Introduction:
Our next unit will explore the failure of the a new democracy that emerged following World War andthesingle party state that replaced it. We will examine in detail the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic and the right wing fascist regime of Adolf Hitler (the Nazi party) that replaced it. One of the most influential governments (and individual) of the 20th Century, the Hitler and his Nazis has become synonymous with evil and hate. But such a black and white characterization is too simplistic. In order to deeply explore this moment in history, and to prepare to respond to topics 2 and 3 of paper 2, we are going to focus around the below questions:

Key Questions for the Weimar Republic

1. To what extent was the Weimar Republic doomed from its inception?

2. What were some of the key challenges to the Weimar Republic from 1918-1923 and how did its leaders avoid early collapse?

3. How did the recovery led by Gustav Stresemann (1924-1929) strengthen the republic and weaken its challengers on the left and right?

4. What were the weaknesses of and challenges to the Weimar government after 1929 that facilitated the emergence and development of the Nazi Party?

Key Questions for Nazi Germany

1. How did the Nazi’s become popular and how did Hitler position himself to take power as the “leader” in 1933?

2. How did the Nazi leadership consolidate power in Germany between 1933-1934 over it rivals (within and outside the party) and Germany as a whole?

3. What were the domestic policies of Hitler and how did they embody the ideology of the Nazi’s?

4. What were the driving forces of the Nazi economy and to what extent was Hitler successful in achieving his goals?

5. What was the society that the Nazi party attempted to create in Germany and how did they use propaganda and other government organs to achieve? To what extent were they successful in transforming the German people into their vision?

6. What opposition emerged during the Nazi regime and to what extent were they successful in subverting the goals of the government?

7. What were the foreign policy objectives of Hitler and how did they reflect his domestic objectives and vice versa?

Resources:
The text you will need to check out from the Library for this unit is Todd, Bottaro and Waller. The Interwar Years: Conflict and Cooperation 1919-1939

In addition to the above, we will draw extensively from Hite and Hinton's Weimar and Nazi Germany as well as a number of additional primary and secondary sources.

Assessments

1. Formative

   1. Class Discussions

   2. Short Answer Questions

   3. Essay Plans

   4. Source Analysis

   5. Homework Past Paper 2 Essays

2. Summative

   1. Past Paper 2 Questions (Topics 2 and 3)-In Class

Unit Calendar

The Calendar outlines the plan for our day to day in class activities and the homework that will be assigned. The expectation is that students complete all homework assignments for the next lesson unless otherwise indicated on the calendar. While we would like this to be set in stone, unforeseen events and intriguing tangents might change the plan so if you are ever in doubt on what is due and when, please ask!