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GCSE: Germany 1918-1939

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  • Marked by Teachers essays 11
  • Peer Reviewed essays 8
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  1. Marked by a teacher

    Treaty Of versailles

    5 star(s)

    Furthermore, Clemenceau resented Wilson's more generous attitude to Germany. They disagreed over what to do about Germany's Rhineland and coalfields in the Saar. In the end, Wilson had to give way on these issues. In return, Clemenceau and Lloyd George did give Wilson what he wanted in Eastern Europe (which was self-determination), despite their opinions about his idea of self-determination. However, this mainly affected the other four treaties, not the Treaty of Versailles. Clemenceau also clashed with Lloyd George, particularly over Lloyd George's aim- which was not to treat Germany too harshly.

    • Word count: 2883
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Why did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany in 1933?

    5 star(s)

    During the 'roaring twenties' Germans ignored Hitler and he seemed not to worry people too much with his programme of discrimination. But when the Great Depression ruined their lives, he became well noticed and was able to begin his journey to chancellorship. The continuing bitterness that many Germans felt contributed to the deep anger about the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles which was blamed on the government. This created an underlying bitterness to which Hitler's viciousness and thinking appealed to, so they gave him support.

    • Word count: 1519
  3. Marked by a teacher

    Why was Hitler able to become chancellor of Germany in 1933?

    5 star(s)

    Without a strong leader and a weak government made German citizens turn to more extreme groups. The Treaty of Versailles is one of the factors that helped Hitler to become chancellor. The Germans were disgusted by this treaty, devastated and felt bitter at the total sum that had to be paid and accept the war guilt clause. At the end of the year 1922 no reparations had been paid by Germany. This led to a terrible economic crisis caused by the occupation of the Ruhr a (key industrial area of Germany) by the French and Belgian troops. In order to try to pay the reparations, Germany started to print money and it led to a hyper-inflation.

    • Word count: 1966
  4. Marked by a teacher

    Was any one of these reasons more important than the others in Hitler's rise to power?

    5 star(s)

    The desire in Hitler and others around him was one of the most important reasons why Hitler joined politics. He felt that his country had been betrayed by the 'November Criminals' and that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh and unfair considering many believed that the German army was still unbeaten. Despite all of this, the Treaty of Versailles was also the most important reason on the list because it was so unfair and because of some of the terms for peace which it stipulated. The main problem was the great loss of German land to other countries and the loss of Germany's industrial heartlands in addition to the great level of reparations.

    • Word count: 1026
  5. Marked by a teacher

    What was the most important factor for Hitler becoming Chancellor in January 1933?

    5 star(s)

    This point was very significant to Hitler becoming Chancellor. If they had not acquired so many seats in the Reichstag now Hitler and the Nazis would have probably remained a small party. But after the depression the Nazis maintained a high amount of seats in parliament, becoming the biggest party in the Reichstag in 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. However the impact of the depression can only partly explain Hitler becoming Chancellor in 1933. Another factor was the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic.

    • Word count: 779
  6. Marked by a teacher

    The main purpose of the Nazi curriculum was to prepare boys to be soldiers. Do you agree?

    4 star(s)

    I am also going to discuss some other factors in the Nazi curriculum, such as the heavy influence on education of Nazi ideals, and the preparation of women to be mothers and housewives. In my initial answer to the statement, I disagree that this was the main purpose. There are many ways in which this statement can be considered incorrect because, in English lessons, children were taught to analyse the speeches of Hitler, and texts about the Hitler Myth. Children began to develop Nazi ideals, such as that the 'Fuhrer' (Adolf Hitler)

    • Word count: 752
  7. Marked by a teacher

    Most German people benefitted from Nazi rule 1933-39 Do you agree? Explain you answer.

    4 star(s)

    A further fall in unemployment came when Hitler brought about rearmament and introduced conscription. Although the newly employed were earning little, at least they were receiving money. To people who had been unemployed and starving, 'work and bread' was something amazing. Also, the schemes meant that new facilities were being constructed in Germany benefitting the German people further. However, it did come at a cost. To achieve this, many Jews and women were sacked and replaced with non-Jewish men. People who were already working also benefitted. Workers were allowed to go on holidays for the first time.

