Germany grew in strength during the 1930s.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'A plebiscite took place in January.'
2. [1-4] 'People in the Saar voted whether to stay under the League of Nations, join Germany, or become part of France.'
3. [1-4] 'Goebbels went to the Saar to whip up enthusiasm.'
4. [1-4] 'During the period of the referendum, the Nazis stopped their violence and intimidation.'
5. [1-4] 'The people of the Saar voted for being part of Germany.'
6. [1-4] 'Over 90% voted for joining Germany.'
7. [1-4] 'The Saar became part of Germany in March 1935.'
8. [4-5] e.g. 'This was because one of Hitler's main aims was to incorporate into Germany as many Germans living outside Germany as possible. Hitler believed that the Aryan race (which included Germans) was superior to all others and so he wanted to collect all proper Germans into Germany. The people living in Austria were German speakers and so Hitler regarded them as German. Anschluss was the union between Germany and Austria and allowed Hitler to achieve his aim of uniting all Germans.'
9. [2-3] e.g. 'The people in Austria were German speakers.'
10. [2-3] 'Hitler wanted all German speakers to be part of Germany.'
11. [2-3] 'It was the first step in uniting all German speakers.'
12. [2-3] 'It was one of his aims in Mein Kampf.'
13. [2-3] 'Austria was where he was born.'
14. [2-3] 'It was the first step to achieving a 'Greater Germany'.'
15. [2-3] 'Part of the plan was to break up the Treaty of Versailles.'
16. [2-3] 'Hitler could threaten Czechoslovakia more easily from Austria.'
17. [2-3] 'Austria was rich in mineral deposits.'
18. [4-6] e.g. 'I am very surprised because up until then Britain and France had been following a policy of appeasement and letting Hitler do what he wanted. They had let Hitler break the Treaty of Versailles by rearming Germany and remilitarising the Rhineland, and then agreeing for part of Czechoslovakia to be taken over by Germany. When Hitler took the rest, they did nothing. It is difficult to see how Hitler's invasion of Poland was any different, and so it is a surprise that they should have declared war on Germany.'
19. [4-6] OR e.g. 'No, I am not surprised. They could not let Hitler keep on invading countries. They had followed a policy of appeasement for long enough. After each step in his foreign policy Hitler had said he had no more ambitions, but this was always false. This was clear when he broke the Munich Agreement over Czechoslovakia. It was clear he would not stop until he had power over all Europe. When he invaded Poland, it was clear that Hitler's plan to dominate all Europe had to be stopped.'
20. [2-3] e.g. 'Yes, they had always appeased Hitler.'
21. [2-3] 'Yes, they had let him take Czechoslovakia.'
22. [2-3] 'Yes, they were not ready for a major war and were too weak to fight Hitler's Germany.'
23. [2-3] 'No, appeasement had not worked.'
24. [2-3] 'No, they had given Poland a guarantee that they would support Poland if it was attacked.'
25. [2-3] 'No, Germany taking over all of Czechoslovakia had no justification at all and showed that Hitler was out to dominate Europe.'
26. [2-3] 'No, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.'