IGCSE HISTORY

REVISION 2006

ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
The examiners expect you to:

recall, select, organize and show your knowledge about a specific topic;
show that you understand:

change & continuity, cause & consequence, similarity & difference;

the motives, emotions, intentions and beliefs of individuals in history;

understand, interpret and use different sources as evidence of certain events, individuals or
groups.

Your exam is made up of three papers: Papers 1, 2 & 4:

Paper 1: (1 hour 45 minutes divided into 2 sections)

Section A has 4 questions about 20th century history, answer any 2,

Section B is about Germany (1919-1945) and there are 2 questions, do 1.

All the questions are structured into 3 parts and will be based on stimulus material i.e.
there will be a picture or written source at the beginning of each question.

Paper 2: (2 hours only 1 topic)

20th century topic: The Treaty of Versailles

Paper 4:

Do any one question on Germany 1919-1945

The 20th Century International Relations since 1919

BIG QUESTION: Were the peace treaties (1919-23) fair?

What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles?
Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?
What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923?
Could the treaties be justified at the time?

Peace treaties of 1919-23

Roles of individuals like Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George on the peacemaking
process
The impact of the treaties on the defeated countries
Modern opinions about the treaties

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BIG QUESTION: To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

How
How
How
How

successful was the League in the 1920s?

far did weaknesses in the Leagues organization make failure inevitable?
far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult?
successful was the League in the 1930s?
League of Nations: strengths and weaknesses in its structure and organization
Successes and failures in peacekeeping during the 1920s
The impact of the Great Depression on the work of the League after 1929
The failures of the League in the 1930s, including Manchuria and Abyssinia

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BIG QUESTION: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?

What were the long-term consequences of the 1919-23 peace treaties?

What were the consequences of the failures of the League in the 1930s?
How far was Hitlers foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?
Was the policy of appeasement justified?
How important was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939?

The collapse of international order in the 1930s

The increasing militarism of Germany, Italy and Japan (Axis Powers)

Hitlers foreign policy to 1939: the Saar, remilitarization of the Rhineland, Anschluss
with Austria, appeasement crises over Czechoslovakia and Poland

The outbreak of war

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BIG QUESTION: Who was to blame for the Cold War?

Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?

How had the USSR gained control of Eastern Europe by 1948?
How did the USA react to Soviet expansionism?
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?
Who was more to blame for starting the Cold War, the USA or the USSR?

The origins of the Cold War: the 1945 summit conferences and the breakdown of the
USA-USSR alliance in 1945-6
Soviet expansionism into Eastern Europe to 1948 and American reactions to it
The occupation of Germany and the Berlin Blockade

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BIG QUESTION: How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism?

America and events in Cuba, 1959-62

American involvement in Vietnam

Events of the Cold War: American involvement in Cuba from 1959 until 1962, reactions
to the Cuban Revolution, the missile crisis and its aftermath & involvement in Vietnam

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BIG QUESTION: How secure was the USSRs control over Eastern Europe, 1948-1989?

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, and
how did the USSR react to this opposition?
How similar were events in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968)?
Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1962?
What was the significance of Solidarity in Poland for the decline of Soviet influence in Eastern
Europe?
How far was Gorbachev personally responsible for the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern
Europe?

Soviet power in Eastern Europe: resistance to Soviet power in Hungary (1956) and
Czechoslovakia (1968)

Berlin Wall

Solidarity in Poland

Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Empire

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CASE STUDY: Germany, 1919 1945

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

How did Germany emerge from defeat at the end of WW I?

What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Republic?
To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923?
What were the achievements of the Weimar Period?

Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?

What did the Nazi Party stand for in the 1920s?

Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930?
Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933?
How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933-34?

The Nazi regime: how effectively did the Nazis control Germany from 1933-45?

How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime?

How effectively did the Nazis deal with the political opponents?
How did the Nazis persecute any groups in Germany society?
Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state?

The Nazi regime: what was it like to live in Nazi Germany?

How did young people react to the Nazi regime?

How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family?

Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule?

How did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sources
Primary Sources: Primary sources are contemporary to the time studied (From that time).
Secondary Sources: These sources come from after the time being studied. They are not contemporary.
Newspapers: Newspapers are both primary and secondary. The photographs are primary, but the reports
are not usually written by eyewitnesses, so are secondary. Therefore they contain both primary and
secondary sources. Definition of a newspaper: It should be an accurate account of what happened in
the world, yesterday. This brings the conclusion that newspapers are mainly secondary.
Reminiscences: When people reminisce, they are primary to the event, but what they say is secondary
to the event. Reminiscences are unreliable for three reasons: exaggeration, lies and omission (they
forget).
Autobiographical Sources: Autobiographical Sources are seldom secondary: They are usually primary
sources.
Sources in the 20th Century: There is a multitude of new sources, mainly audio-visual archive material.
There are many computer data formats. There is also more literacy leading to more records. There is
such a flood of evidence, it is difficult to sift through it all. Fraud is easier this century. Sources can
often contradict, and the state confidentiality on its documents makes research difficult. As we have
not finished living the events, it is difficult to write about the results.
Cartoon Symbolism
Countries
Britain:

Is usually represented by a John Bull figure (fat, prosperous, frock coat, gaiters,
crumpled hat, Union Jack waistcoat) or by a Lion

USA:

She is usually shown as Uncle Sam (tall and thin, tall hat, wispy beard, striped
trousers, stars on waistcoat) or by an eagle.

France: The typical symbol is either a cockerel or a girl revolutionary whose most
characteristic garment is a pixie-style hat with a three-coloured cockade
(roseta).
Germany:

Its usual figure up to the First World War is the Kaiser with a big moustache in
his military greatcoat and spiked, pickel-haub helmet. Afterwards, of course,
the typical Hitler figure and the swastika dominate.

Russia:

This country will be shown as a Cossack or other fur-hatted figure, sometimes

drawn to resemble the Tsar (pre-1917), as a menacing figure, worker or
soldier, featuring the Hammer and Sickle since the Revolution, or as a bear at
any time.

Italy:

She is often shown as a young sailor in the past, though the Mussolini image
dominates the inter-war years.

Japan:

The symbol for this country is the rising sun, but during her militaristic era she
was also depicted as a ferocious, sword-wielding samurai warrior.

China:

This nation is shown as a pigtailed Chinese man with a long and flowing
moustache, but is now characterized by the Chairman Mao figure in the typical
gray unisex pants and jackets.

Other symbols
Some other symbols which might appear are the fasces, a bundle of twigs bound together with an axe,
representing Fascist Italy, or a single star on military equipment, which would be red in fact (though
hardly so on an exam paper.) This indicates the Soviet or red army.
Colours
Colours are often used or referred to in cartoons. The red, amber,
amber green sequence of traffic lights may
represent danger, warning and safety. Red also stands for Communism, especially Russian. Black and
white (regrettably for the anti-racist lobby!) tend to stand for Darkness/Evil and Light/Good
respectively. Black also represents Fascism (Mussolinis Blackshirts and Hitlers SS) and is supported by
brown (Hitlers SA). Yellow means Japan or China.
Animals
Animals other than those specific to countries (see above) which may be used are the snake (evil or
danger), the rabbit (innocence or vulnerability) the donkey (stupidity), the raven (danger or death),
the dove, with or without an olive branch (peace), the horse (dogged determination, persistence or
hard work), the pig, (brutality), the sheep (docility or inability to think for oneself) and the cow
(docility or stupidity).
Flowers
Flowers represent friendship or good will, with the laurel (wreath) meaning victory.

Changes in the Map of Europe (1914-1923)

(Refer to the maps showing Europe in 1914 and 1919 in your textbooks.)
The peace treaties that ended the First World War (1914-1918) altered the political map of Europe.
Allies

Central Powers (*)

Great Britain

Germany

France

Austria-Hungary

Russia ()

Bulgaria

Belgium

Turkey

Italy (changed sides May 1915)

USA (joined 1917)
(*) The central powers were punished, they had to lose land and they had to pay reparations (payment
for war damages)
() Russia was also punished in 1919 because the Allies felt betrayed when Russia left the War early
(3/3/1918, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
German Losses
France regained Alsace-Lorraine. Posen-West Prussia went to Poland, forming a corridor to the coast.
Northern Schleswig was given to Denmark. Troppau was given to Czechoslovakia. Austria and Germany
were NOT allowed to unite.
Austro-Hungarian Losses
Austria and Hungary became two small, landlocked republics, Habsburg land was used to create two
new states: Czechoslovakia in the north, and Yugoslavia in the south. Yugoslavia was formed from
Austria and Serbia. Other countries gained land. Rumania got Transylvania, and roughly doubled in size.
Poland gained Galicia, Italy gained the Southern Tyrol.
Bulgarian Losses
Bulgaria loses Western Thrace to Greece.
Turkish Losses
Two treaties were signed with Turkey, in the first she lost land to Greece, and in the second it was
returned.
Russian Losses
Russia lost land to recreate Poland, and four countries became independent. Three were the Baltic
States, and the other was Finland.

Treaties at the End of the First World War

Treaty of
Treaty of
Treaty of
Treaty of
Treaty of
Treaty of

Versailles with Germany - 28th June 1919

St. Germain with Austria - 10th September 1919
Trianon with Hungary - 1920
Neuilly with Bulgaria - 27th November 1919
Sevres with Turkey - 1920
Lausanne with Turkey - 1923

The first five were named after palaces, and were also diktats. The last was the only negotiated treaty.
(A diktat is an imposed, unilateral document.)
The Treaty of Versailles 28th June 1919
Introduction
By 1918 Germany was suffering defeat in most areas of the war. The German nation was hungry, war
weary and demanded peace. The German government eventually asked for an armistice, and on
11/11/1918, cease-fire began. The problem of peace remained. Many people hoped that a peace
settlement would prevent war from happening again. US President Wilson thought that he had the
answer to all Europes problems. He stated his views in Fourteen Points.
Wilsons Fourteen Points
On January 8th, 1918, Wilson outlined his peace proposals to the American Congress. These became
known as the Fourteen Points and Four principles. On November 5th, 1918, Wilson sent a note to
the Germans. The Germans agreed to an armistice and expected a peace settlement to be based upon
the Fourteen points.
Of the fourteen points these were the most important:

There were to be no secret treaties between powers like the treaties that had helped to cause
the First World War. (Open Diplomacy)
Seas should be free in peace and in war to ships of all nations (Freedom of Navigation)
The barriers to trade between countries such as custom duties should be removed (Free trade)
All countries should reduce their armed forces to the lowest possible levels (Multilateral
disarmament.)
The national groups in Europe should, wherever possible, be given their independence. Wilson
supported the idea of National Self-Determination (NSD), whereby a nation had the right to selfgovernment.
Russia should be allowed to operate whatever government it wanted.
Territorial changes:

Germany should give up Alsace-Lorraine and any lands taken away during the war.

The Italian frontier should be readjusted.

Belgium should be evacuated.

Poland should be given access to the sea.

The defeated nations should not be made to pay for the war as a whole.
A League of Nations should be formed to protect world peace in the future.

Most of the points are very general: not all of them stated specific changes. Britain and France
considered the points as being too impractical, they thought that Wilson was hoping for far too much.

They had used much of their wealth on the war, and France had suffered two German invasions (1870 &
1914). France wanted to ensure that a third attack would never take place, and wanted Germany to be
reduced to a minor European State. (The ideal situation would be of course NO GERMANY!!)
The Paris Peace Conference
The terms for peace were discussed in Paris from 18th January 1919 until June.
The conference was attended by thirty-two states, but the major powers dominated the conference:
Japan, Italy (Orlando), France (Georges Clemenceau, the Old Tiger), Britain (Lloyd George) and the USA
(Wilson).
The Big Three Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George made all the major decisions.
Germany and the defeated states were not invited to attend the conference.
Peace was difficult to make because of the widescale disruption to Europe during the war and the
general unrest that existed while the peace conference sat. When the Versailles Treaty was signed, few
of Wilsons fourteen points were adhered to, though a League of Nations was set up.
German Land Losses

(Refer to the map in your textbook showing German land losses.)

Clemenceau wanted to make sure that France was secure from German attack and so demanded that
her northeastern boundary was safe.

Germany therefore lost Alsace-Lorraine.

The Rhineland was demilitarised so that French borders were secure.

Three frontier areas were given to Belgium.

Northern Schleswig went to Denmark

Troppau was transferred to Czechoslovakia.

Poland gained West Prussia and Posen. This made up a corridor, giving Poland access to
the Baltic Sea. Poland also gained half of Silesia.

East Prussia was separated from Germany.

The League of Nations took control of certain areas:

Industrial area of the Saar (Germany regained it in 1935).

Port of Memel taken from Germany (annexed by Lithuania, 1923).

Danzig made a free city under the control of the League of Nations.

All Germanys gains at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3rd March 1918) were surrendered.
Germany had made considerable gains when Russia made peace.

Germany lost all of her overseas colonies covering a total of approx 2,000,000 square
kilometres. Britain gained Tanganyika in East Africa, part of Togoland and the
Cameroons. The remaining African colonies were shared between Belgium and South
Africa.

In the Pacific, German possessions were shared between Britain, Australia, New Zealand
and Japan.

The union (Anschluss) of Austria and Germany was forbidden.

As a result of these losses, Germanys total territorial losses amounted to 28,000 square miles, and six
million people.
Military Losses

The German army was reduced to 100,000 men, and conscription (obligatory military service)
was illegal.
No tanks, aircraft or heavy artillery were to be manufactured for the German armed forces no
weapons/military equipment.
German navy reduced to: six battleships, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers, and twelve
torpedo boats.

Economic Losses
The German steel industry depended on coal from the Saar, and iron ore from Alsace-Lorraine. Germany
lost both of these areas. Germany also lost coalmines in Upper Silesia, to Poland.
Reparations (compensation payment for war damages)
This was a very difficult and delicate problem to solve. A Reparations Commission was established to
decide how many goods and how much money Germany should pay.
The figure 6,600 million was eventually agreed upon. Some people thought this figure was too high.
J.M. Keynes (a British economist) said that Germany would only become poorer and bitter. He was right.
War Guilt Clause
This refers to Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, which placed the blame for all losses received by
the Allies in the First World War, on Germany. The treaty also specifically asked that Kaiser be brought
on trial. Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to Holland in 1918, and the Dutch refused to release him.
The Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The terms of the treaty were presented to the Germans and they complained of its severity.
The Germans were given three weeks to prepare their formal complaint. The Germans complained
about nearly every clause. The allies ignored all but a few complaints.
With no other option, the Germans signed the treaty. Peace was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, at
Versailles. The Germans felt cheated by this treaty, because virtually none of Wilsons Fourteen
Points had been included in the treaty. The Germans called the treaty a diktat because it was
dictated to them, without real consultation. The Weimar government, especially Ebert who had signed
the treaty, was looked upon as traitorous.

