This topic covers a specific, bounded stretch of the 20th century, not all of German history — you will not be asked about medieval kings or Bismarck's unification. The exam concentrates on the Nazi dictatorship under Adolf Hitler (1933–1945), a period the questions return to from several angles: it was a dictatorship, not a democracy or monarchy; it abolished free elections and press freedom while keeping censorship and arbitrary arrests; and it persecuted and murdered Jews and other groups, culminating in the Holocaust, which is why Holocaust denial is a criminal offence in Germany today (up to five years' imprisonment or a fine). After 1945 and the "Allied occupying powers" period, Germany split into two states in 1949 — the Bundesrepublik Deutschland in the West and the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) in the East — separated most visibly by the Berlin Wall from 1961. The Wall fell on 9 November 1989 after mass protests in the DDR, and formal reunification followed on 3 October 1990, now celebrated as the Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day), the one truly nationwide public holiday.
What you'll learn
- The exact years of the Nazi dictatorship (1933–1945) and why the exam calls it a dictatorship, not a monarchy
- What did and did not exist under National Socialism — free elections did not; censorship and arbitrary arrests did
- Why Holocaust denial is specifically a punishable offence in Germany
- The two German states from 1949 and what the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) physically separated
- The two key dates: 9 November 1989 (fall of the Wall) and 3 October 1990 (reunification, now a public holiday)
A real Einbürgerungstest question on this topic
Q: "Wann waren die Nationalsozialisten mit Adolf Hitler in Deutschland an der Macht?" (When were the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler in power in Germany?) — A: "1933 bis 1945" (1933 to 1945).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to memorise many dates for this topic?
A handful of them, repeated across questions: 1933 and 1945 (the Nazi dictatorship), 1949 (division into two states), 1961 and 1989 (the Berlin Wall), and 1990 (reunification). Almost every history question anchors to one of these.
Is the DDR (East Germany) covered in depth, or just its ending?
Mostly its structure and its ending: that it was a one-party state distinct from the West, and that mass protests — not a war — brought the Wall down in 1989, ahead of formal reunification the following year.
Where can I practise every official question on this topic?
Asagno's Einbürgerungstest learning mode and its dedicated Life in Germany & History quiz both draw on the real official question bank, with the correct answer shown, so you learn the actual exam content rather than a paraphrase.