MAY/JUNE SESSION 2002
Source A
It really upset us old soldiers to see how quickly the republic stopped using the black-white-red flag of the old Empire. Thousands of soldiers who fought for this flag lie buried in enemy territory. I don’t hide the fact that I’m a monarchist. When you’ve served your country for 30 years you just can’t say ‘from tomorrow I’m republican’. Don’t worry though - I don’t think we can bring back the monarchy just now.Source B
A Free Corps Officer speaking in 1919.
Workers! Party Comrades! Kapp’s Putsch has begun. The Free Corps who were afraid they would be disbanded have made an attempt to overthrow the Republic. There is only one way to prevent the return of Wilhelm II. Paralyse all economic activity!1. Study Source A.
A Social Democrat proclamation of 1920 calling on all workers to strike against the Kapp Putsch.
What can you tell from this source about the Free Corps’ attitudes towards the new republic? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Social Democrats expected the support of the German people? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence of the problems of the Weimar government? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution. [2]
5. What did the Munich Putsch of 1923 hope to achieve? [4]
6. Why was there hyperinflation in 1923? [6]
7. Was the Weimar Government weakened more by hyperinflation than by the Treaty of
Versailles? Explain your answer. [8]
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER SESSION 2002
Source A
The new Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment has no other aim than to unite the nation behind the ideal of the national revolution. If this aim has been achieved then people can judge my methods if they wish: that would be unimportant, for the Ministry would then have achieved its goal.Source B
Josef Goebbels speaking in 1933.
During the 1930s, I myself was to learn how easily one is taken in by an untruthful and censored press and radio in a totalitarian state. Though, unlike most Germans, I was able to read foreign newspapers every day and listened regularly to foreign broadcasts, my job meant the spending of many hours a day in reading through the German press, checking the German radio, consulting with Nazi officials and going to party meetings. It was worrying to find that a steady diet of bias and lies made an impression on one’s mind and often misled it. It is difficult to escape the results of continuous propaganda.
William Shirer, an American journalist, writing in 1959. Shirer had lived in Germany during the 1930s.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about Goebbels’ attitude towards propaganda? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Shirer was impressed by Nazi propaganda? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence on how the Nazis controlled the German people? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name two media that Goebbels promoted using propaganda. [2]
5. How did the Nazis use education to spread their ideas? [4]
6. Why were the Nuremberg rallies effective? [6]
7. Was propaganda a more effective way of keeping the support of the German people than terror? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2003
Source A
Communist terrorist attacks are to be dealt with severely and weapons must be used ruthlessly when necessary. Police officers who make use of firearms in carrying out their duties will benefit from my protection. Those who fail in their duty will be punished.
An order issued to the police by Goering, February 1933.
THE REICHSTAG IN FLAMES
Set alight by the Communists
This is what the whole country would look like
if Communism and its ally, Social Democracy, came to power! Innocent citizens shot down as hostages!
Farmers’ houses burnt down!
All Germany must join in the outcry
STAMP OUT COMMUNISM! SMASH SOCIAL DEMOCRACY! VOTE FOR HITLERA Nazi election leaflet, March 1933.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about Nazi attitudes towards the Communists? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source explain why people voted for the Nazis in March 1933? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
How useful are these sources as evidence about the Communists in Germany in early 1933? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What power did the Enabling Act give to Hitler? [2]
5. Describe the events of the Night of the Long Knives. [4]
6. Why was Hindenburg’s death in 1934 important to Hitler? [6]
7. How secure was Hitler’s control over Germany by the end of 1939? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2003
Source A
How do we live in this camp which is supposed to be an example to all other camps? We don’t have a minute of the day to ourselves. Activities start right after a small breakfast. We would like to have athletics, but there aren’t any. Instead we have military exercises and instruction, and political and cultural teachings. They tell you of the ‘greatness and genius of the Fuhrer’. We have only one wish: sleep, sleep....... .
An extract from a private letter written by a member of the Hitler Youth, June 1936.
Source B
The discipline in the Hitler Youth is declining in the western part of Germany. Many young people no longer want to be forced to join, but instead wish to do as they like. Usually only a third of the whole group attends meetings. They are even threatened with expulsion from the Hitler Youth for staying away. Those who do attend sing soldiers’ songs and make a lot of noise without doing any constructive work.1. Study Source A.
From ‘Germany Today’, a British magazine published in May 1938.
What can you tell from this source about Nazi attitudes towards young people? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Hitler Youth was not an effective movement?
Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one source more useful than the other as evidence about the Hitler Youth? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What ideas did the Nazis have about women’s role in society? [4]
5. Give two ways in which teaching in schools was controlled by the Nazis. [2]
6. Why was family life important to Nazi beliefs? [6]
7. How far did racial issues dominate Nazi policies? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2004
Source A
The Treaty of Versailles was criticised not only by the Germans. The French thought that it was not harsh enough and in 1920 voted out Clemenceau in a general election. Lloyd George received a hero’s welcome when he returned to Britain. However, later he described the Treaty as a ‘great pity’ and said that he believed another war would happen because of it. Wilson was very disappointed with the Treaty. He said that if he were a German he would not have signed it. The American Congress refused to approve the Treaty.
From a British textbook published in 2001.
Source B
The Allies could have done anything they liked with Germany if only they had shown a wish for reconciliation. Germans were prepared to make reparations for the wrong done by their leaders. Now you hear the same thing over and over again, ‘Our hatred for our conquerors will only end when we have our revenge.’1. Study Source A.
Princess Bluecher writing in 1920. She was an Englishwoman married to a member of the German royal family.
What does this tell you about the Treaty of Versailles? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Allies were wrong to punish Germany in the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other to explain German attitudes to the Treaty? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What were the November criminals? [2]
5. Describe the Kapp Putsch of 1920. [4]
6. Why was there a threat to the Weimar government from political extremists between 1919 and 1923? [6]7. ‘The main reason why the Nazis had little success in the 1920s was because Germany became more prosperous.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2004
Source A
Billion mark notes were passed on quickly because tomorrow one would no longer pay in notes but in bundles of notes. One afternoon I rang Aunt Louise’s doorbell. The door was opened slightly. From the dark came a distressed voice: ‘I’ve used sixty billion marks worth of gas. My milk bill is one million. But all I have left is two thousand marks. I don’t understand what is happening any more.’
From the autobiography of a German who lived through the hyperinflation of 1923.
Source B
The causes of hyperinflation were complicated but the Germans did not see it that way. They blamed the reparations on the Weimar Republic which had accepted reparations and was the government in power during the chaos of 1923. Many middle-class Germans never forgave the Republic for the harm they believed it had done to them.
From a British textbook, 1992.
What can you tell from this source about the impact of hyperinflation on German people? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Weimar government was to blame for hyperinflation? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about the hyperinflation? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What were reparations? [2]
5. Describe how Stresemann brought the 1923 crisis to an end. [4]
6. Why did the Nazis stage a putsch in Munich in November 1923? [6]
7. ‘It was American loans rather than Stresemann’s policies that enabled Germany to recover from the disasters of 1923.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2005
Source A
Our opponents accuse us Nazis, and me in particular, of being intolerant and quarrelsome. They say we don’t want to work with other parties. They say we are not Germans at all because we refuse to work with other political parties. But is it typical for Germany to have thirty political parties? Yes, we are intolerant. My goal is to sweep away the thirty parties out of Germany.
Hitler speaking at an election meeting, July 1932.
Source B
The majority of Germans never voted for the Nazis. The Nazis made it clear they would destroy democracy and all who stood in their way. If the Communists and Socialists had joined forces they would probably have been strong enough, both in the Reichstag and on the streets, to have blocked the Nazis. The fact is that by 1932–3 there were simply not enough Germans who believed in democracy and individual freedom to save the Weimar Republic.
From a British history textbook, 1986.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about the Nazi Party? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Nazis were the most powerful party in Germany? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one source more useful than the other as evidence about the political situation in Germany at that time? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name the two presidents of the Weimar Republic. [2]
5. What were the key features of the Weimar Constitution? [4]
6. Why did the Nazi Party become more popular after 1929? [6]
7. ‘The Reichstag Fire was the most important reason Hitler was able to become dictator of Germany during 1933–4.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2005
Source A
We still know little about the dreadful events of 30 June. We only know that men whom Hitler constantly praised are dead. We are told that they are now dead because they were involved in a conspiracy. But so far no evidence has been produced to prove this conspiracy.
A British newspaper article, 1934.
Source B
Without telling me, Rohm made a plan with General von Schleicher that the present regime in Germany could not be continued; that the army and navy must be combined and that Rohm was the man for this post. I decided to put an end to this plan. Therefore I decided to dismiss Rohm, to arrest him and a number of SA leaders. I gave orders to shoot those that were guilty of treason. Everyone will know in future that treachery towards the state will end in certain death.
Hitler’s speech to the Reichstag, 13 July 1934.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about the Night of the Long Knives? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show the extent of opposition to Hitler? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Hitler’s leadership? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two features of the Nazi totalitarian state. [2]
5. What were the Nuremberg rallies? [4]
6. Why did Hitler want to gain the support of Germany’s youth? [6]
7. How far did Hitler use unlawful methods to achieve power in 1933–34? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2006
Source A
We gained 52 per cent of the vote in the March elections. This government will not be satisfied with only that 52 per cent and the need to terrorise the remaining 48 per cent, but will see its immediate task as winning over that remaining 48 per cent.