    • Word count: 636
  8. Marked by a teacher

    Why was the Weimar Republic so unpopular with many Germans between 1919 and 1923?

    4 star(s)

    The workers would still be poor and the rich would still be rich. They wanted the workers to have power. This contributed to the Weimar Republic's early unpopularity because there are a group of people (the communists) who know that they will not agree with the key policies according to them. Hyperinflation made money worthless by 1923. People with savings or pensions suffered a lot. This was a politically a bad start for the Weimar Republic because the people who lost the value of their saved money, blamed the Republic for hyperinflation; they were responsible for printing more and more notes to help pay the reparations.

    • Word count: 1317
  9. Marked by a teacher

    Why did international peace collapse by 1939?

    3 star(s)

    It was the perfect solution to their problems. Before the Treaty of Versailles Germany was a nation that took grate pride in its armed forces, after the were reduced significantly the respect for Germany and its power in Europe was lost, Hitler wanted to re-instate this respect. Next he wanted to unite all German-speaking people in one country: GrossDeutschland. The treaty of Versailles had given each race of people their own country, but this meant that there were many Germans spread all over Europe. If he were to unite them all in one country, he would start having to invade and take over other countries, which could quite easily turn into war.

    • Word count: 1574
  10. Marked by a teacher

    How did the Munich Putsch contribute to Hitler&#146;s rise to power?

    3 star(s)

    Hitler turned into a bit of a celebrity which no doubt helped him into power in 1932. As a result of the Munich Putsch Hitler spent nine months in the Landsberg prison and he was banned from speaking publicly. The Nazi party was also banned. However, whilst in prison Hitler learnt many lessons.

    • Word count: 401
  11. Marked by a teacher

    Why did people vote for Hitler ?

    These are the main events that lead to Hitler's rapid rise to power: 1) His criticism of the Treaty of Versailles- After the war, when the treaty was signed, the German people were very upset about how the treaty humiliated them. There was a lot of anger and frustration amongst the people because unemployment rates were high and the harvests were poor. Also, the country suffered from a lot of poverty as they had to repay �6,600 million in reparations to the other countries that had won the war.

    • Word count: 1194
  12. Peer reviewed

    Explain why the depression of 1929 was a godsend for the Nazi Party

    5 star(s)

    This situation was a godsend for the Nazi Party as it enabled them to gain public support. Having lost faith in what they already felt was an indecisive Government, and after the 'stab in the back' myth having been circulated throughout the country, Germany became increasingly hard to govern. Hitler, an inspiring and energetic speaker, took this opportunity to present himself and the Nazi party to the German people.

    • Word count: 508
  13. Peer reviewed

    Hitler - Jews

    5 star(s)

    So, Hitler adopted strong anti-Semitic policies; they were not the most popular of his decisions, but they were carried out with great strength. There were 5 main stages to the persecution of the Jews: * Livelihoods were attacked, * They were singled out, * Nuremburg Laws, * Violence, * Final Solution. At first, the Jews' livelihoods were attacked. Many of them were sacked from their jobs, such as those who were teachers and doctors. They weren't allowed to serve on a jury or work with Aryans.

    • Word count: 526
  14. Peer reviewed

    Was Life Better For Germans In 1939 Than in 1933?

    4 star(s)

    Hitler also helped the army and the unemployed by introducing conscription. This created a larger army and also gave those men conscripted jobs. Hitler also made more money available for the army. On July the first 1934, the night of the long knives, Hitler eliminated key SA members. This destroyed a potential opponent for the army. The SA were also said to be like thugs so by eliminating them It seemed that he was helping the general people by removing a thuggish group of people and replacing them with a more disciplined group, the SS.

    • Word count: 698
  15. Peer reviewed

    Why was Hitler so Popular in 1933?

