Explain and critically examine Britain(TM)s policy of non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War
06375332 Explain and critically examine Britain's policy of non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936 a military coup began against the Spanish Republic sparking a civil war, the effects of which it was feared could reverberated throughout Europe given the political instability and fragile balance of powers. For Britain Spain was significant in isolation as a trading partner: internationally as a state which could upset the balance of powers in Europe and ideologically insofar as the left-leaning Popular Front government was proving difficult to work with and in many ways ideologically inferior to the fascist rebels in terms of British interest. Most sympathisers with the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War also concern themselves with the policy of non-intervention agreed and observed by the Western democracies at the time. The area is so significant given that the observation of the policy was pivotal in the outcome of the war; Britain's role is regarded as particularly significant as some believe that the British policy of non-intervention heavily influenced the policy of other European powers. The motivation of non-intervention is its most crucial aspect and theories pertaining to it are numerous and will be discussed during the course of this essay. The first to officially propose a European policy of non-intervention were the French Popular
Explain the failure to be returned to government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 1950's.
Explain the failure to be returned to government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 1950's. The Social Democratic Party and its leader Kurt Schumacher failed to return to government in the 1950's for many reasons. Schumacher and his party made some very serious miscalculations, which left the party in opposition for 17 years. In 1933 the SPD took a stance against Nazism and voted against special powers for Hitler. At the fall of the Third Reich in 1945 the SPD had high hopes for itself and believed that the German population would crave a democratic government. This was a gross miscalculation as "Weimar had done nothing to encourage faith in parliamentary institutions" (Pulzer 2003 p52). Hitler was seen as the product of a democracy and socialism as a continuation of regiment and ration queues. In addition the SPD's Marxist stance served "as a constant reminder of the failed Weimar regime" (Padgett and Burkett 1986 p48). Schumacher' s idea at this time was to create a new, revitalised SPD but his ideas proved to be unsuccessful. He had really duplicated the model that had been present in the Weimar period and claimed to make revolutionary changes that they had never made before and didn't know how to make. During this time the SPD did very little to change German society for the better. The denazification process was also reducing people's interest in politics. The
In the Reichstag Elections of 1932 the NSDAP became Germanys largest political party with 13,745,800 votes, some 37.4 of the total electoral vote.
In the Reichstag Elections of 1932 the NSDAP became Germanys largest political party with 13,745,800 votes, some 37.4 of the total electoral vote. This was a phenomenal rise given that in 1928 they were a mere splinter group that had gained as little as 2.6% of the vote1. Contrary to popular belief, Hitler and the NSDAP did not seize power, at least not in the military sense and it has mistakenly been labelled as Hitler's machtergreifung. Instead, somewhat astonishingly given Hitler's reign of terror, the Nazis were voted into power by millions of ordinary German citizens from a range of sociological, economic and ideological backgrounds. They were not merely a middle class party and were not supported primarily by only one type of voter. Instead they were a volkspartei who were able to call on support from all quarters of Germany2. It was only once they had gained power that aided by the weakness of the Weimar Republic, they implemented policies that allowed them to turn democracy into dictatorship. It is why these ordinary people flocked in their millions to vote for a party with such cretinous ideologies that this essay intends to explore. The most important factor in discovering who these people were and why they decided to opt for Hitler and the Nazis is surely hidden in the years that the party emerged from the political doldrums to the most voted for regime in the
Evaluate the impact of propaganda in the Nazi regime.
