Correct answer: A. Ensuring obedience by suppressing opposition in advance
Explanation: Direct answer: Option A, ensuring obedience by suppressing opposition in advance. In a dictatorship, fear is not merely an emotion; it can be used as a political instrument. Step by step, if people expect arrest, punishment, violence, or loss of livelihood for disagreeing, they may remain silent. When public criticism and organisation are prevented before they grow, the rulers face less opposition and can demand obedience. This describes the Nazi use of terror, surveillance, propaganda, and punishment. Option A is correct because fear discouraged people from speaking, meeting, or resisting. Option B is the opposite: fear destroys free debate rather than protecting it. Option C is wrong because terror does not strengthen independent justice; it weakens the rule of law and judicial freedom. Option D is wrong because Nazi racial policy persecuted and excluded minorities rather than protecting all of them. Memory cue: dictatorship uses fear to silence opposition and enforce obedience.