HSC Modern History Question Thread

[birdwing341]

Steering off from Germany and into the Conflict in the Pacific frame of mind.. ...I have a question for conflict that I can't think of naything to say for it.
If thought about it for quite some time...and still can't come up with any ideas
 This is the 2011 conflict question:
"How successful was the Allied Occupation of Japan in achieving its aims to 1951?"
Would I have a paragraph on Demilitarisation of Japan, and one on restoring the nation to position of relative power in Asia....and ahy other ideas?
Any help is much appreciated thankyou!!!

Hello! Do you do Speer as well? Then we would do the same topics. Anyway onto the question - so my plan follows four points;

1. Dearm and Demilitarise: Things like bringing all the soldiers back into the country, destroying their ships and planes, shipping 7 tonnes of samurai swords to san Francisco (kind of irrelevant but funny), introducing a clause in the constitution in which Japan renounced war and in which their defence force could only be used in self-defence and police powers restricted
2. Democratise: This includes the four main focuses of the new constitution - Emperor's positioned is retained yet he renounces his divinity, creation of two new parliaments in which the Cabinet members and PM had to be civilians (to remove militarist influence in society), Japan renounces war and a number of civil liberties introduced.
3. Americanisation: passed a whole bunch of laws that allowed for greater civil liberties; e.g. Women were given the vote, land reforms were undertaken (where the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers sold land of absentee landlords to peasants, meaning that 90% of peasants became self-sufficient - this was a decision to gain support from the rural sectors, who were traditionally the most militarist), Introduction of Trade unions, minimum wages etc., zaibatsu removed from positions as head of big businesses and education fixed so that indoctrination was removed and instead had a greater focus on free thinking.
4. Establishing Japan as a bulwark against Communism: includes purging the country of communists, boosting their economy by using the nation as a base in the Korean war, essentially ensuring Japan was an ally and an example to communist powers of 'what the west could do'

That's basically what I had, but you could switch stuff around and add it in

[pughg16]

Hello! Do you do Speer as well? Then we would do the same topics. Anyway onto the question - so my plan follows four points;

1. Dearm and Demilitarise: Things like bringing all the soldiers back into the country, destroying their ships and planes, shipping 7 tonnes of samurai swords to san Francisco (kind of irrelevant but funny), introducing a clause in the constitution in which Japan renounced war and in which their defence force could only be used in self-defence and police powers restricted
2. Democratise: This includes the four main focuses of the new constitution - Emperor's positioned is retained yet he renounces his divinity, creation of two new parliaments in which the Cabinet members and PM had to be civilians (to remove militarist influence in society), Japan renounces war and a number of civil liberties introduced.
3. Americanisation: passed a whole bunch of laws that allowed for greater civil liberties; e.g. Women were given the vote, land reforms were undertaken (where the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers sold land of absentee landlords to peasants, meaning that 90% of peasants became self-sufficient - this was a decision to gain support from the rural sectors, who were traditionally the most militarist), Introduction of Trade unions, minimum wages etc., zaibatsu removed from positions as head of big businesses and education fixed so that indoctrination was removed and instead had a greater focus on free thinking.
4. Establishing Japan as a bulwark against Communism: includes purging the country of communists, boosting their economy by using the nation as a base in the Korean war, essentially ensuring Japan was an ally and an example to communist powers of 'what the west could do'

That's basically what I had, but you could switch stuff around and add it in

Hey birdwing!
Actually, yep I do Speer as well!
Thanks heaps for that birdwing...I was really stuck! The question actually make sense now, the examiners aren't so bad IMO now!! Love the bit about the samurai swords

[birdwing341]

Hey birdwing!
Actually, yep I do Speer as well!
Thanks heaps for that birdwing...I was really stuck! The question actually make sense now, the examiners aren't so bad IMO now!! Love the bit about the samurai swords

No worries! Good luck for the exam

[pughg16]

No worries! Good luck for the exam

Same to you!! Good Luck!

[ld0898]

Hey everyone 
Currently completing a plan for National Study Germany essay...
'Evaluate the view that Nazism had transformed Germany into a totalitarian state by 1939'
Kinda stuck on what points to include
Any assistance would be much appreciated
Thanks!!!!

