HSC Modern History Question Thread

[dancing phalanges]

Hi guys,

Could you someone please give me some direction on how to approach this essay qn (min 1k words):
What role did the Treaty of Versailles play in the instability in the Weimar Republic?

What do you think should be the main points I should be focusing on, because there a lot of perspectives on what caused the instability of the Weimar Republic.

Thank you~
From theyam

Hey! Here you should definitely be discussing the T.O.V first and its impact on the instability of the W.R. Then in your other paragraphs, I would personally discuss other factors and weigh up whether they were more or less significant than the T.O.V. That is how I would structure it!

EG. This is how I would argue it!

PARA 1: T.O.V - Discuss how the economic sanctions of the T.O.V led to general disillusionment with the W.R leading to a lack of legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Can also link the economic downfall of Germany following the T.O.V as leading to unemployment, inflation and even eventually the Depression and argue it as the catalyst for all these events that further disassociated people from the Republic. I would also discuss how the T.O.V was used by the right and left wing for many years as propaganda against the Republic. Remember Germany is a very nationalistic country so losing all the money, territory and its army in particular was seen as something shameful as there was definitely general hatred to the Republic as a result (when the Depression struck people went straight back to the feelings of despair to the Republic after the signing of the treaty - it became symbolic.)

For the rest of the paras you can discuss anything!
Eg.
1. The impact of the Depression.
2. The political miscalculations of Bruning etc. in bringing Hitler to power
3. The nationalistic appeal of the Nazi party (contrast here with illegitimacy of W.R)

Either way, make sure in all of these paras that you weigh up these influences against the T.O.V and which was more important in the instability of the Republic. For instance, you could say that the W.R was gaining stability in 1923-1928 and overcoming the distaste following the T.O.V and thus the Depression was very significant in creating instability again that could not be overcome. Hope that helped!

[theyam]

Hello~

Thank you very much to everyone who gave me advice for my extended response!!
Would you guys know where to get practice source analysis questions by the way? Tried searching up the HSC papers but all the sources are waiting for copyright .-.

Thankyou
theyam

[owidjaja]

Hello~

Thank you very much to everyone who gave me advice for my extended response!!
Would you guys know where to get practice source analysis questions by the way? Tried searching up the HSC papers but all the sources are waiting for copyright .-.

Thankyou
theyam

Hey there!
Unfortunately, we're gonna have to dig through the stack of HSC papers and scroll through the source booklet to see what sources are available. That's what I did when I was studying for my Task 1 assessment. Sometimes, if it fits with the question, I would change the source letter if there's an available source that's suitable for the question. Other than that, I would sit there and write down the year of the paper and the question number if there's a source question with the actual source.

Other ways to get your hands on past papers is to dig through the Internet and find trial papers from other schools. It's difficult to find them since they're usually copyrighted but there are some out there!

Sorry if this wasn't as helpful- I found it difficult as well!

[fantasticbeasts3]

Hello~

Thank you very much to everyone who gave me advice for my extended response!!
Would you guys know where to get practice source analysis questions by the way? Tried searching up the HSC papers but all the sources are waiting for copyright .-.

Thankyou
theyam

hi!

no worries, it was my pleasure. :-)

for source analysis questions, i had to ask my teacher for a lot of them, and i ended up getting quite a few, so your teacher will have them. you can also ask them to make up questions for you. :-) another good place is past papers from your school. definitely get you on the copyright issue though - it's so annoying!

best of luck with finding more source analysis questions!

[owidjaja]

Hey guys,
How much do we need to know for the Ludendorff Spring Offensive? I'm looking at the handout that was given in class and it contained information like the different offensives, tactics used, Allied counter-attack and reasons for failure and I'm not sure what information I should include in my notes.

Thanks in advance!

[dancing phalanges]

Hey guys,
How much do we need to know for the Ludendorff Spring Offensive? I'm looking at the handout that was given in class and it contained information like the different offensives, tactics used, Allied counter-attack and reasons for failure and I'm not sure what information I should include in my notes.

Thanks in advance!