Reaction of Britain, France and the USA

Most people in Britain had wanted revenge and so had gained some satisfaction. Lloyd George was
satisfied that Britain had gained most of Germanys colonies, so that after 1919, Britain could recover
its wealth and power. France, however, was not satisfied that Germany had been weakened enough. A
high-ranking French officer said in 1919: This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty-one years.
By this he meant Germany had not been weakened enough and would rise again in twenty-one years. He
predicted Germanys rise correctly. Britain and America promised help to France should Germany
threaten her in the future. Most remarkable of all, the USA refused to ratify the treaty. Wilson was a
Democrat. The republican part in America opposed Wilsons involvement in Europe, and in the autumn
of 1918, the Republicans had a majority in Congress. Congress refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles
because:
Republicans were against Democrats

Republicans wanted isolation

France still felt insecure, because Britain would not support France without American aid.
Reasons why Germany Thought the Treaty of Versailles was UNFAIR
UNFAIR.
Germany thought the Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919) was unfair because it was a diktat. The Big
Three had not negotiated with Germany at Paris from January June 1919. Germany was given only
three weeks to comment on the vast amounts of peace clauses. Her objections were largely ignored.
Germany resented the attitude of revenge which was summed up by the British press as:
"Make Germany Pay" and "Squeeze the German Lemon until the Pips Squeak!"
Germany thought the Treaty was unfair because it was not based fully on Wilsons Fourteen Points. On
the 5th November, 1918, Germany had accepted the Fourteen Points as the basis for peace and an
armistice began at 11 oclock on the 11th November 1918. By the 28th June 1919, when the Treaty of
Versailles was signed, the Fourteen Points had been largely forgotten.
How the Fourteen Points were Ignored
Fourteen Points Treaty of Versailles

Open Diplomacy

vs

The Big Three made all the decisions at

Versailles, so the treaty was a diktat.

Freedom of the Seas

vs

Germany could not enjoy freedom of navigation

because her navy was so reduced.

Multilateral disarmament

vs

Only Germany disarmed at Versailles. It was

enforced unilateral disarmament. Also, to
humiliate Germany further, she had to build ships
for the Allies (Allies rearmed)

National-Self Determination
NSD

vs

NSD was applied unfairly at Versailles, e.g. Poland.

Poland was given Posen-West Prussia, and
therefore, the Germans on this land were now
under foreign rule. Also the Anschluss of Germany
and Austria was not allowed, and so the Germany
speakers in these lands were denied NSD.

Peace Treaties with Germanys Allies (1919-23)

(Refer to the map showing the land losses of Germanys Allies.)

Introduction
After peace had been made with Germany at Versailles (28th June 1919), The Big Three turned their
attention to Germanys allies. Their intention was to have one treaty with the Habsburg Empire, but
two separate treaties were signed with Austria and Hungary. There had been a Communist uprising in
Budapest and this delayed signing the treaty with Hungary. Both of these treaties were diktats, as were
those signed with Bulgaria and Turkey. However, a second negotiated treaty was signed with Turkey in
1923.
The Treaty of St. Germain (10th September, 1919 With Austria)
The principle of NSD was used in the treaty with Austria:

Italy gained the Tyrol and Trentino in the North, and Istria and Trieste in the Northeast.

Czechoslovakia gained the Sudetenland (German speaking), the Czech provinces and
Slovakia.

Serbia was given various states in the Balkans: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia and
Dalmatia, to form the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia = The Southern Slavs)

Poland gained Galicia.

No Anschluss with Germany.

Austria was disarmed to 30,000 men plus three Danubian (river) police boats.

Austria was supposed to pay reparations, but as she was bankrupt in 1920, none were
paid.
The Treaty of Trianon (4th June, 1920 With Hungary)

Hungary lost some border districts to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

Transylvania was given to Rumania, which doubled Rumanias size.

Comments on the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon

Austria complained because she was disarmed and unable to defend herself against the hostile
neighbours that encircled her. Both states were land-locked and surrounded by weak or hostile
neighbours. Many of these neighbouring countries were hostile because they wanted to keep their newfound independence, and they resented the former control of the Habsburgs.

Both treaties were diktats. NSD was applied and denied - 3 million Austrians lived in the Sudetenland
under foreign rule, 3 million Magyars lived under Rumanian rule in Transylvania. No Anschluss for
Germany and Austria. Czechs and Slovaks resented being in one country. Austria was disarmed. Austria
lost its monarchy (loss of Prestige and National identity). Both Austria and Hungary lost out
economically; they were both landlocked and this damaged trade. Although Austria and Hungary
enjoyed free trade before the war, they did not afterwards. Hungary lost valuable agricultural land in
Transylvania. Both countries suffered from a drop in population (Workforce). Austrias population
dropped from 22 million to 6.5 million and Hungarys population dropped from 21 million to 7.5 million.
Treaty of Neuilly (27th November, 1919 with Bulgaria)
Bulgaria lost territory to Greece, which meant that she lost the coastline that lead more directly into
the Mediterranean.
Settlements with Turkey

Treaty of Sevres (August, 1920 a diktat)

The Turks agreed to lose their Middle-Eastern empire.

Saudi Arabia became independent;

Britain gained Palestine, Trans-Jordan and Iraq as mandates. (Mandate = a lease.

Britain and France only looked after these lands for 30 years).

France was given Lebanon and Syria as mandates.

In Europe Turkey lost other lands. Greece gained Eastern Thrace and Smyrna on
the Turkish mainland.

Italy gained Rhodes.

The Dordanelle Strait was demilitarised (League of Nations).

Treaty of Lausanne (1923 Negotiated)

Turkey regained all the land she had lost to Greece. The Straits remained
demilitarised and Italy kept Rhodes. Turkey was now a republic with its new
capital at Ankara. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul.

Inter-War Diplomacy
Introduction (IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION!)
The major powers had different aims in 1919 for the post-war world.
USA:

The republicans defeated Woodrow Wilson in the 1920 presidential election,

and they wanted isolation from European affairs.

France: France still wanted security from the possibility of a third German attack. To
do this she had two policies:

Encirclement She tried to surround Germany with countries who were friendlier
to France, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Poland (The Little Entente)
France rearmed herself and strengthen her Rhineland border with Germany, by
building the Maginot Line (1929-34)

Britain: She wanted to recover her wealth and power via trade.

Germany:

The Weimar government wanted recovery in every sense: military, economic,

political and diplomatic. In order for Germany to achieve any of these, she
would have to break the Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919).
(Note: Britain and Germany had one thing in common the need to recover via trade.)

Improvement and Decline in International Relations (1920-39)

1920s
There was an improvement in international relations in the 1920s, mainly due to the work of three
foreign ministers: Austen Chamberlain (Britain), Briand (France) and Stresemann (Germany).
1930s
Relations between the powers deteriorated in the 1930s, especially after 1929, after the Wall Street
Crash (29th October) when the major powers economies declined, leading to the Great Depression. As a
result of the depression, extremist groups (Communists and Fascists) became popular (flourished). The
aggressive policies of the Fascists (Germany, Italy and Japan) resulted in the Second World War.
Inter-War Diplomacy: Improved Relations 1921-29
A. Washington Naval Treaties (1921-2)
In spite of her a policy of isolation, the USA hosted these talks about naval disarmament, and the
balance of power in the Pacific. This was the ideal assignment for the League of Nations why did this
organization not do it?
Agreements Reached

Britain, USA, Japan, France and Italy agreed to respect each others Pacific possessions &
guarantee Chinas independence.

Japan would restore certain territory to China and withdraw from Siberia, in Russia.

There would be a ten-year stoppage in the building of capital ships (more than 10,000 tons with
guns larger than 8"). A ratio of USA:5 Br:5 J:3 Fr:1.75 It:1.75
was to be maintained in the building of capital ships.
Effects

Lessened possibility of naval war in the Far East where Japan & USSR had ideas about expanding
into China.
The alliance of WW I victors was reaffirmed, despite USAs isolation policy.
Though better international relations resulted, the USSR was not invited to the talks, despite
her extensive Far Eastern interests. (USSR was not recognized because of Communist
government.)
Treaty of Rapallo (April 1922) Signed 2 months after the Washington Treaty, by Germany and
Soviet Russia. They said they would not attack each other and trade links were opened. Both
powers were no longed isolated. They also secretly agreed to arms deals. France was upset
because Germany could now break the rules of the Versailles Treaty.

These meetings/conferences highlighted the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. The fact
that countries were able to do as they pleased to, severely weakened the authority of this
peace-keeping organization.

B. The Locarno Pacts, 1925

Britain, France & Germany agreed to meet in Switzerland, at Locarno, in 1925.
Agreements

Germany accepted her frontiers with France and Belgium, & agreed not to change them.
Germany agreed not to alter (change) her borders with Poland or Czechoslovakia without
discussion (?!) with France and her Little Entente partners.

Effects

Franco-German relations improved because France felt more secure and Germany realized there
was some hope of regaining lands on her eastern borders.
Germany joined the League of Nations as a permanent member of the Council in 1926.

C. Kellogg-Briand Pact (Pact of Paris) 1928

In 1926 Germany signed a Treaty of Neutrality with the USSR. (Renewed Rapallo of 1922.) This
worried the French.
In April 1927 Briand appealed to the US Secretary of State, F.B. Kellogg for assistance.
A nine-power conference met in Paris in August 1928 and eventually 65 nations signed a pact
that outlawed war unless a nation acted in self-defence.

Effects

US involvement reassured France and Americas other European allies.

USSR signed the Pact and gained some recognition for Communist Russia by other powers.
Germany signed the Pact and this calmed French suspicions of Germanys aggression.
This Pact was later viewed as being of good intent, but having no practical means of preventing
war.

D. Changes to Reparations
The British economist, Keynes, had warned that the amount established at Versailles, was too much to
expect from Germany in reparations. Two plans, in 1924 and 1929, gave Germany assistance from the
US.

Dawes Plan 1924:

Germany fell behind in reparation payments to France, so in January 1923,

France occupied the Ruhr valley (on the Franco-Germany Rhineland border).
Frances intention was to take reparations in the form of coal. France only
withdrew her troops after the Dawes Plan was drawn up. Germany still had the
same amount to pay in reparations, but received a loan from the USA and
payments were scaled down so that it could be paid easier.

Effects

The Ruhr was evacuated in July 1925.

Germany was treated as an equal for the first time, and this paved the way for
Locarno (1925) and Germanys entry to the League (1926)

Germanys economy improved under Stresemann (died 1929)

Young Plan 1929

Stresemann appealed to the USA for further assistance in paying reparations (to
update the Dawes Plan). The Young committee reduced Germanys liability
(responsibility) to approximately a 1/3 of the original sum, to be paid over 59
years (i.e. until 1988). It was to start in May 1930.

Effects

Stresemanns status as an international statesman grew, as did his popularity at

home.

The realistic sum to be paid by Germany promised good future relations between
Germany, France and Britain.

NB. The Young Plan collapsed because in October 1929, the Wall Street Crash
occurred in America, and this financial crisis spread to Germany, and then other
European powers. Germany could not afford to pay reparations 1931-2, and Hitler
refused to pay anything after 1933.

Conclusion

Improvements in international relations in 1920s, A-D above, were the result of

power diplomacy and NOT the work of the League of Nations whose main aim
was to keep peace.

Deterioration in Relations (1929-39)

In the 1930s relations between the powers deteriorated. 1929 Stresemann died and Briand and
Chamberlain were out of office. October 1929, Wall Street Crash, led to a depression in Europe and
extremist political groups (Fascist, Nazis) grew in popularity. Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany
offered economic growth to their depressed peoples and their aggressive foreign policies led to the
Second World War (1939-45). In the 1930s neither power diplomacy, nor the League of Nations, could
prevent war.
The League of Nations
Origins
The idea of international co-operation was not a new one in 1919. There had been earlier attempts, for
example: the International Red Cross, Geneva (1864), the International Telegraph Union (1865), the
International Meteorological Organisation (1878) and the International Court, The Hague (1899).
The last of Wilsons fourteen points said that a League of Nations should be set up, to keep peace after
1919. To ensure that it was established, Wilson insisted that the League of Nations should be written
into the Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919).

Aims
To keep peace
To improve living conditions of men and women world-wide
Organisation
The League first met in January 1920 and each state had to take an oath (covenant) to say they would
abide by the Leagues rules for international law and order.

Assembly: Each year, each state would send up to three delegates to the Geneva assembly to
discuss world problems. Each country had one vote, and a unanimous vote was needed to decide
action. As unanimity was never reached, resolutions were passed onto the council.
Council: The great powers (Britain, France, Italy and Japan) of 1920 sat permanently on the
council, with smaller nations who observed. They met three or four times a year, and at times
of crisis. By a unanimous vote they could levy (implement) the following sanctions against a
nation who broke peace this was known as Collective Security. The four basic steps of this
policy were:

World Public Opinion or Moral sanction A polite warning, based on world public
opinion condemning the aggressive behaviour.

Economic or Trade sanctions The League stopped trading with the offender

Disarmament - Promoting arms reduction and eventual disarmament.

Military sanction or The Use of Military Force As a last resort the League would impose
its will by force.
No sanction could be used if a nation used its veto. The idea was that collective action would
produce collective security, and thereby peace. (United we stand, divided we fall) The Leagues
responses were long-winded.
The Court of Justice: Set up in 1899, at The Hague, in Holland, this department dealt with legal
disputes between nations.
International Labour Organisation (ILO): Its first chairman was Albert Thomas, and he collected
evidence world-wide, about working conditions. He wrote a code of good practice, which
included:

Safety regulations, Sick pay, Pensions, Maternity leave, Trade Union rights, Restrictions
of child labour
Commissions: Special departments dealt with specific world problems.
Secretariat: The first Secretary General was Sir. Eric Drummond, and he led the Leagues
administration department (Civil Service).

Some nations joined the League late, e.g. Germany in 1926, USSR in 1934. 18 nations left the League,
e.g. Germany in 1933 because other nations would not disarm to her level, Japan in 1933 after invading
Manchuria, Italy in 1937 after invading Abyssinia, USSR in 1939 dismissed after the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Note: AMERICA NEVER JOINED THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS (This was because the US Congress, then
under Republican control, refused to accept Wilsons, who was a Democrat, plea to join the League.
However, they did join the ILO.)

League of Nations at Work (1920-1939)

Success in achieving its second aim - Improving living conditions world-wide

The ILO was so successful that the USA joined it. In 1945 it transferred to the UNO.
The Health Commission stopped disease epidemics (e.g. measles) today the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The Leprosy Commission helped eliminate leprosy.
The Transit and Communication Commission standardized passports and visas, and radio codes
were also made common.
The Mandates Commission helped colonies to reach independence.
The Refugee Commission helped resettle homeless and stateless people.