It will not be enough merely to tolerate this regime. We will demand support.
Goebbels, at his first press conference on becoming Minister for Propaganda, March 1933.
Source B
The German people are so open to propaganda that they can forget the less pleasant aspects of Nazi rule. A systematic campaign of propaganda has been introduced to break down resistance and to strengthen the enthusiasm of those already converted to the new order. With steam-roller effectiveness, the activity of the Ministry of Propaganda has reached out into every corner of the Reich, into every walk of life. Nevertheless, not all German people are so easily persuaded to believe in Hitler’s policies.
The US Ambassador to Germany, writing in 1936.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about the Nazi Party? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that propaganda was accepted by the German people? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about how the Nazis controlled the German population? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two methods of repression the Nazis used to control the population. [2]
5. Describe how Goebbels controlled the mass media. [4]
6. Why was radio broadcasting particularly important to Goebbels? [6]
7. Which was the more effective in giving the Nazis control over the German people: repression or propaganda? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2006
Source A
We were very stupid men. We arrived in Paris determined that a peace of justice and wisdom should be negotiated: we left the conference aware that the treaties imposed on our enemies were neither just nor wise.
Comments by a British diplomat who attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
Source B
The overall reaction of Germans was horror and outrage. They certainly did not feel they had started the war. They did not feel they had lost the war. In 1919 many Germans did not really understand how bad Germany’s military situation had been at the end of the war. They believed that the German government had simply agreed to a ceasefire and that therefore Germany should have been at the Peace Conference to negotiate peace. It should not have been treated as a defeated state. They were angry that their government was not represented at the talks and that they were being forced to accept a harsh treaty without any choice or comment.1. Study Source A.
From a British history textbook, published in 1996.
What can you tell from this source about the Paris Peace Conference? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the German anger about the Treaty of Versailles was justified? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two powers of the German President in the Weimar Constitution. [2]
5. Describe the Spartacist revolt of 1919. [4]
6. Why was there hyperinflation in 1923? [6]
7. How effective was Stresemann in solving Germany’s problems by 1929? Explain your answer.
May/June 2007
Source A
Source B
After 1919 a Free Corps made up of former officers, demobilized soldiers, fanatical nationalists and unemployed youths was organised. It had right-wing views and blamed Social Democrats and Jews for Germany’s situation. The Free Corps called for the removal of traitors from the Fatherland. However, the behaviour and actions of the volunteers eventually made them hated by the ex- military. Later some of the Free Corps formed murder squads to attack officials of the Weimar Republic.
From a British textbook, 1998.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about post-war Germany? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Free Corps was a military organisation? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one source more useful than the other as evidence about the Free Corps? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What powers did Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution give to the President of the Weimar Republic? [2]
5. Describe the Kapp Putsch of 1920. [4]
6. Why did monarchists and army officers oppose the Weimar Government? [6]
7. ‘The hyperinflation of 1923 did more damage to the Weimar Republic than the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2007
Source A
According to Nazi doctrine, there is such a thing as a pure Aryan race. This Aryan race has its purest breed in Germany. It must be kept pure. Praise for the German race, hatred for Jews, and contempt for other inferior and democratic races. These are the doctrines to be drilled into the minds of the Germans.Source B
An American, writing in 1936.
I hate the treatment of the Jews. I think it is a bad side of the movement and I will have nothing to do with it. I did not join the party to do that sort of thing. I joined the party because I thought and still think that Hitler did the greatest Christian work for twenty-five years. I saw seven million men rotting on the streets, often I was there too and no one seemed to care. Then Hitler came and he took all those men off the streets and gave them health and security and work.
A Nazi Labour Corps leader, interviewed in 1938.
1. What can you tell from this source about Nazi racial attitudes? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Germans approved of Hitler’s policies? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one source more useful than the other as evidence about Nazi policies? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Other than the Jews, identify two groups persecuted by the Nazis because they were considered inferior. [2]
5. What happened on Kristallnacht? [4]
6. Why did the Nazis adopt the Final Solution? [6]
7. How far did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2008
Source A
Youth is still in favour of the system: the novelty, the drill, the uniform, the camp life. Many believe that they will find job opportunities through the persecution of the Jews and Communists. For the first time the state controls the young people in the countryside through the SA and the Hitler Youth. The new generation has never had much use for education and reading. Now nothing is demanded of them; on the contrary, knowledge is publicly condemned. They are so fanatical that they believe in nothing but their Hitler.Source B
From reports by the Social Democratic Party in exile, 1934.
There were boys from all classes of families, though mainly middle class and workers. There were no social or class distinctions, which I approved of very much. There was no direct political indoctrination until later after Hitler came to power. We did march in parades and hated the SPD but that was all part of it. When I became a leader, I found the absolute obedience unpleasant, and found that people were expected not to have a will of their own.