Evaluate the impact of propaganda in the Nazi regime Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in January 1933 and held power until the end of the Second World War in 1945. (Fulbrook 1990 p176-202) During this time of the Nazi regime, Hitler, along with his minister of propaganda, Dr Joseph Goebbels, took control of all media output, giving them 'one voice' towards the population of Germany. (Fulbrook 1990 p182) Having control of all the media output, such as literature, art, music, radio, films, and newspapers, gave the Nazis one of their greatest weapons during their time in power... an unopposed propaganda machine. (Snyder 1995 p273) Propaganda is seen as the art of persuasion, it is the ability to persuade others that 'your side' of the story is correct. It might take the form of persuading others that your military might is too great to be challenged or that your political might within a nation is too great or popular to challenge. (Rutherford 1985 p8) The Nazis however, were more concerned with using propaganda to build the 'myth' of Hitler, the image of him being the saviour of Germany and the myth of the 'Aryan' German. This myth being that the pure German was the superior race through nobility of blood. (Snyder 1995 p277) To evaluate the impact of propaganda within the Nazi regime, this essay will focus on the importance, or the worth of the impact to which the
Which of the following did most to undermine peace in the 1930s?
Which of the following did most to undermine peace in the 1930s? a) The Abyssinian crisis b) The remilitarization of the Rhine Land c) The Spanish civil War. During the 1920s, feverish attempts to establish a long-lasting peace were made all around the world. However, these were dilapidated by the consecutive events that followed though out the 1930s.Three events in particular, namely, the Abyssinian crisis (1935/1936), the Remilitarization of the Rhineland (March 1936) and the Spanish civil war (1936-1939), severely undermined the peace and stability of the world, especially in Europe. In my opinion, the Remilitarization of the Rhineland had a substantial impact on the peace in Europe, and out of the three it undermined peace the most. The Abyssinian crisis was a blow to the good work of the League of Nations. Abyssinia, an Independent member of the League was taken over by Italy (a council member), and although the League tried to take action against Italy, the economic sanctions that were imposed on it were ineffective. Britain and France were also unable to prevent the conflict and it was clear (through the Hoare-Laval Pact) that they were more interested in having Mussolini as an ally against Hitler. This damaged the reputation of the League and led to its rapid demise. However, Mussolini was annoyed by the sanctions and increasingly looked at Hitler for support.
The Soviet Union claimed to have made women equal to men. To what extent did it really succeed in doing so?
The Soviet Union claimed to have made women equal to men. To what extent did it really succeed in doing so? Before the beginning of the Soviet Union, Russia was a deeply misogynistic country; with men being at the head of every household whilst the women were kept under control, for fear that they would distract the men from their work (Edmondson, 1992: 20). When the Soviet Union was established, however, they claimed to have made both genders equal, though I feel this was not entirely true. During the existence of the Soviet Union, women's roles within society changed several times; sometimes they were seen as workers, other times as fighters, and other times as mothers. At the same time, men only had the one role of physical labourers, be it in the factories or on the battlefield. At the beginning of the Soviet Union, Lenin stated that no revolution is possible without the participation of women, and how he aimed to emancipate women from domestic duties so they could become part of the labour force (Lenin, 1966: 99). Once Stalin came in to power, his five-year plan vastly improved employment rates, with women eventually making up 40% of the workforce (Bridger, 1987: 25). Despite this, gender inequality was still evident, as women were assigned worse jobs than men, which was allowed to happen by law (Edmondson, 1992: 139). The iconic images of the Soviet woman on her
Why and When did Fascism Loose Support Among the People and Discontent Become Visible?