The Leagues failure in its first aim To keep peace

The powers improved international relations in the 1920s, rather than the League. (See notes
on interwar diplomacy)
The League did settle a few minor disputes in the 1920s, however in the Corfu incident (1923) it
had to refer the problem to the powers to solve

Finland against Sweden (1920-21). Finland and Sweden were in dispute over the Aaland
Islands in the Baltic Sea. The League settled in favour of Finland.

Germany against Poland (1921-22). Germany and Poland disputed control of Upper
Silesia. The League settled in favour of Poland: an unpopular decision (with the German
speaking people of Upper Silesia, who said, quite rightly, that they had been denied
NSD.)

Italy against Greece (1923). A.k.a. the Corfu Incident, Italy held Greece responsible for
the death of some Italian Officers on the frontier of Albania and Greece. Greece refused
to compensate Italy for the loss, and so Italy bombarded the Greek island of Corfu. The
League was approached about the conflict and referred the dispute to a Congress of
Ambassadors who persuaded Greece to make a financial settlement, after which Italy
evacuated Corfu (NB. The powers were keeping peace, again.)

The League Failed to bring about Multilateral Disarmament

The League proposed two main documents, trying to encourage disarmament. These were The Draft
Treaty of Mutual Assistance (1923) and The Geneva Protocol (1924). Both of these asked member
nations to respect a certain level of disarmament, but were rejected.
1923-4 Geneva Disarmament Talks (including USA and USSR)
This failed because France still felt insecure, and would not disarm. In October 1933 Hitler withdrew
from the talks stating that if other powers did not reduce the level of their arms to Germanys level, he
would rearm Germany to their level.
NOTE: The only successful step towards disarmament took place at Washington (1921-2, Naval Sizes
in Pacific.) This was hosted by the USA, not the League of Nations.

The League failed to control major crises in the 1930s

The Manchurian Crisis

18th September 1931, Japanese troops invaded Manchuria and attacked the
industrial city of Mukden. Chiang Kai Shek (Chinese nationalist Leader) appealed
to the League and to the USA for help. America protested and the League made
a Moral sanction and sent a Lytton Commission to Manchuria led by Sir Lytton
whose report condemned Japanese aggression. Unperturbed (undisturbed) Japan
renamed Manchuria, Manchukuo in March 1932, and continued to occupy it. In
1933 Japan left the League of Nations. This was a significant step in further
breaking down the Leagues authority, because this peace-keeping organization
did not have any say in matters of non-member nations. The big powers were
more concerned with domestic issues (National interests came before the
Leagues affairs). Japanese aggression was not halted, the Leagues collective
action had amounted to nothing.
NB. Only Germany and Italy recognized Japans control in Manchukuo.

The Abyssinian Crisis 1935-6:

This involved the aggression of Italy, led by Mussolini, in Abyssinia (now

Ethiopia). Mussolini wanted to create a Fascist Roman Empire and saw the Horn
of Africa as an ideal area for expansion. Italy already controlled Libya, Eritrea
and Italian Somaliland, so Abyssinia would help link its possessions. Italy had
unsuccessfully tried to conquer the area in 1896. In October 1935 Mussolini was
successful against the meagre (weak) troops of Emperor Haile-Salassie. Abyssinia
appealed to the League and within two weeks Mussolinis actions were
condemned and economic sanctions were imposed. These sanctions were not
very good because Italy still managed to obtain steel, copper and oil. The
League did ban arms sales to Italy, but made Abyssinia weak by not letting it
have any arms either! Mussolini did not take the Leagues sanctions seriously and
he threatened war if his oil supplies were stopped. Britain argued in favour of
an oil embargo but the issue was complicated by secret diplomacy.

Hoare-Laval Pact (December 1935):

Samuel Hoare (Britain) and Laval (France) made an agreement that if Mussolini
stopped fighting, he could have most of Abyssinia. The world press published the
pact, Hoare resigned and the agreement failed. Meanwhile Mussolini conquered
Abyssinia in May 1936.

Mussolini had said If the League had extended economic sanctions of oil I would
have had to withdraw from Abyssinia in a week". The League had bungled its
negotiations and had, once again failed miserably to maintain peace.
NOTE: The Abyssinian affair destroyed the Stresa Front. Britain and France had been
meeting with Mussolini at Stresa in an attempt to unite against Hitlers Germany. The
actions of Hoare and Laval caused Italy to side with Germany from 1936 onwards.
The League of Nations failed because it was weak from the start!

Look at the following:

Ideal League

League in Practice was Weak

1. All nations should be members.

BUT!

Not all nations were members (e.g. USA)

2. All nations should be equal partners BUT! Not equal partners because major powers
League.
made decisions in the Council.

in the

3. The League should be able to make BUT! League structure was weak, unanimity decisions quickly
and easily.
caused delays.
4. National interests should be second to
leagues interests.

BUT! Nations were more interested in their OWN the

affairs, especially after 1929 with the
economic crisis.

5. Members should obey the Leagues BUT!

sanctions.

Moral, Economic & Military sanctions were

ignored e.g. Japan 1931

6. Offenders could trade with none League members (e.g. Abyssinia Crisis 1935/6)
7. It was silly to use violence to stop violence

Germany
Features of Fascism
1. One leader a dictator
Leader

Il Duce

Fhrer

Caudillo

Name

Mussolini

Hitler

Franco

Party

Fascisti

Country

Italy

Nazi

Falange
Germany

Spain

2. A fascist state is TOTALITARIAN (one party state), so there would be no choice between parties in an
election.
3. A dictator maintained his power by violence and fear. Private armies were used (e.g. Mussolinis
Blackshirts, Hitlers Brownshirts = Sturmabteilung or Stormtroopers) to protect the leader and attack
enemies (e.g. Communists)
4. A dictator maintained his power by strict control of the media. CENSORSHIP denied people
information, and PROPAGANDA forced fascist ideas onto people.
5. Nationalism was encouraged with the use of symbols, e.g. Italy with the clenched fist and the sheath
of corn, and Germany with the swastika, goosestep and straight-armed salute.
6. Hitler united the majority of Germans by attacking minority groups. He said ARYAN people (Teutonic,
blue eyed, blond haired) were a HERRENVOLK or master race. He said inferior races (Jews, Slavs,
Gypsies, Yellow/Black skinned people) should be exterminated. Uneconomic peoples (e.g. the aged or
the disabled) or non-conforming Aryans (homosexuals, socialists, Jehovahs witnesses etc.) were to be
exterminated.

Political Groups
In theory, the communists are opposite to the fascists, because Communism preaches equality, whereas
Fascism believes in the superiority of one man over another. In practice both Communism and Fascism
are Totalitarian.
Weimar Government
Background Notes
1. Left wing = Communists
2. Right wing = Fascists/Nazis (i.e. the extremist groups)
3. Constitution = Rules by which a country is governed

4. WEIMAR GOVERNMENT = Germanys first democratic republican government (1919-34), based at

Weimar, a Spa town in the centre of Germany.
5. German Governments
a. Pre 1914 German government = autocracy of Kaiser
b. 1919-34 German government = Weimar democratic government
Head of State = President (elected)
Head of Government = Chancellor (elected)
1934-45 German government = Hitlers dictatorship
6. Parliament in two houses:
a. Reichsrat = Upper House
b. Reichstag = Lower House
7. Voting Structure
Weimar government was elected by universal suffrage (all adults voted). MPs were
elected by proportional representation (PR). Method = 2 votes taken before an MP is
chosen. This system caused too many small parties to be elected. As a result, no
single party held a majority to form a government. To solve this, a coalition
government was formed, but passing laws took longer because of disagreements.
(Strong government = One that passes laws quickly.)
Germany: The Weimar Government (1919-34)
Introduction
After the 11th November 1918, Germany had three problems to solve: peacemaking, rebuilding
Germanys economy, and the creation of an adequate form of government. Eventually, the Weimar
constitution was written, which made Germany a democratic republic. This government failed by 1934,
when Adolf Hitler became dictator of Germany.
Reasons for the failure of the Weimar government

Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

Hatred of the Treaty of Versailles signed by the Weimar government
Challenges from Left and Right wing groups
Failure to solve economic problems
Hitler came to power

The Weimar Government

Left wing groups rose against Kaiser Wilhelm IIs government at Kiel, and in Bavaria. Socialists in the
Reichstag demanded the abdication of the Kaiser. On the 9th November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and
Friedrich Ebert became president. From February 1919, a National assembly met at Weimar to write a
constitution. The Reichstag was elected, and passed laws. The Reichsrat could only delay legislation.
The president could choose the chancellor, dissolve the Reichstag and rule by decree in times of
emergency. The chancellor in the Reichstag chose the cabinet, and commanded a majority of the votes.
Provision was made for a referendum on matters of acute controversy within the country, a Supreme
Court was set up, and basic rights, such as freedom of speech, religion and movement were guaranteed.

Weaknesses:

It was a weakness to give the Reichsrat delaying powers because laws could not
be passed quickly weak government.

It was a weakness to allow the president to rule by decree because democracy

could change to a dictatorship.

The constitution was over-optimistic because it was difficult to change from

autocracy to democracy overnight.

Unpopularity of the Treaty of Versailles (28th June, 1919)

One of the first tasks of the Weimar government was to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The German
Foreign Minister, Walter Ranthenau (a Jew), who upheld the Versailles agreement, was seen as a traitor.
The treaty was very unpopular because it was a diktat, and because it was not based on the fourteen
points (see previous notes).
Opposition to the Weimar Government from Left and Right Wing Groups
Eberts government soon faced the Sparticist rising. Two communists, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl
Liebknecht led this uprising. Beginning in 1918 it reached its climax in January 1919, when it was
suppressed, and the leaders killed. Right wing groups also rose up against the Weimar government. The
returning soldiers were bitter and thought they should have remained fighting. The Free Corps was a
club of returning ex-soldiers. In the Kapp Putsch (armed rising) people protested at the Treaty and at
the governments acceptance.
Failure of the Weimar Government to solve Economic Problems
Reparations posed the greatest problems to Germany after 1919. The Treaty said Germany must pay
6,600 million. Germany paid reparations through foreign laws in the early twenties. France invaded the
Ruhr valley and took coal when Germany failed to pay in 1923. This invasion horrified Germans who saw
the Weimar government as weak.
Results of the French occupation of the Ruhr
Extremist groups (namely Fascists and Communists) grew in number in 1923.
The German mark dropped in value because in order to combat inflation, the Weimar
government printed extra bank notes, without increasing the gold held in its treasury. Bank
notes then dropped proportionally in value. This led to HYPERINFLATION. German marks in
exchange for one dollar

Germany gained loans from the USA. Stresemann arranged the economic recovery of Germany 1923-29.
The Dawes plan and the Young plan staggered Germanys reparations over a period of time, and
included USA loans. European powers gradually accepted Germany: witness the Locarno Pact (1925) and
the entry of Germany to the League of Nations in 1926.
Economic Slump
Many Germans gained faith in the Weimar Government while Stresemann was in power, but his death,
and the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, saw the growth of extremist groups. The Wall Street Crash
collapsed the German economy because the USA wanted her loans repaying. The Weimar government
suffered because the coalition of moderate right and left wing groups ended. The ruling by decree and
the system of proportional representation caused political confusion in the Weimar government.
Autocracy was being forced onto a democracy and many small parties were being formed. Law passing
was slow.
End of the Weimar Government
The President, Paul Von Hindenburg, appointed three chancellors between 1930 and 1932 (Bruning, Von
Papen and Schleicher), but because these men could not command a majority in the Reichstag
Hindenburg reluctantly appointed Adolf Hitler to be chancellor, in January 1933. Hitler became dictator
of Germany in August 1934 after the death of President Von Hindenburg.
The Rise of Hitler
Reasons for his rise

Weimar Government was weak

The German people did not trust democracy; they preferred the autocracy of the Kaiser.
Laws could be delayed by the Reichstag (Laws could not be passed quickly).
Proportional representation produced weak. Coalition governments (Laws could not be passed
quickly).
Democracy could end if a president ruled by decree in an emergency
Economic problems were not solved.
Nazism was popular - He promised strong, national government. He said he would correct the
errors/weaknesses of Weimar rule, and end the Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919), including:
reparations, war guilt, disarmament
He promised full employment.
He said he would get rid of lawlessness.
He united all classes in society behind Nazism:

Upper Class (Junkers) Feared communism and saw their futures reviving, if Germany
rearmed.

Middle Class Wanted the strengthening of the law

Working Class Wanted employment

Churches in Germany German churches (Catholic and Lutheran) feared communism and
Atheism (Godless society), and therefore were more sympathetic towards Hitler.

Hitler united the majority of Germans, by attacking the minorities.

Hitlers Early Life (up to c.1918) (FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES)

Hitler was born of the 20th April 1889, at Braunau am Inn. (am = on the, Inn is the name of an Austrian
river), in Upper Austria. He was the son of a minor customs official. Earlier, in 1876, the family name
had been changed from Schickelgruber to Hitler, because Schickelgruber was Jewish. He was educated
at Linz, but he was not very academic; he had a talent for art. In October 1907, he moved to Vienna,
attempting to get into the art academy, but he failed the entrance exam. (He later blamed the Jews for
this.) He frequented Bierkeller, with other unemployed, where his hatred of the Jews and the Slavs
grew. He had part time jobs e.g. postcard selling and as an unskilled mechanic.
In 1912 he moved to Munich in the province of Bavaria. In the First World War he joined the Bavarian
army, where he was promoted to corporal, and he was awarded the Iron Cross first class (got it twice)
for being gassed. He was convalescing at the time of the peace treaty, and claimed he would never have
signed it. (28th June 1919).
Hitlers Early Political Career
At the end of the First World War he returned to Munich, where he joined the German Workers Party,
which became the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party) or Nazi party. He became its Fhrer
(leader), and used the swastika as its emblem. He befriended Ernst Rohm, the leader of the SA
(Sturmabteilung or Stormtroopers) which defended Hitler and attacked the Communists. He spoke at
meetings, often at Beer halls, where his active, and aggressive, policies appealed to all classes.
Munich Putsch (23rd November, 1923)
A putsch is an armed rising. The Munich putsch is compared to Mussolinis march on Rome, but whereas
Mussolini was successful, Hitler failed to gain power. On the 23rd November 1923, Hitler tried to take
over the Government of Bavaria. The attempted coup dtat failed, because of mistiming. Hitlers
rebels left the beer hall and collided with the police on their way to the state building. Shots were
fired, 16 Nazis were killed, and Hitler, and his aid Rudolf Hess, were arrested. The attempted coup
received widespread support, because the Weimar Government was unpopular in 1923 (hyperinflation
and the French occupation of the Ruhr valley, January 1923-25). Established figures supported Hitler,
e.g. General Ludendorf (gave support in camera) and Wilhelm Frick (the Munich chief of police was
actively involved. His men were supposed to be dealing with a false riot at the other end of the city, but
the diversion failed, and they ran into the Putsch.)
Landsberg and Imprisonment
He was tried and sentenced for Treason in April 1924, and used his trial to advertise Nazi ideas. He was
supposed to serve five years but was imprisoned for only nine months, in the comfort of Landsberg
Castle. This lenient sentence for so serious a crime shows that the judiciary was sympathetic to rightwing groups. While he was in prison he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which was partly
autobiographical, and partly about Nazi ideas. Hess acted as his amanuensis. His ideas included:

The Weimar Government was weak

The Treaty of Versailles was unfair
Germany should increase its population take lands in the east by the power of the
sword (This would involve rearming, taking the Polish Corridor by force, and a
likelihood of war.)

