Hey! I'm currently working on last minute practice essays/ essay plans for Germany in the National Studies section and I'm a little stuck on what else I should be discussing in this question:
Assess the influence of the German army on the successes and failures of the Weimar Republic by 1933.
The only thing I can come up with is the 1920 Kapp Putsch. Any help would be awesome!
Ooft, that is a brutally specific question. Like, far out. My stomach is crawling just thinking about having to answer that.
I think the smart way to answer this question is to limit your discussion of the German army. So, spend 50-60% of the essay assessing the impact of the Army of successes/failures, but then claim OTHER factors played a greater role (ie. economic, social, political factors) and talk about those for 40% of the time. Like, you just can't fill an essay with this.
Hmm. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you can be super clever. Yeah, let's be super clever. Remember back in 1919, when good old Ebert was trying to build a brilliant new republic, but needed to support of the Army (Groener), resulting in the 'state within a state' Ebert-Groener pact? Well, that (arguably) planted the seeds for the Kapp Putch, but also for a maintained German nationalism/militarism, conceding that the Army should and would play a significant role in the future of the Weimar Republic. Perhaps, it even maintained an inner circle of militarists, of right wing old-German supporters, who through propaganda and fear, coupled with external economic factors, allowed for the rise of the NSDAP? Tricky, tricky...
Basically, if BOSTES throws you under the bus with a question like this, then think about how you can stretch it into something you're more comfortable with. Don't get me wrong;
you need to answer the specific questions given to you. However, if you can work the question into something more... convenient, then that will only benefit you.
That's all that I can think of off the top of my head. Totally fair question to be stuck on though!
Let me know if I can help with anything else, or get more specific in my response.
Jake