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=IGCSE Study Guide=

** What caused the First World War? ** ** • Did the Alliance System make war more likely or less likely? ** ** • How far did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers? ** ** • Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the Great Powers to solve? ** ** • How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war? **

Can

What cause the WW1? Can taro ohno G9 SHORT TERM Most known Short term cause of WW1 is the Assassination of archduke. That sparked the entire war. But every one knows that that’s not the only reason and that’s not the most important reason .entire world was ready for a war way before the war they where searching for a good reason to star the war and this was the best opportunity to start the war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand And his Wife Sophie got assassinated in AustriaSarajevo. Sunday 28 June 1914 went there for royal l visit .Assassination occurred in Bosniaby a Serbian nationalist belonging to an organization known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand organization is a secret patriotic society, the “Defense of the People”(NardonaOdbrana). It was founded in Serbia around 1908, and its intent was to strengthen the spirit of nationalism. As soon as he got killed. Germany start to blame Serbia and Austria Hungary was getting pressured by Germany to declare a war against Serbia. Serbia was under protection of Russia .Austria Hungary set the ultimatum to Serbia on 23rd of July. On 29th of July the Russian army got ready to protect Serbia and them selves from the German army and Austria Hungary. Serbia did not accept the ultimatum because it was too harsh. Basically they wanted Serbia to become Austria Hungary. Germany started to move its army against France and Russia on August1. But on august 2 Frencharmy was prepared for a invasion against Germany. On august 3rd Germany officially declared the war on France. And start to invade Belgium. Brittan wanted Germany to leave Belgium because Belgium was a Neutral country and on August 4 Brittandeclared war on Germany. And on august6 Austria Hungary declared the war on Russia. So in the end All the powerful country’s in Europe was involved in the war and some Neutral country’s where involved too. Main country’s involved The Triple Alliance ( Germany.AustiraHungay.) The Triple Entente ( France.Britain.Russia) So this is the Short term Cause of WW1 this sparked the War. But every one knows that all the country’s where ready for a war way before this assassination happened. Every one was waiting for the opportunity to start the war, you cant just start the war suddenly you need a reason. and that opportunity came on Sunday 28 1914. LONG TERM Now the main long term causes of World war 1 .all the country’s where ready for a war way before the actually war started or the assassination of Franz Ferdinand , First Big reason !! There was 2 big powerful alliances in Europe TRIPLE ALLIANCE (Germany,AustriaHungary,Italy) and TRIPLE ENTENTE.(Britain,France,Russia) TRIPLE ALLIANCE GERMANY-before they joined the alliance Germany was split in many small stats government didn’t had control in the country. Germany had really powerful industrial power and big factory’s. After they join the alliance they unite as one big country, AUSRIA HUNGARY-AustriaHungary was really worried about Serbia getting stronger and needed to stop this that’s one of the main reason of the war. And Austria Hungary was made of different kinds of people with different nation. (germansczechsslovaksserbs) that’s why it was hard for them to keep their empire so they joined the alliance. ITALY-Italy was made up of many small states like Germany. Italy was the weakest ally of triple alliance and they didn’t had he complete trust of other ally’s because basically they joined the alliance just not get invaded and be safe they had nothing positive to the alliance but also nothing negative. TRIPLE ENTENTE BRITAIN-Britain had the strongest navy, they formed the alliance with France in 1904 and 1907 in with Russia. Britain agreed to be alliances with Russia because Russia was loosing their power since they lost the war against Japan (8 February 1904~5 September 1905 The Nichi Ro Sensou ) that’s why for Britain it was a great chance to become a alliance with them since they lost their power there was no danger of getting betrayed and loose. FRANCE-France was kind of like Italy they were scared and wanted a protection but they actuary had a strong army, not like Italy. And also France wanted their rich industrial land that have been taken by Germany Alsace Lorraine ( Taken in 1871 ~ Returned in 1918 by the Treaty of Versile ) RUSSIA-Russia use to be much stronger back then but they have lost many war against several country’s they had a loan form France to build up their industrial power to make their army stronger. Russia was the biggest country but still their army wasn’t strong enough that’s why they agreed to join the alliance and to be able to get their power. AustriaHungary was their biggest enemy and that’s why Russia was supporting Serbia because Austria Hungary hated Serbia and Russia. Alliance system reallyeffected the war because it made other country’s face each other even if they didn’t wanted to. And all the country’s in the alliance had some sort of hatred against the other alliance so it was obvious that there will be a war. Second Big reason!! Colonial problems between the alliances. There was great deal of colonial problems between the alliances. For example OIL something really important even now or back then. The main country’s that had oil was Persia and Germany was supporting the Ottoman Empire ( oh YEAH ) but Britain and Russia was not happy about that. Germany start to erne power on Persia and The Baghdad Rail way append from Iraq to Germany.( Baghdad railway 1903~1940 connectBerlin to ottoman empire city Baghdad with 1600KM rail way. line through Turkey Syria and Iraq) Also both the alliances wanted a part in Africa .this occurred between 19th century up to 20th century. 1904 Britain and France agreed in colonies. Powerful alliances wanted colonies to get Gold diamonds in Africa also for trade they also wanted colonies for wealth power and prestige its also easier to trade in colonies. So colonies where really important and had to had for the alliances. It created a big tension between the country’s it was a great deal of advantage to have a colonies in Africa of any other place and Germany used this very well. Powerful alliances did anything to get these colonies. Third Big Reason !! Problems in Balkan countries created a tension between the alliances Balkans was an entire area that had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire for long long time. The Turkish government was in collapse and empire it self was weaken. Russia and AustriaHungaryreally wanted to control the Balkans because Balkans can allow them the access over the Mediterranean for trading and developing new skills. The mail problem is Balkans is that every country is Balkans wants to rule themselves them want to be by them selves .Austria took over the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina Russia and Bosnia was Therereally mad at Austria because they had same religion and same be livings.Germany made it clear that they will defend Austria in any case of war and Serbia and Russia was not strong enough to risk a war againstGermany. So they start to build up their army .a lot of fights occurred in Balkans and strongest was Serbia. And Austria was searching for a good reason to declare was on Serbia. And their big opportunity came with assassination of Arch duke and every thing started from there. Austria felt so confident because they had Germany to back them up. And when the war began all the European powers where involved. The problems in Balkans where sooo difficult so solve because a lot of counties where involved and each country was so patriotic and loved their country .it was really hard to convince a country in Balkans and almost impossible to rule an entire country.

Jack and Konstantin and Serge

Did the alliance system make war more likely or less likely?