He said the Aryan (Teutonic people) race, which had blonde hair and blue eyes, was a
Herrenvolk (master race). He said inferior races (Jews, Slavs, Poles, Gypsies (Romanies),
Orientals (Kincaid), and Blacks) should be exterminated.

He was released after nine months, and he said that in future, he would come to power by democratic
means, rather than using violence.
Stresemann: Recovery & Collapse
When Hitler was released, he found Germany in the capable hands of Gustav Stresemann, who was
foreign secretary and chancellor, improved Germanys economy and international position, e.g.

1924-29:

He improved the economy by arranging the Dawes (1924) and Young (1929) plans, with
the USA, to ease the payment of reparations.

July 1925: He organised French withdrawal from the Ruhr

1925: The Locarno Pact improved relations between Germany and France.

1926: Joined the council of the League of Nations

As a result of the improvements in economic conditions, the Nazis had poor results in elections during
Germanys Golden Years under Stresemann. In the 1924 elections they obtained only 32 out of 490
Reichstag seats and in the 1928 elections this dropped to 13 seats!
The death of Stresemann (3rd October 1929) and the Wall Street Crash (29th October 1929) caused the
German economy to collapse and so Hitler realized his part would do better in the elections. Note: Poor
economic conditions = Extremist groups prosper.
Nazi Revival (1929-33)
Hitler claimed that he knew there would be a crisis, and that he had been waiting, and prepared, for
the Nazis to save Germany. He gained financial backing from some Junkers and from two Ruhr Steel
Magnates (Manufacturer and Investor): Krupp & Thyssen. The deal was money to Hitler in return for
orders later. He expanded the existing scout movement who the Hitler Youth which by 1924 had 7
million members. It extended to girls in 1928 with the BDM (League of German Maidens) He stressed
physical fitness, so they could fight in future, and he indoctrinated them with Nazi ideas so they would
vote for him in future. He was shaping young minds. Rallies were organised by Josef Goebbels, and he
and Hitler whipped their audience into a frenzy of support. As a result, Nazi seats in the Reichstag
increased. In September 1930 they won 107 of 490 seats and in July 1932 that number rose to 230.
Hitler did NOT have an overall majority, and so did not automatically become chancellor.
Hitler becomes Chancellor
President Paul Von Hindenburg used his power of decree in an emergency to appoint four chancellors
between 1932-33. In May 1932, Brning was dismissed, and replaced by Von Papen, who in turn was
replaced by General Schleicher. These three could not control the communists and the Nazis in the
Reichstag and so reluctantly in January 1933 Von Hindenburg appointed Hitler. Hindenburgs idea was
that Hitler would be his puppet and only two other Nazis were in the cabinet: Gring and Frick.
Hindenburg disliked Hitler for two reasons:
Hitler was only an Austrian Corporal (German snobbishness)
Hitler had stood against Hindenburg in the presidential election of 1932. Hitler gained 13 million
votes; Hindenburg gained 19 million votes. (Personal jealousy)

Hitlers appointment as chancellor is a vital step in the downfall of the Weimar government.
The Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship
It took Hitler only 18 months to change from Chancellor to Dictator of Germany:
January 1933 Hitler became chancellor
August 1934 Hitler became dictator
Burning of the Reichstag (27/2/33)
On the night of the 27th February 1933, the Reichstag was set ablaze (set fire to) by a Dutch communist
student, Van der Lubbe, who was found guilty of arson and treason, and beheaded. (This shows the Law
Courts were harsh towards left-wing groups). The German Communists had not caused the blaze and
they tried to blame the Nazis. Hitler used Van der Lubbes guilt as an excuse to discredit all
communists. (Many historians believe that the young student was not really responsible, that he was set
up all to convince the German people of the effectiveness and the urgency of the Nazi regime.)
The Enabling Act (23/3/33)
As a result of communist unpopularity, the Nazis increased their votes in the March 1933 election where
they gained 288, or 43%, so Hitler still had no Reichstag majority. He forced Hugenburgs 52 nationalists
to form a coalition. Hitler now passed the Enabling Act, which gave executive power (power to pass
laws) to the cabinet for four years, hereby Hitler made all the decisions (dictator).
Censorship
With the power of the Enabling Act, Hitler banned all other political parties, so Germany became
Totalitarian. TO further weaken the communists, he banned the Trade Unions in 1934, and workers had
to join the Nazi Labour Front, led by Dr. Robert Ley. There was no freedom of speech, and Hitler
imprisoned people without trial.
Rhm Purge (30/6/34 - Operation Humming bird/The Night of the Long Knives)
Hitler became increasingly suspicious of the intentions of Ernst Rhm, the leader of the three and a half
million working class, brownshirted, SA. Hitler was told by Goebbels, Gring and Himmler that Rohm
wanted to be a military dictator with Hitler as his puppet. The SA then disgraced themselves by not
saluting Hitler, at a mayday parade. Hitler plotted Rohms downfall. He gave them summer leave, and
its leaders were arrested. Hitler arrested Rohm himself at Bad Weisse in Bavaria. Rohms chauffeur was
shot and Rohm refused to commit suicide, so was shot in Berlin. Himmler gained the most, because his
SS (Schutz Staffel Protection squad) replaced the disbanded SA. At the same time, Hitlers other
enemies were rounded up and shot, including Ex-chancellor Schleicher. In the Reichstag next day
(1/7/34), Hitler said he had executed over 60 traitors, though the number was nearer 2,000. He said he
was supreme judge with a licence to kill.
Death of Von Hindenburg (2/8/34)
Hindenburgs death meant the cabinet could combine the roles of chancellor and president, so Hitler
became fuhrer of the Third Reich.

Did Hitler behave democratically?

Yes, because he had the power of the Enabling Act. (?)
No, because the Weimar constitution said the president should be elected. (?)

Life in Nazi Germany (1933-39)

1.

Hitlers Economic Policy

During the years 1933-39 Hitler was popular because he was able to improve Germanys economy. The
virtual abolition of reparations by the Allies in 1931 also helped. The unemployed people went down
from 5.5 million in 1932 to less than a million in 1938. The main reason for this was an increase in
government expenditure, in 1933 it was 4 billion, from 1938-30 it was 30 billion. Hitler found work for
people by beginning Public Work Schemes, e.g. the autobahns the splendid new roads of Germany.
Rearmament also helped to reduce unemployment via conscription and munitions factories. People were
conscripted into the army so were no longer unemployed, and people gained employment producing
weapons. Firms involved with the production of weapons were encouraged to expand. Krupp and
Thyssen produced steel parts, but later, weapons for Hitler too. The disadvantage of the expansion of
large firms was the smaller firms suffered. Hitler wanted to gain autarky, which means to make
Germany economically self-sufficient, which involved expanded German lands. The country produced
ersatz (substitute) material to replace imported goods. For example, plastics replaced rubber.
Germany needed to expand her lands to achieve self-sufficiency, so she had suitable lands for the
mining and production of products. Raw materials (e.g. coal and iron from Upper Silesia) needed
somewhere to be mined from, land was needed for farming and industry, and people needed to form a
workforce for the new areas. If Germany expanded beyond its 1919 national boundaries war would
follow.
2. Nazi Propaganda
Hitlers minister of Propaganda was Josef Goebbels. Hitlers ideas about race and nationalism were
taught in schools. Intellectual life in Germany was stifled (kept under) by the lack of free expression.
Universities were unable to play a significant role, as they were under constant fear of being
suppressed.
A young person who did not belong to the Hitler Youth Movement was unlikely to make progress in life,
and so nearly all young people were subjected to Nazi propaganda constantly. It did produce physically
fit youths, which Hitler could conscript for war. Indoctrinating Nazi ideas to young people made them
support Hitler, and they would vote for him when they were older (not necessary after he became a
dictator). They would fight for him in war, and follow him to the bitter end.
3. The Churches of Nazism
There were two major branches in Germany: the German Lutheran Church (Protestants) and the Roman
Catholic Church. The Protestant Churches either joined the Nazi controlled German Christians or found
their leaders persecuted and imprisoned. For example, Pastor Niemoller was opposed to Hitler and was
sent to a concentration camp. The Catholic Church signed a concordat with the Nazi regime in July
1933, by which the liberty of the Church was guaranteed. Hitler did not adhere to this agreement, so
Pope Pius XI issued the Encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (With burning sorrow) in which he accused

the Nazi regime of breaking the Concordat and in which he forecast the dangers emanating from
Germany (March 1937)
4. The Persecution of the Jews
In the early years of Hitlers rule the Jews were persecuted. In 1935 the Nuremberg laws were passed,
which deprived Germanys 600,000 Jews of citizenship. For example the Jews were not allowed to vote,
receive medical, or rely on police protection, and subjected them to various indignities, such as
traveling in separate parts of buses and trains, and the need to display a distinctive badge or sign to
shown that they were Jews. In November 1938, a young Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris. The
Nazis used this as an excuse to launch a violent revenge on Jews. Plain-clothes SS troopers were issued
with pickaxes and hammers and the addresses of Jewish businesses. They ran riot, smashing up Jewish
shops and workplaces. 91 Jews were murdered. Hundreds of synagogues were burned. 20,000 Jews were
taken to concentration camps. Thousands more left the country. This event became known as
Kristallnacht or The Night of the Broken Glass. Many Germans watched the events of Kristallnacht with
alarm and concern. The Nazi controlled press presented Kristallnacht as the spontaneous reaction of
ordinary Germans against the Jews. Most Germans did not believe this. However, hardly anyone
protested. The few who did were brutally murdered. Two major groups persecuted the Jews, the press
and the Gestapo (Geheime Staats Polizei) and SS (Schutz Staffel or protection squad). It protected
Hitler from all political enemies such as the communists. Himmler was head of the Gestapo and SS, his
deputy was Heydrich.
Concentration Camps
The SS ran the Nazi concentration camps. There were two types of Nazi concentration camps:
Labour camps: originally set up by Gring to house political prisoners
Extermination camps: to eliminate inferior races in a policy of mass murder
(genocide) known as the final solution or holocaust
Labour Camps
For political prisoners mainly, e.g. Communists. Dachau was the first camp to be
opened by Goring in March 1933, for 5,000 men. By 1937 it held 27,000 prisoners.
The SS under Himmler ran the camps.
Extermination Camps
For inferior races in the Final Solution after 1941. Not only Jews were sent. The
Gypsies, Slavs, Poles and Russians were also victims. Jews were transported in cattle trucks
expecting to go to re-settlement camps in remote, rural areas, near railway lines. Those who
survived the journey were divided into two groups.
The Fit (Those individuals who are physically and psychologically equipped
to survive). Young adults and selected essential workers would pass through a
gate marked Arbeit Macht Frei (Work makes you free). Most were used as slave
labourers and were flogged if they refused or could not work. In some camps
they were used for medical experiments (e.g. at Auschwitz, Dr. Mengele
experimented on twins). Workers were housed in cold, stark, insanitary
barracks. All belongings were confiscated, hair removed and skin tattooed with
a number. Confiscations were recycled. They were given a small bowl for the
dual purpose of food vessel and a toilet. They worked all daylight hours, in all
weather conditions. Diseases were rife or very common (e.g./ pneumonia and
malnutrition). Once unfit to work they were exterminated with the unfit.

The Unfit
The young, aged and lame, were taken to gas chambers expecting to be
deloused in a shower. Fellow Jews (kappos) were made to work these
chambers. Earlier attempts to gas with exhaust fumes in lorries were
inefficient. SS guards would pass canisters of Xyclon B (prussic acid) through a
gap in the chamber wall and as it was pierced, the gas entered the shower
room through water roses. Opened doors revealed a pyramid of tangled
corpses. Bodies were cremated. Earlier mass graces had been used, but in
time corpses suppurated and the graves erupted. Approximately six million
Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust.

Effects of the Second World War on Germany (1939-45)

1. Economic
Germany had been rearming since 1934, but with the outbreak of war conscription and output from
munitions (arms) factories increased. Agriculture was also part of the war economy: prime produce
was sent as victuals (supplies) to troops. With the increase in conscripted men, women and aged men
farmed and worked in factories, taught and ran hospitals. As Germany began to lose the war, the Hitler
Youth were employed, and by 1945, children were even conscripted to defend Berlin. They also acted as
night watchmen during air raids.
2. Propaganda
Goebbels made the most of Nazi military successes before c.1942, and Hitler refused to accept defeat,
even in Russia, so the news of defeat at Stalingrad (January 1943) shocked ordinary Germans.
Propaganda had led them to believe they were still winning.
3. Allied Bombing of Germany
Though Bomber Command had bombed Germany from 1942, the raids increased after June 1944, when
the second front was opened. Berlin, Hamburg and Dresden were key targets of the RAF. Note the
following statistics:

In July and August 1943, 40,000 civilians were killed in Hamburg.

In February 1945, Dresden, an architectural masterpiece, was razed to the ground.
1939-45 British civilians killed in the blitz = 65,000. 1939-45 German civilians killed by
aerial bombardment = 600,000.
Bombing raids weakened and strengthened the morale of Germans. Proud Nazis were
certainly shocked at the devastation. The German economy was also damaged. Usually
Bomber Command aimed to destroy dams, railways and factories. It seems the target in
Dresden was people.

4. Resistance
As the German people became more aware of defeat (gradually after 1943), more Germans resisted
Hitler, though the effect of propaganda made most people either too afraid to resist, or unable to
accept defeat. Jews were largely passive and did not resist the Nazis, but anti-Semitism,
totalitarianism and brutality from a government led by a common Austrian, caused real resentment

among some intellectuals and Junkers. For example, Count Von Molkte led a network of Germans who
helped resistance movements in Europe, and helped rescue some Jews. Attempts were made by younger
offices to assassinate Hitler, but these all failed.
For example in November 1943 at Berlin, Hitler avoided a bomb plot by cancelling his visit to a factory
making new great coats for the Russian Front. The best-known and nearly successful plot was:

The Stauffenburg Plot (July 1944)

Count Colonel Klause Von Stauffenburg plotted with other high-ranking officers
against Hitler, at Hitlers Bavarian Headquarters. (The Wolfs Lair). Hitler was
meeting the chiefs of staff in a bunker. Stauffenburg arrived with a briefcase,
with a bomb in it. He puts it under the table, then as planned, goes to receive a
phone call. The suitcase is kicked under the table accidentally, before it goes
off, so the bomb went off at the wrong end of the table. Stauffenburg says it is
a success, but Hitler was not killed, only injured. One naval officer was killed.
Stauffenburg and two others were shot, others were rounded up and faced trial,
but were guilty to start with, the trial was meaningless. The convicted were
taken to a place with meat hooks in the ceiling, and hung them with piano wire.
Hitler made a movie of this to discourage others.

