Year 12 Modern - Recent Exam Questions

Hi folks. I thought I would post the Germany and Conflict in Europe essay questions that have been in the past three years' HSC exams. The new syllabus has only been examined since 2006, so these are the best questions to give you an idea of what they will ask you.

Read them, have a go at answering them, and focus on the wording of the questions, and the dot points that they cover.

Germany:

2008: (a) Account for the successes and failures of democracy in Germany in the period 1918– 1933. OR (b) To what extent can Nazism in power be seen as totalitarianism in the period 1933– 1939?

2007: (a) Explain how and why German social and cultural life changed in the period 1923-1939. OR (b) Assess the impact of Nazism on German foreign policy in the period 1933-1939.

2006: (a) Assess the importance of nationalism as a cause of the failure of democracy in Germany in the period 1918–1934. OR (b) To what extent was Hitler responsible for the development and implementation of Nazi racist policies in Germany in the period to 1939?

Conflict in Europe (only tested since 2006)

2008: (a) Evaluate the view that the air war determined the outcome of the European War. OR (b) Assess the significance of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact to the outbreak of war in 1939.

2007: (a) Evaluate the view that Operation Barbarossa was the major turning point of the European war. OR (b) To what extent did Allied and Axis strategies during World War II affect civilians?

2006: (a) Evaluate the view that the dictators Hitler and Mussolini were primarily responsible for the tensions that led to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939. OR (b) To what extent was the Soviet Union (Russia) responsible for the Allied victory in the conflict in Europe?

Year 12 Modern - Exam Advice

Modern History will have their next major assessment on Tuesday afternoon, in the double. The format will be as follows:

Time Allowed: 70 minutes

Part 1: 25 marks (35 minutes)
Essay question on Conflict in Europe, using 'assess' or 'evaluate'.

Assess = make a judgement of value
Explain = make a judgement based on criteria

So the question will ask you to make some sort of judgement about some aspect of the background to WW2. You should definitely revise the following points:

• the dictatorships in Italy and Germany
• the foreign policy actions of Mussolini (e.g. Abyssinia) and Hitler (LA-SCRAMCUP - League of Nations, Austrian coup, Saar plebiscite, Conscription, Rearmament, Anschluss, Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia, USSR-Nazi Pact, Poland)
• the failure of the League of Nations (especially in the Abyssinia crisis, and the Spanish Civil War)
• the policy of appeasement, followed by Britain and France until 1939
• the Nazi-Soviet Pact, signed in August 1939

I have provided some revision sites below.

Part 2: 25 marks (35 minutes)
25-mark question assessing/evaluating the life of Albert Speer

Make sure you know:

• his personal background, and the main events in his life/career
• his main achievements (as an architect, as Minister of Armaments, as a Nazi, as a repentant war criminal, as a historical figure)
• his main failures
• the major controversies about Speer: did he know about the Holocaust? To what extent did he use slave labour? Was he complicit in demolishing Jewish residences? Was he a willing Nazi, or a man thrust into an important position by Hitler? Was he really sorry for what he did? Did his work as Armaments Minister make the war last longer than it would have?

The key to this question is to have an opinion, as you will be making a judgement about Speer. Make sure you back your opinion up with real evidence!!

Revision Links:

Causes of WW2:

http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII7a.htm
http://www.johndclare.net/causes_of_world_war_two_revision.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/causes_of_WW2.htm
http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/causes.htm

Albert Speer:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2318929114565469665 (Video about Speer)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/speera1.shtml (Audio interviews with Speer himself)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/speer.html (Speer's own sworn testimony at Nuremberg)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Speer1.html (Short bio of Speer)

Year 12 Ancient - Past Exam Questions: Xerxes and Persian Wars

I have created a Word document that has the HSC exam questions on Xerxes and the Persian Wars from the 2004-2007 papers. They should give you an idea of how the questions are worded, and what content area is tested. You can download or view it here.

As you can see, the breakdown is this:

Xerxes' relationships with Persians/non-Persians 2007
Xerxes' achievements as king 2007
How Xerxes became King 2006, 2004
Xerxes' attempts to expand Persia 2006, 2004
Xerxes' personal background 2005
Xerxes' building program 2005
Xerxes' impact on Greece and Persia 2005
Xerxes' influence in his lifetime 2004

Assess the importance of naval battles 2007
Assess the contribution of Miltiades and Leonidas 2006
Evaluate the contribution of Themistocles 2005
Assess the significance of two military events 2004

Year 12 Modern - LIMP PAPER

LIMP PAPER? What am I talking about? Well, it's a way of remembering how Hitler rose to power, courtesy of John Clare, who has lots of helpful Germany resources online.
LIMP PAPER is an acronym for the main reasons that Hitler came to power, as follows:

Long-term bitterness (over WW1 and Versailles)
Ineffective Constitution (Article 48, proportional representation)
Money (finanical support for the Nazis from big business)
Propaganda (the Nazis were good at publicising themselves and their ideas)

Program (Hitler's 25-point program of ideas to 'save' Germany appealed to almost everyone
Attacks on other parties (the SA used violence to intimidate Hitler's opponents)
Personal qualities (Hitler was a mesmerising speaker who had a lot of power/charisma)
Economic Depression (Germany's economy collapsed and support for the Nazis soared)
Recruited by Hindenburg (after Bruning, Papen and Schleicher, the Pres gave Hitler a go...)