-Yes, the alliance system made the war more likely because: There were two different alliances, the triple alliance and the triple entente. The triple alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Germany: The main reason of Germany joining the triple alliance was to save them from France and have a team. Before they joined the triple alliance they were split up into many states and the strongest amongst them was Prussia. Prussia later on had a war with France and then Germany united as one big country. Austria-Hungary: Was made up of many different kinds of people like Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs and many others. However their main concern was to keep their empire together since it was so mixed it was hard. There neighboring states like Serbia were getting strong in the Balkan area and Austria-Hungary didn’t want them any stronger. Unfortunately Russia was supporting the Balkans and they had a very strong army. Italy: Italy was also formed from small states like Germany and their main concern was to get its government established but by 1914 the country was settled looking to show their power. Italy also wanted to make an empire overseas and also wanted to set up colonies Italy joined the triple alliance later on, however Germany and Austria didn’t fully trust their ally. Then there was the triple entente, which had Britain, France and Russia. Britain: Before they were in the triple entente Britain thought of Russia and France and their biggest enemies. This had changed over time for reasons like. Britain and France agreed on colonies in Africa and Russia was getting much weaker since they had lost a war against Japan. So as soon as Britain saw Kaisers position and what he wanted, Britain acted fast and agreed to be an alliance with France in 1904 and Russia in 1907. France: France was in a similar position with Britain. They were afraid that Germany was getting too strong and but the French had made their army as well. France was concerned of keeping their country safe from Germany and to get the Alsace-Lorraine back from Germany. Alsace Lorraine was a rich industrial Region and so France wanted it back from Germany since Germany had taken it from them in 1870. Russia: Russia was also afraid of Germany. Even though they were the biggest amongst the six countries, they still didn’t have such a good army and they were much weaker because they had lost many wars. Russia got loans from France to build some industries, and they were building up there army for the future. Russia was an enemy of Austria-Hungary. This was the reason why Russia was supporting Serbia which was enemy of Austria-Hungery.

So the alliance did affect the war because it made others more against each other as they joined teams. I think that if they never joined any alliance there would have been less of a war but maybe more hate between countries.

2) How far did colonial problems create tension between the Great Powers?

Colonial powers somewhat did create tension between great powers. For example, it created tension in Africa where the two great powers wanted parts of Africa, this occurred in the 19th century up until the 20th century. Since Africa was different then the other countries, most of the great powers had their own colonies in Africa, like in 1904 when Britain and France agreed about the colonies.

Another colonial was oil. Oil was in Persia and Germany was supporting the Ottoman Empire but Britain and Russia were not happy about that. As Germany started to get power over Persia and there oil, the Baghdad railway had opened from Iraq to Germany and so Germany had threatened Britain and Russia with all the oil supply from Persia

So as the Both alliances got against each other, they did anything to harm one another, so the colonial problems did create tension between Powers. It created tension because if both powers wanted something they would do anything to get it and so that created a lot of tension and Germany used this very well against the other Powers.

How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war ?

Europe had reached its breaking point when on June 28, 1914, The archduke Francis (Franz) Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian – Hungarian throne, was killed / assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian nationalist belonging to an organization known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand organization is a secret patriotic society, the “Defence of the People”(Nardona Odbrana). It was founded in Serbia around 1908, and its intent was to strengthen the spirit of nationalism. As soon as the Archduke got killed Germany pledged its full support, a blank check to Austria Hungary, pressuring them to declare war on Serbia. In that time France strengthened its back with the support of Russia. The Blank Check had the use that Aust ria-Hungary could rely that Germany would support whatever action was necessary to deal with Serbia. Austria-Hungary issued Serbia an ultimatum which was unacceptable, which Serbia rejected almost entirely. The ultimatum had a lot of aims and was very harsh, but the main aim was that Serbia should become Austria-Hungary. Because of the Alliances, Austria-Hungary set the ultimatum to Serbia on 23 of July, on 29 of July the Russian army got ready to back up Serbia and defend their selves against Austria and Germany declared the war on Russia. August 1st, Germany began to move its army toward France and Russia, but on August 2nd the French army was also ready to fight against the German invasion. On August the 3rd, Germany declared the war on France and invaded Belgium, Britain wanted Germany to leave Belgium but they stayed so Britain declared the war on Germany on the 4th August. On the 6th August, Austria declared the war on Russia. So all the European powers were in involved in war, the triple alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary) and triple entente (France, Britain, Russia,) and Serbia.

Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the great powers to solve?

The Balkans was an area that had been ruled by turkey for a very long time, but the Turks started to decline. The new Turkish governments which had been set up in place of Turkish rule where regularity in dispute with each other. There where two great powers which emerged in the Balkans which included Russia and Austria. Both where very eager to control the area because it would give them access over the Mediterranean for trading and developing new stills. The problem in the Balkans was that all the countries in the Balkans wanted to rule the place for themselves. Austria took over the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia and Serbian where very mad at the Austrians because Bosnia and Herzegovina had the same religion and beliefs as them. Germany made it clear that they would back Austria Hungary In case of a war. Serbia and Russia Where both not powerful enough to risk a war with Germany so they started to build up their arms. A lot of fights took place in the Balkans and Serbia was the strongest and most powerful of them all so Austria tried to find a good reason to declare war on Serbia. Austria's opportunity came when the assassination of the Arch duke came, they had a good reason to blame the killing on the Serbians and could therefore start a war. With the back up of Germany Austria felt very confident and felt secure enough to deal Serbian problem once and for all. Austria sent Serbia a ten point ultimatum, but the Serbs where not able to accept as it was too harsh to accept. On July 28 1914 Austria declared war on Serbia, and that was the start of WW1, because of the alliances all the great European powers got involved, German, Austria, Britain. France, Russia, and Serbia.

The problems in the Balkans where not easy to solve as there where a lot of different countries that where involved in the situation. Including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Serbia and many more. The problem was if somebody tried to end the war the a whole new war would start. Russia was in an alliance with Britain and France and Austria Hungary was backed by Germany. So if somebody tried to stop all the Balkan wars all the alliances would get involved in the situation and the situation will get much worse.

** Were the peace treaties of 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? **

Brendan and Tristan

Aims of treaty of Versailles

Georges Clemanceau:

· Break Germany up into little states.

· W He wanted reparations bill to be a lot higher

· He wanted Alsace lorraine back to france

· He wanted to make Germany only have 100,000 soldiers

· He wanted Rhineland to have no soldiers on it

Lloyd George: · He wanted Germany to be punished but not to harshly · He waned Germany to make their navy less powerful · He wanted Germany to lose all his colonies

Woodrow Wilson: · He wanted his fourteen points to be in the treaty · He did not believe that Germany should be punished · He wanted to make a more peaceful world · He wanted democracy · He wanted the league of nations to be established · He wanted countries in the eastern europe to be ruled by their own people

Victor problems

As soon as the paris peace conferance began there was a disagreement between leaders about how harsh the treaty should be. The main aim was to cripple germany so they could not get strong once again.France wanted to cripple germany very badly because in the past Germany damaged france so badly.France really wanted to get revenge on Germany and they thought they could do that by the treaty. England and America didint want to cripple germany so badly because they thought that if they made the treaty to harsh germany would want revenge and they would have another war in a few years.England wanted things to go back to normal because they use to trade with germany alot. England wanted germany to have no navy because they were quickly gaining on england with the size of the navy. Woodrow wilson wanted to make a league of nations so that countries could get together and discuss problems so there is no war. The problem is that all three of the victors had different aims and it took a very long time to come to a final decision about the treaty because they did not want to cooperate with each other.

