Edexcel A2 History - Germany 1900-45 - Monday 8th June 2015 [Exam Discussion Thread]
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No worries. for each argument what evidence would you use?
Fear of encirclement - Moroccan crises, triple entente
Aggressive German foreign policy - Schlieffen plan, Weltpolitik, flottenpolitik, blank cheque, Moroccan crises, growing nationalisim
imo it was the alliance system which played a huge role in escalating tensions and making war inevitable, so all powers deserve responsibility for the outbreak of WW1, what do you think?
Oh no! Are you resitting unit 2?Thanks for the info! That makes me feel slightly easier. 59/70 I guess is achievable? Not sure how confident to be :/Posted from TSR Mobilelool yeah I know!! I was the only one who got an A in History in my entire year!!! Anyway no I'm not retaking - no need, I'm going for an A* and retaking would only help secure an A which im already pretty secure with xD.
yeah 59 is achievable... But the sources can get sooo hard ;( I can generally interpret them well because I do read a lot of books that use similar language etc. But in exam conditions I just panic and lose focus and waste time...
so yeah... Idk, not too confident to be perfectly honest... But I'm determined! And that counts for something!
when i worked out my ums, i approximately need an A in my unit 2 resit and unit 3 (alongside the As i got in coursework and unit 1) to get A overall, and maybe A* if i get high marks
when i worked out my ums, i approximately need an A in my unit 2 resit and unit 3 (alongside the As i got in coursework and unit 1) to get A overall, and maybe A* if i get high marks
You don't necessarily need all As, but without them it would be hard to achieve the 320 UMS needed.
when i worked out my ums, i approximately need an A in my unit 2 resit and unit 3 (alongside the As i got in coursework and unit 1) to get A overall, and maybe A* if i get high marks
You can get an A* overall like this:
Scrape B at AS (140 UMS) and then scrape an A* at A2 (180 UMS).
You can even get an A* by scraping a C at As (120 UMS) and then getting 100% in A2 (200 UMS).
Resiting will only help you get an A as long as you have a B or above. To get an A* you need to work as hard as anyone else who got a B or above at AS - including people who got full marks overall.
If you need further assistance with working out how much you need for an A and A*, send me your unit UMS scores and I'll work it out for you.
Hey man , just saying these links have become dead
It says either the file has been moved or deleted.
Thanks x
You should refer to the red edexcel book, it's laid out quite well, or the white hodder education book.
In any case, these are my own personal notes - part of my revision guide that I will be creating - which summaries all of Germany.
Economic growth:
Germany’s economy grew rapidly in the years before the war and by 1914, it had become the economic powerhouse of Europe – this was achieved primarily due to technological revolution
Steel:
•
1879: new method of manufacturing steel was developed and Germany was quick in taking advantage of this
•
This was achieved due to the size of Germany’s companies: in 1900, only 1 British firm could produce over 300,000 tons of steel annually whereas Germany had 10 firms that could produce that much
•
1870: Germany produced 169,000 tonnes of steel / Britain produced 286,000 tonnes
•
1910: Germany produced 13,698,000 tonnes of steel / Britain produced 6,374,000 tonnes
•
Growth in steel fuelled Germany’s expansion in other industries such as transport
•
1878: Prussian railways were 5,000 km -> 1914: 37,000 km
Chemicals:
•
There was an increase in demand in chemicals for explosives and dyes
•
By 1900: German companies like BASF were worldwide leading dye producers
•
1900: BASF also employed a workforce of 6,300 workers and 233 research chemists
•
1908: film company AGFA produced a million meters of film a year
Other industries:
•
1897: Rudolf Diesel perfected an oil-based engine
•
1900: Zeppelin launched the first rigid airship
•
Electricity was one of the most significant developments
•
1907: 107,000 Germans worked as electrical workers – half of these were employed by AEG and Siemens & Halske
•
By the eve of WW1, half of Europe’s electrical supply came from Germany
Consequences:
Social:
This rapid growth in the economy led to rapid urbanisation -> demographic revolution in Germany’s towns and cities
•
1871: 36.1% of Germans lived in urban areas
•
1910: 60% of Germans lived in urban areas
Urbanisation: (GOOD)
•