Why and When did Fascism Loose Support Among the People and Discontent Become Visible? The real rise and fall of the Italian fascist regime spans the period from around 1936 to its actual fall with the deposition and arrest of Mussolini on the 25th July 1943. With the signing of the Axis of Power in 1936, Mussolini appeared to have secured Italy's position as a fascist power, independent of Germany and Hitler. The following years saw a heavy and deliberate attempt at the fascistisation of the Italian people targeting education and the youth. In Mussolini's words he wanted to form a nation of "masters". The Italian nation had showed itself prepared to tolerate moderate fascism. However already the war in Ethiopia had been unpopular, coming heavy on the heels of the Wall Street Crash and Depression of the early 1930s. In October 1935, openly defying the League of Nations, Italy attached Ethiopia without declaration of war. The war lasted seven months, by the end of which the Ethiopians were over-ruled and annexed as an Italian province. However Ethiopian resistance continued and Mussolini attempted to quash the people action such as the execution in February 1937 of 30,000, many of whom included the young and educated. This action failed to impress the Italian people and was heavily condemned by the Catholic Church. It was a clear display of true fascist principles,
The History Of Poland
Poland is located in Central Europe, to the east of Germany. It is slightly smaller than New Mexico. Poland is named after the Slavic tribe, Polane. The word polane in Slavic means field or plane. This describes Poland's terrain. Most of Poland is covered with small planes and gently rolling hills. Towards the south Poland is covered in mountains. Historically, Poland was an area of conflict because of its flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain. Polish is the official language of Poland. It contains a number of dialects, in between Polish and German or Ukrainian. The Polish language is written using the Latin alphabet. In Poland during the mid 1900's more than forty Polish cities had a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. Five major cities have a population of over 500,000. Warsaw is Poland's capital and by far has the largest population. During most of Poland's history, Poland was a highly multiethnic society which included Byelorussians, Ukrainians, Jews and Germans. Territorial changes after World War II however, changed the countries ethnic makeup. Today Poland has a relatively small ethnic diversity. 97.6% of Poland's citizens are Poles, 0.6% are Ukrainians, 0.5% are Byelorussians, and 1.3% are German. There are also small communities of Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians and Russians. There are 10 million Poles living outside of
account for Mao's rise to power
Account for Mao's' Rise to Power Mao's rise to power was down to may factors just as the weaknesses of the GMD and Chiang Kai-shek that brought corruption, un-organisation and hyperinflation, helped the communist's to appeal to the people of China, as did the events of the Chinese Civil War, that showed off Mao's clever use of guerrilla warfare, and his inspirational leaderships skills. As well as Mao's cult of personality formed form his peasant upbringing and the renowned Long March , as well as his ideology of Land Reforms and being a man of the people, all contribute to Mao Zedong's rise to power. In 1925 Chiang Kai-shek became leader of the GMD, as a consequence to this Mao and the Communists retreated to the Jiangxi province where they set up the Jiangxi Soviet. Furthermore between the years of 1928-34 the Communists (CCP) recruited peasants into the Communist party. The GMD made frequent attempts to destroy the CCP in Jiangxi; therefore Mao's decision was to move to Yanan. Consequently, this led to the legendary Long March in which the CCP marched 6000 miles, crossed 11 provinces, 18 mountain ranges and many deserts. Whilst marching, they where constantly attacked by GMD forces, and fought 15 pitched battles along the way. 100000 men set out on the Long March but only 20000 survived it. The significance of the Long March was that it secured relationships
Account for the weaknesses of the First and Second Coalitions against France.
Account for the weaknesses of the First and Second Coalitions against France. The French Revolutionary War of the First Coalition which commenced in the early months of 1793 was the first concerted response (if we discount the skirmishes which ended at Valmy in September the previous year ) by an alliance of European powers to the new regime in France, which in February 1793 had buried the ancien regime with the execution of Louis XVI. A combination of Britain, Prussia, Austria, Sardinia, Holland, Naples, Spain, Portugal and, to a lesser extent, Russia should have signalled the demise of the French Revolutionary government already troubled by internal turmoil and still a militarily weak nation. It did not. The First Coalition failed, as did the second by 1800 and Europe was left on the verge of a new era created by Napoleon I. Undoubtedly the most serious weakness of the first two coalitions against France in the 1790's was the disparity of interests and objectives between the 'allied' states. The formation of the First Coalition came at a time when Russia especially, but also Prussia and Austria, were more concerned with events in Poland to commit enough energy to dealing with the French. Although worried by the regicide in Paris, and determined to ensure that the revolutionary fervour did not spread to within their own borders, the immediate interests of the three Eastern