    3 star(s)

    This connects with my point, Hitler's use of powerful speeches made people vote for him which meant an increase in popularity. Another way he gained reputation was by targeting youths by opening up clubs which proved very enjoyable for young people at that time this was targeted for both boys and girls. The Hitler Youth was Hitler's belief that the future of Nazi Germany was its children. The Hitler Youth was seen as being as important to a child as school was.

    • Word count: 1207
  16. Peer reviewed

    Why did Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1933?

    3 star(s)

    Each party was doing this for their own reasons however, and where the communists wanted to see a complete breakdown of the system, the Nazi party wanted to prove that the country could not be run without their support. Hitler knew that this would eventually force the government to deal with the party and, in 1932 Hitler was offered the position of Vice-Chancellor under Von-Papen but he refused, demanding that he wanted only to be Chancellor. It is obvious from the evidence above that Hitler was, at this time, in quite a strong position and it was also clear that

    • Word count: 1290
  17. Peer reviewed

    Was Hitler a Totalitarian Dictator?

    3 star(s)

    It should be remembered that governments had been ruling like this for the past three years. Once in power he was able to exploit various situations to gradually dismantle the German democracy. Hitler had been invited into power, you must realize that he was invited into power by people that thought Hitler could be controlled, he wanted to begin to eliminate his opposition, but Germany was a democracy, he couldn't ban opposition parties outright. So he had to wait for an opportunity to do this the Reichstag fire gave him this opportunity.

    • Word count: 1767
  18. Peer reviewed

    &#147;After the Putsch failed Hitler decided to use democratic methods to become leader of Germany&#148;

    3 star(s)

    Instead of violent, illegal acts, i.e. The Munich Putch, he realised that if a Democratic approach was taken on his actions then this would help him succeed and instead of seen as trying to rebel against the government, he was seen as trying to make Germany a better place. This shows that Hitler's methods did change since being arrested and put into Prison. In order to use this new method, Hitler and the Nazi Party needed to attract votes from the German people.

    • Word count: 708
  19. Peer reviewed

    Describe How The Nazis Used The Reighstag Fire To Increase Their Power In Germany In The Years 1933-34

    3 star(s)

    The Nazi's wanted to prove that no one could run the country without their support. This would eventually force the government to do a deal with them. In 1932 Hitler was offered to join a Coalition but refused as his demands to be in overall power, was turned down. By November 1932 unemployment had come down to 5 million. The Nazis lost 2.7 million votes and 34 seats in the Reichstag. Then, a politician called Gregor Strasser tried to split the party, but Hitler defeated his attempt.

    • Word count: 1363
  20. The Wall Street Crash was the most important reason for the increase in support for the Nazis in the years 192832. Do you agree?

    Due to this economic disaster, the US recalled their loans to Germany, resulting in them to live in poverty. This was because Germany was too dependent and reliant on the US. It left Germany in a lot of trouble and they needed someone to help them to get out of it - that someone was Hitler. Hitler's strong leadership helped him to gain the support of the German public. He influenced and manipulated the people of Germany to make them believe that he and his Nazi party could solve all their problems. He did this by identifying himself with the public; it gave them a new sense of hope.

    • Word count: 684
  21. Describe the key features of the Stresemann era from 1923 to 1929

    However, the issue of reparations being paid was still a large problem for Germany as currently the payments were really at a level that Germany could not cope with. Under the Dawes Plan, devised mainly by Charles G. Dawes (American Banker), the reparations were lowered to a more manageable level, and also it was agreed that American banks would invest in German industry, which meant that not only would German businesses would get a cash boost, but also it would possibly show the rest of the world that they should have more confidence in how Germany would recover, as surely if the American banks could trust in it they could.

    • Word count: 858
  22. "Triumph of the Will"

    Riefenstahl was an exceptional documentary film maker, however; it could be suggested that she was also a Nazi Propagandist. She filmed the 1934 Nuremberg rally in such a way that supported the Nazi and its ideology. The Nazi rallies were held every year in Nuremberg to promote Nazism on a grand stage. The rallies was designed to excite the German people and gain support for the Nazi rule. "Triumph of the Will" was a powerful propaganda tool for the Nazi regime.