Germany built a sewerage system + filtered drinking water after incidents like that in Hamburg (explained in BAD)
•
Hygiene + medicine improved rated of infant mortality
•
Building tramways -> people could travel cheaply into town to work
•
After 1896: wages increased for urban workforce -> increased living standards
•
Although there was unemployment, most of the unemployed were unskilled
Urbanisation: (BAD)
•
Led to (overpopulation + poor sanitary conditions + lack of clean water) -> disease
•
1892: in Hamburg, 8,600 people died from cholera in 10 weeks
•
Berlin Homeless Shelter accommodated 200,000 men a year after 1900
•
1/3 workers in any year between 1900 – 1914 were unemployed at one point
•
1882: 1.35 million unemployed -> 1907: 3.45 million
Rural
Agriculture: (GOOD)
•
Bismark’s Tariff Law of 1879 was introduced to protect German farmers
•
Increasing population
•
1900: 56.4 million -> 1910: 64.9 million
•
Increased demand for agricultural products -> increased prices -> better pay for farmers
•
Improvements in chemicals -> better fertilisers -> better + more efficient yield
•
Threshing machines introduced due to economic advances
•
1907: threshing machines found on 1,436,000 holdings
Agriculture: (BAD)
•
Despite protection, farmers still faced challenges
•
Refrigerated ships enabled importation of meat from US which was cheaper than German meat
•
Most Germans had migrated to urban areas so landlords had to recruit labour regions close to Germany’s borders
Socialist movement:
Industrialisation saw the growth of the socialist movement – workers were more attracted to the ideal ‘power to the workers’
•
By the eve of war, around 2.5 million German workers were members of trade unions – 400,000 went on strike at some point in 1913 for better working conditions
•
1910: SPD had 720,000 members – the largest socialist political party in Europe
•
By the eve of the war, SPD was winning 75% of the vote in elections in Berlin
•
1912: SPD gained 4,250,000 and -> largest party in the Reichstag with 110 deputies
Pressure groups:
The economic and social changes saw the emergence of pressure groups which highlighted tensions + divisions
Nationalist pressure groups: pressured for colonial expansion – following the long-term plan of Weltpolitik
•
German Colonial League: concerned with acquisition of German colonies
•
Pan German League: concerned with acquisition of German colonies but also German dominance in Europe
•
Navy League: campaigned for naval expansion
Economic pressure groups:
•
Central Association of German Industrialists: aimed to protect industrial interests -> encouraged implementation of tariffs
•
Agrarian League: aimed to protect agrarian interests
I gave a bit more info than requested but I figured it might be useful.
What we basically see between 1900-14 is Germany becoming an economic powerhouse - it's leading the world in chemicals/steel etc. They have it good before the war, of course, as you know, after the war, it all goes wrong - with a slight bit of hope during the 'Golden Years'. Then all hell breaks loose with Hitler xD (although they don't know it until later ^^)
Hope this helped
In any case, these are my own personal notes - part of my revision guide that I will be creating - which summaries all of Germany.
Economic growth:
Germany’s economy grew rapidly in the years before the war and by 1914, it had become the economic powerhouse of Europe – this was achieved primarily due to technological revolution
Steel:
•
1879: new method of manufacturing steel was developed and Germany was quick in taking advantage of this
•
This was achieved due to the size of Germany’s companies: in 1900, only 1 British firm could produce over 300,000 tons of steel annually whereas Germany had 10 firms that could produce that much
•
1870: Germany produced 169,000 tonnes of steel / Britain produced 286,000 tonnes
•
1910: Germany produced 13,698,000 tonnes of steel / Britain produced 6,374,000 tonnes
•
Growth in steel fuelled Germany’s expansion in other industries such as transport
•
1878: Prussian railways were 5,000 km -> 1914: 37,000 km
Chemicals:
•
There was an increase in demand in chemicals for explosives and dyes
•
By 1900: German companies like BASF were worldwide leading dye producers
•
1900: BASF also employed a workforce of 6,300 workers and 233 research chemists
•
1908: film company AGFA produced a million meters of film a year
Other industries:
•
1897: Rudolf Diesel perfected an oil-based engine
•
1900: Zeppelin launched the first rigid airship
•
Electricity was one of the most significant developments
•
