The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleons rise to Power. How far do you agree?

The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleon's rise to Power. How far do you agree? On 10th November 1799 the Coup of Brumaire brought about a leader who would bring France's power to the forefront of Europe, a nation feared by all others. The coup was the final of a series of coups between 1797 and 1799. This shows that the Directory was extremely weak which caused Napoleon to rise to power, however there were other reasons as well, such as Napoleon's political connections, his success in wars and his own personal strengths, and the opportunities he creates for himself. The revolution in France was by no means a quick process, taking over ten years before stability was finally regained and Napoleon came to power. During the ten years there were many different types of government all with different ideas, however not one of the governments really affected the peasants, thus the people of France became fed up. Fed up of paying taxes to sort out the massive financial chaos, fed up of paying for pointless wars and so people just didn't care enough to stop Napoleon rising to power, despite warnings about him from Benjamin Constant, who believed he was to self-centred, which through policies in the Napoleonic Code actually turn out to be true. The revolution also created a whole in the army due to many of the military generals who were loyal to the king,

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Assess the view that the lives of the peasants in Russia did not improve in the period from 1855 to 1964.

Assess the view that the lives of the peasants in Russia did not improve in the period from 1855 to 1964. When assessing the view that the lives of the peasants did not improve throughout the 1855-1964 period, several key factors must be taken into consideration. These include their living and working conditions, policy towards them, the educational opportunities available to them and the political representation they had under Tsarist and Communist Governments. Once all of these factors have been taken into consideration, it becomes clear that the peasantry did not enjoy a prominent time under Tsarist or Communist Governments, and their lives did not improve in the period. For the majority of the period, living conditions for the average peasant remained uniformly bleak. Prior to 1917, accommodation was often of a low standard as demand outstripped supply following an influx to the cities, such poor living conditions had a detrimental effect on their quality of life which was also evident under the communists, where living conditions remained in an equally bad, if not worse state compared to the Tsars. Despite Khrushchev continuing Stalin's efforts to build more social housing and improve the situation, these were often of poor quality and hastily built. This meant that the peasantry did not see any real increase in living conditions between 1855-1964. In contrast to the

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Mussolini's foreign policy.

Mussolini's foreign policy. Foreign and military policy were the key activities of the Fascist state. Martin Clarke. Such was Mussolini's belief in the importance of foreign policy that apart form a brief period from 1922 to 1936 he acted as his own Foreign Minister and thereafter retained control his son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano. Mussolini's style abroad, as at home, was that of the bully rather than the negotiator and here too he firmly believed that in politics it was more advantageous to be feared rather than liked. In foreign policy he challenged other countries one after the other to create the impression of being a difficult person who had to be bought off with victories of prestige. Running about biting everybody was how the South African leader, Smuts, described him at the end of 1923. While he told foreigners that his policy was one of peace a co-operation, at the same time he told Italians that his aim was national grandeur. During its first year of rule, Fascism gave the world the opportunity to judge its ideas on world policy, not only by official declarations but by actual proof. On the 27th of August 1923 an opportunity fell to Mussolini to show that Italian foreign policy was powerful and dynamic. An Italian general and four members of his staff were shot while working on frontier arrangements between Greece and Albania for the League of Nations. Two days

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Using these four passages and your own knowledge, assess the view that Napoleons Empire in Europe after 1804 offered little benefit to its subjects.

Adam Appleby Centre No. 39339 Candidate No. 7004 Using these four passages and your own knowledge, assess the view that Napoleon’s Empire in Europe after 1804 offered little benefit to its subjects. Views regarding if Napoleon offered virtuous benefits to the subjects of his Empire are fraught with different view points. Interpretations B and C both agree with the viewpoint that Napoleon offered very little benefit to his subjects, “The ideals of legal equality… social designs”, interpretation. Conversely, interpretations A and D support the opposite idea that being part of the Napoleonic Empire was actually very beneficial to the subjects, “liberated from seigniorial rights”; “Even the downsides such as… for a centralized state”. Taking all interpretations into consideration and actual knowledge of the Napoleonic Empire, it is easy to see that while Napoleon ruled with an iron fist, he did indeed offer several benefits to subjects of his Empire directly or indirectly which both can be seen in Poland by the use of Napoleon in their national hymn of living up to ‘us and Napoleon’ interpretation D. Both interpretations, A and D, show clear disagreement with the view that Napoleon was of little benefit to European subjects after 1804. Firstly interpretation A shows this with “Napoleon saw the Civil Code… the Civil Code everywhere.” This contradicts

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How far do you agree that Hitler became Chancellor primarily due to political intrigue?

How far do you agree that Hitler became Chancellor primarily due to political intrigue? The Nazi party was the largest political party in the Reichstag after the July 1932 elections; their influence and foothold in Germany could not go unnoticed. Hitler was an excellent public speaker who was able to influence those he wanted to, and Nazi party member Goebbels was running a massive propaganda campaign to increase Hitler's popularity further. But, August-December 1932 was a difficult period for the Hitler's Nazi party - more radical members were becoming restless as although their party was popular throughout Germany and Hitler looked certain to be the next Chancellor, they did not have the majority vote yet and legally there was no clear path into the German government, especially as the current president did not trust him. At the time, Germany was led by President Hindenburg. The President was elderly and relied on his aides and colleagues, Chancellor Von Papen and General Schleicher, to guide him in difficult political decisions. Von Papen was unpopular in Germany and in September 1932 he lost a vote of no confidence in the Reichstag, by a massive 512 votes to 42. His response was to dissolve the Reichstag and call for yet another election. The German public was fast becoming tired of the constant elections & the restlessness of the electorate combined with the dwindling

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The impact of the First World War merely heightened existing social and political tensions which had divided Germany before 1914. How far do you agree with this judgement?