Impact On Germany

After the treaty Germany was bankrupt because they had to pay the reparatons bill which was 6600 million. This made Germanys economy collapse,Which led to hyperinflation. Germanys army was dramaticly cut down to 100,000 soldiers only and this wouldnt let germans feel secure. They could only have 6 battleships in the navy. The Rhineland became a demilitarised zone which ment that germany could have no troops in that area and that was a critical area for germany because it was the border between germany and france. Germanys colonies were taken away from them and they were controlled by the league of nations which ment that they were controlled by their past enemies because they were the leaders of the league of nations. Germany was not allowed to become one country with Austria which was a big problem because they were basically the same country. Germany also lost a part which was given to poland which was called the polish corridor which took away their access to the ocean which was bad for the navy. Alsace Lorrain as returned to france which was a problem because it was their main coal income from there. And Germany had taken all the blame for the war and they were forced to accept it, even though they werent completely responsible for the war. Germany also lost 12.5% of its population in the war.

Was The Treaty Fair

Fair:

Since Germany did the most damage during the war they should have to pay most reparation bill.

Germany had stolen Alsace Lorrain from France in a past war so it was fair that France gets their land back.

Unfair:

It was unfair that Germany took all the blame for the war even though it wasnt only their fault.

Germany shouldnt of had to pay the whole reparation bill because the other countries did alot of damage too.

Germany lost alot of land after the war like the part they called the Polish Corridor and Alsace Lorrain.

Every country had fought in the war but germany was the only country that could only have 100,000 soldiers

Germany and Austria were basically the same country and they were not allowed to join as one country

Germany was not allowed to have any colonies over sea and could only have 6 battleships in their navy

AMIN&MANSUR

GEORGES CLEMENCEAU:

Wanted the treaty to be harsher. He wanted Germany to pay the reparations for France. He wanted to demilitarize the Rhineland. He wanted France to get German colonies. He wanted Germany to be split up into many smaller countries.

DAVID LLOYD GERORGE:

He wanted to get some German colonies. He wanted a smaller German navy. He thought the treaty was so harsh. He thought it would cause another war 25 years time.

WOODROW WILSON:

A League of Nations. Self-determination for the peoples of eastern Europe. Some of his 14 points weren’t accepted in the treaty. When he went back to America the senate refused to join the League if Nations.

Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted: In the peace treaty they were arguing how harsh the treaty should be. But some countries wanted to totally destroy Germany but some other leaders wanted a softer treaty because they thought that this treaty would cause a war in 20 years. England was scared too because they didn’t want to destroy trade with Germany because a big part of their economy depended on their trade with Germany. The part that mostly stopped the victors from achieving their aims was that every leader had his own opinion, which leads to a conflict in the treaty aims.

IMPACT OF THE TREATY: The treaty was unfair because in the treaty Germany had to accept all the blame for starting the war, it was forbidden to have submarines or air force, they were only allowed to have one navy with 6 battleships and an army with only 100.000 men. Germany also wasn’t allowed to put any troops on the Rhineland; they had to pay all the reparations for the damage cause by the war, Germany lost many land in Europe which was given to Britain and France, they weren’t allowed to join the League of Nations and they weren’t allowed to unite with Austria.

COULD THE TREATY BE JUSTIFIED AT THE TIME:]

FAIR: We think that it was fair that Germany had to pay all the reparations but most of the other things were unfair.

UNFAIR: The unfair things are that they had to have a limited number of troops and navy ships, they also had to accept the blame for starting the war, the German colonies had to be given to the treaty presidents and that want fair because every thing should go back to normal and I also think that Germany should be allowed to put troops on the Rhineland.

Mansur and Amin

GEORGES CLEMENCEAU:

· Wanted the treaty to be harsher. · He wanted Germany to pay the reparations for France. · He wanted to demilitarize the Rhineland. · He wanted France to get German colonies. · He wanted Germany to be split up into many smaller countries.

DAVID LLOYD GERORGE:

· He wanted to get some German colonies. · He wanted a smaller German navy. · He thought the treaty was so harsh. · He thought it would cause another war 25 years time.

WOODROW WILSON:

· A League of Nations. · Self-determination for the peoples of eastern Europe. · Some of his 14 points weren’t accepted in the treaty. · When he went back to America the senate refused to join the League if Nations.

Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted: In the peace treaty they were arguing how harsh the treaty should be. But some countries wanted to totally destroy Germany but some other leaders wanted a softer treaty because they thought that this treaty would cause a war in 20 years. England was scared too because they didn’t want to destroy trade with Germany because a big part of their economy depended on their trade with Germany. The part that mostly stopped the victors from achieving their aims was that every leader had his own opinion, which leads to a conflict in the treaty aims.

IMPACT OF THE TREATY: The treaty was unfair because in the treaty Germany had to accept all the blame for starting the war, it was forbidden to have submarines or air force, they were only allowed to have one navy with 6 battleships and an army with only 100.000 men. Germany also wasn’t allowed to put any troops on the Rhineland; they had to pay all the reparations for the damage cause by the war, Germany lost many land in Europe which was given to Britain and France, they weren’t allowed to join the League of Nations and they weren’t allowed to unite with Austria.

COULD THE TREATY BE JUSTIFIED AT THE TIME:] FAIR: We think that it was fair that Germany had to pay all the reparations but most of the other things were unfair. UNFAIR: The unfair things are that they had to have a limited number of troops and navy ships, they also had to accept the blame for starting the war, the German colonies had to be given to the treaty presidents and that want fair because every thing should go back to normal and I also think that Germany should be allowed to put troops on the Rhineland.

** To what extent was the League of Nations a success? ** ** • How successful was the League in the 1920s? ** ** • How far did weaknesses in the League’s organisation make failure inevitable? ** ** • How far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult? **

Hamza

To what extent was the League of Nationsa success?

How successful was the league in the 1920s? In the 1920s the League of Nations was fairly successful because it was solving disputes between nations fairly and every nation was listening to the decision of the league. Even Germany accepted the harsh terms of the treaty of Versailles and in 1926 Germany itself joins the League of Nations. Many nations agreed with the league and decided not to settle disputes by going to war. Some of the successes and failures of the league are: Vilna 1920 (Failure) In 1920 there were two new states, Lithuania and Poland, Vilna was made the capital of the new state Lithuania. In Vilna the population was mainly polish and Poland took control of Vilna. Lithuania appealed to the League of Nations but the league did not take any serious actions, they just told Poland to withdraw their troops from Vilna but Poland did not listen and in the end Poland kept Vilna. Upper Silesia, 1921 (Success) In 1921 Poland and Germany both wanted control of Upper Silesia (industrial area). The league made the people of the Upper Silesia vote. The industrial area voted for Germany and the rural area voted for Poland, therefore the league divided the area. Aaland Islands, 1921 (Success) In 1921, both Sweden and Finland wanted control of Aaland islands, both countries were threatening war. The league studied the case closely and decided that Aaland Islands will go to Finland; the war was avoided as Sweden accepted the decision of the league.

