"Hitler's aims and actions were the only cause of World War Two." Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

"Hitler's aims and actions were the only cause of World War Two." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? When considering the reasons for the outbreak of war in 1939 it is easy to place the entire blame on Hitler's aggressive foreign policy in the late 1930s. One British historian, writing a few years after the end of the war, claimed that 'the Second World War was Hitler's personal war, in that he intended it, he prepared for it, he chose the moment for launching it.' In this assignment it is my intention to show that Hitler's foreign policy was a major factor in causing the conflict but that other reasons, both long term and short term, need to be recognised as well. Probably the first factor that need considering is the Treaty of Versailles, of 1919. The harshness of the Treaty and the way in which it blamed Germany for World War I crippled Germany. Much of its territory was taken away from it, including West Prussia that went to form a new Polish Corridor to the sea. Plus the Treaty forced Germany to reduce its army, demilitarise the Rhineland and get rid of its navy. The Treaty also forced harsh reparations for the War resulting in a great deal of the German people resenting the Allies. And it was later that Hitler used the bitter memories of Versailles to gain public support for his actions. Another factor in causing World War II was the Wall Street Crash of

  • Word count: 1091
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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"Hitler's single aim in foreign policy was expand in the east." How far do you agree with this view?

"Hitler's single aim in foreign policy was expand in the east." How far do you agree with this view? Once his regime was consolidated, Hitler took little interest in domestic policy, his sole concern being that Germany becomes sufficiently strong to realize his long-term geopolitical goal of creating a German empire that would dominate Western Europe and extend deep into Russia. His racially motivated ideology and the need to create a greater Germany became his most hierarchical aims to fulfil. However, Hitler's policies were much more than a policy of expansionism but entailed the need to eradicate the Versailles Treaty and the unification of all German people into the Reich. I will argue towards the fact that these aims were as important as expansion into the east. Additionally I will stress that Hitler did not necessarily follow an intentionalist school of thought rather he was an opportunist able to make use of opportunities at hand whilst keeping a consistent aim in ideology. I will conclude that the aims that Hitler set about achieving were merely a step towards world domination through greater Germany. Hitler's idea of expansionism into the east (lebensraum) was in place long before he had come to power. However what differentiates Hitler's ideology from the idea itself is that he was able to imprint his own racial ideology encompassing a large and more threatening

  • Word count: 1692
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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"How influential was Hitler's role in the rise of the Nazi Party 1920-1933?"

Harpal Chima 13A History "How influential was Hitler's role in the rise of the Nazi Party 1920-1933?" Since the beginning of the 20th century a lot of people have made their mark on history but non-more so than Adolf Hitler. Historians see Hitler as being the demons of all dreams, his patriotism for Germany led him to do unbelievable tasks that saw nearly 6 million Jews being annihilated and a further more 15 million soldiers to died in battle. The crimes that he committed were seen as the most lethal of any since the dawn of man and thus his name is unforgettable so that the crimes and horror he forced upon this world would never be forgotten and thus be repeated. Born in April 1889 Adolf Hitler was born and brought up to a family of peasants. His father, Alois Hitler worked in the civil service and his mother Klara Pölzl stayed home to take care of her sons, Adolf and Edmund Hitler and daughter Paula. The Hitler family lived on a small farm outside of Linz, Austria. The children had farm chores to perform along with their school work. In 1895 Hitler entered Primary school and later in 1896 the Hitler family moved to the town of Lambach, Austria, halfway between Linz and Salzburg. In Lambach Adolf became enrolled in a monastery school and did

  • Word count: 5520
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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"Lack of a strong political system in Germany was the main reason for the rise and eventual empowerment of the Nazi Party," Discuss.

