Here is a series of questions that will help you prepare for the find of questions that might appear on the exam paper.
The Second Reich
June 2012 part a) question:
To what extent was Germany a parliamentary democracy in the years 1900-1914?
June 2013 part a) question:
To what extent did the social and political tensions that existed within the Second Reich increase during the First World War?
‘The political establishment in Germany succeeded in maintaining the political status quo through a policy of moderate reform’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘The First World War increased rather than narrowed Germany’s political divisions’. 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?
The Weimar Republic
June 2011 part a) question:
To what extent was the effective government of Germany in the years 1919-33 handicapped by the nature of the Weimar Constitution?
June 2013 part a) question:
How far do you agree that the new Weimar Republic was seriously threatened by political extremists in the years 1919-24?
‘By May 1919 the German revolution had brought about remarkably little change in Germany’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
To what extent would it be true to say that the payment of reparations was the main cause of Germany’s post-war economic problems?
How far would it be true to say that the German economic collapse in 1923 was self-inflicted?
‘Between 1918 and 1923, the governments of the Weimar Republic were largely successful in coping with Germany’s economic problems.’ How far would you agree with this view?
How valid was Stresemann’s view that, from the mid-1920s, Germany was ‘dancing on a volcano’?
‘It had fundamental weaknesses and these meant that it remained a fragile institution throughout the period 1919-32.’ How far do you agree with this opinion of the Weimar Republic?
‘The main threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic in the period 1919 to 1923 came from the political violence of the extreme right’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘Doomed from the beginning’. How far do you agree with this assessment of the Weimar Republic?
‘Germany experienced a period of political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid-1920s’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
The Rise of the Nazi Party and Consolidation of Power
June 2010 Part a) question:
‘Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933 because he was the leader of the most popular party in Germany’. How far do you agree with this opinion?
June 2012 Part a) question:
‘The transformation in the fortunes of the Nazi Party in the years 1930-33 was largely because of Hitler’s remarkable talents as a politician’. How far do you agree with this opinion?
‘No more than a fringe irritant in German politics’. How far do you agree with this view of the strength of the Nazi Party in the years 1920-9?
‘Hitler came to power legally and within the system. He used a system that was seriously flawed.’ How valid is this interpretation of the means by which Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany?
‘People voted NSDAP more out of dislike for Weimar’s democracy rather than support for Hitler’s policies.’ To what extent do you agree with this view?
To what extent was Hitler personally responsible for the Nazis gaining power in Germany in 1933?
In what ways did the economic depression of the years 1929-33 help to increase support for the Nazi Party?
‘The strength of Nazism lay in the Protestant and predominantly rural area of the North German plain rather than in the big cities and in the industrial areas.’ To what extent do you agree with this view?
To what extent did Hitler consolidate his Chancellorship by the end of 1933?
‘Nazi consolidation of power in 1933 was primarily due to the use of terror and violence’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘The role played by the traditional elite was the main factor in bringing Hitler to power in January 1933’.
How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘Hitler came to power because of conservative miscalculation’.
How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘Hitler came to power, not because of the strength of the NSDAP but because of the weakness of the opposition’.
How far do you agree with this judgement?
‘Propaganda was the most important factor in the growth of support for the Nazi party in the period to July 1932’.
How far do you agree with this judgement?
The Third Reich during the Second World War
June 2010 Part a) question:
‘The Final Solution evolved because of the chaotic nature of the Nazi regime in the years 1939-42’. How far do you agree with this opinion?
June 2011 Part a) question:
To what extent did the Nazi regime face serious opposition within Germany during the years 1939-45?
‘The Second World War made the Final Solution inevitable’. How far would you agree with this view?
To what extent might it be claimed that the military represented the only real threat to Hitler’s regime?
To what extent was the economy geared for war during the years 1933-9?
‘The handling of the economy was poorly co-ordinated and this accounts for the weaknesses in German war production in the years 1939-45’. How far do you agree with this view?
‘Systematic extermination emerged as the Final Solution to the Jewish Question as a result of the chaotic nature of the Nazi state’. How far do you agree with this opinion?
Part b)
WWI Controversy
June 2010
‘German aggression was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
June 2011
‘To what extent was the nature of the Schlieffen Plan responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914? How far do you agree with this judgement?
June 2012
‘The First World War did not arise primarily as a result of planned German aggression’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
June 2013
‘The First World War arose primarily as a result of German aggression’. How far do you agree with this judgement?
Nazi Controversy
June 2010
To what extent do you agree with the view that Hitler was a ‘non-interventionist dictator’ (Source 4, line 32)? How far do you agree with this judgement?
June 2011
How far do you agree that Hitler’s Regime was a ‘consensus dictatorship’ (Source 4, line 36)? How far do you agree with this judgement?
June 2012
‘Hitler was a dictator who did not dictate’. How far do you agree with this opinion?
June 2013
How far do you agree with the view that ‘After 1933 most Germans readily accepted the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler’ (Source 4, line 30)?