior partners in the coalition. They had a rude awakening within the first three months of office, and in May 1933 their party was banned and their members were ordered to join the Nazi party. Moroever, their paramiliatry organization, the "Stahlhelm" was merged with the SA (Brownshirts).

Answer: The Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire established by Bismarck

The list referred, of course, to the two previous German empires, though it has often been said of the Holy Roman Empire that it "was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". (This quotation is sometimes ascribed to Voltaire but appears to pre-date him).

Answer: To protect the state from subversives

Except in the very early stages, those in "protective custody" were usually held in the concentration camps.

Answer: Goering

When the Nazis came to power, Goering was made Interior Minister of Prussia. This gave him control over the - then very small - Prussian political police. This body formed the nucleus of the Gestapo. It was only with the greatest of reluctance that Goering handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler in 1934. By 1936 the latter, with help from Heydrich, had succeeded in unifying the entire terror apparatus.

Answer: True

In 1934, following the purge of Roehm and other members of the SA leadership, the SS became a fully autonomous organization under Himmler.

Answer: By using a network of informers

Goebbels organized a team of journalists supported by a large network of informers to spy on the German population in order to ascertain public opinion. The journalists running the operation succeeded in persuading Goebbels of the need to protect their sources, as otherwise the reports would merely have contained what the régime wanted to hear and not what the public actually thought. So, this network of informers was kept separate from the Gestapo informers.

The journalists analysed the information received and presented articles and summaries to Goebbels (and also to the SD).

The articles have been published: Heinz Boberach, "Meldungen aus dem Reich" ("Reports from the Reich"), 17 vols, Pawlak-Verlag, Herrsching 1984.

Answer: None of these

In Germany in the early 1930s jokes circulated about being "blond like Hitler, slim like Goering, chaste like Goebbels" and so on. (Goebbels was a notorious womanizer). Some Allied propaganda broadcasts to Germany also made fun of "pale Heinrich" (Himmler). In fact the only leading Nazi who bore any resemblance at all to the "Nordic type" was Heydrich.

Answer: March 1933

On 23 March 1933 the Reichstag passed the "Ermächtigungsgesetz" ("Enabling Law") by a two-thirds majority. This allowed the government to rule by decree without the need for approval by the President. However, already in February 1933 the SA had been unleashed on political opponents and more generally terrorized the population.

The first permanent concentration camp (Dachau) was established one day before the Enabling Act was passed.

Some history books stress that Hitler didn't assume the title of "Führer" (of Germany) till after President Hindenburg's death in August 1934, when he combined the offices of chancellor and president. However, this doesn't mean that he waited till 1934 before making himself dictator.

Answer: By providing certificates of baptism for all four grandparents

For most purposes this was sufficient, provided both parents and all four grandparents had been baptized as infants. All over Germany, pastors and parish priests suddenly found themselves very busy indeed issuing certificates of baptism. It's one of those things that neither the Protestant nor Roman Catholic churches like to remember - or even mention.

At the time jokes ciruclated like 'What kind of women do German men like best?' - 'No, not blondes. Aryan grandmothers!'

Answer: False

From 1933 till about August 1941 the main aim of Nazi antisemitic measures was to make life so unpleasant for Jews in Germany that they emigrated. The series of annexations and invasions which began with the annexation of Austria in April 1938 greatly increased the number of Jews under Nazi rule.

Answer: Leuna-Werke

The Leuna-Werke were situated near Merseburg, south of Halle. Founded in 1916, the factory used the "Bergius-Verfahren" ("Bergius process") from 1927 onwards to produce oil from cheap coal (lignite). After 1933 the factory was expanded till it became reputedly the biggest single industrial plant in Europe, possibly in the world.

The nearby Buna-Werke produced synthetic rubber. Both factories were part of the IG-Farben chemicals conglomatere which was tried at Nuremberg after World War II: it had established a factory at Monowitz and used inmates of Auschwitz as slave labor.

It even established its own, private entreprise concentration camp there (Auschwitz III). The workers were under the supervision of the SS.

Answer: False

The defeat inflicted on Nazi Germany was the among the most comprehensive and devastating in modern European history. After years of hardship and "total war", very few Germans were in any mood to continue fighting. A handful of teenage "Werewolves" in civilian clothes fired on Allied soldiers in the very last few days of WWII. Most of them were were caught, bound, stood up against the nearest wall and shot without further ado.