Mit welchen Worten beginnt die deutsche Nationalhymne?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 40 (bundesweit)
Einbürgerungstest (German Citizenship Test) · Geschichte
Einbürgerungstest Practice Questions: Geschichte und Verantwortung (2026)
Geschichte und Verantwortung covers the chapters of German history every new citizen is expected to know: the National Socialist dictatorship from 1933 to 1945 and Germany's responsibility for its crimes, the division of the country after the Second World War, life in the DDR, and reunification in 1990. Our timed mock draws 8 of its 33 questions from this area. The dates carry the marks: 1933, 1938, 1945, 1949, 1961, 1989 and 1990 form the backbone of almost every question.
Practice
Free practice questions
Wer baute die Mauer in Berlin?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 151 (bundesweit)
Wann waren die Nationalsozialisten mit Adolf Hitler in Deutschland an der Macht?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 152 (bundesweit)
Was war am 8. Mai 1945?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 153 (bundesweit)
Wann war der Zweite Weltkrieg zu Ende?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 154 (bundesweit)
Wann waren die Nationalsozialisten in Deutschland an der Macht?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 155 (bundesweit)
In welchem Jahr wurde Hitler Reichskanzler?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 156 (bundesweit)
Die Nationalsozialisten mit Adolf Hitler errichteten 1933 in Deutschland …
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 157 (bundesweit)
Das "Dritte Reich" war eine …
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 158 (bundesweit)
Was gab es in Deutschland nicht während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus?
Based on: BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog Nr. 159 (bundesweit)
What must you know about the National Socialist dictatorship?
The catalogue fixes the period first: the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler were in power from 1933 to 1945, beginning when Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler in 1933. From 1933 they established a dictatorship and abolished democracy: there were no free elections, press censorship replaced press freedom, and the state practised a politics of state racism that led to the persecution and murder of millions of people. The date 9 November 1938 is tested repeatedly: in the pogrom night, National Socialists and their supporters destroyed synagogues and Jewish shops across Germany. Resistance appears through Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who carried out the failed assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944. The Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945 and ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 with Germany's unconditional surrender. Learn these as one storyline, dictatorship, persecution, war, defeat, because the test asks the same facts from many angles.
How was Germany divided, and how did it reunite?
After 1945 Germany was divided into four occupation zones, held by the USA, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France. In 1949 two states emerged: the Federal Republic, whose first Bundeskanzler was Konrad Adenauer, serving from 1949 to 1963, and the DDR, founded in the Soviet occupation zone. The DDR ran a planned economy (Planwirtschaft), belonged to the Warsaw Pact in the Cold War, and watched its citizens through the Stasi, the Ministry for State Security. In 1953 a popular uprising on 17 June was put down; in 1961 the DDR built the Berlin Wall to stop its citizens fleeing to the West. The end came in 1989: at the Monday demonstrations in the DDR people chanted "Wir sind das Volk", the Wall was opened, and the peaceful change of autumn 1989 is called die Wende, the turn from a dictatorship to a democracy. In 1990 the DDR acceded to the Federal Republic: five new Bundesländer, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen, joined, an event known as German reunification. The national anthem, beginning "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit", rounds off this topic.
| Point | Federal Republic (West) | DDR (East) |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 | 1949, in the Soviet occupation zone |
| Economic system | Social market economy | Planned economy (Planwirtschaft) |
| Political system | Democracy | Dictatorship, until die Wende of 1989 |
| Cold War alliance | The West | Warsaw Pact |
| Secret police | None comparable tested | The Stasi (Ministry for State Security) |
| What happened in 1990 | Continued as today's Germany | Acceded to the Federal Republic: reunification |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When were the National Socialists in power in Germany?
From 1933 to 1945. Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler in 1933, the National Socialists then established a dictatorship, and their rule ended with Germany's defeat in the Second World War in 1945. The Einbürgerungstest asks for this date range in several different wordings, so anchor 1933 and 1945 firmly.
What happened on 9 November 1938 in Germany?
In the pogrom night, National Socialists and their supporters destroyed synagogues and Jewish shops across Germany. The official catalogue tests this date both ways: given the date, name the event, and given the event, name the year 1938. It stands in the catalogue for the escalation of the persecution of Jews under the Nazi dictatorship.
What was the DDR, and what was the Stasi?
The DDR, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, was the East German state founded in 1949 in the Soviet occupation zone and existing until 1990. It ran a planned economy and belonged to the Warsaw Pact. The Stasi was its Ministry for State Security, the DDR's secret service, one of the most reliably tested DDR facts in the Einbürgerungstest.
When was the Berlin Wall built, and when did it fall?
The DDR built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop its citizens fleeing to the West, and the Wall was opened for everyone in 1989. Both years are asked directly in the official catalogue, along with who built it: the answer is the DDR, not the Allies and not the Federal Republic.
What happened at German reunification in 1990?
The DDR acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, and five new Bundesländer joined: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen. The catalogue also notes the consequence that the new federal states thereby became part of the European Union. The event is called die Deutsche Wiedervereinigung, German reunification.
Who was the first Bundeskanzler of the Federal Republic of Germany?
Konrad Adenauer, who served from 1949 to 1963. He is the single most tested person in this topic after the Nazi period itself. Keep him distinct from the current officeholders, which the catalogue also asks about, and from the Bundespräsident, who represents the country rather than leading the government.