(a)SECTION D
2. The accumulated tensions and conflicts of the European States system all broke through the moment that war appeared a certainty in July 1914. Yet most of these tensions had nothing to do with the event that precipitated that war, namely, the assassinat ion of Archduke Ferdinand. What were these various tensions (deriving from considerations of national security, fear, jealousy, revenge and international rivalry) and how did they develop to the point that two blocs of powers lay arrayed against each othe r and poised for war. [Note: this is not a question about the events of July and August 1914--your answer rather should range freely over the decade or two prior to 1914 and involve all the major powers (and some minor ones)in the several internati onal crises that developed in that period?
3. How did Imperial Germany acquire the reputation (deserved or not) of international "bully boy" in the early years of the twentieth century? Your answer should include consideration of Germany's late arrival on the international scene as well as of the personalities and events relevant to the crises that erupted in 1905, 1908, 1911 and 1914.
4. Some historians, in exploring the immediate origins of the First World War, conclude that in a sense all the European powers, to a greater or lesser degree, bore responsibility for the outbreak. In each country, political and military leaders did certa in things which led to mobilization of troops and declarations of war, or failed to do certain things that might have prevented those. Taking each of the powers involved (Austria, Serbia, Russia, Germany, Britain and France), describe and analyze their ac tions (conciliatory and/or aggressive as events unfolded between the fateful June 28, 1914 and Britain's declaration of war on August 4.
5. World War I ended in 1918 on the basis of a cessation of hostilities (an armistice) pending the conclusion of a peace treaty to be submitted to Germany by the victorious allied nations.
(a) explain why the German government was hopeful that the treaty would accord them relatively lenient treatment.
(b) show in detail how the resulting Treaty of Versailles was designed to punish Germany by considering its various (i) military, (ii) territorial and (iii) economic clauses
(c) why was Article 231 of the Treaty so much resented by the Germans. How might they have justified that response?
(d) what steps were taken in relation to the thorny issue of reparations payments to the allies by Germany and other powers in the period 1922 to 1929.
2. Assess the nature of Russian society and politics as she entered the twentieth century. What evidence of progress, both political and economic, became evident and what factors worked against the peaceful development of democracy and social integration in the country before 1917. Also, in what circumstances did the collapse of tsarism occur in the spring of that year
3. Explain fully the circumstances that favored the success of the Bolsheviks in the months before the successful coup of October 1917. What problems were posed to them in setting up a revolutionary government and how over the next three or four years did they overcome them. In particular, what finally induced Lenin to "take one step backward" in 1921 and propose an economic program that in time would allow the state to "take two steps forward"? What was unusual about that program?
4. The First Five-Year Plan (1929-33) and the industrial and agricultural restructuring that accompanied it have often been described as a 'revolution from above' in Soviet Russia. Describe and assess the goals and consequences of the Plan as it shaped th e economy of Russia and the lives (both in positive terms as well as negative) of its people. Be comprehensive.
5. In his so-called "testament" of Dec. 1922, Lenin surveyed the qualities of various party leaders as to their fitness to assume leadership of the party. When he died one year later, the leadership struggle began in earnest among the contenders. Name the participants in this contest and explain the personal and ideological differences of the various factions over the period, showing clearly the tactics and circumstances that ensured Stalin's eventual success.
2. Cite the reasons behind and the consequences for the German economy and society of the French occupation of the Ruhr industrial region in 1923 (include long-term effects). What steps were organized to produce a recovery from the immediate consequences in subsequent years.
3. The attached sheet [to be provided] is a record of the electoral fortunes of the Nazi party in the several elections between 1928 and November 1932 set against the results for the other main contending parties in the German political system. Using this record as well as your own knowledge of events in this period, analyze each election with particular regard to the performance of the Nazi party. Explain why the party faltered as well as why they prospered during the period and give the implications of each result in relation to the party's chances for ministerial office. Finally, explain why Hitler was offered the chancellorship in Jan. 1933, noting the tactics he then employed to allay the fears of those extra-party conservative supporters who had man euvered him into office.
4. Explain how Hitler surmounted the political and constitutional barriers standing in the way of his obtaining dictatorial power after he became German chancellor in Jan. 1933. How did events over the next two months sweep away these barriers and transfo rm German society. For this answer, you need to describe the mechanism of government inherited by Hitler and how circumstances gave him the opportunity to alter it; namely, the Reichstag Fire, the decree of Feb. 28, the handling of the political oppositio n, the March elections and the "Enabling Act."
2. In its early stages (1933-35), the Nazi regime set about to reduce Jewish influence in German life by measures, mainly, of discrimination. Describe this process of abuse and intimidation from its first manifestation on April 1, 1933 until the promulgat ion of the Nuremberg Laws in Sept. 1935. Also, detail the hardening of anti-Semitic measures throughout 1938, culminating with the frightful pogrom ("Crystal Night")in November of that year [Note: This is not a question about the wartime holocaust].
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