From recollections of Hitler Youth members.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about the Hitler Youth? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that young people were strong supporters of the Nazi Party? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about the Hitler Youth organisation? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What was the Enabling Act? [2]
5. Describe Nazi policies towards women in Germany. [4]
6. Why did Hitler introduce a new curriculum in schools? [6]
7. How successful was the Nazi Government in its control of German society after 1933? Explain your answer. [8]
From recollections of Hitler Youth members.
MAY/JUNE SESSION 2002
Study the sources, and then answer the questions that follow.
Source A
SIRE, we the workers and people of St. Petersburg, our wives and children and old, helpless parents, come to YOU, SIRE, to seek justice and protection. We are poor and oppressed, worn down by bad treatment. SIRE, we have no strength left. Now death is better than unending suffering.Source B
From Father Gapon’s list of complaints, which was to be given to the Tsar on Sunday, 22 January 1905. (Note: SIRE means Tsar Nicholas II)
Political parties were banned and opponents of the Tsar had to meet in secret. Some opponents believed in peaceful change but still lived in fear of the Okhrana (secret police). Others, more violently minded, lived in exile and plotted revolution.
British historian describes opposition groups at the beginning of 1905
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from the source about the people of St. Petersburg in January 1905? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does the source show that Nicholas II had control of Russia at the beginning of 1905? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other in explaining why a revolution took place in Russia in 1905? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name two political groups opposed to the Tsar in 1905. [2]
5. Describe two results of the events of Bloody Sunday. [4]
6. Why was Nicholas II able to survive the events of 1905? [6]
7. To what extent had Nicholas II overcome the threat of revolution by the outbreak of war in 1914? Explain your answer. [8]
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER SESSION 2002
Source A
Agricultural statistics during the NEP.
Source B
There was not a scrap of food in the country. We had only 100 grams of bread a day. Then suddenly they announced the NEP. Cafes, restaurants, started opening. Factories went back into private hands. It was capitalism. In my eyes what was happening was the very thing I had struggled against.
A Bolshevik supporter, remembering in 1980 the introduction of the New Economic Policy in 1921.
1. Study Source A.
What does the source tell you about the NEP? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does the source prove that the NEP was capitalism? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one source more useful than the other as evidence of the success of the NEP? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two examples of industries that remained in government control during the NEP.
5. Describe the main features of War Communism. [4]
6. Why was the Kronstadt Rising, March 1921, so important? [6]
7. How far was the NEP successful in solving the economic problems of the USSR by 1928? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2003
Source A
Stalin is untrustworthy and will do anything to keep power. He changes his ideas whenever he wants to get rid of someone. Many in the Party are worried about Stalin, and there is a terrible fear of a split. Stalin has made it difficult for us to attack him.
Bukharin, speaking in private, 1928.
Source B
People are sick of Stakhanov, quite apart from whether they approve – as some do – or disapprove of him. People are sick and tired of listening to speeches. They turn off the radio. They are tired of looking at the monstrous portraits of Soviet heroes.1. Study Source A.
A report from a British diplomat in Leningrad, 1936.
What can you tell from the source about Stalin? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Soviet propaganda failed? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Stalin’s rule? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Identify two groups that were targets of Stalin’s purges. [2]
5. What was Stalin’s ‘Cult of Personality’? [4]
6. Why was agriculture collectivised by Stalin? [6]
7. To what extent had Stalin’s Five-Year Plans improved the lives of the Soviet people by 1941 ? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2003
Source A
The generals have complained to me of the lack of ammunition and the poor equipment of the men. There was a great shortage of boots. In the Carpathian Mountains the soldiers fought barefooted. The war hospitals were disorganised. They were short of bandages and such things.Source B
Rodzianko, President of the Duma, reporting to the High Commander of the Army, November 1914.
There is no more bread, nothing to eat. We sit here for days on end without bread. Cold and hunger, nothing but deprivation. I would rather be killed than starve like a dog.Source C
From a soldier’s letter, confiscated by the censor, February 1917.
Sometimes we met officers who ordered us back to fight, some tried to stop us but we were prepared to do anything in order to escape the war and get home.
From the diary of a Russian soldier, written in 1917.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about the Russian army in 1914? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Sources B and C.
How far do these sources show that by 1917 Russian troops were no longer willing to fight in the war? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study all the sources.
Is Source A more useful than Sources B and C in explaining why Russia lost the war? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What were the ‘July Days’ of 1917? [4]
5. Give two reasons why the Tsarina Alexandra was unpopular. [2]
6. Why did opposition to the Provisional Government increase during 1917? [6]
7. How far was it the First World War that destroyed Tsarist rule in Russia? Explain your
answer. [8]
May/June 2004
Source A
The interference of foreign countries in Russia had important effects on the Civil War. The men, weapons and money these countries provided prolonged the savage fighting. However, foreign intervention united the Russian people, who now saw the war as a defence of Mother Russia.