History Extended Essay "Lack of a strong political system in Germany was the main reason for the rise and eventual empowerment of the Nazi Party," Discuss After the First World War, Hitler became a V-man, and continued work for the army as a spy. His job was to spy on political parties. In the course of this job, Hitler stumbled across a small fringe party with few members called the German Worker's Party. Hitler decided to join this party and before long became the leader. After serving about a year in prison after trying to seize Munich, Hitler returned to leading the party, changing the name to the National Socialist German Worker's Party. This essay will discuss how Hitler got such a small party into power. Such reasons as the weak economy, the death of Stresemann and the use of the SA will be discussed. Hitler's skills, Nazi promises, right wing deal and the failure of the left wing to unite will also be looked at. The political system in Germany was run by a system called Proportional Representation (PR). This system made it very difficult for any one party in Germany to gain a majority vote. As a result of this, co-allition governments were formed. This meant that two or more parties joined together to share the rule of the country. These were often very weak and indecisive and in the space of ten years, there were nineteen different governments in

  • Word count: 648
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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In what way, and for what reasons, did the Treaty of Versailles cause political problems in the 1920's in Germany, under the Weimar Republic?

In what way, and for what reasons, did the Treaty of Versailles cause political problems in the 1920's in Germany, under the Weimar Republic? A continent that has most definitely gone through much turmoil throughout its existence is Europe. World War I, for example, had numerous devastating effects on many European nations. To try and put an end to the fighting and bring about peace in Europe, the Treaty of Versailles was instituted. This treaty was very successful in coming up with the necessary reparations posed to countries, such as Germany, deemed as punishable for the war in its attempt to prevent further fighting. The reparations imposed on Germany under the Weimar Republic caused many political problems within the nation. First of all, the signing of the Versailles Treaty was reflected badly on the Weimar government. Secondly, the extreme reparation costs ended up in an economic collapse, which led to enormous discontent with the Weimar government. Lastly, the loss of territory that Germany had to endure exacerbated the discontent with the government among the Germans. As a result of these three points, the Treaty of Versailles caused political problems in Germany in the 1920's, along with economic and social problems that led to further political problems. The sheer fact that Germany, under the Weimar Republic, had signed the Treaty of Versailles greatly

  • Word count: 1433
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Long and short term reasons for the rise of Hitler.

Long and short term reasons for the rise of Hitler There are many reasons why Hitler came to power on the 30th January 1937. He came to power legally after he had vowed to do so when he was in prison. The long-term reasons need to be identified. Below is a list of long-term reasons. The treaty of Versailles Weimar republic Economic difficulties after the Germans had lost the war The Munich Putsch, Hitler had vowed to become leader legally so no one could contest his power. The rich peoples fear of communism, which led to Support of the rich. There are also trigger cause which need t be identified. These are listed below Wall street crash Propaganda and Terror Death of Straesmann Political scheming by business people Hitler's own personality The first reason I am going to outline is the treaty of Versailles. I will explain why the German people hated it so much and how it helped Hitler. The terms of the treaty of Versailles were as follows. Germany had to agree that it was responsible for starting the war. The Germans hated this because they believed that they were not the only culprits. The German army worried all the allies especially France so the treaty cut it down to a level way before pre war levels. The germens particularly hated this because their armed forces, especially their navy, were the pride and joy of the country. The amount that the Germans

  • Word count: 2264
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Long term causes like the economic depression 1929-1933, and the failure of the Weimar government were key reasons why Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933. But there wer

Christabel Jarrold 10Q a) The Treaty of Versailles had an immense political, psychological and economical impact on Germany. One of the most important economical impacts of the Treaty of Versailles was that Germany lost land. Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France. Malmedy was given to Belgium. North Schleswig was given to Denmark. Memel was given to Lithuania. West Prussia (including the 'Polish corridor') and Upper Silesia were given to Poland. Danzig was made a 'free city'. This was designed to weaken Germany. The Saar coalfields were given to France for 15 years. This meant loss of industry and raw matierials for Germany, and made economic recovery very hard. Then on top of the loss of industry and land, there was the setting up of the reparations commission. In 1921 the allies finally decided that Germany would pay £6,600 million as compensation for the damage done to the Allies. By 1922 it was clear that Germany could not pay. So French and Belgian troops entered the Ruhr region, Germany's main industrial area and simply took what was owed them in the form of coal and steel. The Weimar Government ordered passive resistance. It instructed its workers to go on strike so that there was no produce made for the French to take. Violence erupted. Germans were arrested, deported and a hundred people were killed. Without any industrial wealth, and in order to pay the

  • Word count: 2490
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Source based questions on Nazi Germany.

