‘Nazi terror created a totalitarian state in the years 1933 to 1939.’ Assess the validity of
this view.
Totalitarianism can be defined as a system of government that involves a dictatorial
ruler asserting complete control over the people, silencing opposition by requiring
complete subservience to the state. On the one hand, it may be argued that
totalitarianism was not fully achieved, as shown by non-conformity and opposition from
groups like the communists and the Church (both Catholic and Protestant), as well as
due to technological limitations. Nonetheless, it is more convincing to argue that the
Nazi’s establishment of a one-party state, and the increasing grip on the German people
and the state through Gleichshaltung, propaganda and the use of terror, demonstrates
that to a large extent, the Nazis indeed managed to infiltrate the lives of the people,
making contact with the party and its terror organs unavoidable, thereby creating a
totalitarian state.
One way in which the Nazis were able to effectively transform Germany into a
totalitarian state was through their use of terror. Concentration camps, such as Dachau
which became the first to open in 1933, were effectively used to imprison political
opponents such as communists and socialists in the early years of the regime before
moving onto the regime’s racial enemies. SS control of these camps after 1934 ensured
a systematic regime of brutality and violence towards the inmates, as well as serving a
deterrent to others, arguably enabling the Nazis to exert full and repressive control,
thereby leading to a totalitarian state. The Nazis' use of terror in creating a totalitarian
state can be further seen in the role of the Gestapo in instilling paranoia and fear into
the population by cultivating an atmosphere of suspicion and creating a self-surveilled
society. Due to the 1936 Gestapo laws, it operated without civil restraints, its actions
were not subject to judicial appeal, and it had the power of ‘preventive arrest’, meaning
people could be imprisoned without charge; by 1939, 225,000 people had been arrested
for political reasons. This shows how the Nazis used terror to ensure compliance with
the regime, as Germans understood the severe consequences for dissent. However, it
could be argued that the Gestapo’s ability to bring about complete state control of its
people was limited, as there were only 20,000 agents by 1939 (about 1 per 10,000
people), suggesting that Naxi totalitarian control was more apparent than real.
Additionally, as the Gestapo primarily relied on denunciations from private citizens to
make arrests, it could be argued that many Germans did not feel they were under
totalitarian control as they willingly supported Nazi policies and that terror was not
necessarily experienced by those who belonged in the Nazi’s ideal Volkgemeinschaft.
Despite this, it is still more convincing to argue that Nazi terror did formulate a
totalitarian state by 1939, as the Gestapo gained a reputation for being omniscient,
omnipresent and omnipotent, and its widespread use of informers in the workplace and
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
this view.
Totalitarianism can be defined as a system of government that involves a dictatorial
ruler asserting complete control over the people, silencing opposition by requiring
complete subservience to the state. On the one hand, it may be argued that
totalitarianism was not fully achieved, as shown by non-conformity and opposition from
groups like the communists and the Church (both Catholic and Protestant), as well as
due to technological limitations. Nonetheless, it is more convincing to argue that the
Nazi’s establishment of a one-party state, and the increasing grip on the German people
and the state through Gleichshaltung, propaganda and the use of terror, demonstrates
that to a large extent, the Nazis indeed managed to infiltrate the lives of the people,
making contact with the party and its terror organs unavoidable, thereby creating a
totalitarian state.
One way in which the Nazis were able to effectively transform Germany into a
totalitarian state was through their use of terror. Concentration camps, such as Dachau
which became the first to open in 1933, were effectively used to imprison political
opponents such as communists and socialists in the early years of the regime before
moving onto the regime’s racial enemies. SS control of these camps after 1934 ensured
a systematic regime of brutality and violence towards the inmates, as well as serving a
deterrent to others, arguably enabling the Nazis to exert full and repressive control,
thereby leading to a totalitarian state. The Nazis' use of terror in creating a totalitarian
state can be further seen in the role of the Gestapo in instilling paranoia and fear into
the population by cultivating an atmosphere of suspicion and creating a self-surveilled
society. Due to the 1936 Gestapo laws, it operated without civil restraints, its actions
were not subject to judicial appeal, and it had the power of ‘preventive arrest’, meaning
people could be imprisoned without charge; by 1939, 225,000 people had been arrested
for political reasons. This shows how the Nazis used terror to ensure compliance with
the regime, as Germans understood the severe consequences for dissent. However, it
could be argued that the Gestapo’s ability to bring about complete state control of its
people was limited, as there were only 20,000 agents by 1939 (about 1 per 10,000
people), suggesting that Naxi totalitarian control was more apparent than real.
Additionally, as the Gestapo primarily relied on denunciations from private citizens to
make arrests, it could be argued that many Germans did not feel they were under
totalitarian control as they willingly supported Nazi policies and that terror was not
necessarily experienced by those who belonged in the Nazi’s ideal Volkgemeinschaft.
Despite this, it is still more convincing to argue that Nazi terror did formulate a
totalitarian state by 1939, as the Gestapo gained a reputation for being omniscient,
omnipresent and omnipotent, and its widespread use of informers in the workplace and
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