From a British history book published in 1990.
Source B
About 70 per cent of the Russian population, which includes the majority of the peasants, do not oppose the Bolsheviks. This lack of hostility is an advantage to the Bolsheviks, whose influence among the peasants is almost all due to the land issue.
From a report by a British agent in Russia during the Civil War, 1918.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about foreign interference in the Russian Civil War? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Bolsheviks had the support of the Russian people? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence of why the Bolsheviks won the Civil War? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name two foreign countries that intervened in the Russian Civil War. [2]
5. Describe the role of the Cheka during the Civil War. [4]
6. Why did Lenin introduce War Communism? [6]
7. How far was the leadership of Trotsky responsible for the Bolshevik victory in the Civil War? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2004
Source A
The big whistle sounded six o’clock. All over the scattered city-camp of Magnitogorsk, workers rolled out of their beds and bunks. It was January 1933. The temperature was about 35 degrees below zero. It was two miles to the blast furnaces over rough ground. It was a varied group of workers, Russians, Ukrainians, Tartars, Mongols, Jews, mostly young and almost all former peasants. Khaibulin, the Tartar, had never seen a staircase, a locomotive or an electric light until he had come to Magnitogorsk last year. Now he was building a blast furnace bigger than any in Europe.
John Scott, an American worker at Magnitogorsk in the USSR in the 1930s, writing about his experiences.
Source B
Soviet Industrial Production 1921–1940.
Industrial production figures, 1921–1940, based on information collected by the Soviet Government.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from the source about the workers at Magnitogorsk? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far do these statistics show that the Five Year Plans (1928–1941) were successful? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Stalin’s Russia? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What was Gosplan? [2]
5. How were Russian workers encouraged to increase production during the Five Year Plans? [4]
6. Why did Stalin introduce the Five Year Plans for industry? [6]
7. How far had Stalin transformed Russia into a modern, industrialised state by 1941? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2005
Source A
‘How are things with you?’ I asked one man. He looked round anxiously to see that no soldiers were about. ‘We have nothing, absolutely nothing. They have taken everything away,’ he said and hurried on. It was true. They had nothing. It was also true that everything had been taken away. The famine was an organised one. The peasants know that some of the food that has been taken away from them is being exported.
A British reporter recalls his experience of collectivisation in the USSR, March 1933.
Source B
A group of peasants carrying a banner which says ‘We demand collectivisation and the liquidation of the kulaks as a class’, 1931.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about collectivisation? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the peasants supported Stalin’s attack on the kulaks? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about collectivisation? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two reasons why Stalin disliked the NEP. [2]
5. What was collectivisation? [4]
6. Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation? [6]
7. To what extent had Stalin’s agricultural reforms proved successful by 1941? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2005
Source A
At last the firing ceased. I stood up with the few others who remained uninjured and looked down at the bodies that lay around me. I cried to them, ‘Stand up!’ But they lay still. Why did they lie there? The thought flashed through my mind, ‘And this is the work of our Little Father, the Tsar’. Now I knew the truth, that a new chapter was opened in the book of the history of our people.
From an account of the events of Bloody Sunday by Father Gapon in his book, ‘The Story of My Life’, 1905.
Source B
A painful day. There have been serious disorders in St Petersburg because workmen wanted to come up to the Winter Palace. Troops had to open fire in several places in the city; there were many killed and wounded. God, how painful and sad! Mama arrived from town, straight to church. I lunched with all the others. Went for a walk. Mama stayed overnight.
From the entry in the Tsar’s diary on Bloody Sunday, 22 January 1905.
1. Study Source B.
What can you tell from this source about Bloody Sunday? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Tsar understood the significance of the events of Bloody Sunday? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Russia under Tsarist rule? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name two revolutionary groups active in 1905. [2]
5. What were the marchers protesting about on Bloody Sunday? [4]
6. Why was the Tsar able to survive the 1905 Revolution? [6]
7. How far had Tsar Nicholas II retained the loyalty of the Russian people up to the outbreak of war in 1914? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2006
Source A
For us there cannot exist the old systems of morality invented by the bourgeoisie for the purpose of oppressing the ‘lower classes’. Our morality is new, for it rests on the bright idea of destroying all oppression. To us, everything is permitted, for we are the first in the world to raise the sword in the name of freeing everybody. Blood? Let there be blood if it will save us from the old regime.Source B
From an article by Lenin in The Red Sword, a weekly magazine of the Cheka (secret police), 1919.
Lenin was first and foremost a professional revolutionary. He had no other occupation. A man of iron will and ambition, he was absolutely ruthless and used ordinary people as tools to achieve his aims. Short and sturdy with a bald head, small beard and deep-set eyes, he looked like a small tradesman. When he spoke, his ill-fitting suit, his crooked tie, his ordinary appearance swayed the crowd in his favour. ‘He is not one of the upper classes, he is one of us’, they would say.1. Study Source A.
