IB Docs (2) Team
1. Weimar Germany: Essay planning
See below for suggested essay plans and activities for essays on Weimar Germany.
In pairs, plan the following essay:
Analyse the reasons why Weimar was able to survive the crises of 1923
Click on the eye for points to consider in your answer:
1. First you need to identify the crises: Foreign invasion, hyperinflation, Left-wing uprisings in Saxony and Thuringia, Right wing Putsch - Hitler's Munich Putsch
2. Note that the question asks you for 'why' and not 'how' so keep focused on this aspect. Some reasons that you could consider are:
- The invasion of the Ruhr by the French and Belgians united Germans against a common enemy
- The problem of hyperinflation was blamed on reparations, the Treaty of Versailles. the foreign invader, and not the government
- Neither the Left or the Right were united enough to over turn the Weimar Republic
- The army stayed on the side of the Weimar Republic; it acted against the KPD and SPD governments in Saxony, Thuringia and Hamburg
- Hitler's Munich putsch was poorly planned; he did not have the support of the Bavarian authorities or the army
- The role of Stresemann in tackling hyperinflation and ending the Ruhr crisis
In pairs, use your work from your research into Weimar Germany 1923 - 1929 to plan the following question:
To what extent did the Weimar Republic experience a ‘golden age’ between 1924 and 1928?
Consider organizing your information thematically so that you have separate paragraphs for political, economic and social issues. For each area you will need to consider both the positives and the negatives - the ways in which this was indeed 'a golden age' and the ways which it was perhaps only hiding more deep rooted problems'
In your intro, make sure you address the key term in the question - 'golden age' and explain what this means regarding Weimar. Set out your key argument - was this in fact a golden age or only a short-term respite?
Click on the eye for a suggested essay frame.
Intro
Set out why the period 1924 – 28 could be seen as a Golden Age and explain what this means regarding Weimar i.e. political stability, economic upturn, acceptance on the international stage and a flowering of the arts. Set out your judgement as to whether this was a Golden Age or whether in fact this was only a superficial respite in a turbulent decade.
Here are some suggestions for opening or topic sentences; you need to add detailed evidence to support each point.
Paragraph 1
The years 1924 to 1928 saw a decrease in the political violence of the previous years and a return to more moderate stable politics which indicate a ‘Golden Age’ in the area of politics.
Paragraph 2
However, despite this stability, key areas of instability still existed.
Paragraph 3
Economically, the reforms carried out by Stresemann in 1923 saw economic recovery.
Paragraph 4
Despite the growing prosperity which allowed many Germany to experience a Golden Age financially, there were warning signs that this stability was quite fragile.
Paragraph 5
In international affairs, there were clear signs that Germany was once more becoming accepted as a member of the international community. Thus, this was indeed a Golden Age in comparison to the position that Germany had held before which had culminated in the invasion of The Ruhr in 1923.
Paragraph 6
Despite Stresemann’s success in restoring Germany’s international position and gaining significant concessions, many in Germany criticized this and claimed that this was not in Germany’s interest.
Paragraph 7
Perhaps the most uncontroversial area in which Weimar Germany experienced a ‘Golden Age’ was in the area of culture.
Conclusion
Come back to the overall argument that you set out in your introduction
Plan the following essay:
Examine the reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic
Examiner's HInt:
There are clearly many factors that you can choose to give as reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic in this essay, so an important part of your planning will be to identify about 4 key ones that you can analyse. It is better to choose fewer reasons that you can analyse in depth rather than just a list of many factors which you can only talk about briefly. Remember to stay focused on the question. So for each factor that you choose, ensure that you explain how it contributed to the collapse of the Weimar Republic. You may also want to decide which factor/s you think are most important and set this out in your introduction.
Plan the following essay:
Discuss the reasons for Hitler’s rise to power, 1929 to 1933
The dates are key in this essay. You need to focus on the period from 1929 to 1933. Longer term structural problems of the Weimar Republic may be relevant but focus on the impact that these had after 1929.
Key for this essay will be:
- The economic crisis following the Wall Street Crash, the failure of the Weimar governments to deal with this and the impact it had on ordinary people
- The rise of extremism as a result of the economic crisis
- The appeal of the Nazi party after 1929
- The political intrigues of 1932 – 33
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