Coursework resource record
Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in History
Centre name:
Candidate name:
Resources used. Page/web Student comments Student Teacher initials
reference date(s) and date
The three works chosen for
when resource record
the assignment must be
accessed checked
asterisked.
* Christopher Browning’s Chapter In the beginning of chapter 2, Browning 28/06/24-
“The Origins of the Final 2(Poland, discusses how the German invasion of Poland in 30/06/24
Solution” (2005) Laboratory September 1939 marked a critical turning point
of Racial
Policy, p.
in the Nazi regime’s approach to the “Jewish
12-24) question”- setting the stage for the Holocaust.
The occupation of Poland brought over 2 million
Jews under German control, expanding the Jewish
population in Nazi-occupied Europe and making
previous solutions, like emigration or expulsion,
increasingly impractical. With the war underway,
more extreme measures were considered,
culminating in the Final Solution—the systematic
extermination of Jews. The war allowed the Nazis
A level History – coursework resource record – updated version – November 2020 –
Author and Approver: GQ Product Management – DCL1 © Pearson Education Limited 2020
,to intensify their anti-Semitic rhetoric, portraying
Jews as the primary enemy of Germany. By
framing Jews as an existential threat to the
nation, the regime justified harsh and violent
measures. The conquest of Poland, which
reinforced the Nazi belief in Aryan superiority,
also exposed German soldiers to Eastern
European Jews, who were seen as racially inferior.
This encounter deepened the Nazi
dehumanization of Jews, contrasting them with
assimilated German Jews and further
rationalizing their removal. The conquest of
Poland also freed radical factions within the Nazi
party, who had been constrained by earlier
political realities. Poland provided a space for
these radicals to implement their vision of racial
purity without the scrutiny of the German public.
Ethnic Germans in Poland (Volksdeutsche),
empowered by Nazi rule, took part in brutalizing
Polish and Jewish communities, intensifying local
violence and complicating the racial policies the
Nazis sought to enforce. Poland also served as a
"laboratory" for the Nazis' broader imperial
ambitions. Hitler’s goal of Lebensraum in Eastern
Europe mirrored earlier imperial practices of
subjugation and population decimation. In
, Poland, the Nazis began testing the policies that
would later define their genocidal actions,
including forced expulsions, ethnic cleansing, and
mass murder. This experimentation, marked by
trial and error, aimed at realizing the Nazis’
utopian vision of racial purity, though it took
years to fully solidify. The invasion revealed
tensions between different Nazi factions. The
Wehrmacht, which initially resisted mass murder,
found itself sidelined as Heinrich Himmler’s SS
took control of implementing the Final Solution.
The struggle for power between these factions
shaped the direction of Nazi policies, ultimately
leading to the establishment of the state-
sponsored system of genocide that spread across
Europe.
* Christopher Browning’s Chapter At the end of chapter 2, Browning examines the 01/07/24-
“The Origins of the Final 2(Poland, historical and socio-political factors that contributed 04/07/24
Solution” (2005) Laboratory to the Holocaust. He traces the roots of anti-Semitism
of Racial in Europe, illustrating how long-standing prejudices
Policy, p. created a climate that facilitated the rise of Nazi
25-35) ideology. Browning discusses the instability of the
Weimar Republic and the economic crises that
followed World War I, which allowed the Nazis to
blame Jews for Germany's troubles and gain popular
A level History – coursework resource record – updated version – November 2020 –
Author and Approver: GQ Product Management – DCL1 © Pearson Education Limited 2020
Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in History
Centre name:
Candidate name:
Resources used. Page/web Student comments Student Teacher initials
reference date(s) and date
The three works chosen for
when resource record
the assignment must be
accessed checked
asterisked.
* Christopher Browning’s Chapter In the beginning of chapter 2, Browning 28/06/24-
“The Origins of the Final 2(Poland, discusses how the German invasion of Poland in 30/06/24
Solution” (2005) Laboratory September 1939 marked a critical turning point
of Racial
Policy, p.
in the Nazi regime’s approach to the “Jewish
12-24) question”- setting the stage for the Holocaust.
The occupation of Poland brought over 2 million
Jews under German control, expanding the Jewish
population in Nazi-occupied Europe and making
previous solutions, like emigration or expulsion,
increasingly impractical. With the war underway,
more extreme measures were considered,
culminating in the Final Solution—the systematic
extermination of Jews. The war allowed the Nazis
A level History – coursework resource record – updated version – November 2020 –
Author and Approver: GQ Product Management – DCL1 © Pearson Education Limited 2020
,to intensify their anti-Semitic rhetoric, portraying
Jews as the primary enemy of Germany. By
framing Jews as an existential threat to the
nation, the regime justified harsh and violent
measures. The conquest of Poland, which
reinforced the Nazi belief in Aryan superiority,
also exposed German soldiers to Eastern
European Jews, who were seen as racially inferior.
This encounter deepened the Nazi
dehumanization of Jews, contrasting them with
assimilated German Jews and further
rationalizing their removal. The conquest of
Poland also freed radical factions within the Nazi
party, who had been constrained by earlier
political realities. Poland provided a space for
these radicals to implement their vision of racial
purity without the scrutiny of the German public.
Ethnic Germans in Poland (Volksdeutsche),
empowered by Nazi rule, took part in brutalizing
Polish and Jewish communities, intensifying local
violence and complicating the racial policies the
Nazis sought to enforce. Poland also served as a
"laboratory" for the Nazis' broader imperial
ambitions. Hitler’s goal of Lebensraum in Eastern
Europe mirrored earlier imperial practices of
subjugation and population decimation. In
, Poland, the Nazis began testing the policies that
would later define their genocidal actions,
including forced expulsions, ethnic cleansing, and
mass murder. This experimentation, marked by
trial and error, aimed at realizing the Nazis’
utopian vision of racial purity, though it took
years to fully solidify. The invasion revealed
tensions between different Nazi factions. The
Wehrmacht, which initially resisted mass murder,
found itself sidelined as Heinrich Himmler’s SS
took control of implementing the Final Solution.
The struggle for power between these factions
shaped the direction of Nazi policies, ultimately
leading to the establishment of the state-
sponsored system of genocide that spread across
Europe.
* Christopher Browning’s Chapter At the end of chapter 2, Browning examines the 01/07/24-
“The Origins of the Final 2(Poland, historical and socio-political factors that contributed 04/07/24
Solution” (2005) Laboratory to the Holocaust. He traces the roots of anti-Semitism
of Racial in Europe, illustrating how long-standing prejudices
Policy, p. created a climate that facilitated the rise of Nazi
25-35) ideology. Browning discusses the instability of the
Weimar Republic and the economic crises that
followed World War I, which allowed the Nazis to
blame Jews for Germany's troubles and gain popular
A level History – coursework resource record – updated version – November 2020 –
Author and Approver: GQ Product Management – DCL1 © Pearson Education Limited 2020