A British newspaper, writing about Lenin after his death in 1924.
What can you tell from this source about Lenin? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Lenin was a good leader? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other in explaining why Lenin was able to become leader of Russia? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Give two groups which were the main opponents of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. [2]
5. Describe the ‘Red Terror’. [4]
6. Why did the Red Army win the Civil War? [6]
7. How successful was Lenin in the period 1917 to 1924? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2006
Source A
The reason Trotsky did not attack Stalin was because he did not fear him. Nobody, and him least of all, saw in 1923 Stalin as the menacing and towering figure he was to become. It seemed to Trotsky almost a joke that Stalin, the obstinate and sly but shabby and inarticulate man in the background, should be his rival.
A Marxist historian, writing in 1959.
Source B
Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary General, has unlimited authority in his hands and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution.
Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, is distinguished not only by his outstanding ability. He is probably the most capable man in the present Central Committee, but he has displayed excessive self-assurance and has concentrated too much on the purely administrative side of the work.
An extract from Lenin’s Political Will, 1922, which was not published in Russia at the time.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about Trotsky? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Lenin preferred Trotsky as his successor? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other in explaining Stalin’s victory in the leadership contest after Lenin’s death? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What was the gulag? [2]
5. Explain the meaning of ‘socialism in one country’. [4]
6. Why did Stalin introduce the purges of the 1930s? [6]
7. How far did the peoples of the USSR benefit from Stalin’s rule in the period 1928 to 1941? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2007
Source A
We come to seek truth, justice and protection from you. We are poor and oppressed, unbearable work is imposed on us, we are despised and not recognised as human beings. We ask little: to reduce our working day to eight hours and to provide a minimum wage of a rouble a day. Do not refuse to help your people. Destroy the barrier between yourself and your people.
From the Petition to the Tsar presented by Father Gapon, 1905.
Source B
In his October Manifesto the Tsar offered the people a Duma (an elected parliament), the right to free speech and the right to form political parties. In November, he announced further concessions and financial help for the peasants. This divided his opponents. Having made peace with Japan, then the Tsar brought back his best troops to western Russia to crush the revolt. Rebellion in the countryside was ruthlessly put down.
From a British textbook, 2001.
1. Study Source A.
What can you tell from this source about Russia’s industrial workers? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that the Tsar wanted to help his people? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about the 1905 Revolution? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What was the Okhrana? [2]
5. Describe what happened on Bloody Sunday, 22 January 1905. [4]
6. Why were Stolypin’s attempts at agricultural reform not a success? [6]
7. How loyal were the Russian people to Tsar Nicholas II up to the outbreak of war in 1914? Explain your answer. [8]
October/November 2007
Source A
Of all the tyrannies in history, the Bolshevik tyranny is the worst, the most destructive, the most degrading. The atrocities committed under Lenin and Trotsky are incomparably more hideous and more numerous than anything for which the Kaiser is responsible.
A British government minister, speaking in 1919.
Source B
A short, stocky figure, with a big head set down on his shoulders, balding and bulging little eyes, a flat nose, wide mouth and heavy chin. Dressed in shabby clothes, his trousers were too long for him. Unimpressive to be the idol of the mob but loved and revered as perhaps few leaders in history have been. A strange leader – a leader because of his intellect; colourless, humourless, determined and aloof, but with the power of explaining profound ideas in simple terms.
An American journalist’s description of Lenin in November 1917.
1. Study Source A.
What does this source tell you about the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that Lenin was a natural leader? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about Lenin? Explain your answer. [7]
4. What were the July Days, 1917? [2]
5. Describe the Kornilov Affair, August 1917. [4]
6. Why was there a second revolution in Russia in 1917? [6]
7. ‘The Russian people gained little from Bolshevik rule between 1917 and the death of Lenin in January 1924.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. [8]
May/June 2008
Source A
We were constructing an army all over again and fighting at the same time. What was needed for this? It needed good commanders – a few dozen experienced fighters, a dozen or so Communists ready to make any sacrifice. Boots for the bare-footed, a bath house, propaganda, food, underwear, tobacco and matches were needed for the troops.Source B
Trotsky writing about the creation of the Red Army.
Trotsky took a practical approach. He appointed former army officers who were willing to serve in the Red Army because their skills were vital. He resorted to conscription because a larger army was needed to defeat the Whites. Trotsky recognised that the morale and loyalty of the army was as essential as its skills and size. The core of the army always consisted of dedicated volunteers. The appointment of party members at every level encouraged dedication to the cause. Harsh discipline was used to make sure the troops stayed loyal.
From a British history book, 1990.
