Loading…
Loading…
GCSE History · key term
Non-violent refusal to cooperate with a government or its rules, often through small acts rather than an open confrontation.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
Non-violent resistance to authority, such as refusing to work or cooperate.
Revise: Impact of the First World WarThe German government urged passive resistance. Workers went on strike and refused to cooperate with the occupying forces. This expressed opposition to the occupation, but it also reduced industrial production.
Paper 3
Refusal to cooperate with an occupying force without fighting it directly, for example by refusing to work.
Revise: Early ChallengesThe German government could not realistically remove the occupying forces by military action. Instead, it encouraged passive resistance: workers refused to cooperate and went on strike. The government continued paying the striking workers, turning their resistance into a major public expense.
Paper 1
Resistance through non-violent acts of refusal or non-cooperation, rather than an armed attempt to overthrow a government.
Paper 3
Revise: Growing oppositionPassive resistance may have become more widespread towards the end of the war, but its scale is difficult to establish. A worker’s absence, for example, did not by itself prove political opposition. These acts could inconvenience the authorities without creating an organisation capable of overthrowing them.
For 1923, connect reparations, occupation, passive resistance and money printing in a causal chain. The occupation and hyperinflation were connected but were not the same event.
Create a free account to read GCSE History revision notes for your exam board and track your progress.