How far did the weakness in the league’s organization make failure inevitable?

Some of the weaknesses of the league were that the league only met once in a year and a lot of disputes and conflicts can build up in one year. If the League of Nations passes harsh punishments against a country, the country will feel that the punishment is too harsh then the country can leave the League of Nations or stop listening to the league which can ruin the reputation of the league and if one country stops listening to the league other countries will do so as well because they will think that the league is weak and will not take any serious action against them if they stop listening to the league. They will start thinking that the league is just a formality but it has no strength. The league did not have any military troops, which was a very big weakness of the league because if the country says ‘no’ to a decision made by the league the league can simply do nothing about it which ruins the reputation of the league again. Another problem of the league was that all countries did not join the league but the purpose of the league was to bring peace through out the world but if all the countries do not join it can not punish the non-member states and if they try to send the troops of member states to fight with non-member states, another world war may start. One more problem of the league was that all the member states have to agree and if some states do not agree, they can get into heated conversations with other member-states and war can break out. Another weakness of the league was that the league was controlled by the two most powerful states at that time (France and U.K) and if the other small states start noticing that the league was giving too many decisions in favour of France and U.K, war can start between some of the smaller states and France and U.K. How far did the depression make the work of the league more difficult? USA was the strongest country in the world at that time economically. The Wall Street crash In USA ruined America and American banks could no longer help the world improve their economy as USA itself was in such a mess. Another rich country who was trying a little bit to sort out economic tensions for the rest of the countries in the world, started suffering high unemployment and was now only worried about solving their own economic crisis and was not bothered about other countries who were suffering. The economic crash ruined the work of the league because the economic crash ruined relations between countries. For example, Germany was recovering right after the war ended and they had to pay a lot of money for all the damage caused by the war. Germany got loans from America to pay back for the damage but America was in a very bad condition now itself so it needed back the money to invest in creating jobs and improve economic conditions but Germany did not have money to pay back the loans immediately and this ruined relations between USA and Germany. In Japan the economic situation was so bad that it threatened a complete collapse of the company’s industry, this led to Japan taking over a rich part of China (Manchuria). This ruined relations between Japan and China.

Janet and Leonie and Antonia = = =** (1) How successful was the League in the 1920s? ANTONIA&LEONIE **=

The League of nations seemed very strong since there were about 60 countries that were members, however, the most powerful countries in the world didn’t join. Russia refused to join since they hated France and Britain, Germany wasn’t allowed to join since she got blamed for starting the war and everything and the USA didn’t want to join because they were worried about the economic cost they will have if they join in. Also, the Americans wanted to stay out of war affairs, many Americans hated the treaty of Versailles, and since a lot of Germans immigrated to America, they did not want to join, and the USA wanted freedom and didn’t want colonies. Without these countries, the league was pretty weak.

· Another weakness was that the league’s organization was a mess. All the different parts of the league were supposed to act together but no one could agree when it came to a crisis. For example; There was an assembly once a year with all the countries, and decisions had to be unanimous, which was very hard to achieve. · Once, there was an argument between Poland and Lithuania. Lithuania’s capital was Vilna, but its population was mainly Polish, so Poland took control over Vilna. Lithuania asked the League of nations for help, but all the league did was protesting against Poland and telling them not to take control, but Poland didn’t listen. France and England could have sent troops to Vilna to force the Poles out but they didn’t because France did not want to anger Poland, and Britain wasn’t prepared to go alone and sent troops all the way across Europe. The use of force by the Poles won. This was one of the many failures of the League. One of the successes of the league was the Aaland Islands in 1921. These islands are near enough equal distant between Finland and Sweden. They had belonged to Finland but most of the people wanted to be ruled by Sweden, not Finland. Neither Sweden nor Finland could come to a decision as to who owned the islands. In 1921, they finally decided to ask the League to make a decision for them. Their decision was that the people in the island should remain with Finland but no weapons should be kept there, ever. Both countries accepted this decision and it remains in force until now. This was one of the most successful actions that the League has made.

The league made many promises to the countries, but couldn’t keep a large number of them. It had a very complicated structure, so the complaints of the single countries had to go through many “sections” of the league, before it could be resolved. This took long time. They had an assembly only once a year, and the council only met once in 5 years. This made the countries very mad, because they wanted a quick resolution for their problems, and not wait for a year. A very good example of this “meeting weakness” is Corfu in 1923, when Greece and Albania wanted to fight for land they both believed was theirs. Luckily, the council was already working on this case, otherwise the two countries would have most probably gone to war. The Bigger countries like Italy, Japan, etc. got more special treatment, which again the smaller countries like Greece didn’t accept. This also made the league more unsuccessful. An example for this is again in Corfu, where there is no evidence, that the Greeks killed Tellini. They were fined, while Italy, who had invaded Greece after this, was let off by “condemning their actions”. This happened, because Italy was a good money source for the League, and they didn’t want to insult them. It is said, that the league would have been much more successful, if the USA would have joined, as they would have been a good financial support for the league, which couldn’t deal with the larger countries, which basically did what they wanted. It isn't such a big surprise that they didn't turn out to be a big success. They had too many weaknesses to be successful. I think the League was much more unsuccessful than successful.

= = =** (2) How far did weaknesses in the League’s organisation make failure inevitable? JANET **=

· The League of Nations consisted of 42 countries at the start. It was formed to solve international problems without resorting to war. This was President Wilson’s idea (president of the US), but they turned out not joining the League due to disagreements of other countries. Wilson was upset, but it was also a very big disadvantage to the League. Americans were the only nation with the resources of influence to make the League work, especially the trade sanctions. The other nations thought that it would only work if the Americans applied them. The US was there in the beginning to encourage others to join the League, and it was also there for the financial support. Instead, Britain and France had to take the job, and people doubted how effective it would be from the start. The US never joined the League and this is one of the main reasons that made failure inevitable. · Germany was another important country that hadn’t joined the League. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had started the war, so this was a punishment for them (not allowing them to join the League). The fact that it was set up by the Versailles Treaty was a weakness itself because everybody hated it. This led to many people hating the league, which led to people not caring about it. It was a disadvantage for Germany, but it was also a huge loss to the League of Nations because they couldn’t use whatever strength that Germany had. France was very concerned about it - they thought the League was too weak to protect France from its powerful neighbor without an army of its own (they didn’t have their own army). What could they possibly do without an armed force? · Another weakness of the structure was that the assembly met once a year. This would mostly be considered as a weakness, but it could also be a strength. In this yearly meeting, all nations could give out ideas, so there was a plenty of ideas to discuss from. They all tried their best to repair relations between countries, to improve working conditions and to prevent war, so it is true that they solved problems. However, this also meant that decisions were slow. Decisions weren’t made right after there was a problem. Problems could happen right after a meeting, and they would have to wait for a whole year to get it solved. In the mean time, the problem can grow bigger before the League was actually prepared for it. · It was bad enough that they only met once a year, even the decisions had to be unanimous – a decision had to be agreed by all members of the assembly before they could take action. This slowed down the process even more. Even if every nation except one disagreed, the decision would be invalid. Because of this, it took ages to make one decision. Like I said in the previous point, the problem could grow while they are trying to make a decision to be unanimous. This would automatically lead to failure because if the problem gets too big, they would ignore whatever the League says. As they failed to solve more and more problems, many people didn't trust it anymore, and in the end, it was just ignored. · As a League of ambitious goals, they did achieve some things that helped the world to become a better place. They returned 400,000 prisoners to their homelands, freed 200,000 slaves, stopped war between some countries, they helped Turkish refugees, they worked to defeat diseases such as leprosy and malaria, they attacked slave traders and drug dealers, etc.

** Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start? ** ** • How did Germany emerge from defeat at the end of the First World War? /10 ** ** • What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Republic? /10 ** ** • To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923? /10 ** ** • What were the achievements of the Weimar period?/ /10 **

Anar, Farid, and Qurban 1- GERMANY AFTER FIRST WORLD WAR After disasterous defeat of German Empire in First World War ( also known as Great War), and Kasiser abdicated his throne and left to Netherlands. Germany as well as german citizens faced serious challenges of consequences of Fisrt Warld War. Industrial production was cut down, and there were big gaps between rich and poor people. National income rapidly went down,but worst of all is that Germany was now in throes of revolution. But Germany's biggest headache was Treaty of Versailles, that put Germany in even worst situation. Also Allies told Germany that it must become more Democratic. Germany now needed new stable government. The socialist leader Friedrich Ebert took control of Germany in his hands. He signed peace treaty with Allies ( Britain, France, and Russia), so the war was over, and accepted treaty of versailles. He aslo announced that German Empire now became Republic of Germany (also known as Weimar Republic- It was called this way because the new government for their first time met in the small town of Weimar. Berlin was still too violent and unstable after Great War). This new Republic was giving people freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and better working conditions. Also new constitution was wroten. Now, succes of new government depended on German people, that had to accept a new type of Democratical ruling instead of old, traditional Autocratical ruling. This was a hard challenge, because Germany was autocratical country for approximately 50 years. From the very beggining, Weimar Republic had opposition from both left (communists) and right (Kaiser's supporters). Left wing opposers were Communists who were also known in germany as Spartacists. These were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Communists were strong anti-government force throughout 1920s.They stronglu argued about Ebert's plans for a Democratical Republic of Germany. Their party was like Lenin's Bolshewik's party in Russia. Communists believed that Germany needed communist revolution just like in Russia in 1917.They also believed that Germany must be ruled by worker's councils and Soviets, again, just like in Russia. karl Liebknech ans Rosa Luxemburg were really impressed by Karl Marx'es and Friedrich Engels'es theory of communism (These are also known as Fathers of Communist's Theory). On the right wing, there were Kaiser's followers also known as Freikorps. These people were rised in the glorious days of Kaiser's ruling and they thought that people like Ebert stabbed Germany in the back during Great War. They had liked Kaiser's type of ruling, they also liked Germany having strong army. They believed that Germany must expand it's territory. They wanted Germany to be an Empire once again. Freikorps hadn't a real leader. So they were manipulated by Friedrich Ebert to crash Communist's uprisings in different territories like Bavaria, Ruhr, etc.Freikorps were led Dr Wolfgang Kapp into Berlin to crash Ebert's party. It seemed Weimar Republic had no chances because army refused to shoot into freikorps. But it was saved by German people, especially industrial workers of Berlin that supported Ebert's type of ruling. Basically Freikorps and Spartasists fought more against each other than with Ebert's democrats

2- TREATY OF VERSAILLES As we already know, all German people were against signing Treaty of Versailles. But Ebert had no choise, Germany was to weak now to go back to war. As the result- Germany lost 10 per cent of its land, ALL of it overseas colonies (that later were shared between Britain and France), 12.5 per cent of its population, 6 percent of its coal industry, and 48 per cent of its iron industry ( territories like Ruhr that were given to France). And in addition to all this embarrasment German army was reduced to 100.000, that was a really small number for a country Germany's size, its navy was reduced as well. Also Germany had to accept all the blame for starting the war and it was forced to volunarilly pay reparations to France and Britain. In Minds of German people Ebert and his Weimar Republic was forever blamed for the Treaty of Versailles. These people believed that Germany wasn't defeated on the battlefield during First Warld War, but it was stabbed in the back by weak politicians like Ebert (and later Jews). Germany had to pay 6600 million pounds to the Allies. Their first installment of 50 million ponds was paid in 1921, but in 1922 they paid nothing. French run out of patience, because thay had to pay war debts to USA too. So in 1923(!) French and Belgian troops entered Ruhr (It was legal because Treaty of Versailles said that France can take raw resources from Ruhr territory) and started taking away all raw materials and goods that were owed to them. The results of occupations of Ruhr were terrible for Germany. Weimar government ordered the workers to go on strike against occupants. But as the result French soldiers killed over 100 workers and expelled 100.000 protesters from Ruhr Industrial Area. Now Germany had nothing to back up their currency, because Ruhr was MAIN industrial area in Germany. This caused collapse of German Currency (Marks) and also hyperinflation. Now Germany had no goods to trade with other countries, so government simply printed more money.It seemed a very attractive sollution to Weimar Government. It simlpy paid its loans in worthless marks. Industrialists were now able to pay their debts as well. From this moment German economy lost its balance. With so much money in circulation, prices went (or flew) up, people started to realise that this money was worthless, because government could print as much as they wanted to. People suffered. Especially rich people who had savings in banks. For example if their savings could buy them a house in 1921, in 1923 would not even buy them a cup of coffee. Germany was now in desasterous situation once again. In 1923 Gustav Stresemann took control of Germany with his new government (It was still Weimar Republic but Stresemann had different political views from Eberts) 3-WEIMAR REPUBLIC AFTER 1923 In 1923 new president came to power in Weimar Republic, Gustav Stresemann. He was a chancellor for a few months, and as a right-winger had wide support. He was a more skilful politician than Ebert, and we will understand why. Under a Dewis plan, reparations were spread over a longer time. And 800 million marks were paid to Germany by USA. He also showed strength by calling of passive resistance in Ruhr against French occupants.He also called in worthless marks and replased them with Rentenmarks that were advised to Stresemann by Economical minister of Weimar Republic, Hans Luther. In 1928 Germany achieved the same levels of production as before the war. Reporations were paid in full amount and esports were growing rapidly.The mein economic winners were people who run big businesses such as steel or coal industries, also chemical industries. They controlled most of Germany's chemical produchtion Politics became more stable. Parties that were supporting the repoblic were growing in number. Stresemen also signed Locarno Treaty that guaranteed not to try to change Germany's western borders with France or Belgium. And in 1926 Germany had finally joined the League of Nations. Also Stresemann succeded in removing French soldiers from Ruhr and Rhineland (where Germany was not allowes to have any troops) by signing Young Plan that settled all German Reparations. Once again Germany became a popular culture country. Its artists and musicians flourished. It also was a golden age for German cinema. It made one of the most greatest stars, Marlene Dietrich. Weimar Republic also had some serious weaknesses. Peasant farmers and middle class families were the once who lost lots of money during this time. Peasant farmers had incriesed the production during war. But after the war finishe they found themselfs overproducing. The still had to pay same mortages as before but they had not enaugh demand for the food they produced.Also small shopkeepers and businessmens were treatened by large department stores and businesses. It was really hard to run a small business in Germany at that time. Another problem was political opponents. Nazis and Communists were growing up very fast. Germany had 4 different Chancellors. And worst of all, around 30 per cent of the voting went to the parties opposing the republic. Also in 1926 German people have selected their last president Hindenburg. He opposed to democracy and supported Kaiser's type of ruling. Germany was still a trouble place. 4-ACHIEVEMENTS OF WEIMAR PERIOD Weimar Republic brought democracy to Germany and elections took place for the first time in Germany's history on which Ebert's party won, and Ebert himself became the first president of Germany. Even though it was weak at the beggining, after 1928 it became more powerfull. It recovered pretty well after Great War. Stresemenn dealed very well with hyperinflation that was inevitable after war. Also Germany became more 'peaceful' during that time. They achieved pretty good relations with France and Britain. Signing Dewis and Young plan gave Germany chance to recover after First World War. They paid all reparation loans. Political opponents were way weaker than Weimar Republic at the time of Ebert ans Stresemann. In my openion post-war time is the hardest time for any nation, especially if you lost the war. I think that Weimar Republic did pretty well and achieved most of their targets. If we come back to the original question ' Was the Weimar Republic Doomed from the Start?' my answer will be YES. Since the the very first day of the Weimar Republic it had serious political opponents that were very strong (Spartacists and Freikorps). Ebert or Stresemann could deal with them only by manipulation. Also majority of people didn't support Weimar Republic, Weimars situation was very hard from the beggining. It was a very weak republic, so that the man like Hitler could easily take control of it. Their economy was weak without Ruhr or other industrial areas. This caused hyperinflation in the country, that was solved only with uprise of new government and new currency. Of course we can debate for a long time, but the answer is clear- Weimar Republic was very unstable from the start By: Anar, Farid, and Gurban

** Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by1934 ** ** • 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 1933–4? **

Samira

Abhishree and Natalia



What did the Nazi Party stand for in the 1920s?(Natalia) Main Hitler's ideas were published in 1920,in the program NSDAP (25 points).Briefly, it included this: • Anti – Semitism Hitler was against all "foreigners" and especially Jews.He wanted to "clean" Germany from foreigners.He exactly let know that german citizens are primary, but foreigners are secondary and, basically, they must be expelled from the country, especially Jews. It is shown in points 4,5,6,7,8,10 of the NSDAP program. • Anti – capitalism Hitler wanted to nationalize all big factories,associated industries,small and big shops,land.It basically is anti-capitalism.Points 13,16,17 in NSDAP program say it. • Anti – communism Communists were the second biggest opposition and main competitor for power. • Anti- parliamentarianism • German nationalism Hitler showed in all points of 25-point program that the wanted the best for his nation.He wanted good education,place to work, care about German people as main purpose.He wanted to improve living conditions, the elimination of unemployment, mass distribution of a healthy lifestyle, tourism and sports.(points 15,20) • Believed in Aryan race Aryan race meant North-European race.Hitler thought that it was the most "pure" race because it wasn't mixed with aborigines.Hitler said: All human culture, all the achievements of art, science and technology, witnesses of which we are today - the fruits of creativity of Aryans ... He [Aryan] - Prometheus of mankind, with a light brow from which at all times flew sparks of genius, kindling the fire of knowledge that illuminates the gloomy darkness of ignorance that allowed man to rise above the other creatures of the earth. • Traditional values Hitler supported traditional values, maternity, patriarchy, village life which gained lot of support from country people and all traditional people especially if we remember about emancipation at Weimar republic times. • Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles Hitler promised to improve living conditions and unemployment,by Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles.He promised that it will raise level of life to average or high level, money will go on making jobs, Germany will not have guilt for starting war and will not be envious for other countries.They wanted their territory and colonies back.Points 2 and 3 say about it. • Union of Germany and Austria Hitler thought that then Germany will be great power again.Point 1 says a bout it. • Strong central government Hitler also wanted indisputable authority of leader and party to be able to realize all they promised.It is said in point 25. • Greater Germany Hitler wanted German territory and colonies back to improve living state. Point 1 and 3 claims about it. • Lebensraum- uniting of the german people together Hitler believed that if German people co-operate and work together, Germany will be great power again.Point 1 says about it. • Rearmament in Germany Hitler wanted to improve economics by preparation for war.Points 12 and 22 say about it. • Hitler wanted freedom for religion.Point 24 says about it. Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930?(Natalia)

Before 1930 right opposition was trying to take power by force as Communists. It didn't help to gain votes, even made people threat against Freikorps.For example, when 5000 Freikorps tried to make a rebellion in Berlin,(known as Kapp Putsch, because it was led by Wolfgang Kapp), German people stopped them.A lot of people, especially German Workers of berlin declared a general strike which made Kapp and other rebellions understand that the rebellion didn't sucseed and give up the idea.Another evidence that proves that people didn't like right wing opposition is that in 1919 they gained 50 MPs meanwhile parties that support the Republic gained 350 MPs. All right wing opposition's tryings to take power were stopped by goverment.For example when Hitler tried to make a rebellion know as Munich Putsch, police caught him and put into prison. Due 1920's situation in Germany was not that bad.Yes, they had inflation, but the Great Depression was much worse. People were nearly starving, and they were ready to vote for any party because they just wanted change. Hitler promised a lot, so they voted for him. So during 1920's people didn't had that bad time. Also during Weimar Republic under Stresemann a lot of people had good time, such as atists, actors, musicians, Jews, buisnessmen. And they didn't want to change anything because they had freedom for their work, art, and life.

Why was Hitler able to become chancellor by 1933?

Hitler became chancellor because Von Papen was seeking revenge from Schleicher because he had convinced Hindenburg into making him chancellor which meant Von Papen had to step down. Later, when Schleicher didn’t do a good job and Hitler won many seats, Papen decided to take revenge and convinced Hindenburg into making Hitler chancellor and Papen vice – chancellor. Hindenburg and Papen thought they could control Hitler, but they were wrong. Hitler wasn’t the man who could be controlled; he started to use his power as soon as he was made chancellor, he did many things but one of the important things he did was “the night of the long knives”, killing people at his own will who were against him. People had voted Hitler because they had no other choice, since the great depression had hit them and they also had to pay the reparations therefore their only hope was Hitler. He also promised them “Bread and Work” so he was going to offer them jobs and which would get them food to eat, these were the greatest problems they were facing during that time and Hitler was the only one who could solve them. Hitler made policies that supported the German citizens’ needs and were helpful for him as well, like making the Reichstag allow the “Enabling Act” so Hitler could pass any law without anyone’s permission.

How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933-4?