What can you tell from this source about the early days of the Red Army? Support your answer with reference to the source. [6]
2. Study Source B.
How far does this source show that members of the Red Army were supporters of the Bolshevik cause? Explain your answer. [7]
3. Study both sources.
Is one of these sources more useful than the other as evidence about the Red Army? Explain your answer. [7]
4. Name two countries which sent troops against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. [2]
5. What were the main terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918? [4]
6. Why did Lenin introduce War Communism? [6]
7. How far was Trotsky’s leadership the reason for the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War? Explain your answer. [8]
From a British history book, 1990.
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Comparison of Stalin’s
USSR and Hitler’s Germany
USSR
|
GERMANY
|
|
Style
of Government
|
·
Single
Party Communist Dictatorship under the leadership of Stalin.
·
Council of
7 people led by Stalin who had a close knit group of supporters carrying out
his ideas without questioning.
·
Stalin was
a domineering and threatening person who wielded power through fear.
|
·
Single
Party Fascist Dictatorship under the leadership of Hitler.
·
Hitler had
a close knit group of Nazi officials to carry out his plans for Germany for
him.
·
Hitler was
a charismatic and persuasive figure who ‘charmed’ the people into supporting
him and his ideas for a better life.
|
Political Opponents
|
·
The USSR
was a one party system but there were members of his own Bolshevik Party who
did not like the policies that Stalin was putting into place.
·
Political
opponents were often arrested, tortured or sent to gulags.
·
Communism
was about improving life for everybody (Socialist policies) but Stalin
disliked the Nazi ideas.
|
·
Once Hitler
assumed power Germany became a one party system. Hitler particularly disliked
the Communist Party in Germany.
·
The Enabling Act made Hitler the
all-powerful Fuhrer of Germany.
·
The Law against the Formation of
Parties declared the Nazi Party the only political party in
Germany. It was an offence to belong to another Party.
All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison. Nazi
Party members, however, got the best jobs, better houses and special
privileges. Many businessmen joined the Nazi Party purely to get orders.
|
Economic Policies
|
·
The
Five Year Plans – started under Lenin and
continued by Stalin which enabled the USSR to develop economically but at a
great cost to the Soviet people – learn what the successes and costs were.
·
Stakhanovite
Medals for working hard.
·
Collectivisation – a policy for ’improving’ Soviet agricultural
production that would provide money for abroad. Had a serious impact on the
USSR and created the first man made famine.
·
The USSR’s
economy improved dramatically in just 10 years – they were now prepared in
case Germany attacked.
·
The USSR
may have had more money but it had come at a great cost to the Soviet people
who were starving, afraid and unhappy with the new government under Stalin.
|
· The National Labour Service sent men on public works e.g.
autobahns. Unemployment fell from 6 million to almost nothing. The armed
forces were built up through conscription & soldiers needed equipment.
The Luftwaffe gave jobs to fitters, engineers & designers. The Nazis
needed thousands of clerks & prison guards.
·
The 1933
Farm Law assured farmers of sales with subsidies. The government kept
food prices at the 1928 level but farmers were organised into the Reich Food
Estate & strictly controlled.
·
The 1934
New Plan stopped imports & subsidised industry. This is
called 'Autarky' - self-sufficient. Production of oil, steel, coal &
iron. Goering’s Four Year Plan proposed to get the army & industry
ready for war in 4 years. BUT
businesses were strictly controlled; they could be told to make something
different/were not allowed to raise wages/workers could be sent to other
factories. Economists know now that these policies cause massive economic
problems.
·
The Nazis
tried to make people proud. BUT
trade unions were banned and all workers had to join the German Labour Front
and lost their right to strike for better pay & conditions. Wages fell.
People who refused to work were imprisoned. Wages & conditions on the RAD
schemes were very poor.
·
Strength through Joy Movement Workers
were offered cut-price holidays, theatre trips and concerts as rewards for
working hard.
|
Social Changes
|
·
Equality was abandoned.
·
The Communist Party Elite became the
new aristocracy.
·
The armed services reverted to being
a hierarchy.
·
Stress was placed on the family unit.
·
Morality in the 1930s & 1940s was
the same as under the Tsars.
·
Women were exploited – child bearers
and cheap manual labour.
|
·
The Nazi
Party members became the elite force in Germany.
·
People
generally felt happier in Nazi Germany.
·
Children
were given new opportunities and learnt to love Hitler.
·
Emphasis
was placed on idolizing women.
·
Germany was
led to believe that as Aryans they were the Master Race and needed
Lebensraum.
·
There was a
strong sense of morals being placed on the family.
·
The phrase
was ‘speak through flowers’ – you have to be careful and what and where you
said things.
|
Education Policies
|
·
The Tsars had spent money on
education and Stalin continued this.
·
More skilled workers were produced
due to the Five Year Plan.