Source based questions (a) Do you think that this cartoon was published in a nazi newspaper or by their opponents? Use the source and your own knowleadge to explain your answer. I think that this source is pro - Nazi firstly because the source shows poor quality meat being searved to the Germans my evidence for this is that in the source the jewish are puting a rat into the mincer. Secondly that the jews want to kill the Germans my evidence for this is that there are goose hanging from the ceeling which represent the German soliders because the German soliders take steeps like goose when they march. Thirdly and lastly it shows a typical jew with a big nose and being fat. I also think that it proves that Jews are evil, wealthy and greedy. (b) Is this an accurate account of the view of all Germans in Nazi Germany? Use the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer. I think that this source is not an accurate account of all germans firstly because its only interviewing one person so therefore it bias and its also a one person view its not like thisperson who was interviewing went and asked every single German in Germany wha they thought about hitler if he/she had done then maybe but because its only the view of only one person it is difficult almost impossible to say that thats what all Germans thought. Secondly the person they are interviewing Alfons

  • Word count: 1162
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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The treatment of the Jews in Germany in the year’s 1933- 1945

Rocky 10p The treatment of the Jews in Germany in the year's 1933- 1945 Introduction I have been asked to describe and explain the treatment of the Jews in Germany in the years 1933-1945. I will write an essay for this question, the main points I will be focussing on are: Background to anti Semitism up to 1933 Discrimination against Jews 1933-1937 Persecution against Jews 1937-1942 The final solution These are the four points that will help me to answer the original question, describe and explain the treatment of the Jews in Germany in the 1933-1945. Background to anti-Semitism up to 1933 Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews, for centuries it had been common in Europe. In the early 20th century it was harsh in Russia, so many of the Russian Jews went to Germany also other European countries, they were more tolerant to the Jews. In Germany Jews were poor but a small population of the Jews had a good life. At the time of 1933 in Germany Jews made up less than 1 percent of the population but there were successful in particular professions, 16% of lawyers and 17% of bankers were Jews and 10,000 doctors were Jewish in Germany. So no wonder why German people hated Jews they were jealous and angry at the Jews, the German people felt they were being taken over. The obvious reason why German people hated Jews they felt they were a threat, that they were likely to be

  • Word count: 2137
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Anti-Semitism in Germany

Anti-Semitism in Germany Anti-Semitism had always been present in European life and Hitler was an Example of an obsessive anti-Semite. He fed on the Anti-Semitism feelings Felt by German people and was able to translate his intense feelings of Hatred into a series of policies and laws. These laws progressively eroded the rights of German Jews from 1933-1939. Once firmly in power, Hitler's plans for ending the struggle between the Aryan race and the 'inferior races' was set to work. This meant the persecution of Jews. This Persecution took a number of forms. In order to conduct it successfully the Nazis needed to create the right conditions for the German people to accept the policy. At first the Nazis boycotted Jewish businesses for one day in April 1933. This was not as effective as hoped and was deeply unpopular. So Hitler adopted a more gradualist approach and a week later he introduced legislation excluding Jews from certain professions such as the civil service, law and university positions. The Nazi dictatorship grew in confidence and the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 increasing deprived Jews of their German citizenship, giving them the status of 'subjects' in Hitler's Reich. The laws defined Jews as a separate race and created very detailed Nazi definitions of who was Jewish. Many people who never considered themselves Jewish were suddenly

  • Word count: 3456
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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