· Hitler used propaganda which included many policies, like controlling the media, the newspapers, the radio, even spying on people just so they could tell if they were saying anything against Hitler. Hitler controlled everything, he attacked the newspaper agency on 5th April 1932 with a smoke bomb since they had published something against Hitler in the newspapers, and he had also shut down those papers so they couldn’t publish anything further. Hitler destroyed anything or anyone against him. · Goebbels, one of the Nazis, was responsible for making children come together, the Nazi supporting children, and burn down books that had information against Nazis. Both the newspaper banning and the book burning helped the Nazis control the young people because the children either never got to read anything against Nazis or they destroyed anything opposing them, so this made them in favor of the Nazis. · Hitler made Reichstag allow the ‘Enabling Act’ so he could pass any law with no one interfering So he killed anyone again who he felt threatened by, which brought up the event of ‘the Night of the Long Knives; he felt that Ernst Rohm would go against Hitler since he was controlling the 4 million SA men army and Hitler felt that Ernst wanted to take over his position. So he arrested Rohm for plotting a murder and attempting to overthrown Hitler and got him executed along with 400 more men who had nothing to do with him. Hitler offered the German citizens what they needed the most, Jobs which allowed the Germans to make enough money to provide their family with food and shelter. Hitler also made a law which was for all the women to stay home and have babies. The family was given money for each child they had, on the birth of the 4th child,they were given a complete sum of money. He wanted complete families in Germany.

** How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933 – 1945? (Bhoomika) ** ** • How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime? ** ** • How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents? ** ** • How did the Nazis use culture and the mass media to control the people? ** ** • Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society? ** ** • Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state? **

• How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime?

The Nazi party was a very big and powerful group. When they first came to power many people thought that they could be controlled and be useful to them, but this didn’t happen. As the Nazis grew, more and more people started disagreeing with their ideas. The largest opponents against the Nazis were the communists. They were the second largest political group and a threat to the Nazis. The communists wanted Germany to be a free country where there would be no leader and people had the right to speak. The Nazis, however, turned Germany into a more or less dictatorial country. There were other people who didn’t agree with the Nazis like social democrats, smaller parties who wanted Hitler's position, Jewish organizations, church leaders, army officers, the Youth protestors and some workers. The Social Democrats took strong actions to oppose the Nazis. They voted against the Enabling Act, they spread anti-Nazi posters and newspapers around Germany. Many of these groups were banned or exiled from Germany by the Nazis, but they kept creating smaller, undercover groups to resist against the Nazis. The workers showed their resentment by going on strikes, which lead to factories not producing any goods. There were also some young Germans who didn’t like the fact that the Nazis were controlling them and they preferred to go against the Nazis. They formed large youth groups who protested against the Nazi rules. An example of a youth group is the Edelweiss Pirates. They were basically young working class teenagers, around the ages of 14 to 17. They decided not to go to school or joint the military. They formed gangs and sometimes even attacked some of the Nazis. By 1944, their groups got so big that they started to shelter army deserters and helped escape prisoners. The Nazis could not do much to stop them because the group had young teenagers who were the future of Germany.

• How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents?

The Nazis had many political opponents and they used many different ways to deal with them. Almost all of their opponents got killed, sent to concentration camps, publicly humiliated or were banned from Germany. These actions were very effective because all the actions the Nazis took against these groups stopped more groups from being made. Sending people to concentration camps and publicly killing or abusing or them caused the other group members and citizens to fear the Nazis. The Nazis would kill the leaders of the groups to send a message to the others that if you continue to fight and resist against the Nazis the same will happed to you. In some cases, the Nazis would even kill entire families of opposition supporters so that there would be no hatred from the children whose parents died. By enforcing the Enabling Act Hitler had complete power over Germany. He used this power to make sure that there were no other opponents left and made sure that the Nazis had the Germany under control. However, there were times when the Nazis couldn’t do much to stop their opponents. An example of this was The Edelweiss Pirates. When The Edelweiss Pirates started growing the Nazis wanted to take serious action against them but they couldn’t because they were the future of Germany. All the people involved with The Edelweiss Pirates were young teenagers and so the Nazis couldn’t use force against them. Force was the Nazis greatest strengths and now that they couldn’t use this, the Nazis had a hard time getting rid of The Edelweiss Pirates. In this case, the Nazis captured and publicly humiliated them to show the other members that the Nazis were still very strong. The Nazis way of dealing with their opponents was not the best way, but it was very effective because it eliminated any potential threats to the Nazis.

• How did the Nazis use culture and the mass media to control the people?

The Nazis had total control over the things being shown and conveyed to the people of Germany. Anything being shown on TVs, newspapers, ads and poster was all a plan of the Nazis. They used every source of entertainment to convey messages about how great Hitler and the Nazis were. Hitler had appointed Joseph Goebbles to be in charge of the propaganda. Goebbel made sure that everyone in Germany believed that Hitler was the best ruler and that Hitler and the Nazis wanted the best of Germany. Goebbel strictly controlled the media. Any writer or painter who wanted to publish their painting or book had to be seen and approved by Goebbel. He even organized a book burning day, where students would come and publicly burn any books which had anything negative written about Hitler or the Nazis. As a result, books, posters and paintings would only show things about how great Hitler and the Nazis were, military people and pictured of the ideal Aryan family. Goebbles took control over the newspaper companies as well, making sure that no anti-Nazi ideas were being spread. Soon after Goebbles took control over the newspapers, Jewish reporters, journalists and editors lost their jobs and any anti-Nazi newspapers were shut down. Even films, regardless of what genre they were, had to have a message taking about how great the Nazis were. Goebbles stopped any and all films from other countries from being shown in Germany. He put up posters all around Germany convincing people that Hitler was the best. Soon as technology developed, Goebbles launched cheap radios in Germany, so that everyone could buy one. He controlled all the radio station and repeated Hitler's speeches and Nazi messages over and over again. Goebbles did everything he could to brainwash the Germans into believing everything Hitler and the Nazis said. He was supported by the SS, who helped him make sure that no one tried to spread anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler messages.

• Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society?

After the Nazis control over Germany, there were not many people who tried to go against them. The few that did try standing up against them were killed. The Nazis took severe action against any groups that were being formed to go against the Nazis. They did this to make sure that there would be no other option for the Germans to choose from, so that the Germans would not have a choice of whether or not to support the Nazi ideas. Not only did the Nazis kill the groups but they humiliated them in front of large audiences so that people could see what not to do if you want to safely live in Germany. The Nazi persecuted many groups like the Jewish people, other handicapped or mentally disabled people because they believed that these people were not true Germans. Hitler wanted a perfect country and to him, these people made Germany imperfect. He made these people look like bad guys and made sure that the Germans knew to stay away from them. Propaganda helped him in making these people look evil and this persuaded people into thinking that these were horrible people. Hitler wanted to make sure that the Nazis were the only one in control of Germany and that there was no ‘impurities’ left in Germany. He did not want anybody to believe or trust a group which was against the Nazis because that could lead them into realizing that the Nazis were controlling their minds. Hitler didn’t want to risk his position as leader and so he eliminated any group which could cause people losing faith in the Nazis.

• Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state?