    • Word count: 1039
  23. What were ghettoes and why were they established by the Nazis?

    Source B is an extract from Martin Gilbert's book Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy (1986). It tells us that at the conference in Berlin, where the long-term future of the Jews was organized, Heydrich talked, euphemistically, about the fate of the Jews. He talked about the "ultimate aim," and "planned overall measures" without specifying what exactly was meant. It was all to be "strictly secret". However for the short term he talked about the "concentration of Jews in the cities", especially the larger cities, like Warsaw.

    • Word count: 784
  24. Oskar Schindler was a German Industrialist who saved over 1100 Jews during the Holocaust

    However, he wasn't the best example of a husband, heavily abusing alcohol and having relationships with other women. In 1929 during the Great Depression, the family business went bankrupt. Schindler changed jobs several times, and tried starting businesses but always went bankrupt. Due to the rough effects of the Great Depression, Schindler joined the Sudeten German Party* in 1935. The party disbanded in 1938 and a year later he joined the Nazi party. The first saving of Schindlerjuden** began in September 1, 1939 when the Germans had started invading Poland. Money-hungry Schindler arrived in Krakow*** within a week, seeking a way to make money.

    • Word count: 575
  25. What during 1933-9 were the main aims of Nazi economic policy?

    lots over 100,000 labourers worked at construction sites all over Germany it not only reduced unemployment it also improved infrastructure, necessary for economic recovery efforts, the project was also a great success for propaganda purposes. Unemployment went from 6 million in 1932 to 302 thousand by 1939. This in my opinion was Nazi most successful policy as it was both helping people and they was an increased support in the party. The Nazi's tried to reduce government spending by introducing the Mefo bill.

    • Word count: 1009

Conclusion analysis


  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  • "By the beginning of 1929, the survival prospects of the Weimar Republic looked good." Discuss the extent to which this statement can be agreed with.

    "In conclusion, it can be seen that while there were some positive economic, political and foreign policy developments from 1924 to 1929, these were merely on the surface and covered innumerable flaws in the Weimar system. The lack of understanding of democracy in German society, the negative perceptions and revisionist ideals leftover from the Versailles Treaty and the structurally induced economic weaknesses were all evident throughout the time period, and would have caused the republic eventual downfall. The great depression of 1931, while it sped up this process, was merely a catalyst."

  • "Economic Factors brought the Nazis to power in Germany" To what extent is this true?

    "Looking at all the conclusive facts and arguments, the conclusion that can be reached is that Hitler came to power due to a combination of many different factors. However, the backbone of Hitler's rise was based on the great economic instability of the time highlighted by the two crisis in 1923 and 1929, which enabled Hitler to exploit the situation. Then Hitlers policies appealed to everyone due to effective propaganda. Secondly, the problems with constitution (article 48) which undermined German democracy and the weakness of the Weimar Republic that was widely hated helped the Nazis. This was because of their lack of suppoert and weak constitution. However in the end it was only political intrigue in the right-wing that brought him into office."

  • Discuss the view that the Versailles treaty created as many problems as it solved.

    "In saying that the treaty of Versailles was a complete failure and created all Europe's post war problems would be a massive overstatement, to say it was merely the best the Nations could do with the given situation and that all the problems which arose were little to do with the treaty would be an understatement. The real answer lies somewhere in between the two. The options of the Nations when creating the treaty were small but in being naive and not thinking forward to what certain clauses of the treaty might bring about they created problems. Yet no one could anticipate the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's in Germany and although the treaty aided them in their rise it was one of many factors that lead to the rise of the Nazi party in post Versailles Germany. In conclusion the treaty created a lot of problems some avoidable, some not, its resources were small yet its dealing with its resources was poor. Yet when the nations wanted such polar opposites for a post war Germany and Europe in general it is expected that some problems could and would arise. Keynes said post the signing of the treaty that "The Treaty by overstepping the limits of the possible, has in practice settled nothing"."

Marked by a teacher


Peer reviewed


Peer reviewed
