Help with these Germany essay questions? (1 Viewer)

[bloophoop]

I was looking at the 2010 HSC, and I realised I couldn't answer either of them very well. Anyone know what I could change/add to what I've got? I'm pretty stuck :\

Assess the influence of the German army on the successes and failures of the Weimar Republic by 1933.
- nov revolution - soldiers muntiny, and the kaiser lost support from the military elite - needed the support of army
- ebert-groener pact - army is made a political force in order to protect the weak weimar from the threat of the extreme left
- kapp putsch - weimar could've been taken over by the right wing if not for the general strike, since they didn't have the support of the army.
- beerhall putch - hitler realised the importance of having an army after his failed putch which didn't have army support
...and that's all I've got :\

Evaluate Hitler’s role in the Nazi state between 1933 and 1939.
- he took advantange of oppotunities like the reichstag fire to gain power, also combining of chancellor and predsident.
- nazi germany was under the fuhrerprinzip, where hitler made the final decisions
- he initiated gleichshaltung, but others were in charge of individual departments eg goebbels and propaganda ministry
- creation of the fuhrer myth led to more support

Any help is appreciated

 

[strawberryswing]

For the Weimar question you could talk about how in 1919 the failure of a complete revolution led to political instability as the conservative elites, who didnt support democracy were still in powerful positions. This could then be led onto Hindenburg being elected as president in 1925 as he was known to hate democracy.
You could also talk about the Stresemann years, when he introduced the dawes plan (1924), the locarno treaty (1925?) and the Young Plan (1929). Stresemann was the chancellor in what was known as 'the good years' so he would be a success of democracy. Stresemann also stopped the passive resistance in the Ruhr and got the nation back to work.
Uhh, The political instability from 1930 (bruning) to 1933 was pretty bad, there were 4 chancellors within those years (the most change in 1932)
Bruning's policy to get out of the depression failed miserably and just pushed germany further into depression.

and that's all ive got off the top of my head, I'm not great at rise of the nazi party, but i hope i helped a little with weimar
Good luck in the exam

 

[bloophoop]

Thank you! Good luck to you, too

 

[enoilgam]

I did the second question on my HSC and this is how I set it out (my memory is a bit 50/50):

Thesis: I said that Hitler held pretty much absolute power in Germany, although he didnt exercise it in all areas.

Para one: I looked at the nature of his power and how power was firmly placed in him.
Para two: I said he was clearly in charge of foreign policy
Para three: Admin in Germany was chaotic, as Hitler delegated many internal functions to subordinates
Para four: He pretty much took little role in economic matters

With the first question, I probably would have done this:

Thesis: The Army was instrumental in both the successes and failures of Weimar

Para one: Protected the Republic from numerous uprisings (Kapp Putsch, Beer hall Putsch, Communist uprising)
Para two: Actively undermined the republic (Dolchtoss etc)
Para three: Support of the Nazi's allowed them to completely destroy the Republic.

I am not to confident with that structure, but I think it is enough for a band 6 if done properly. Also, strawberryswing what you have there is good, but it doesnt really address the issue of the Army's role. It looks at the success/failures of the Republic overall - by doing that you would be limiting yourself to a band 4.

 

[strawberryswing]

oh shit! i'm so sorry! i completely misread the question. That teaches me to read the question properly! haha

 

[bloophoop]

That really helped, thanks enoilgam!

 

[enoilgam]

oh shit! i'm so sorry! i completely misread the question. That teaches me to read the question properly! haha

It happens - I have done it millions of times.

That really helped, thanks enoilgam!

No problem. Just keep in mind that my way of doing it isnt absolute - there are many ways to approach this question and many different arguments can be utilised. Mine is just one of many different approaches.