5. Germanys Final Collapse

As USSR approached Germany from the east, GB/USA and Canadian forces came from the west using
large amounts of artillery and tanks, with air cover. Hitler still believed (15th July 1944) that he could
win the war, so ordered a counter-attack in the Ardennes, which failed. In this desperate plight the C in
C gave the following order on 9th March 1945. The capital will be defended to the last man and the
last bullet for the successful defence of Berlin every building, every house, every floor, every hedge,
every shell, every crater, be defended to the utmost. By 19th March 1945, even Hitler accepted
defeat, and he ordered that nay weapons that could be used by the enemy must be destroyed. His
forces in Berlin amounted to conscripted veterans and teenagers. Hitler and his wife committed suicide
in the Fhrerbunker (30/4/45). Admiral Doenitz was named Fhrer.
Hitlers Henchmen i.e. The Close Inner Circle (People he trusted)
Rudolf Hess. Deputy Fhrer until 1941, crashed his plane in Scotland on a peace mission. He suffered
from amnesia. He was tried at Nuremberg, sentenced to life imprisonment at Spandau Prison, Berlin. He
died in 1987 in hospital. We do not know whether is was heart failure or strangulation? Was it even
Hess?
Josef Goebbels. Propaganda chief from 1929-1945. He committed suicide in 1945 in the fhrerbunker.
His wife committed suicide after poisoning her six children.
Hermann Gring. Head of the Luftwaffe. He was sentenced to execution, but committed suicide by
poisoning himself.
Heinrich Himmler. Leader of SS and Gestapo. He committed suicide in 1945, by poisoning.
Ernst Rohm. Leader of the SA. He died 30th June 1934, in the Rohm Purge. He was shot by the SS.
Hitler arrested him, shot his chauffeur, then shot him.
Joachim Von Ribbentrop. Nazi foreign minister. He was hanged in 1946.

Martin Borman. Party chairman after 1941. He disappeared. He may have gone to South America, or
have been killed in bomb raids.
Reinhardt Heydrich. Himmlers deputy and in charge of Bohemia. He was assassinated in Prague in
1942 (27th May, died on 29th)
Eva Braun. Mistress and wife of Hitler. Committed suicide in the bunker.
The Effects of Nazi Rule on Germany
Young peoples reaction to the Nazi regime
Young people were among the most fanatical supporters of the Nazi regime and the Nazis had great
success in controlling them. The Nazis wanted to control young people because:

They would be the future fighters for Hitler in his war effort
They would be loyal to Hitler in any uprisings

The Nazis used a range of methods to control young people:

Indoctrination of Nazi ideas

Violence
Hitler Youth Movement

However many young people in Germany were enthusiastic about life under the Nazi regime, especially
as they enjoyed leisure opportunities. Not all young people supported the regime, however. Groups
that opposed the Nazis were:

The Swing movement

The Edelweiss Pirates

These groups opposed the Nazis because they resisted the Nazi control of their lives. Due to their
opposition, the Nazis acted against them by hanging the ring leaders and breaking up meetings .
Did the German People Benefit from Hitlers Rule?
It has been argued that if Hitler had died in 1938/9, he would have been hailed as the greatest German
leader of all time. Certainly after 1939, with the Second World War and the ruination of Germany, Hitler
cannot receive the same praise.
Government. Unlike the Weimar government, Hitlers government was strong it passed laws quickly.
Germany did not benefit from democracy. Hitler was a dictator and Germany was totalitarian (Enabling
Act: 23/3/33). Censorship prevented freedom of speech because they believed that propaganda gave
people a biased view.

As the press published the positive side of Germany, the morale of the people was boosted.
But censorship and propaganda meant people had a distorted view of events. This was bad in the long
run as the people were not informed about alternatives or the true state of events.

The judiciary system and the law courts were known to be biased against the left wing, and in favour of
the right wing e.g. Hitlers trial (1923). The bias got worse (1933-45), e.g. The Burning of the
Reichstag (1933) and the Stauffenburg Plot (July 1944).

With regards to the economy Hitlers government reduced inflation and unemployment, e.g. the
building of the Autobahns. He tried to make Germany self-sufficient. Foreign trade improved, e.g.
Volkswagen. But women deprived of jobs, which were given to men. Minorities lost their jobs, e.g. the
Jews (Nuremberg Laws, 1936). The economic growth was wrecked by the burden of the war effort.
Hitler used the Armed Forces for much more than just building an army! The Junkers benefited from
rearmament. Unemployment was reduced by conscription and the construction and working of
munitions factories.
The Catholic Church and its followers were supposed to be protected by the Concordat with the Pope
(1933), but in 1933 the Concordat was broken. Protestant ministers were also persecuted, e.g. pastor
Niemoller who was sent to Auschwitz. Prejudice and intolerance were encouraged by propaganda, e.g.
against , Gypsies, Slavs, Poles and Blacks. From the onset of Hitlers government until its downfall in
May 1945, the minority groups in Germany were persecuted, e.g. the Jews were exterminated after
1941 (The Holocaust).
The youth benefited from the Hitler Youth Movement as they were encouraged to be healthy and fit.
Narrow-minded youth resulted through propaganda and education. Women, like men, benefited from
the effects of economic reform as they enjoyed more wealth in general. Women depended on the
incomes of men for their wealth. Women lost jobs (1933-41) then regained them as men were
conscripted. Women were also subject to sexist policies, e.g. medals for breeding gold cross for 8
children.
Causes of the Second World War (Hitlers Foreign Policy)
a. Hitlers Aims

To unite German speaking people (using NSD which had been denied at the Treaty of Versailles.
He wanted lebensraum (living space) in order to gain autarky (self-sufficiency)
He wanted to dominate Europe and the World

To achieve any of these aims would involve breaking the Treaty of Versailles, and this could lead to war.
b. The aggression of Hitlers Allies

Italy: Mussolini wanted a Fascist-Roman empire in the Mediterranean and Africa (e.g. Abyssinian
invasion in 1935.)
Japan: Japan wanted a Nipponese empire in the Pacific, extending into China and Australia
(e.g. Manchurian invasion in 1931)
Germany, Italy and Japan were hostile to Communism (USSR), and this way a cause of war and
vice versa. (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Pact Axis Forces)

c. Democratic powers were passive

USA: Isolated
France: France was unlikely, and reluctant, to intervene against Germany, because she could
not rely on Britains and Americas support.
Britain: Between 1934 and 1937, Britain was sympathetic to German recovery. Between May
1937 and March 1939, Britain appeased Germany.

These powers could have stopped Fascist aggression earlier than 1939.

d. The League of Nations failed to keep peace

See previous notes.
e. Conclusion
War was caused by a combination of a to d, but Hitlers aims and actions were the main cause of
war.
Reasons for Causes of War

The Second World War was caused by Fascist aggression and the failure of democratic powers to
stop this aggression.
The rearmament of Germany was a cause for war because it broke the Treaty of Versailles (28th
June, 1919)
The remilitarization of the Rhineland (7th march, 1936) was a cause of war because it broke the
Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pacts (1925)
The Rome-Berlin Axis (October 1936) was a cause of war because it united the aggressive fascist
powers and divided Europe into hostile camps.
Chamberlains appeasement policy (after may 1937 March 1939) was a cause of war because it
broke the Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of St. Germain (10th September, 1919)
The Anschluss of Germany with Austria (13th march, 1938) was a cause of war because it broke
the Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of St. Germain (10th September, 1919)
The Nazi annexation of the Sudetenland after the Munich conference (29th September 1938) was
a cause of war, because it broke the Treaty of St. Germain.
The Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, cause war because it defied the Munich
agreement and ended Britains appeasement policy.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact (29th August 1939) caused war because it sealed Polands downfall.
The Nazi invasion of Poland (1st September 1939) caused war because Britain had guaranteed
Polands borders.

Causes of the Second World War (Detail)

Nine Steps to War
1. The Rearmament of Germany
German rearmament began after Hitler left 1932-4 Geneva Disarmament Conference, stating that as the
powers would not disarm to his level, he would rearm Germany to their level. By 1935 rearmament was
well underway. This involved conscription and munitions factories.
Rearmament alarmed the French who, feeling insecure, reinforced the Maginot line (built between 1929
and 1934). This was a line of steel and concrete fortifications stretching from Belgium to Switzerland
and was called a gate without a fence because Germany would be able to avoid it and invade France
via Belgium. France remained passive without Britains support.

Britain was sympathetic towards Germany and even signed an Anglo German Naval Treaty (June 1935)
allowing Germanys navy to be 35% of the size of the Royal Navy. Hitler used his new found arms to
support Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-9) Hitler sent the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) to bomb
Spanish Royal Forces at Guernica on 26th April, 1937. Guernica was leveled to the ground and Franco
went on to conquer the Basque areas of Spain. Hitler had used Spain as a practice ground to see how
strong his Air Force was.
2. The Remilitarization of the Rhineland (1936)
Having broken the Treaty of Versailles once, Hitler risked doing it a second time by marching 30,000
troops into Cologne on 7th March 1936. France, with 250,000 troops mobilized, remained passive
because Britain would not support her. Britain took the view that Germany was marching into her own
back yard. To show that his remilitarization was popular, Hitler held a plebiscite, which showed that
98.8% were in favour. He went on to build his own defensive fortification, the Siegfried Line.
3. The Rome Berlin Axis (October 1936)
Originally Mussolini did not want to be Hitlers ally and in 1935 talks were held with Britain and France
at the Stresa Front, but these came to nothing when Britain threatened oil sanctions against Mussolini
during the Abyssinian crisis. This caused the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. Mussolini and Hitler
strengthened their alliance on two occasions:
a. The Anti-Commintern Pact (November 1937) with Japan.
b. The Pact of Steel (May 1939).
4. Britains policy of Appeasement (May/June 1937 March 1939)
(Appeasement in 1938-9 was to maintain peace at all costs, even when it meant giving Hitler what he
wanted, knowing that they were sacrificing the independence of smaller nations.) Neville Chamberlain
became British Prime Minister on 28th May 1937, and followed the policy of appeasing Germany,
believing that all Hitler wanted to do was unite German-speaking people. In so doing, Hitler would break
the Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919) but Chamberlain did not believe Hitler would cause war.
Churchill disagreed, citing Mein Kampf (1924) where Hitler had written that Germany must regain lands
in the East by the power of the sword. Chamberlain had misinterpreted Hitlers aims. (We know this
because we have the obvious benefit of hindsight, i.e. we can look back on history and see what had
happened.)
5. The Anschluss with Austria (13th March, 1938)
Austrian Fascists wanted to unite with Germany but Schuschnigg, the Austrian Chancellor, wanted
Austria to be independent. He was unable to gain support from abroad (France and the Little Entente)
so agreed to meet Hitler in Berlin. He was persuaded to accept an Austrian Nazi supporter as Minster of
the Interior. Rioting/violent protests in Vienna increased under the Nazis leadership and Schuschnigg
resigned. Hitler was then invited to establish control in Austria and on 13th March, 1938 troops from
the Wermacht (German Army) entered Austria. In a plebiscite on the Anschluss a vote of 99.75% in
favour was recorded. This was rigged by biased questioning. Hitler made it seem that he had been
invited into Austria, in fact he had incited the union.

6. Hitler Gained the Sudetenland (29th September, 1938)

The Sudetenland was lost by Austria in the Treaty of St. Germain (10th September 1919) and hereby
Czechoslovakia gained 3 million German speaking people. After the Anschluss the Sudeten German
leader, Konrad Henlein, demanded a union with Germany. Unable to receive help from France, the
Czech Premier, Benes, mobilized alone. Fearing war, Chamberlain met Hitler on three occasions at
Berchtesgaden, Godesburg and at Munich.

Munich Agreement (29th September, 1938)

This was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier. Benes was not
present. It said:
Hitler could take the Sudetenland the following day without a plebiscite
Hungary and Poland could take border districts from Czechoslovakia
Britain and Germany would never go to war.

Chamberlains Reaction

On his return to England, Chamberlain announced that he had gained peace

with honour, peace in our time. The majority rejoiced, except Churchill.

Hitlers Reaction

In public Hitler seemed satisfied, but in private he exploded saying that fellow
Chamberlain has spoiled my entry into Prague.

7. The Fall of Czechoslovakia (March 1939)

In March 1939, Hitler forced Lithuania to give him Memel where most people spoke German. So far
Hitler had only taken German speaking territory, so Chamberlain could still appease Hitler. However, in
March 1939, Hitler threatened to bomb Prague, so the Czechs surrendered. Chamberlain realized
appeasement had failed, so he began to rearm Britain and guarantee peace in Poland.
8. Nazi-Soviet Pact (29th August, 1939) The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
By the summer of 1939, Hitlers plans to invade Poland were complete. He realized that to invade
Poland mighty cause Britain to attack him from the West but he was more concerned to avoid a Russian
attack from the east. Therefore to avoid a war on two fronts, he arranged the Nazi-Soviet NonAggression Pact, which said that if either country went to war the other would remain neutral. Hitler
gained the chance to invade Poland with a war on one front, if Britain supported Poland. Stalin of USSR
gained time to rearm in case Hitler attacked him later, and the chance to gain the eastern half of
Poland. This would provide the USSR with a protective buffer zone.
9. German Invasion of Poland (1st September, 1939)
German tanks invaded Poland on the 1st September 1939 using blitzkrieg tactics. (This is a lightning,
sudden attack co-ordinating air, then land forces). Chamberlain sent an ultimatum (a warning with a
threat) saying that if Hitler did not withdraw from Poland, Britain would declare war. On 3rd
September, Britain, followed by France, declared war on Germany.