·
Education was offered to more people
and there was great scope for the talented.
|
·
'When an opponent declares, 'I will
not come over to your side', I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us
already'.
·
The Nazis replaced anti-Nazi teachers
and University professors, and school lessons included hidden indoctrination
- requiring children to calculate how much mentally disabled people cost the
state, or to criticize the racial features of Jewish people.
·
German boys were required to attend
the Hitler
Youth, which mixed exciting activities, war-games and Nazi
indoctrination.
·
German girls went to the BDM
and learned how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler.
|
Religious Policies
|
·
Stalin
attacked the Muslim Faith – he attacked them in almost the same way that
Hitler attacked the Jews.
·
Stalin's
role in the fortunes of the Russian Orthodox Church is complex.
Continuous persecution in the 1930s resulted in its near-extinction.
·
By 1939,
active parishes numbered in the low hundreds, many churches had been
levelled, and tens of thousands of priests, monks and nuns were killed.
·
During World War
II, however, the Church was allowed a partial revival, as a
patriotic organization: thousands of parishes were reactivated, until a
further round of suppression in Khrushchev's time. The Church Synod's
recognition of the Soviet government and of Stalin personally led to a schism
with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
Russia that remains not fully healed to the present day. Just days
before Stalin's death, certain religious sects were outlawed and persecuted.
|
·
Hitler signed a Concordat with the
Pope, agreeing to leave the Roman Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of
politics.
·
This meant that most Catholics were
happy to accept the Nazi regime.
·
Protestants & Jehovah's Witnesses
- if they opposed the Nazis - were sent to concentration camps.
·
Jews were
persecuted in Nazi Germany during the Nazi Regime through a systematic
genocide known as the Holocaust – almost 6 million people were killed
throughout Nazi controlled Europe.
·
All of this
was in direct opposition to the 25 Point Programme outlined by Hitler and the
Nazi Party stating that Nazi Germany would have religious freedom.
|
Personality Cults
|
·
Stalin
established a ‘Cult
of Stalin Worship’ from a desire to be seen
as autocratic & retain absolute power. It developed from a sense
of Paranoia – he needed people to worship him & if he had to achieve it
by terror then he would.
·
Stalin ordered a censorship on anything that reflected
badly on him, placed pictures & statues of himself everywhere, demanded
continuous praise & applause. Stalin ordered streets, hospitals &
towns to be named after him. Mothers taught their children that Stalin was
‘the wisest man of the age’. History books & photographs were altered to
make him the hero of the Revolution & obliterate any information about opponents
he had purged from the Soviet Union, i.e. Trotsky.
|
·
Hitler
established a ‘Cult
of Hitler Worship’.
·
He believed
that people in Germany needed to see him as a father figure who would take
care of them from the ‘cradle to the grave’. This would ensure his continuance
as an absolute leader.
·
Hitler used
a series of propaganda and threat of terror to achieve his cult status.
·
Posters
were put up everywhere of Hitler, Mein Kampf was given as a special gift to
married couples and children on special occasions, his speeches were
broadcast all over Germany and the Youth were made to worship him.
|
Role of Terror
|
·
Purges
– aim was to unify the
country, prepare for Germany’s invasion and from Stalin’s own paranoia.
·
Apparatus
of Terror – CHEKA and NKVD (Secret
Police), removal (purges) of industrialists, Kulaks, Political Opponents,
Army leaders, Church officials, ethnic groups and even ordinary people.
·
Gulags
– 20 million people sent to Siberia to live in the gulags were they became
slave labour.
·
Effects of
the purges are still felt today in Russia.
|
·
On 26 April 1933, Hitler set up the Gestapo
and the SS, & encouraged Germans to report opponents &
'grumblers'.
·
Tens of thousands of Jews,
Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics & prostitutes were arrested &
sent to concentration
camps for 'crimes' as small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti,
possessing a banned book, or saying that business was bad.
·
On the Night of the Long Knives
(13 June 1934) Hitler used his legal power to assassinate all his opponents
within the Nazi Party.
|
Cultural Developments
|
·
A comprehensive attempt to dominate
the cultural and artistic life in the Soviet Union.
·
Culture was to serve the state (and
Stalin) and there were laws on art, music and drama.
·
Stalin decided what could be said in
poems, nursery rhymes & folk songs.
·
Censorship was the order of the day.
|
·
Hitler’s
regime demanded a sense of nationalistic pride in Germany.
·
There was
an emphasis on German tradition.
·
The only
music allowed was Beethoven, Wagner, Mozart or German folk songs.
·
Plays &
books could only be by German authors.
·
Films could
only be acted out by Nazi authorized actors & actresses.
·
Newspapers
were freed of foreign influence.
·
The free
and easy excesses of the 1930s was abandoned – censorship was paramount.
|