[imtrying]

My personality study is Leni Riefenstahl. Looking over some past questions, theres one asking to what extent she had a positive impact on her times. Given that I would argue much of her work was propaganda, the only positive aspect I can see would by her development of innovative film techniques. Is one paragraph on how that is positive enough before I move on to talking about the negative aspects?

[jakesilove]

Hey everyone 
Currently completing a plan for National Study Germany essay...
'Evaluate the view that Nazism had transformed Germany into a totalitarian state by 1939'
Kinda stuck on what points to include
Any assistance would be much appreciated
Thanks!!!!

Hey! For a totalitarian question, you really NEED criteria. What makes a state a totalitarian state? I used the Friedrich and Brzezinski model, which you can find in the Wiki page here, and I would highly recommend you do the same. You just need to remember the main criteria, and then discuss whether the Nazi state embodied/satisfied those points in 1939!

[jakesilove]

My personality study is Leni Riefenstahl. Looking over some past questions, theres one asking to what extent she had a positive impact on her times. Given that I would argue much of her work was propaganda, the only positive aspect I can see would by her development of innovative film techniques. Is one paragraph on how that is positive enough before I move on to talking about the negative aspects?

That's absolutely fine. Most of the time, it is extremely difficult to argue positives at all. The fact that you've even tried makes you stand out as a stellar student, but you really don't need to spend too long on it. Looks like your structure is perfect!

[ld0898]

Hey! For a totalitarian question, you really NEED criteria. What makes a state a totalitarian state? I used the Friedrich and Brzezinski model, which you can find in the Wiki page here, and I would highly recommend you do the same. You just need to remember the main criteria, and then discuss whether the Nazi state embodied/satisfied those points in 1939!

That's awesome!! Thanks!!

[aoife98]

Not sure how to approach last years Conflict in Europe question: “Appeasement was a tactic used to delay war rather than a policy to achieve a lasting peace” How accurate is this statement?
Any ideas?

[jakesilove]

Not sure how to approach last years Conflict in Europe question: “Appeasement was a tactic used to delay war rather than a policy to achieve a lasting peace” How accurate is this statement?
Any ideas?

Hey! Definitely a tough one; I think this questions really just requires you to assess the state of Europe inter-war, and specifically discuss the League of Nations policy of appeasement. Do you think nations did enough to prevent war? Or were they just delaying it? Go through the steps Germany took to bring about war, and the response of the international community. Assess their impact (positive/negative/enough/not enough), and decide whether history should look on the inter-war period with shame or pride. I won't tell you how to answer the question, except to say this: can you ever blame other nations when a country starts a war? Doesn't the memory of WWI give a valid reason for troops not being sent in?

Let me know if you have an essay plan, I'd be happy to look over it!

[Celeriac]

Hi, yet another question about Germany.

Whilst the syllabus specifies that we look at Hitler's initial consolidation of power (1933-1934), for a question such as: To what extent was Nazi racial policy the key factor in the consolidation of Nazi power in Germany up to 1939? does the consolidation of power include basically anything up until 1939 (propaganda, terror/repression, etc)?

[jakesilove]

Hi, yet another question about Germany.

Whilst the syllabus specifies that we look at Hitler's initial consolidation of power (1933-1934), for a question such as: To what extent was Nazi racial policy the key factor in the consolidation of Nazi power in Germany up to 1939? does the consolidation of power include basically anything up until 1939 (propaganda, terror/repression, etc)?

Yep, absolutely! However, markers will love it if you break down a stupid question, like that one, and sort of 'redefine' the question. So, if in your introduction, say something like 'Consolidation of NSDAP power took place primarily between 1933-34, and so to discuss consolidation of power beyond this time-frame does not represent the true purpose of their actions. Rather than a consolidation of power, racial policy was a key factor in the complete take-over of the German society, and thus this essay will look to...' etc. etc. If they give you a specific year, assume you can ALWAYS discuss the question up until that year. However, breaking down a question is always a good idea for a band 6 essay!

[Emerald99]

I was always get 9/10 for my personality part a question, how do i get full marks in this question?

[jakesilove]

I was always get 9/10 for my personality part a question, how do i get full marks in this question?

You just need to blow the maker away; throw in a billion statistics, draw some quick conclusions from your facts, have dates and names left right and center. Be brief, but comprehensive. It's usually totally to the markers discretion whether they give you 9 or 10, so I wouldn't be worrying about this.

Jake