Causes of the Second World War - Vocabulary

Lebensraum: living space, e.g. Hitlers aim to take land from bordering states to achieve selfsufficiency (autarky)
Anschluss: union, e.g. Austria and Germany (March, 1938)
Appeasement: to give into an aggressor little by little, in the hope of preventing war. E.g. Britain
appeased Germany (May/June 1937 March 1939)
Blitzkrieg: lightning attack, co-ordinating air and land forces. E.g. Germanys attack on Poland (1st
September 1939)
Remilitarization: rearming and area, e.g. Germany remilitarized the Rhineland (1936)
Plebiscite (referendum): a vote on an issue, e.g. Hitlers plebiscites on remilitarization and the
Anschluss of Austria and Germany (Hitler fixed his referendums in 1936 and for the Anschluss in 1938, so
no-one expected him to have a plebiscite for the Sudetenland. He fixed them by biased questioning.)
Ultimatum: a warning with a threat, e.g. Britains ultimatum for Hitler to leave Poland by 11am on the
3rd September 1939.
Buffer zone: a protective barrier of land, e.g. Eastern Poland taken by the USSR as protection against a
future German attack.
Rearmament: manufacturing of weapons and conscription, e.g. Germany (after 1934), Britain after the
taking of Sudetenland
Autarky: self-sufficiency economically, e.g. Germany under Hitler to enable the country to avoid
imports
Aggression: hostile or violent action, e.g. Germany was aggressive towards Czechoslovakia (March,
1939) and Poland (1st September, 1939)
Diktat: none-negotiated decision/arrangement, e.g. The Munich Agreement, forced onto Czechoslovakia
(1938)
Passive: to not take part in the action, e.g. Britain and France were passive towards the German
remilitarization of the Rhineland (March 1936)
Incite: devious planning, e.g. Hitler incited the Anschluss (March, 1938)

Causes of the Second World War (Summary) (Long-and-short term, immediate causes)
Long term
a. The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles (28th June, 1919) on Germany:
Land losses / Reparations / War Guilt
b. The failure of the League of the Nations to:
Keep peace / Bring about disarmament
Short term
a. Hitlers aggression:
His aims / His actions (see steps to war: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9)
b. The aggression of the other powers:
Italy Abyssinia (1935), Rome-Berlin Axis, Anti-Commintern Pact, Albania
Japan Manchuria (1931), Anti-Commintern Pact (November, 1937)
Russia Nazi-Soviet Pact, Invasion of Poland
c. The democracies were too passive
USA isolation
France would not do anything without Britains support
Britain sympathetic towards Germany, e.g. Anglo-German Naval Treaty (1935) and later appeased her
(May/June 1937 March 1939)
Immediate
a.

German invasion of Poland (1st September, 1939)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Causes of the Cold War

The Peace Treaties at the End of World War Two
Some peace treaties were signed after the war had ended, but many of the real decisions had already
been made at two meetings in 1945 at Yalta and Potsdam (NB. Before the war was over!). During these
talks and at the Paris Peace Conference (1946) a struggle developed between the Western powers and
Russia to see who could gain certain European objectives before the other.
1. Yalta
a.
b.
c.

d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

j.
k.

l.
m.

In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta, in the Crimea in Russia.
It was agreed that Germany should be disarmed, demilitarised and divided into zones, to be
occupied by Britain, USA and Russia (a French zone was included later).
Berlin was to be divided into zones as well and shared out amongst the above countries.
(Berlin would be in the Russian zone). A joint Control Commission was set up to govern
Berlin.
Similar arrangements were made for Austria and Vienna.
Germany was to pay reparations to the greatest possible extent of which half would go to
the Soviet Union.
Arrangements were made to try war criminals.
Countries occupied by Germany (including her allies) were to be free to elect their own
governments.
It was agreed that Russia should get eastern Polish territory.
Poland was promised German land to her west to compensate her, but Roosevelt and
Churchill refused to agree to Stalins demand that Poland should get all German territory
east of the rivers Oder and Neisse.
Poland was to gain Danzig.
As the Russians pushed the Germans out of Poland they backed the establishment of a
communist government in Lublin (Lublin Poles), even though there was a Polish
government-in-exile in London (London Poles). However, Stalin promised that London
Poles would be included in the Lublin government and that there would be free elections.
It was secretly agreed that Russia would enter the war against Japan.
A charter for the United Nations should be composed at a meeting in San Francisco.

2. Potsdam
a.
b.
c.

d.
e.
f.

In July 1945 Truman (USA), Attlee (Britain) and Stalin (USSR) met in a suburb of Berlin,
Potsdam.
The war with Germany was over but no agreement was reached about her long-term future
beyond what had been decided at Yalta. (see Yalta points B+C)
The British and Americans were annoyed because Germany west of the Oder-Neisse Line had
been occupied by Russian troops and was being run by the pro-Communist Polish
government.
The reparations question was raised again and each country was permitted to extract
reparations from its zone. Only the USSR took reparations.
It was agreed that German minorities were to be deported to Germany.
Truman did not inform Stalin about the nature of the atomic bomb, though the British were
told about it during the conference. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima two days
after the conference had ended.

g.

The war was ended without the need for Russian aid, and so did not take part in the
occupation of Japan.
3. The Paris Peace Conference, 1946 (INFORMATION)
a.
b.

c.

21 countries were represented, though the defeated countries were allowed little to say.
The talks were dominated by the Foreign Secretaries from the USA, Britain and the USSR,
represented by Molotov. There were many instances of friction between the West and the
USSR, especially as Molotovs actions were unpredictable.
In February 1947, peace treaties were signed with Italy, Finland, Hungary, Rumania and
Bulgaria. No treaty was signed with Germany.

4. The German and Austrian Peace Treaties (INFORMATION)

a.

b.

c.

d.
e.

Austria and Vienna were divided into four zones, but unlike Germany she was allowed her
own government, because she was seen not as a defeated country but as a state liberate
from the Nazis.
The Austrian government had limited powers and had a problem similar to that of Germany,
the three western powers built up their zones and the USSR insisted on squeezing
reparations from its zone, mainly in the form of food supplies.
It seemed that the USSR was reluctant to make a permanent settlement but the Russians
became unexpectedly co-operative. In May 1955, a peace treaty was signed, possibly
because the Russians feared a merger between the western zones of Germany and Austria.
Austria was to be a neutral country and was forbidden to unite with Germany.
A peace treaty was never achieved with Germany because of the continued division of that
country.

Meaning of Cold War

At the end of the Second World War, relations between the USA and the USSR deteriorated, especially
at Potsdam (July 1945) and Paris (1946). These two powers were rivals and the tension is called the Cold
War. In Europe there was a little bloodshed but outside Europe there was more traditional warfare.
(Korea, Cuba, Vietnam) Therefore, we say that the Cold War is a conflict of political ideologies, using
propaganda, the threat of weapons and build-up of arsenals, but never actual fighting.
Origins of the Cold War
1. The Cold War began as a result of suspicions that the democratic west had about the USSR and vice
versa. After 1945 the USSR feared a Western invasion of her new satellites and the west feared the
spread of Marxism.
2. Relations between the major powers got worse at the end of the Second World War. This occurred
especially at Yalta (February 1945), Potsdam (July 1945) and Paris (1946). At Paris, Molotov refused
to accept the wests ideas about not taking reparations and about wanting free elections in Eastern
Europe.
3. Germany was divided into four occupation zones:

Britain (Got the ruins!)

France (Got the wine!)

USA (Got scenery! - Bavaria)

USSR (Gained the lions share and surrounded Berlin!)

4. In 1946, Churchill at Foulton, Missouri said:

An iron curtain is descending on Europe extending from Stettin in the north to Trieste in the
south.
He nearly got it right. The metaphorical line that separates the communist east from the democratic
west should not end at Trieste, because although Yugoslavia was communist it was independent of the
USSR (under Tito). The satellites states were: Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania, Poland, Albania,
Czechoslovakia and Eastern Germany.
5. Economic Origins. Official America anti-Soviet policy began with the Truman Doctrine (March 1947)
where American aid was offered to European countries which bordered onto Communist countries. This
was extended by the Marshall Plan (June 1947) which offered aid outside Europe. This was designed to
stop the spread of Communism called CONTAINMENT. This was officially the end of US isolation from
1917 1941.
The USSR set up Cominform in September 1947, which Stalin said was a news agency, but really it was a
means of Russifying the economic policies of the eastern bloc countries.
In June 1948, the three western powers united their zones with a new deutschmark. This financial union
was the forerunner of a political union (3 zones = West Germany). Stalin was upset about this because
he believed that this was the Wests attempt to make Germany strong again and that in the future this
could be dangerous for the USSR.
6. The Arms Race. The USSR was annoyed not to know about Americas atom bomb (1945). The USSR
gained the atom bomb in 1949 and both sides began to stockpile arms.
The Cold War Inside Europe
The major powers often responded to each other in a tit for tat (If you can do it, then I am also going
to do it!) fashion being mutually suspicious, defensive and aggressive.
1. Division of Germany (See map in your textbook)

This was mentioned at Yalta (February 1945) and at Potsdam (July 1945). It was decided to
divide Germany into four occupation zones:

Britain / France / USA / USSR

Berlin lies 110 miles within the Russian zone and it too was divided into four. The powers jointly
controlled the city and administered their occupation zones from Berlin.
Britain, France and the USA ran their zones on similar lines so that Germany could recover. The
USSR however took away equipment (e.g. they dismantled factories and other buildings for their
building material) as reparations in kind. Stalins aim was to reduce his zone so that the people
there would eventually accept communism as a better alternative.
In 1946 and 1947 discussions were held about German unity, but Molotov refused. With this
disagreement official American anti-Soviet Policy began.

2. Containment
a. The Truman Doctrine (March 1947)
Truman outlined aid to be offered to countries in Europe that bordered onto communist
countries (i.e. Stalins satellites could also apply for aid.) Greece and Turkey received aid and
did not become communist.

b. Marshall Plan (June 1947)

Marshall extended aid to any country in the world. In all, 16 nations received US
money by 1951.
3. The USSRs Responses

Stalin refused to let his satellites receive any aid.

Stalin set up Cominform and Comecon to control the policies and economies in the eastern bloc.
To strengthen the USSRs hold in Eastern Europe, the only none-Communist country,
Czechoslovakia, was taken over in February 1948.

4. The Wests Reaction (June 1948)

Britain, America and France introduced a new deutschmark to bring financial unity to their three zones.
The USSR was offended. This led to the Berlin blockade (June 1948).
5. Berlin blockade and airlift (June 1948 May 1949)
The Russians struck at what they thought was the wests weakest point and Berlin was vulnerable,
because it was surrounded on all sides by communists. On the 22nd June 1948 (in the night) the USSR
closed and then blocked all road, rail and canal transport into Berlin, and they withdrew from their joint
control of the city. In time the West realized that the USSR did not want direct warfare but wanted to
oust the West from Berlin by siege tactics. So, in spite of their desire to solve this problem militarily,
they decided to use different strategies.

The Berlin Airlift or Operation Victuals (Victuals means supplies)

The West sent supplies by air, i.e. 2/3 US aircraft, 1/3 RAF aircraft. Goods
were landed every 30 seconds and the record for one day was 1,400 landings.
They delivered food, clothing, medicines, drink and fuel, e.g. coal 5,000
tonnes were delivered per day (total 2.3 million tonnes). The 2 million West
Berliners accepted rationing and to increase their chances of survival they built
a new airfield and extended two others. The airlift was very expensive the
amount of money spent is most likely exaggerated by Western propaganda.
The siege ended in May 1949; one month after NATO had been set up. The
West claimed a victory, but they knew that the USSR could strike the same
blow on Berlin at any time in the future.

6. The Results of the Berlin blockade and Airlift

There were political, military and economic results for east and west.

a. Political Germany is divided into two:

The West united its three zones as the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD).
The Soviets responded by naming their zone the German Democratic Republic
(DDR). The communists used democratic as propaganda.
b. Military (April 1949) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation:
This was set up to bring military unity to the west. It gave the USA the right to
base its troops in Western Europe. Its membership included Britain, USA, France, the
BENELUX countries, Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Portugal , Greece, Turkey
and in 1955 West Germany also joined. NATOs headquarters was known as S.H.A.P.E.
(Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe) and it was based in Paris. The
Commander in Charge (C in C) would always be an American . NATO was instantly
successful because the Berlin blockade was ended one month later. In the long term it
was successful, because it achieved containment in Europe (stopped the spread of
Communism in Europe).
c. Economic (January 1949)
By forming Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) the USSR
centralized the economic polices of the satellites, e.g. their trade with the
USSR.
d. Military (1955) Warsaw Pact
This was a belated response of the USSR to NATO. It gave the USSR the right
to base its troops in the satellite countries. The Pact was set up just after West
Germany joined NATO.
e. Military The Arms Race
There was a steady build-up of arms: In 1945 the USA already had and used the atom bomb. They
thought that it would take the Soviets at least another 20 years to develop their own atom bomb.
However, they were wrong as the USSR had developed its own in 1949. In 1954 the Americans had the
Hydrogen bomb and 7 years later in 1961 the Soviet followed suit. Other weapons were built and
included in the arms race, this increasing the tension between the superpowers - Early Warning Systems,
Interception missiles, Star wars (Satellite communication system). It is important to notice that all of
these are nuclear weapons. In addition there was a steady build-up in the size of armies, constant
improvement in arms technology and a permanent effort to look for new allies.
7. Khrushchevs (Krushchev) Foreign Policy and its effect on the Cold War
Stalin died in 1953, and Krushchev became sole ruler in 1956. From 1956, Krushchev followed the policy
of de-Stalinization, in domestic policy. In foreign policy he did two things.
a. Co-existence with the West (The thaw in the Cold War)
This meant that he wanted to agree to differ with the west. To show goodwill
to the west he agreed to grant Austrian unity. This was in the 1955 Austrian
State Treaty. Austria claimed neutrality in Europe.
b. He offered more freedom to the Satellites
They took advantage of this, as can be seen in the Hungarian Crisis (1956)

8. The Hungarian Rising (1956)

Long term causes:

No traditional ties between Hungary and the USSR.

Hungarians disliked the Soviet occupation at the end of the Second World War.

Even some Hungarian communists were against the pro-Stalinist regime in Hungary.

The Hungarian Cardinal was arrested/imprisoned in 1949 and Catholics resented this.

Hungarians resented Soviet control via Comecon (January 1949) and the Warsaw Pact
(1955)

Short term causes:

Hungarians expected more freedom under Krushchev.

The Hungarian Rising After Stalins death in 1953 the Moscow-controlled leader was
replaced in October 1956 by Nagy. He came to office with liberal reforms and
encouraged no totalitarianism, less trade with Comecon, free trade with the West, a
free press. The USSR was alarmed at the initial signs of independence and Soviet
tanks entered Budapest. Nagy offered talks, but he made the mistake of saying Hungary
was like Austria, and that it should leave the Warsaw Pact. This was seen as a final
confirmation that Hungary wanted to break free. Tanks attacked the city on 4th
November 1956. University students took to the streets and demonstrated and toppled
the bronze statue of Stalin. Nagy said this was a symbolic act, the rising was anti-Stalin,
rather than anti-USSR.

NB. The West did nothing to help Hungary.

Results:

About 20,000 people were killed and 20,000 more imprisoned. According to Hungarian
sources more than 200 thousand Hungarians went into internal exile.