1907: 107,000 Germans worked as electrical workers – half of these were employed by AEG and Siemens & Halske
•
By the eve of WW1, half of Europe’s electrical supply came from Germany
Consequences:
Social:
This rapid growth in the economy led to rapid urbanisation -> demographic revolution in Germany’s towns and cities
•
1871: 36.1% of Germans lived in urban areas
•
1910: 60% of Germans lived in urban areas
Urbanisation: (GOOD)
•
Germany built a sewerage system + filtered drinking water after incidents like that in Hamburg (explained in BAD)
•
Hygiene + medicine improved rated of infant mortality
•
Building tramways -> people could travel cheaply into town to work
•
After 1896: wages increased for urban workforce -> increased living standards
•
Although there was unemployment, most of the unemployed were unskilled
Urbanisation: (BAD)
•
Led to (overpopulation + poor sanitary conditions + lack of clean water) -> disease
•
1892: in Hamburg, 8,600 people died from cholera in 10 weeks
•
Berlin Homeless Shelter accommodated 200,000 men a year after 1900
•
1/3 workers in any year between 1900 – 1914 were unemployed at one point
•
1882: 1.35 million unemployed -> 1907: 3.45 million
Rural
Agriculture: (GOOD)
•
Bismark’s Tariff Law of 1879 was introduced to protect German farmers
•
Increasing population
•
1900: 56.4 million -> 1910: 64.9 million
•
Increased demand for agricultural products -> increased prices -> better pay for farmers
•
Improvements in chemicals -> better fertilisers -> better + more efficient yield
•
Threshing machines introduced due to economic advances
•
1907: threshing machines found on 1,436,000 holdings
Agriculture: (BAD)
•
Despite protection, farmers still faced challenges
•
Refrigerated ships enabled importation of meat from US which was cheaper than German meat
•
Most Germans had migrated to urban areas so landlords had to recruit labour regions close to Germany’s borders
Socialist movement:
Industrialisation saw the growth of the socialist movement – workers were more attracted to the ideal ‘power to the workers’
•
By the eve of war, around 2.5 million German workers were members of trade unions – 400,000 went on strike at some point in 1913 for better working conditions
•
1910: SPD had 720,000 members – the largest socialist political party in Europe
•
By the eve of the war, SPD was winning 75% of the vote in elections in Berlin
•
1912: SPD gained 4,250,000 and -> largest party in the Reichstag with 110 deputies
Pressure groups:
The economic and social changes saw the emergence of pressure groups which highlighted tensions + divisions
Nationalist pressure groups: pressured for colonial expansion – following the long-term plan of Weltpolitik
•
German Colonial League: concerned with acquisition of German colonies
•
Pan German League: concerned with acquisition of German colonies but also German dominance in Europe
•
Navy League: campaigned for naval expansion
Economic pressure groups:
•
Central Association of German Industrialists: aimed to protect industrial interests -> encouraged implementation of tariffs
•
Agrarian League: aimed to protect agrarian interests
I gave a bit more info than requested but I figured it might be useful.
What we basically see between 1900-14 is Germany becoming an economic powerhouse - it's leading the world in chemicals/steel etc. They have it good before the war, of course, as you know, after the war, it all goes wrong - with a slight bit of hope during the 'Golden Years'. Then all hell breaks loose with Hitler xD (although they don't know it until later ^^)
Hope this helped
Thank you very much! this helped me loads!!
What points would you include for this?
1.) Deaths- facts/figs
2.)Political- worker discontent due to Auxillary Service war
What else? please x
Hey there,
Okay the way you want to approach all questions is like this:
Look at the question carefully and underline any key words, then try and identify what it's asking. Last year (AS) this was much easier, now it's harder. You need to determine whether the question is asking you to list factors (causation) or make a judgement (yes/no). This particular question is a judgement question so I'll lay out the plan as such.
Please note: each subheading is one paragraph, so as a total you should generally have 4 (2 yes/2 no) for a judgement question like this.
Social (yes they did increase):
- growing opposition during the war e.g. huge losses suffered (deaths) -> 6.2 million casualties
- establishment of trade unions -> workers now were united with a voice that enabled them to more effectively oppose employers etc.