The Nazi Germany was a dictatorial country and Hitler was a dictator for many reasons. One of the main reasons is the control Hitler had over the country. He made sure that no one was against him, no one tried to go against him and that no one tried to mislead people into disbelieving him. He strictly controlled what people read, heard, saw and even their thoughts. He had spies working for him, who would tell him anytime someone tried to go against him or try to create an organization against the Nazis. Hitler eliminated any opponents and any potential threats to him and his groups. He used force and power to keep Germany in control and to ensure that no one tried to plan anything against him. If at any time, someone tried to go against him he would make sure that everyone knew what happened to them. Hitler controlled the youth of Germany by sending them to specially designed organizations to train them so that they could fight for Germany. He forced women to leave their jobs and become a housewives and he sent the men to work, replacing the women. There was no arguing with the Nazis and if anyone did try to, they would be killed. Hitler created fear inside the minds of the Germans and this helped him run Germany as a dictatorial country. With the help of the Enabling Act and the power he got after that, Hitler made sure that no one could say anything that could later go against him. There was no such thing as freedom of speech and everyone did and said exactly as they were told. Their minds were set to believe everything Hitler and his men said. Whether that meant to treat the Jews as animals or to trust everything the Nazis said, the Germans did everything they were told. Hitler took all the power and as the years went by his power and control over Germany grew. There was no chance of Germany becoming a democratic or communist country because Hitler did not let any opposing party live in Germany. Hitler excluded Germany from any external news from anywhere around the world, so that no one knew if what was happening in Germany was right or wrong. This shows that Hitler was a dictator and was pretty successful in turning Germany into a totalitarian country.

**• 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? **

What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? • How did young people react to the Nazi regime? As there were really no other alternatives, young people had to embrace the Nazi regime. They were attracted to the leisure opportunities offered by the Nazi Youth. The Nazi Youth was made by Hitler so that he had complete control over different aspects of young Germans' lives. The Nazi Youth invaded the school curriculum and what was taught to both Females and males. Any other organization made for the youth was either absorbed the the Hitler Youth or made illegal. A lot of teens felt proud of the country that they were part of and were extremely loyal to Hitler, who they felt was their first priority. This was the whole purpose of Hitler Youth - to protect Hitler and defend anything he says so that there wouldn't be any rebellions in the future. These children soon became alienated from their parents, who were sometimes against Nazi policies. While a lot of children and young adults didn't mind being under the control of Hitler, there were some who rebelled against the Nazis. Two major teen groups against the Nazis were: The Swing Movement The Edelweiss Pirates The Swing movement was made up of mainly middle class teenagers. These group of teenagers listened and sang to American and English music, danced to American songs and accepted Jews at their clubs. They would talk about sex and the Nazis even issued a book which helped identify one of these teenagers. The Edelweiss Pirates were working class teenagers, who were against the Nazi Youth and would mock them. Their attitude towards sex was free, which was frowned upon by the Nazis. Most of the Pirates were either arrested or ignored because killing teenagers wouldn't help Nazi Germany grow stronger. However, the Nazis started to worry about the activities of the Pirates. In 1944, the E Pirates helped prisoners escape and took part in an attack against Gestapo. In the end, the Chief was killed and the Nazis decide to round up the "ring leaders" and hang 12 of the teenagers in public.

• How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family? The Nazi Policies were mainly successful, though there were times when the policies contradicted themselves. An example of a successful Nazi policy is "Law for the Encouragement of Marriage" which stated that newly married couple would receive 1000 marks. With the first child, the couple could keep the first quarter. With the second child, the couple could keep the second quarter and so on. This was policy was pretty successful as women would be more enthusiastic towards marriage and having children. This increased the birth rate and helped the Nazis because more children, who supported Nazi Germany was needed. Nazis believed that there was a big difference between men and women. Men should be the breadwinners and workers of the home while the women should stay and take care of the home and children. There was even a phrase for what was expected for women: "Children, Church and Cooking" Women felt that they were forced to stay at home and soon women teachers, civil servants, doctors and lawyers were fired. They also slowly stopped wearing pants, their hair down and make up because it was frowned upon by the Nazis. Right when women began to adapt to these changes, there was a shortage of workers and the Nazis desperately needed the women to work. Of course women weren't interested as they had grown to be accustomed to being the pure housewife so in a way, the policy became TOO successful because now women didn't want to work.

Finally, rewards were set up to those who had more children and houses were made for unmarried women who didn't have any children. First of all, women were always encouraged to have more children so once the Nazis offered "The Motherhood Cross" to those who had the most children that year, women became more enthusiastic. Gold was awarded to those who had 8 children, silver for six children and bronze for 8 children. In a way, it was like a competition and this policy ended up being successful because more women had children. For those who had no children or were unmarried mothers who were willing to have more children, homes were set up called "Lebensborn" (Spring of Life) where women could become pregnant and meet with "racially pure" SS men. This too was successful because now women had a temporary place to live and the birth rate increased. In conclusion, the Nazi Policies were very successful because the offspring from these women mainly grew up to support Nazi Germany and love Hitler because that's what they've been surrounded with their whole life- from their mothers teaching them the german way of life to being taught certain things that were approved by Hitler Youth in school.

• Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule? In Germany, from workers, farmers, big businesses and middle class businesses, I think big businesses and middle class businesses benefited the most since many of the oppositions like the Communists and the Jews were wiped away so there was less competition so the demand increased. Also Trade Unions and strikes were controlled so they didnt have to worry. Also businesses who produced chemicals, fertilisers or explosives also benefited in huge amounts since big contracts were signed between these companies and the governments and since lot of money was spent on rearming the country, the sum which the companies recieved were huge. But some middle class businesses didnt do so well because if it is a small consumer goods shop, then they were threatened by huge chain department stores which was taking their business away. Farmers and workers didn't benefit from the schemes which were put forth by the Nazis. For example, workers had schemes like Strength Through joy(KDF) which gave them cheap theater and cinema tickets and to other social events. Also Beauty of Labour was a scheme where working conditions were improved in factories, but this couldnt overshadow the low wages and the loss of freedom the workers felt since their political party (SDP) was lost because of the power of the Nazis and many workers agreed the standard of living was lower than it had been before the Depression. The same was done for the farmers, amny schemes like Reich Food Estate which created boards to big agricultural produce form the farmers and distribute it to the markets, were introduced. the Riech Entrailed Farm Law gave peasants state protection for their farm and banks couldn't seize the land. But this lead to banks hesitated from investing in land since they couldnt recieve any profits through loans and mortgages. also because of the Reich Food Estate Program, big produce farms had to go through the same procedures as small produce farms. So big businesses and middle class businesses benefited a lot because of the nazi rule but farmers and workers didnt benefit from the nazi rule. • **How did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany?** When it was significant that Germany was getting ready for war, it was seen that there was an increase in production of weapons and artillery and more people were being employed to work for the companies who produce the weapons and explosives. It was also in the coming of war change that brought the Nazis to contradict on their own policies about women working. As they needed more workers they had to push women to work but many werent willing to.

Selin and Madihah