Soviet control was restored, and Nagy was arrested and tried in Romania, then shot. He
was replaced by Kadar.

Krushchevs policy with the satellites was failing.

9. The Berlin Wall (not the Berlin Blockade!)

Krushchev tried to get the West to recognise the DDR (East Germany). He met the USA on two occasions:
a. Paris, 1960 (Meeting with Pres. Dwight Eisenhower)

The talks were wrecked by the U2 scandal

(U2=spy plane with photographic equipment, which flies above the radar trap) Gary
Powers plane landed in the USSR, May 1960).
In Paris Krushchev asked Eisenhower for an apology.
Eisenhower refused. (And this meant that the tension between the superpowers was
increased.)

b. Vienna, 1961 (Meeting with Pres. J.F. Kennedy)

Krushchev wanted JFK to recognise the DDR and to arrange for the West to withdraw
from Berlin.
Kennedy refused and later, on the 25th July, he made a speech about West Berlin:
Berlinis more than a showcase of liberty. It is even more than a link
with the free world, a beacon of hope behind the iron curtain, and
escape hatch for refugees.

Krushchev retaliated on the 13th August, 1961, by building a 40km barbed wire fence
across Berlin.
Telephone and postal links ceased between East and West Berlin.
The fence became a wall with a crossing called Checkpoint Charlie.
The Berlin Wall was built for two reasons:

USA would not recognise the DDR.

To stop the flow of refugees from Eastern Europe into the West via Berlin.
Between 1948 and 1960 the exodus amounted to 20,000 people a month
(Estimated total 2.88 million. This is very likely Western propaganda). It wasnt
just the quantity of people it was the quality, because Technocrats were
leaving. In other words, East Germany was losing all its professionals.
West Berliners protested and JFK sent his deputy to Berlin, L.B. Johnson to Berlin who
guaranteed freedom for West Berliners.
Nothing else was done and the West Berliners felt betrayed. (The wall did not come
down until 1989.)

The Cold War Outside Europe

Two foreign policies affected the Cold War outside Europe:
1. The Communist East
The Soviets wanted to spread Marxism around the world, and Southeast Asia was a likely area for
conflict, because the USSR and China (led by Mao Tse Tung after 1949) bordered onto this area.
2. The West
John Foster Dulles, the US Secretary of State spoke of the domino theory which said that if one
country in Southeast Asia fell to Communism, the others would follow.
Korean War (1950-1953)

See your textbooks and refer to the map showing the main events of the Korean War (19501953).

Background:

At the start of the 20th Century, Korea was under Chinese influence, but Russia and
Japan wanted to control it. Japan wanted it as a base to attack China from, and Russia
wanted it to protect its naval base at Vladivostok.

1904-5: The Russo Japanese War (Japan defeated Russia) and the treaty gave Japan the
right to annex Korea. This lasted until 1945.

1945: At Potsdam (July) it was decided to divide Korea at the 38th parallel, with the
intention of re-uniting it, after free elections. The USSR opposed the elections so the
North of Korea became Communist under Kim IL Sung, and the South was Americas ally
under Dr. Syngman Rhee. North Korea was slightly stronger, because it had some
industry. Also, the South Korean leader, although representing democracy and
capitalism was very corrupt. So much so, that his people demanded unification with the
communist North, because they saw that conditions were better there.
1949: USA and USSR pulled out of Korea and left two inchoate (under-developed)
governments. The North invaded the South.

The War:

25th June 1950: North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea. They
occupied Seoul, continuing across the rest of the south until only the area of Pusan
remained threatened. The Americans sent a force from their naval base on Japan to
defend Pusan. Meanwhile the UNO Security Council met and used its military sanction
(This was achieved unanimously because the USSR did not attend, as the UNO would not
recognize Communist China).

September 1950: A UNO force of 16 nations led by General MacArthur made an

amphibious attack at Inchon. From here they relieved Seoul and caused the North
Koreans to fight a war on two fronts. The North Koreans were pushed back to the 38th
parallel. The UNO leader, Trygve Lie, allowed MacArthur to go into North Korea to hold
free elections.

MacArthur advanced just south of the Yalu river border with China, capturing Pyong
Yang and killing thousands. At this point, China feared a none-Marxist neighbour in North
Korea, and after several warnings (Ignored by USA), the Communist Chinese armies
invaded without declaring war.

By early 1951, MacArthurs forces were south of the 38th Parallel, and Seoul had fallen
again, but the Chinese had stretched their supply line, and were driven back to the 38th
parallel.

MacArthur was not allowed to go into North Korea because the UNO said that China was
not technically at war. President Truman sacked MacArthur, and this shows that the
USA, and not the UNO, was dominating the war.

Peacemaking (June 1951 to July 1953)

For two years, fighting continued along the Armistice Line, near the 38th Parallel, while
peace talks were held at Kaesong.
The North Koreans and South Koreans argued over petty matters (e.g. seating
arrangements) trying to make time for one side to clinch a victory.
27th July, 1953: Peace was made at Panmunjon, which said that Korea should be divided
at the 38th parallel, the South friendly to the USA, and the North friendly to the USSR.

Results:

There was no improvement on the 1945 position, except Korean agriculture and society
was wrecked. 3.5 million people had been killed (futile war).

Since 1953 there have been no signs of unity.

September, 1945: SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organisation) was set up as a Pacific
version of NATO, which gave America the right to base their troops in: (BUPPFANT)
Britain, USA, Philippines, Pakistan, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand.

In 1975, SEATO was disbanded, because some members left), e.g. France.
Cuban Missile Base Crisis

Important / Key Dates:

1898 - Cuban Independence from Spain
1934 - Cuban Independence from USA
1952 - Batista regime in power
1959 - Fidel Castro in power
1961, January - USA aid to Cuba ended
1961, April - Attack at the Bay of Pigs
1961, December - Castro admitted his government was Marxist
1962, 16th-29th October - Cuban Missile Base Crisis
Long Term Causes

In 1898, Cuba gained independence from Spain, and thereafter, until 1934, it was controlled by
the USA, who invested in its economy (mainly sugar and tobacco).
FDR granted its independence in 1934, and in 1952, Batista came to power. He was right wing,
and so acceptable to the USA, but he was idle, inefficient and cruel.
Profits dropped and the US people with business interests complained.
From 1957, the US supported the rise of a young (30) Cuban lawyer, Fidel Castro (born, 1927),
who led a band of 300 fighters called the 26th of July Movement. They helped him gain power in
January 1959.
He began to nationalize industry, collectivize farms and censor the press. (This was in direct
imitation of Soviet Communism.)
The USA realized too late that they had sponsored a Marxist with their investments and profits
on Cuba at risk. American aid to Cuba ended in January 1961.
Cuban capitalists fled to the USA. It was not until December 1961, that Castro admitted his
government was Marxist. Before this he had been trying to get aid from both the USA and the
USSR.

Short Term Cause (The Bay of Pigs)

Eisenhower accepted the plan by a group of ex-Cuban nationalists to invade Cuba.

They were led by Jos Cardona and supported by the CIA. The Americans feared the spread of
Communism into America.
On the 17th April 1961, the groups landed in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, but they were completely
outnumbered and rounded up by Castros forces.
The whole affair had been a debacle for the CIA. They realized that, due to the success of the
Cuban Revolution, Cuban citizens were not going to betray their new government. (They were
weary of a government like Batistas!) Kennedy, the new president, was embarrassed, and
denied his involvement. This caused Castro to make firmer links with the USSR.

(Brinkmanship: The Cuban Missile Base Crisis is a good example of brinkmanship, because the USA
and the USSR pushed each other to the brink of war, then backed down before war was declared.)

The 1962 Crisis

In the summer of 1962 Russian advisers visited Cuba, and agreed to build missile bases facing
Florida. The plan was for the missiles to be delivered to Cuba later. (It is now believed that
there were never any missiles on Cuba.)
October 1962 - a U2 spy plane photographed the bases, but when asked, Castro denied they
existed.
22nd October JFK, with his photographic evidence, broadcast to the American nation that the
bases were a threat to national security, and he followed this by a naval blockade of the island.
This was siege warfare and to prevent the USSR making deliveries.
Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, offered a compromise that if the Americans removed their
missile bases from Turkey (on the USSR border), he would dismantle the bases on Cuba.
Kennedy refused and gave the ultimatum that he would invade Cuba on the 29th October, if the
missiles were not dismantled.
Krushchev gave in on the 29th, and said he would remove the bases under UNO supervision.
Results:

USA and USSRs relations improved.

A hotline (direct telephone link) between Washington and Moscow was linked up.

1963 The Test ban Treaty to stop the testing of nuclear devices in the air
The USA claimed a victory, with Kennedy as a hero. Others were concerned that he could have
taken the world into a nuclear war.
Khrushchev never recovered from his humiliation, and was deposed in October 1964.
Cuba remained isolated until the 1970s when it befriended China.
Marxism did not spread into America, apart from a short-lived regime in Chile (until 1973).

Exam Questions (Taken from past IGCSE examinations)

Papers 1 & 4 Questions
1.
France, Germany and Belgium confirmed their boundaries as laid down in the Treaty of
Versailles. The Rhineland was confirmed as a demilitarized zone. Britain and Italy joined in
guaranteeing these frontiers and the demilitarization.
A summary of part of the Locarno Treaties
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was the Dawes Plan?

In the 1920s the League of Nations promised peace. Why, then, did countries still
make treaties with each other?
Was it the Locarno Treaties which made Europe peaceful by then end of the 1920s?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.
How important were the effects on international relations of Japanese expansionism in China?
Explain your answer.
[8]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.
On 7th October 1950 American forces crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea. They were
taking the war into Communist territory. The new Chinese Communist government was worried by the
American advance. If the Americans controlled airfields in North Korea, they would be close enough to
bomb Chinese factories and power stations.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the events in 1950 which led to the intervention of the UN in Korea.
Why did China become involved in the Korean War?
Was the intervention of the UN in Korea successful? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4.
Photo: A US Navy ship (in the foreground) alongside a Soviet freighter loaded with missiles for
Cuba.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was the Thaw in relations between the USSR and the USA between 1956-60?
Why was there a crisis over Cuba in 1962?
How far was the improvement of relations between the two superpowers after 1962
caused by the Cuban Missile Crisis? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5.
There are certain tasks the League is expected to do. It is expected to settle international
disputes peacefully, punish its members who go to war, and reduce armaments.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the structure of the League of Nations.

Why did the League of Nations not give Manchuria back to China after 1931?
Is it true that the League of Nations was a failure even before Adolf Hitler came to power in
1933? Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.

Photo: A photograph from a British newspaper showing Italian troops fighting, 1936.
(a) What actions were taken against Italy by the League of Nations following the invasion of
Abyssinia?
(b) Why did most countries condemn Italys invasion and occupation of Abyssinia?
(c) How important was the invasion of Abyssinia for the League of Nations. Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7.
Article 4:
In the event of an armed attack in Europe on one or more of the parties of the Treaty by any state of
group of states, each of the parties to the Treaty shall immediately come the assistance of the state or
states attacked.
From the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, signed by Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union, 14 May
1955.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What arrangements were made by the Allies for the governing of Germany after the defeat
of the Nazis?
Why was the Marshall Plan introduced?
How important were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8.
Photo of an U2 airplane
(a)
(b)
(c)

What did Khrushchev do to improve relations with the USA and Western Europe between
1955-60?
Why did relations between the USA and the USSR become strained again in 1960-1?
Was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 brought about mainly by the actions of the USSR?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9.
Diagram / Organigram of the League of Nations
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the work of two of the agencies or commissions of the League of Nations.
Why was the League of Nations dominated by France and Britain?
How far did the League of Nations achieve its aims in the 1920s? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10.
Japan has been, and is, a loyal supporter of the League, and hopes to remain so. However,
Japans support will only continue if the League accepts our policy of preserving peace and order in the
Far East.
The Japanese representative at the League of Nation, speaking after the publication of the Lytton
Report, 1932.

(a)
(b)
(c)

What were the aims of Japanese foreign policy in the 1930s?

Why was the Lytton Report produced?
How important were Japans attacks on China in the 1930s? Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.
Cartoon: A British cartoon about the German invasion of Poland in 1939. A bulldog represents
Britain and it is growling at the German burglar.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was the policy of appeasement followed by Britain and France in the 1930s?
Why did Britain and France go to war against Germany over Poland?
How far had Hitler achieved his aims in foreign policy by the end of 1939? Explain your
answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12.
Photos: American landing craft approach South Korea, 1950. / Cheering crowds in Budapest,
Hungary as the Russians agree to move out, October 1956.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe how the Truman Doctrine was put into practice.

Why did the United Nations intervene in Korea in 1950?
To what extent did the Soviet Union increase its influence in the world between 1945 and
1960? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13.
As compensation for the destruction of the coal mines in northern France and as part payment
towards the total reparations due from Germany for the damage resulting from the war, Germany gives
France control of the coal mines situated in the Saar basin.
An extract from the Treaty of Versailles.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles affected Germany in Europe?

Why did Germans dislike the other terms of the Versailles Treaty?
How far was the rise of the Nazis to power the result of German dissatisfaction with the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14.
Photo: A German military parade through the streets of Berlin at the time of the Berlin Olympic
Games, August, 1936.
(a)
(b)
(c)

In what ways did Hitler try to give the impression that Germany was a great country?
Why did the Nazis persecute minorities in Germany in the 1930s?
How successful had Hitlers domestic policies been by 1939? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15.
What use could be made of the Treaty of Versailles! Each one of the points of that treaty could
be branded on the hearts and minds of the German people until 60 million men and women are aflame
with rage and shame.
Adolf Hitler writing in Mein Kampf, 1924.
(a)
(b)

In relation to the peace settlement of 1919-20, what was meant by mandates and
plebiscites?
Why was the Treaty of Versailles severe on Germany?

(c)

How far had Germans accepted the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by the end of 1923?
Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16.

Photo: Enthusiastic Viennese demonstrate in favour of the Anschluss, 12 March 1938.

(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the events of 1938 which led to Anschluss.

Why did Britian and France permit the Anschluss?
Were Hitlers policies towards Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938-9 completely successful?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17.
Cartoon: An American cartoon showing the Marshall Plan giving help to Europe.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe how Poland and Czechoslovakia became Communist-controlled as a result of the

Second World War.
Why did the wartime unity of the Allies break down in 1945-7?
Which country had the more successful policies in Europe between 1945 and 1949 the USA
or the USSR? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18.
Gorbachevs visit to East Germany encouraged protests against the deeply unpopular
Communist regime. At a torchlight parade down the Unter den Linden in East Berlin a crowd of
thousands to everyones surprise broke into chants of Gorby, Gorby, Gorby, save us. In an
extraordinary turnabout, a Soviet leader was now hailed by Eastern Europeans as a saviour from the
their own governments tyranny.
A description of Gorbachevs visit to East Berlin in October 1989.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was Glasnost?