'The impact of the First World War merely heightened existing social and political tensions which had divided Germany before 1914.' How far do you agree with this judgement? Germany's certain tensions politically and socially before 1914 can be seen in forms of the strikes that were taking place to deter the government and the military leaders away from the war, essentially the opposition to go to war. So, this would almost keep the tensions consistent as it was already relatively high. Other political tensions prior to the 1914 mark included the Zabern Affair in 1913 which increased tensions of the Reich as it was a political crisis. However, the tensions could have seen to differ after the war especially with growing opposition. As the Second Reich had a lot of issues already so the 'tensions' themselves were already in full effect and could be seen to only get worse with events such as starting a war that was preventable. Social tensions were as the statement suggests were present before WW1 in Germany. Pressure groups highlighted the divisions and tensions in Germany despite them usually focusing on single issues yet after the economic and social changes they emerged due to these changes. Although, it is seen to be that some social effects just didn't affect the tension in Germany. The 'silent dictatorship' also stemmed tensions as in 1916 Bethmann called off

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How successful were the Five- Year Plans in transforming Russian industry in the years to 1941?

How successful were the Five- Year Plans in transforming Russian industry in the years to 1941? By Gabriella Pink Stalin made three five-year plans spanning from 1928 to 1941. He had very different aims for each of the plans and had some very optimistic targets for the achievements of these plans. An over riding theme of each of the plans was industry. Stalin wanted to restore Russia’s hold on industry and make it a great trading power once again. The five year plans were very successful in helping building up the Russian industry. They did this through many ways, each contributing in a different manner. The production of raw materials increased dramatically thought eh five-year plans and industry on a whole became a lot more efficient. This can be seen through statistics that show the production in tonnes. Such materials as; coal, iron and steel, all rose in production quite dramatically. Iron rose from 4.2 million tonnes to 6.2 million tonnes, coal from 29.1 million tonnes to 64.3 million tonnes and steel from 4.0 million tonnes to 5.9 million tonnes. These were huge increases at that time. For an country that was struggling as much as Russia was at that time, it was an achievement. Stalin had many initiatives to achieve a better industry. He put in place a reward scheme for workers if they helped reach the targets that were set. Workers were encouraged to work for

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Lenin's Legacy Has Been Grossly Exaggerated; to what extent do you agree with the statement?

"Lenin's Legacy Has Been Grossly Exaggerated" Lenin's Legacy Has Been Grossly Exaggerated; to what extent do you agree with the statement? What is Lenin's legacy? A legacy is defined as: "The gift that an individual leaves, both in the details of their will and in the tradition of giving they shared with their descendents." Therefore Lenin's legacy is what he gave to the people after his death. Could it be a up and coming communist state? Or could it be a release from the class system with a new way of thinking? One of the leading political figures and revolutionary thinkers of the 20th century, Lenin masterminded the Bolshevik take-over of power in Russia in 1917 and was the architect and first head of the Soviet state. He posthumously gave name to the Marxist-Leninist ideology, but by the death of the communist system in 1991, his legacy was largely discredited. Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov grew up in a good educated family in provincial Russia. He excelled at school and went on to study law. At university, he was exposed to radical thinking, and the execution of his older brother, a member of a revolutionary group also influenced his views. He was expelled from university for his radical policies. Lenin completed his law degree as a student in 1891. He moved to St Petersburg and became a professional revolutionary for the peasants. Like many of his predecessors, Lenin was

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Explain how the effects of the First World War caused the collapse of the Tsarist regime

) Explain how the effects of the First World War caused the collapse of the Tsarist regime (8 marks) There were many causes of the collapse of the Tsarist regime. One of the biggest causes, however, was the First World War, as it had many effects on everyone in Russia, who all blamed the Tsar. The Tsar abdicated in 1917 because he had no control over anyone in Russia. He had no support. This was because everyone in Russia blamed the Tsar for something. They layed all the blame at his feet because he was in charge and was the only person who could change things. One of the main reasons why the 1905 revolution failed was because the Tsar had the support and control of the military. By the time the 1917 revolution had started, the Tsar had lost this support and control. He had no protection. This happened because of the war. Firstly, the army was very poorly equipped, as some men didn't have any boots and only a third of men had rifles. The army also had very incompetent leaders. There is evidence of this in the battles at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. In both of these, the 'huge Russian armies' (Brooman 1994) were wiped out when they should have easily beaten a single German army. The poor leadership combined with the poorly equipped army made Russia suffer many defeats in the war. By 1917, 0.8 million Russian troops had been killed, 4.6 million wounded and 3.3 million

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To What Extent was fear of the Gestapo and the SS the main reason why Hitler was able to stay in power after 1933?

To What Extent was fear of the Gestapo and the SS the main reason why Hitler was able to stay in power after 1933? After Hitler was made chancellor in 1933 and Fuhrer after Hindenburg's death, there were a number of factors that secured his status as Fuhrer with many legal and violent methods. His use of the Gestapo and the SS was certainly important to his ability to stay in power after 1933. This was not the only reason why he stayed in power, propaganda, his use of the state and party and social benefits all contributed to him staying as Fuhrer. Of course being leader, Hitler himself was a reason with his personal skills as the leader. Fear of the Gestapo and the SS was a important factor of this but their were certainly other reasons for Hitler's status to be secured. Fear of the Gestapo and the SS was a reason why Hitler stayed in power after 1933 as both organisations' techniques of spreading terror over Germany. This fear would have significantly reduced the number of people and groups standing against the Nazis as everyone knew the consequences for their actions could be severe. There is no doubt that the two organisations had a bad reputation for being very violent towards opposition and people that upset Hitler but it is debatable whether they actually had a huge impact on Hitler's ability to stay in power. The traditional view was that terror was a part of

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