Hey! I wasn't the best with this part of the syllabus but this is the info I tried to remember for the HSC

Ludendorff Spring Offensive
•   Overall aim = separate the British and French armies, pushing the French forces towards Paris and British towards West France.
•   Instead of usual military barrage followed by frontal attack by infantry troops, Ludendorff developed the storm-trooper strategy.
•   Allied commanders initially struggled to agree on a unified defence strategy.
FIRST GERMAN SPRING Offensive = OPERATION MICHAEL (MARCH 1918)
•   Germans advanced 80kms towards Paris.
•   Allies respond recognising need for a coordinated defence strategy and appoint French Marshal Ferdinand Foch as the commander-in-chief of the Allied army.
•   Under Foch's commands, the Allies halted the German advance and began to drive them back.
•   Germany also struggled to maintain their supply lines.
SECOND GERMAN SPRING Offensive = OPERATION GEORGE (APRIL 1918)
•   Aimed to cut off ports of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk.
•   German success at first yet British reinforcements large numbers and German difficulty maintain supply lines.
•   By the end of April, Germans refused to continue to attack.
FINAL SPRING Offensive = OPERATION BLUCHER (LATE APRIL 1918)
•   AGAINST FRENCH LINES FROM SOISSONS TO REIMS.
•   Initially French outnumbered yet Americans beginning to arrive (275,000 in June) and assist French in taking German-held territory back in 2nd battle of Marne.
•   Then Australian troops recaptured Hamel.
•   Then Amiens offensive by French and British.
•   AEF breaks Hindenburg Line and advances.
•   500 000 Germans killed and by August Germans are back at original front line.

[owidjaja]

Hey! I wasn't the best with this part of the syllabus but this is the info I tried to remember for the HSC

Ludendorff Spring Offensive
•   Overall aim = separate the British and French armies, pushing the French forces towards Paris and British towards West France.
•   Instead of usual military barrage followed by frontal attack by infantry troops, Ludendorff developed the storm-trooper strategy.
•   Allied commanders initially struggled to agree on a unified defence strategy.
FIRST GERMAN SPRING Offensive = OPERATION MICHAEL (MARCH 1938)
•   Germans advanced 80kms towards Paris.
•   Allies respond recognising need for a coordinated defence strategy and appoint French Marshal Ferdinand Foch as the commander-in-chief of the Allied army.
•   Under Foch's commands, the Allies halted the German advance and began to drive them back.
•   Germany also struggled to maintain their supply lines.
SECOND GERMAN SPRING Offensive = OPERATION GEORGE (APRIL 1938)
•   Aimed to cut off ports of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk.
•   German success at first yet British reinforcements large numbers and German difficulty maintain supply lines.
•   By the end of April, Germans refused to continue to attack.
FINAL SPRING Offensive = OPERATION BLUCHER (LATE APRIL 1938)
•   AGAINST FRENCH LINES FROM SOISSONS TO REIMS.
•   Initially French outnumbered yet Americans beginning to arrive (275,000 in June) and assist French in taking German-held territory back in 2nd battle of Marne.
•   Then Australian troops recaptured Hamel.
•   Then Amiens offensive by French and British.
•   AEF breaks Hindenburg Line and advances.
•   500 000 Germans killed and by August Germans are back at original front line.

Ooh thanks! Also, do you mean 1918 instead of 1938?

[dancing phalanges]

Ooh thanks! Also, do you mean 1918 instead of 1938?

Haha yep sorry!

[theyam]

Hello

Was just wondering if people could give suggestions on how to structure this essay question

To what extent had the Weimar Republic overcome its problems by the start of 1929?

Sort of confused (because I've been away for some lessons due to camp), so they overcome their problems but then the Nazis still rise? My teacher said to explain how they overcome their problems but chuck in a however, but this was not fully completed... fill in the blanks.
Could someone give any suggestions?

Thanks guys

theyam

[dancing phalanges]

Hello

Was just wondering if people could give suggestions on how to structure this essay question

To what extent had the Weimar Republic overcome its problems by the start of 1929?

Sort of confused (because I've been away for some lessons due to camp), so they overcome their problems but then the Nazis still rise? My teacher said to explain how they overcome their problems but chuck in a however, but this was not fully completed... fill in the blanks.
Could someone give any suggestions?

Thanks guys

theyam

Hey The Yam! Have a look at my notes on this topic and if you have questions let me know

ECONOMIC - fixed on the surface with foreign loans but was built on weak foundations
-   Hyperinflation cripples Germany in 1923
-   November 1923, 1 USD. = 420 000 000 000 german marks
-   This particularly effected working class as many of them were in debt… resentment against Weimar republic, not economincally stable
-   Unemployment rose to 23%
-   Critical govt. acts
-   Rentenmark introduced
-   Passive resistance stopped at ruhr (key industrial sight, economy down when strikes)
-   This ultimately ended hyperinflation
-   Stesseman also introduces dawes plan in 1924 with GB and America accepting G. economy needed to be stable in order to pay reparations.
-   Us $2900 million foreign loands (1924-1929)
-   G. indutrsial strength grows surpassing pre-war levels.
-   HEAVILY dependent on foreign loans, fragile
-   1929 g. foreign debt of 25 billion marks
-   If the flow of money ceased, as it would with G.D eonomy would collapse
-   Stresseman knew g. “lived on borrowed money” and faced risks if “a crisis every hit”
-   Yet he did little to ensure this would not be the case
-   Boost in industry, agriculture falls behind
-   Not economically golden

