Lesson 2

2 The police state Quiz: Pearson Edexcel History, Unit 15

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2, The police state: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0), Unit 15: Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What did Gestapo stand for?

    • National Security Office
    • General Staff Police
    • Secret State Police
    • German State Police

  2. Who led the SS from 1929?

    • Ernst Röhm
    • Joseph Goebbels
    • Heinrich Himmler
    • Hermann Göring

  3. What were the first Nazi concentration camps initially used for?

    • Economic criminals
    • Foreign prisoners
    • Jewish citizens
    • Political opponents

  4. Which court tried political treason cases in the Nazi era?

    • The People’s Court
    • The Constitutional Court
    • The Reich Court
    • The Hague Tribunal

  5. What was the Nazi practice of holding people without charge called?

    • Protective custody
    • Judicial detention
    • Preventative arrest
    • Emergency detention

  6. Which legal right was abandoned through Nazi protective custody?

    • Right to vote
    • Freedom of movement
    • Freedom of speech
    • Fair trial

  7. What was the main operational role of the SS in the Nazi state?

    • Managing public transport
    • Collecting church taxes
    • Directing foreign policy
    • Running security and camps

  8. How did the Nazis change the German legal system?

    • Using special courts
    • Restoring jury trials
    • Abolishing all courts
    • Electing new judges

  9. Whose reports did the Gestapo heavily rely on for investigations?

    • Trade unionists
    • Ordinary citizens
    • Army generals
    • Foreign spies

  10. Which camp opened in March 1933 near Munich?

    • Auschwitz
    • Dachau
    • Treblinka
    • Sobibor

  11. What was the main psychological effect of the Nazi police state?

    • National pride
    • Widespread fear
    • Political apathy
    • Active resistance

  12. What were the Sondergerichte established in Nazi Germany?

    • Military boards
    • Special Courts
    • Appeals councils
    • People's tribunals

  13. Who unified the SS and the police under his command?

    • Reinhard Heydrich
    • Heinrich Himmler
    • Joseph Goebbels
    • Hermann Göring

  14. Who was the first head of the Gestapo, before Himmler took it over in 1934?

    • Reinhard Heydrich
    • Rudolf Diels
    • Ernst Kaltenbrunner
    • Hans Frank

  15. Which main groups were targeted by Nazi police state enforcement?

    • Racial and political enemies
    • Rural farmers
    • Industrial factory owners
    • Foreign tourists

  16. What was the main outcome of the police state for opponents?

    • Greater free expression
    • Increased voting
    • Party reform
    • Fear and self-censorship

  17. Which agency was the official SS intelligence service led by Heydrich?

    • Abwehr
    • Sturmabteilung
    • Sicherheitsdienst
    • Gestapo

  18. How did the Nazi regime ensure German judges did not obstruct police actions?

    • Elected by citizens
    • Given higher salaries
    • Sent abroad
    • Pressured or replaced

  19. Which method did the Nazi regime primarily use to keep citizens compliant?

    • Tax reductions
    • Free elections
    • Open debates
    • Mass surveillance

  20. Which 1933 event filled the first wave of Nazi concentration camps?

    • The Röhm Purge
    • The Saar Plebiscite
    • Reichstag Fire arrests
    • The Munich Putsch

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