Why was Solidarity formed in Poland in 1980?
How far was the collapse of Soviet Communism due to the reforms of Gorbachev? Explain
your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19.
Stresemann was Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic from 1923 to his death in 1929. He
guided the return of Germany to international status. He supported closer relations with the Western
Powers. In 1926 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Briand of France. Hitler, however, regarded
Stresemann as a traitor to the German cause.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was the Munich Putsch?

Why was Stresemanns foreign policy a success?
How far had Weimar Germany recovered from its earlier problems by 1929? Explain your
answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20.
Photo: Political prisoners at the Oranienburg concentration camp.
(a)
(b)

What was a Nazi concentration camp?

Why did the Nazis introduce the Final Solution?

(c)

To what extent did Germans turn against Hitler during the course of the Second World War?
Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21.
The League may be a difficult scheme to work, but the significant thing is that the Powers have
promised to make it work. Mankind has, in the short space of ten years, jumped from the old order to
the new. We are witnessing one of the great miracles of history.
From a speech made in 1930.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe two successes the League of Nations had in the 1920s in solving disputes.
Why was the League of Nations quite successful in the first ten years of its existence?
The good work of the League was destroyed by the Depression of the 1930s. Do you agree?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22.
Photo: An Abyssinian village bombed by Italian aircraft in the invasion of 1936.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the attacks that Japan made on China in the 1930s.

Why was Italy able to defeat the Abyssinians?
How important for events in Europe were Hitlers pacts with Italy and Japan? Explain your
answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23.
Photo: The execution of a Vietcong suspect during the Tet Offensive, 1968.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Who were the Vietcong and what part did they play in the Vietnam War?
Why did involvement in the war become increasingly unpopular in the USA?
How successful was US policy towards Vietnam in the period 1963-75? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24.
Photo: A Freikorps unit in Munich, May 1919.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the activities of the Freikorps in Germany, 1919-20.

Why were there so many uprisings and disturbances in Germany in the years 1919-22?
How far was Germanys treatment in the Versailles peace settlement unfair? Explain your
answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25.
A Jew may not be a citizen of the Reich. He has no vote. He may not fill public office.
Marriages between Jews and nationals of German or similar blood are forbidden.
Extract from the Nuremburg Laws, September, 1935.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the treatment of the Jews in Nazi Germany from 1935.

Why were the Jews persecuted by the Nazis?
By the end of the 1930s, did Hitler rule Germany by oppression or by popular support?
Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26.
Article 16: Should any member of the League resort to war, it shall be regarded as having
committed an act of war against all other members of the League, and this will end immediately all
trade and financial relations with that member.
From the Covenant of the League of Nations.
(a)
(b)
(c)

How did the League of Nations hope to prevent future wars between nations?
Why did the League of Nations fail to restrict the aggression of Japan in the 1930s?
How far was the League of Nations a failure? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------27.
I now have to inform the House that in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish
independence and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist with their
armed forces, His Majestys Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish
Government an assurance to this effect.
Neville Chamberlain speaking in the House of Commons, 31 March 1939.
(a)
(b)
(c)

When Hitler cam to power, what did he hope to achieve in foreign policy?
Why did Britain go to war over Poland in 1939?
How far was the Treaty of Versailles to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939? Explain your
answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28.
From Stettin to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.
Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe Warsaw,
Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia. All these famous cities and the population
around them lie in the Soviet sphere and are subject, not only to Soviet influence, but to a very high
and increasing measure of control from Moscow.
Winston Churchill speaking in Fultom, Missouri, USA in 1946.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was decided at the Yalta Conference?

Why was Eastern Europe largely in the hands of the USSR by 1946?
Only Stalin of the Allies achieved what he wanted as a result of the war with Germany. Do
you agree? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29.
Map: The Cuban Missile Crisis
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the Bay of Pigs incident.

Why did the USSR install missile bases in Cuba?
The Cuban Missile Crisis was not as serious as it appeared at the time. Do you agree?
Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

30.
As soon as I received my salary, I rushed out to buy the daily necessities. My daily salary, as
editor of a magazine, was just enough to buy one loaf of bread and a small piece of cheese. An
acquaintance of mine, a clergyman, came to Berlin from a suburb with his monthly salary to buy a pair
of shoes for his baby. By the time he arrived, he could only afford to buy a cup of coffee.
The recollections of a woman who lived in Berlin during 1923.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the effects of the hyperinflation of 1923 on the lives of German people.
Why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in 1923?
How far did Stresemann restore pride and prosperity to Germany? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31.
The Reich Press Law of 4 October 1933 ordered that all editors had to be German citizens of
Aryan descent, and not married to a Jew. They had to keep out of their newspapers anything which in
any manner is misleading to the public, tends to weaken the strength of the German Reich, or offends
the honour and dignity of Germany.
(a)
(b)
(c)

What was the Enabling Law (Act) of 1933?

Why did Hitler seek to control all forms of the media?
How far had Hitlers policies gained the support of the German people by 1939? Explain
your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32.
Look at the statistics, and then answer the questions which follow.
Dec. 1914
Dec. 1919
Nov. 1921
Jan. 1922
Aug. 1922
Jan. 1923
Jul. 1923
Aug. 1923
Nov. 1923

4
9
70
192
1,000
18,000
160,000
1,000,000
4,200,000,000
German Marks needed to one US dollars worth of goods.

(a)
(b)
(c)

Describe the effects of hyper-inflation in Germany in 1923.

Why did hyper-inflation occur in Germany in 1923?
How far was Stresemann responsible for German recovery from 1923 to 1929? Explain your
answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

33.
I am beginning to understand some of the reasons for Hitlers amazing success. He is restoring
glory and colour to the lives of 20th century Germans. This mornings meeting was more than just a
colorful show. There was a hush over the 30,000 people packed into the hall. He walked slowly down
the centre aisle while 30,000 hands were raised in salute. In such an atmosphere no wonder that every
word Hitler spoke seemed like a message sent from God.
From the diary of a German, September 1934.

(a)
(b)
(c)

What were the Nuremberg Laws (1935)?

Why were Jews persecuted in Nazi Germany?
The main reason the Nazis were popular was their anti-Jewish policy. Do you agree?
Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34.
Study the sources, and then answer the questions which follow.
Source A
Today in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles the disgraceful Treaty is being signed. DO not forget it!
Germany will press forward to reconquer its proper place among nations. Then will come revenge for
the shame of 1919.
From a German newspaper on the day of signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
Source B
July 1921
July 1922
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923

3
9
22,500
10,370,000
470,000,000,000
The price of a loaf of bread in German Marks, 1921-3.

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Study Source A. What can you tell from this source about German attitudes to the Treaty of
Versailles? Support your answer with reference to the source.
Study Source B. How far does this source show that inflation was a major problem in
Germany between 1921 and 1923? Explain your answer.
Study both sources. How useful are these sources as evidence about the problems that
Germany faces after 1919? Explain your answer.
Why did the government have difficulty controlling the outbreaks of violence that occurred
between 1919-23?
How successfully did Stresemann overcome Germanys economic problems between 1923-29?
Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

35.

Study the sources, and then answer the questions which follow.

Source A
The new Ministry of Propaganda Enlightenment has no other aim than to unite the nation behind the
ideal of the national revolution. If this aim has been achieved then the people can judge my methods if
they wish: that would be unimportant, for the Ministry would then have achieved its goal.
Jospeh Goebbels speaking in 1933.
Source B
During the 1930s, I myself was to learn how easily one is taken in by an untruthful and censored press
and radio in a totalitarian state. Though, unlike most Germans, I was able to read foreign newspapers
every day and listened regularly to foreign broadcasts, my job meant the spending of many hours a day
in reading through the German press, checking the German radio, consulting with Nazi officials and
going to party meeting. It was worrying to find that a steady diet of bias and lies made an impression
on ones mind and often misled it. It is difficult to escape the results of continuous propaganda.
William Shirer, an American journalist, writing in 1959. Shirer had lived in Germany during the 1930s.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)

Study Source A. What can you tell from this source about Goebbels attitude towards
propaganda? Support your answer with reference to the source.
Study Source B. How far does this source show that Shirer was impressed by Nazi
propaganda? Explain your answer.
Study both sources. Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence on how
the Nazis controlled the German people? Explain your answer.
Name two media that Goebbels promoted using propaganda.
How did the Nazis use education to spread their ideas?
Why were the Nuremberg rallies effective?
Was propaganda a more effective way of keeping the support of the German people than
terror? Explain your answer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------36.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow:
We want a peace which will be just. We want a stern peace because the occasion demands it, but the
severity must not be for vengeance, but for justice. Above all we want to protect the future against a
repetition of the horrors of this war.
Lloyd George speaking about the Paris Peace Conference.
a) Describe what Clemenceau and Lloyd George each wanted to achieve in the peace settlement of
1919-20.
b) Why did the Treaty of Versailles cause problems for Germany in the years up to 1923?
c) Was the Treaty of Versailles fair? Explain your answer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

37.
Study the cartoon. (Uncle Sam leaning against a keystone, missing from the League of Nations
bridge.)
a) What were the aims of the League of Nations?
b) Why did the League of Nations have some successes during the 1920's?
c) How far can the failure of the League of Nations in the 1930s be blamed on the Great Depression?
Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
The Berlin Wall is an open attempt to remove the right to free movement throughout the city, in direct
opposition to the Four Power agreement reached in Paris on 20 June 1949.
Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State, speaking in August 1961.
a) Describe how the Berlin Wall affected the people living in Berlin.
b) Why was the Berlin Wall built?
c) How far can the decline of Soviet power in Eastern Europe be blamed on the Solidarity movement?
Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------39.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
It was a beautiful autumn evening, the height of the crisis, and I went out into the garden into the open
air to smell it, because I thought it was the last Saturday I would ever see.
A close adviser of President Kennedy talking about the evening of 27 October 1962.
a) Describe relations between Cuba and the USA in the period 1959-1961.
b) Why was the USA concerned about Soviet missiles in Cuba?
c) Khrushchev claimed that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a victory for the Soviet Union. Do you agree
with this view? Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------40.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
We demand the union of all Germans in Greater Germany.
All citizens shall have equal rights and duties.
Extracts from the Nazi Party Programme, 1920.
a) Describe the ideas and policies of the Nazi Party in the 1920s.
b) Explain why the Nazi Party had little success before 1930.
c) The effects of the Wall Street Crash provided the main reason why Hitler was able to become
Chancellor of Germany by 1933. Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

41.
Study the photograph, and then answer the questions which follow. (Photo depicting thousand
of German men ready to work on the first highway or autobahn in 1933).
a) Describe the actions taken by Hitler to reduce unemployment.
b) Why did the Nazis discourage women from going out to work?
c) How total was the control the Nazis had over the German people before 1939? Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42.
Study the sources, and then answer the questions which follow.
Source A
Billion mark notes were passed on quickly because tomorrow one would no longer pay in notes but in
bundles of notes. One afternoon I rang Aunt Louise's doorbell. The door was opened slightly. From the
dark cam a distressed voice: I've used sixty billion marks worth of gas. My milk bill is one million. But
all I have left is two thousand marks. I don't understand what is happening any more.
From the autobiography of a German who lived through the hyperinflation of 1923.
Source B
The causes of hyperinflation were complicated but the Germans did not see it that way. They blamed
the reparations of the Weimar Republic which had accepted reparations and was the government in
power during the chaos of 1923. Many middle-class Germans never forgave the Republic for the harm
they believed it had done to them.
From a British textbook, 1992.
a) Study Source A. What can you tell from this source about the impact of hyperinflation on German
people? Support your answer with reference to the source.
b) Study Source B. How far does this source show that the Weimar government was to blame for the
hyperinflation? Explain your answer.
c) Study both sources. Is one the sources more useful than the other as evidence about the
hyperinflation? Explain your answer.
d) What were reparations?
e) Describe how Stresemann brought the 1923 crisis to an end.
f) Why did the Nazis stage a putsch in Munich in November 1923?
g) It was American loans rather than Stresemann's policies that enabled Germany to recover from the
disasters of 1923. Do you agree? Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------43.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
If the League had extended economic sanction on oil. I would have had to withdraw from Abyssinia
within a week.
Mussolini speaking after his successful conquest of Abyssinia.
a) Describe the successes of the League of Nations in the 1920s.

b) Why did the League fail to deal with Japanese aggression against Manchuria?
c) It was the Abyssinian crisis that destroyed the League of Nations as an effective peacekeeping
body. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------44.
Study the cartoon, and then answer the questions which follow. (A British cartoon about the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936. It shows a goose, dressed up as a Nazi soldier with many
weapons, stepping on the Locarno Treaty.)
a) Describe the events in the Saar in 1935.
b) Why did Britain and France allow Germany to re-militarize the Rhineland in 1936?
c) Hitler's desire for lebensraum was the most important reason for the outbreak of war in 1939.
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------45.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
We must fight this war if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own future. We
are in Vietnam because we have a promise to keep. Over the years we have made a national pledge to
help South Vietnam defend its independence.
President Johnson speaking to the American people in 1965.
a) Who were the Vietcong?
b) Why did the USA get involved in the war in Vietnam?
c) How far can the American withdrawal from Vietnam be blamed on military failure? Explain your
answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46.
Study the extract, and then answer the questions which follow.
The rule of the working class means real democracy. It means the use of power to get rid of middle and
upper class people. It means the smashing of the ruling classes with all the brutality that the working
class can develop.
Rosa Luxemburg in late 1918.
a) Who were the Spartacists?
b) Why did many Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?
c) To what extent did the Weimar Republic recover after 1923? Explain your answer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

47.

Study the sources, and then answer the questions which follow:

Source A
We stilll know little about the dreadful events of 30 June. We only know that men whom Hitler
constantly praised are dead. We are told that they are now dead because they were involved in a
conspiracy. But so far no evidence has been produced to prove this conspiracy.
A British newspaper article, 1934.
Source B
Without telling me, Rohm made a plan with General von Schleicher that the present regiime in Germany
could not be continued; that the army and navy must be combined and that Rohm ws the man for this
post. I decided to put an end to this plan. Therefore, I decided to dismiss Rohm, to arrest him and a
number of SA leader. I gave orders to shoot those that were guilty of treason. Everyone will know in
future that treachery towards the state will end in certain death.
Hitlers speech to the Reichstag, 13 July 1934.
a) Study Source A. What can you tell from this source about the Night of the Long Knives? Support your
answer with reference to the source.
b) Study Source B. How far does this source show the extent of opposition to Hitler? Explain your
answer.
c) Study both sources. Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Hitler's
leadership? Explain your answer.
d) Give two features of the Nazi totalitarian state.
e) What were the Nuremberg rallies?
f) Why did Hitler want to gain support of Germanys youth?
g) How far did Hitler use unlawful methods to achieve power in 1933-34? Explain your answer.