Year 12 Modern - Trial Exam Advice

Well, the Trial HSC will be this Friday. A bit of last-minute advice for all you Modern students...

For WW1, focus on perspective, reliability and usefulness of sources. Be prepared to write extended responses on the larger topics: for example, the nature of warfare on the Western Front, the reasons for the stalemate, the changing attitudes of soldiers and civilians, the effects of 'total war' on civilians, the turning points of the conflict, and the aims of the Big Three at Versailles.

For Germany, remember you will have a choice of two essays. Usually, one will focus on Weimar, the other on Nazi Germany. Be sure that you know all about the problems faced by the Weimar Republic, how the Nazis achieved power, and the nature of Nazi society from 1933-1939, as well as Nazi foreign and religious policy.

For Speer, have a working knowledge of his career (maybe memorise ten important landmarks in his life). Make a list of all of his achievements and failures. Formulate an opinion on his significance as a historical personality. Be able to argue whether he was a successful person, or an unsuccessful person, and back it with evidence. Have an opinion on the guy!

For Conflict in Europe, know the steps leading to war (LA-SCRAMCUP, dictatorships, failure of the League of Nations), and the chronology of the war from 1939 to 1943. Have a detailed knowledge of the early successes of Germany (Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, Greece) as well as the failed Barbarossa campaign up to and including the Battle of Stalingrad. Revise the Battle of Britain, the Battle of El Alamein, and the effects of the war on civilians in Britain and Germany. Make sure you know about Nazi racial policies in Europe.

Have a go at some practice exams on the BOS website. Try this link for last year's paper.

Most of all - good luck! Email me if you have any problems on thomas.griffith@det.nsw.edu.au

Year 12 Modern - Sinking of the Lusitania

Source: www.flatrock.org.nz

Today marks 94 years since one of the major events of World War One: the sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania. The torpedoing of this civilian ship by a German U-boat very nearly dragged the USA into the war, and forced the Kaiser to call off his policy of unlimited submarine warfare. Click here to read an article (on the very informative site firstworldwar.com) all about this event.

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

Year 12 Modern - World War One Revision

This is the link to the WW1 powerpoint we did in class on Tuesday...we missed the last ten slides or so, so please refer to them in your own time. This is just bare bones stuff, designed to jog your memory, so please don't rely on it for your total revision of the topic!

Year 12 Modern - WW1 Revision

For some great revision exercises, try this page:

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/revision/worldwari.shtml

Another way to do your revision is to use these revision diagrams - like interactive mind maps, with hints available to help you if you hover the cursor over them. You can save any info you enter onto the diagrams.

Year 12 Modern - Versailles Powerpoint

Here is the Versailles powerpoint from last week's lesson.

Year 12 Modern - Versailles Summary

Here are the main terms of the Treaty, which was being negotiated by the Big Three exactly 90 years ago in the Palace of Versailles:

The Treaty of Versailles includes 440 articles. The principal items are:

Germany has to cede to the allies all seagoing ships with a carrying capacity exceeding 1600 Brt, plus half of all ships between 1000 and 1600 Brt. Furthermore one fourth of the fishing fleet and two fifths of the inland navigation fleet has to be ceded.

Germany has to cede (surrender) Alsace-Lorraine to France.

Germany has to cede the coal mines in the Saar-area to France.

Germany has to cede an area with Moresnet, Eupen, Malmédy and St. Vith to Belgium.

Germany has to cede the main part of West-Prussia and almost the whole province of Posen to the new state of Poland.

Germany has to cede all colonies: Togo and Cameroun, the territories in East- and South-West Africa, islands in the Pacific and possesions in China.

All German properties in foreign countries are confiscated.

Germany has to cede all war material to the allies.

German compulsory military service is abolished, as well as the General Staff (commanders).

Germany is not allowed to have tanks, airplanes, submarines, large warships and poison gas.

During 15 years Germany is not allowed to station troops on the left border of the river Rhine and in a 50 km strip on the right border of the Rhine.

The total size of the Germany army is not to exceed 100.000 men.

The German navy has a maximum of 15.000 men.

Germany is allowed a total of 4.000 officers.

Germany is not to take part in the League of Nations.

Germany has to cede large amounts of machinery and building materials, trains and trucks.

Germany has to deliver certain amounts of coal, chemicals, dye and fuel for many years.

All German subocean telegraph cables are confiscated.

Germany has to pay 20 billion goldmarks.(About A$500 billion in today's money)

For opinions on the Treaty, plus some exercises you can do yourself, try these pages:

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year9links/versailles.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/outcomes3_01.shtml

Year 12 Modern - 90 Years On

Just a couple of links to recent news stories about the 90th anniversary of the Armistice (11/11/18)...

http://www.euronews.net/en/article/11/11/2008/90th-anniversary-of-world-war-one-armistice/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/armistice-90-years-on-all-those-pals-of-mine-should-be-here-1012492.html

Year 12 Modern - Western Front Powerpoint

Another PP - this time the one on the Western Front...enjoy.

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/tomgriffith-146358-war-western-front-education-ppt-powerpoint/

Year 12 Modern - Map of the Western Front

For a brief animated history of the war, check out this page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/launch_ani_western_front.shtml

Have a hunt around the BBC World War One site - there are plenty of interactive thingummys to play around with.