[MrJohnDClare]

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Dear, Mr Clare
As you probably know, the History GCSEs are coming up very soon.
I was hoping that you could help me out with a few things.
I do the OCR exam, but the content seems to be very similar to the AQA notes that are on your website.
Thanks a million!

I received this email from a pupil.
I thought the questions were very good, so I have put them on the forum.
As a general rule, you should never contact people you do not know using the web.
It is much better to use this forum than to approach someone you do not know.

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1) I wanted to try some cartoon questions especially from Hitlers foriegn policy. Do you know where I could find some with analysis?

Actually, I do not know of any sites where cartoons abut Hitler’s foreign policy are analysed.
There is a page on interpreting cartoons here.

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2) Some past questions that I am stuck on:
i) Why was Hitlers leadership important in the success of his foreign policy?

Actually, this is a lot harder question than it looks.
The easy answer is because his determination to destroy the Treaty of Versailles, and also his preparedness to confront the world leaders, and also his preparedness to take a chance, led to a number of successes in foreign policy 1933-1939.
Examples are rearmament, marching into the Rhineland, mraching into Austria, and the Sudetenland.
HOWEVER, it was not all due to his leadership, was it!
The weakness of foreign leaders such as Chamberlain and Daladier was crucial - it was not just that Hitler took power in Europe, but also that they continually backed off.
When you go on to study History at A-Level, you will find that there is a huge debate amongst historians between those who think that Hitler was responsible for his own successes (the 'intentionalists'), and those who think he was just in the right place at the right time, and that other factors were responsible for his success (the 'functionalists').

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ii) Why did Hitler want the Enabling Law

Because it gave him the power to make his own laws without having to get them passed through the Reichstag. It therefore turned Hitler from an elected state leader, bound b the Weimar constitution, into a dictatorship, with all power to make whatever laws he wanted.

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iii)What were the main features of the Nazi Police state

http://www.johndclar...zi_Germany2.htm

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iv) By September 1934, Hitler was fully in control on Germany. How far do you agree with this statement?

To answer this question at GCSE, you need to talk about the steps Hitler took to take control of Germany, 1933-1934. They are listed on this page, and you will see how he step-by-step eliminate opposition in the Reichstag, local government, trade unions, political parties and the Nazi Party. He also at this time took control of the police, and set up his own system of judicial courts.
HOWEVER, when you do A-Level, you will come across another debate between historians abut whether Hitler was as all-powerful as people think he was, or whether he was a 'weak dictator' ('functionalist' historians believe that Hitler's government was badly organised and chaotic, and that Germany became powerful not because of the Nazi government, but because Germans generally wanted to mve in that direction and therefore co-operated willingly with what the Nazis wanted).

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v) Why did thr Nazis persecute the Jews?

Because they thought that they were the Aryan master race, and because they thought that the Jews were subhuman (untermensch). In your answer you will need to show awareness that Nazi persecution of the Jews developed gradually 1933-1939, and that it developed into the full-blown genocide during the war.

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vi) How did the Nazis use propaganda effectively?

See point 3 on this webpage.

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vii) How far did the coming of war change life in Germany?

There are some ideas here. You would need to talk about the war economy, and about the thousand bomber raids on places like Dresden and Hamburg.

[gasepy]

Thanks for answering my questions!! That was a great help

I have have a few more, if you have some spare time and don't mind.
1) "Nazi economic policies strengthened Germany and made the German people better off" Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer
2)How effective was Nazi control over Germany during 1933-1945.
3) The most important reason why there was so little opposition to the nazis was the success of their social policies' Do you agree? Explain your answer
------In the question above, I just wanted to ask, what exactly the question means by 'social policies'---------------

Also, I have a question about Hitler's Foreign Policy..
When they ask you about causes for the second world war- short term and long term...
the occupation of rhineland, saar, anshllus, the sudentenland, czechslovakia....etc <------are these short-term causes?

[MrJohnDClare]

gasepy, on May 28 2009, 06:48 PM, said:

Thanks for answering my questions!! That was a great help

Good

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I have have a few more, if you have some spare time and don't mind.

Don't mind at all.

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1) "Nazi economic policies strengthened Germany and made the German people better off" Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer

See this page on Nazi economic policies.

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2)How effective was Nazi control over Germany during 1933-1945.

I have already dealt with this above. You need to see this page on HOW the Nazis tried to control Germany, and then check out this stuff on a 'weak dictator'.

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3) The most important reason why there was so little opposition to the nazis was the success of their social policies' Do you agree? Explain your answer
------In the question above, I just wanted to ask, what exactly the question means by 'social policies'---------------

It's hard to be precise - it will depend on the individual historian's interpretation, buy I'd include the KdF and the SdA, the Hitler Youth movements, the policies towards women, and the Labour policies. You might also want to include their policies towards religion and culture. Possibly also, their racism and euthanasia programmesmight be labelled 'socoal' policies.

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Also, I have a question about Hitler's Foreign Policy..
When they ask you about causes for the second world war- short term and long term...
the occupation of rhineland, saar, anshllus, the sudentenland, czechslovakia....etc <------are these short-term causes?

I would say these are the 'medium' term.
Long term reasons are things like defeat in WWI, the Treaty of Versailles.
Short term I would put the Danzig/Poland crisis of 1939.
Again, different historians will interpret in different ways.
No examiner will penalise you for putting these in the 'short-term' category as long as you are clear about it.