Social (no they didn't increase):
- living and working conditions were already bad -> 1890-1914 economy expanded by 4.5% every year -> rapid urbanisation (e.g. Berlin had an excess of 2million people) + pop. boom (60% increase in urban areas) -> pre-war conditions already were bad -> nothing was worsened, social conditions remained as low as pre-war
Now do the same for political side;
Political (yes they did increase):
Political (no they didn't increase):
I'll write a sample paragraph for you:
On one hand, it may be argued that the social tensions did increase during the war. In fact, there was growing opposition during the war due to the huge losses of families; by 1918, there were 6.2 million casualties from the war with 2.05 million killed. This saw the rise of people who began to question Germany's purpose in the war and whether the sacrifice was truly worth it. Between May and June 1916, there were strikes held in Berlin demanding 'Freedom, Bread and Peace'. What is more, the introduction of trade unions helped to unify this growing opposition and provided them with a medium to voice their opinions, making them increasingly more effective against their opposition and thus giving them even more power. It is therefore clear that the detrimental impacts of the war significantly increased the social tensions that had already resided in Germany.
Look at the way I structured that paragraph using the evidence I gave above (with probably a bit more).
Try and use that as an exemplar to base your other paragraphs on.
Hope this helped!
Okay the way you want to approach all questions is like this:
Look at the question carefully and underline any key words, then try and identify what it's asking. Last year (AS) this was much easier, now it's harder. You need to determine whether the question is asking you to list factors (causation) or make a judgement (yes/no). This particular question is a judgement question so I'll lay out the plan as such.
Please note: each subheading is one paragraph, so as a total you should generally have 4 (2 yes/2 no) for a judgement question like this.
Social (yes they did increase):
- growing opposition during the war e.g. huge losses suffered (deaths) -> 6.2 million casualties
- establishment of trade unions -> workers now were united with a voice that enabled them to more effectively oppose employers etc.
Social (no they didn't increase):
- living and working conditions were already bad -> 1890-1914 economy expanded by 4.5% every year -> rapid urbanisation (e.g. Berlin had an excess of 2million people) + pop. boom (60% increase in urban areas) -> pre-war conditions already were bad -> nothing was worsened, social conditions remained as low as pre-war
Now do the same for political side;
Political (yes they did increase):
Political (no they didn't increase):
I'll write a sample paragraph for you:
On one hand, it may be argued that the social tensions did increase during the war. In fact, there was growing opposition during the war due to the huge losses of families; by 1918, there were 6.2 million casualties from the war with 2.05 million killed. This saw the rise of people who began to question Germany's purpose in the war and whether the sacrifice was truly worth it. Between May and June 1916, there were strikes held in Berlin demanding 'Freedom, Bread and Peace'. What is more, the introduction of trade unions helped to unify this growing opposition and provided them with a medium to voice their opinions, making them increasingly more effective against their opposition and thus giving them even more power. It is therefore clear that the detrimental impacts of the war significantly increased the social tensions that had already resided in Germany.
Look at the way I structured that paragraph using the evidence I gave above (with probably a bit more).
Try and use that as an exemplar to base your other paragraphs on.
Hope this helped!
Yes this helped so much! thank you so so much!!
x xNo worries!
xBunny, you need to clear up your inbox for me to reply to your PM, your inbox is full.
Okay I will get on it now
x
Fear of encirclement - Moroccan crises, triple entente
Aggressive German foreign policy - Schlieffen plan, Weltpolitik, flottenpolitik, blank cheque, Moroccan crises, growing nationalisim
imo it was the alliance system which played a huge role in escalating tensions and making war inevitable, so all powers deserve responsibility for the outbreak of WW1, what do you think?
Part B general answer structure:
Spoiler
Evidence for part B interpretations:
yeah 59 is achievable... But the sources can get sooo hard ;( I can generally interpret them well because I do read a lot of books that use similar language etc. But in exam conditions I just panic and lose focus and waste time...
so yeah... Idk, not too confident to be perfectly honest... But I'm determined! And that counts for something!
Woah thats crazy! Like half the people in my year got an A or a B, which I thought was good.
Sources can be hard. I'm hoping for a straightforward "was Germany responsible" question.
It says either the file has been moved or deleted.PM me your email and I'll send them through
What units did you need?Sources can be hard. I'm hoping for a straightforward "was Germany responsible" question.
That's like hoping Green Party will win next election!! It would be great, but won't happen :/
Sources for Germany responsible for war are generally much harder than Hitler I've noticed - presumably because the content is so straight forward and easy.
Sources for Germany responsible for war are generally much harder than Hitler I've noticed - presumably because the content is so straight forward and easy.
Yeah. We weren't even taught the Hitler controversy so I've no choice but to answer that question haha.
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