POLITICAL - more politically stable yet still faced opposition, did make progress in international politics eg. regaining entry League Of Nations (but used as propaganda by right wing and left wing for rejoining the people who condemned the TOV on Germany
-   1924-1929 drop in support for left and right wing parties in parliament
-   Left wing averaged 10.7% vote, Nazis just 3.6%
-   Ebert (previous president) lacked respectability and legitimacy
-   When paul von Hindenburg (conservative, ex army, junker) was elected he borught legitimacy to the Weimar republic due to his conservative prestige
-   Gained respect therefore of right wing and army
-   British ambassador “germans did not want a president in a top hat” but rather one “with a uniform and chest full of medals”
-   Foreign policy stresseman, Locarno treaty subsequent acceptance into League of nations (1926)
-   Still 6 changes in government
-   Still lingering nationalist values in communists and Nazis
-   Considerable political improvement

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL - social and cultural freedom but further anger for right and left wing and conservatives
-   Women given write to vote, sexual freedom
-   Berlin creative centre of world
-   Revolutionary film and art eg. cabaret, modernist movement
-   Argued by historian Eberhard kolb this caused splits between artistic groups and ordinary germans (Weimar republic as degenerate > conservatives)

[joemassoud]

HEY GUYS!

Can you some please help me answer the following question:

To what extent did the Treaty of Versailles have the greatest impact on the downfall of the Weimar Republic? (25 marks)

Thanks, Joe

[fantasticbeasts3]

HEY GUYS!

Can you some please help me answer the following question:

To what extent did the Treaty of Versailles have the greatest impact on the downfall of the Weimar Republic? (25 marks)

Thanks, Joe

Hi Joe, welcome to the forums. :-)

I'll give you a few pointers you can write about for this essay - is that what you're looking for?

To what extent did the Treaty of Versailles have the greatest impact on the downfall of the Weimar Republic?
- first, this is a "to what extent" question. You'll need to argue a viewpoint - did the ToV have the greatest impact, or not?
- your first paragraph can be on the impact of the ToV on the downfall of the WR. Say what it did, how it impacted the formation of government, etc. The ToV forced democracy into Germany, and there was instability because of leadership changing so many times, reparations... Expand on all this!
- Economic factors were huge in the WR, because reparations. You can relate this back to the question! :-) Germany had to use foreign loans to make sure they could continue to survive. You can also talk about hyperinflation and how that impacted on the economy. The Great Depression is huuuuuuuge. That's something you have to talk about!
- you can talk about having to use Article 48 a lot, proportional representation, etc although I don't think that's a big deal hahaha. You can also write about right wing movements, and right wing opponents.

This is all I can think of from the top of my head - I hope this helps!

[prickles]

HEY GUYS!

Can you some please help me answer the following question:

To what extent did the Treaty of Versailles have the greatest impact on the downfall of the Weimar Republic? (25 marks)

Thanks, Joe

fb3's response is great!
Another thing to recognise is the social & psychological impacts of the ToV upon the public. Throughout WW1, the German people had been told that they were going to win, there was no way they could loose. Hell, the war wasn't even fought IN Germany! How could they possibly loose? Therefore - the lose came as an extreme shock, combined with the severe constraints that the ToV placed upon the people. The people felt betrayed that their government hadn't told them the 'truth', so before the WR even came to be, the citizens were unsatisfied with their government/rulers.

The ToV impacted the German peoples nationalism (key term there  ), as it restricted their army to 100,000 men, their navy to 6 battleships, and denied them an airforce and submarines. This also connected with the people's pride for their militarism.

All in all, there are 3-4 main impacts of the ToV that I would use. I like to split it into:
Political: Unstable, loss of the citizen's support, political murders (376 between 1919-1922), loss of land due to ToV = loss of human and natural resource
Social/Psychological: ToV impacted their nationalism, reduced their faith in their rulers
Economic: Lots of what fb3 has talked about - Great Depression, hyperinflation, reparations, Dawes/Young plan etc

Hope this helps 

[joemassoud]

Thank you sooo much for the help, means soo much!

[lachlang15]

Hello,
I'm trying to write an essay about the Weimar Republic, but am struggling to find information and articulate what I know.
The essay question is:

"To what extent was the Great Depression responsible for the collapse of the Weimar Republic?"

Thanks for any help!