Check it all out here.

Year 12 Modern - Half-Yearly Advice

That time is upon upon us, Modern Historians...the half-yearlies start on Monday. I'm sure you will be spending the weekend preparing for your English exam, but History follows hot on its heels, so you should fit in some revision before doing some last-minute cramming on Monday night...

The exam will be in two sections:

1) World War One - a series of source-based sections, ranging from simple 1/2 mark questions where you select info from a source, to long, 8/10 mark questions which ask you to 'use the sources and your own knowledge' to discuss a feature of the War.

2) Weimar Germany 1918-1933 - a choice of two essays, both dealing with some aspect or aspects of Germany from the birth of Weimar (Nov 1918) to the beginning of Hitler's chancellorship (Jan 1933).

First, some tips based on what I saw from the last assessment:

1) Write more than one page for an essay! Leave plenty of time and try to squeeze out two pages. You are a lot more likely to get a pass mark.

2) ALWAYS mention ALL sources. they are presented to you for a reason - to assess your source analysis skills. Name the source, then briefly mention its PERSPECTIVE, how RELIABLE it is, and whether it is USEFUL.

3) When a question says 'use your own knowledge'...then do it! And plenty of it, too.

4) If in doubt about dates, or figures, then make them a bit more general. If you are not sure whether something happened in 1924, or 19925, then say, 'in the mid 1920s...'

5) If a question asks you to discuss two or more things, then discuss all of them, e.g. 'Describe the main social, political and economic issues...' means discuss all three of them, not just one. Be as obvious as starting each paragraph with something like, 'Germany faced many serious economic issues in the 1920s. The major one was hyperinflation...' etc.

6) Revise by writing a practice essay. The best way to do this is to compose a very general question which covers most of the topic, and then sit down and write it for 30 minutes, without consulting your notes. Afterwards, read through it, and then go to your notes to add or change any details. This way, you will have enough general info in your head to tackle any essay we throw at you - all you need to do is save some more facts in your head to modify your essay so that it fits the question in the exam.

A good general essay on Weimar might be something like:
"Describe the main issues faced by Weimar Germany from 1918 to 1933"
or "Evaluate how successful the Weimar Republic was as a democracy" (this one is harder)
Both essays cover the whole period and you could talk about anything.

A good general essay on WW1 could be:
"Describe the main features of the war on the Western Front"
or "Explain how Germany and Britain responded to the war on the Home Front"

Now, some links to help you:

This essay by Paul Kiem summarises the main events in Weimar until 1929. there are some activities that follow it.

This document by Stephen Tonge describes the period in more detail, and goes right up to 1933.

Finally, some practice essay questions. You can try these and email me them for comments/feedback.

From last year's HSC exam:

Assess the impact of tactics using new weapons in attempts to break the stalemate on the Western Front. (10 marks)

Account for the successes and failures of democracy in Germany in the period 1918– 1933. (25 marks)

From 2007's HSC exam:

To what extent was the failure of Ludendorff’s Offensive responsible for Allied victory and the German collapse? (10 marks)

From 2006's HSC exam:

Assess the importance of nationalism as a cause of the failure of democracy in Germany in the period 1918–1934. (25 marks)

Year 12 Modern - Assessment Week 8

Modern Historians, your first assessment will be this Thursday, so we will be doing a spot of revision in class tomorrow. However, for your home study, here are some resources you could use:

Try your hand at some past HSC papers. The World War One sections are always at the beginning.

2007 paper 2007 source booklet
2006 paper

And finally, the relevant syllabus dot points. You may be tested on any or all of the points below.

World War One

1 War on the Western Front

– the reasons for the stalemate on the Western Front

– the nature of trench warfare and life in the trenches dealing with experiences of Allied and German soldiers

– overview of strategies and tactics to break the stalemate including key battles: Verdun, the Somme, Passchendaele

– changing attitudes of Allied and German soldiers to the war over time

2 The home fronts in Britain and Germany

– total war and its social and economic impact on civilians in Britain and Germany

– recruitment, conscription, censorship and propaganda in Britain and Germany

– the variety of attitudes to the war and how they changed over time in Britain and Germany

– the impact of the war on women’s lives and experiences in Britain

3 Turning points

– impacts of the entry of the USA and of the Russian withdrawal

– Ludendorff’s Spring Offensive and the Allied response

4 Allied Victory

– events leading to the Armistice, 1918

– reasons for the Allied victory and German collapse

– the roles and differing goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson in creating the Treaty of Versailles

National Study: Germany

1 Weimar Republic

– emergence of the Democratic Republic and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles

– political, economic and social issues in the Weimar Republic to 1929