2005 Germany Hsc (2 Viewers)

[jkie]

Hi,

I just want everyone to post up here what you think they'll put in the HSC this year for Germany and Albert Speer. I think for this year they might ask Totalitarian and Nazi Foreign policy!

post what you think,

cheers

 

[kiteblood]

Well, this is rather useless unless you're planning to schedule your study around the fleeting assumptions of others. Personally I'd love to see a question on either the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the impact of the depression on German democracy, or something simple on totalitarianism (which is always nice for historiography).

Not everybody does Albert Speer. We've studied Leni Riefenstahl. It's going to be very simple; a short biography and a question on propaganda VS. art or her cultural contribution to Germany.


It's International Studies that bothers me now.

 

[nwatts]

I hope they ask a totalitarian question. I LOVE writing "Germany was not fascist" essays.

The Leni Riefenstahl questions are always mind-numbingly easy. Anyone who gets anything less than 10/10 for the first personality question deserves to be shot.

 

[AJohnston1121]

Yeah I am thinking/hoping for totalitarian. For COnflict in the pacific I would probably put money on something to do with the end of the war/De-Colonisation as its an aniversary year.

 

[jdrockefeller]

I'm gonna have a HUGE stab in the dark and predict that the questions on Albert Speer will be a.) a short biography of his life in a certain timeframe and b.) an assessment of his war guilt.

I am a prophet. Also, my modern history teacher predicts an ism question (militarism, totalitarinism etc) as there has not been one since 2001.

Personally I'd love to see a question on either the collapse of the Weimar Republic

HSC 2004 - Assess the view that the collapse of the Weimar Republic was primarily due to the appeal of Hitler and his Nazi party.

the impact of the depression on German democracy

2003 - HSC Discuss the impact of the Depression on democracy in Germany in the period up to 1934.

Unlikely that your preferences will be seen this year.

 

[jennylim]

Yeah I am thinking/hoping for totalitarian. For COnflict in the pacific I would probably put money on something to do with the end of the war/De-Colonisation as its an aniversary year.

YES!! YES!!! dear God, let it be decolonisation!!!! (that was my topic for an oral assessment). as for totalitarianism, i suck at that. we weren't taught it so i'm doing it by myself. if it's that, i will die. like, seriously.

 

[fleepbasding]

YES!! YES!!! dear God, let it be decolonisation!!!! (that was my topic for an oral assessment). as for totalitarianism, i suck at that. we weren't taught it so i'm doing it by myself. if it's that, i will die. like, seriously.

well remember there's always a choice out of 2 questions and I doubt both would be on totalitarianism.

Are youse studying everything in Germany (all 3 time periods- Weimar- Hiltler- war) or specializing? I worry about only studying 1 or even 2 of them. I'm pretty much studying them all, though I figure I'll try extra hard on 1933-39. Thoughts?

 

[jennylim]

see that's the thing mate, my nightmare is one totalitarian and one war. we did nothing on the war. zip. i could do the war much less than i could do totalitarian. 33-39 is good, 27-33 is my absolute strength. ah well.

 

[fleepbasding]

right, I see... though the only thing you need to know abolut war is that it started off real succesful with blitzkrieg tactics helping Germany to conquer Wester Europe (excluding Britain) by about August 1940 and that defeat at Stalingrad (late 1942) was the turning point. It shouldn't be too hard to teach yourself the war if you have a good textbook. Anyway, I better go do some english study, I'm thouroughly fucked on this front.

 

[Götterfunken]

"Discuss how 'Schnappi das kleine Krokodil' impacted on German morale during the late period of the war."

 

[jennylim]

right, I see... though the only thing you need to know abolut war is that it started off real succesful with blitzkrieg tactics helping Germany to conquer Wester Europe (excluding Britain) by about August 1940 and that defeat at Stalingrad (late 1942) was the turning point. It shouldn't be too hard to teach yourself the war if you have a good textbook.

if that's it then i guess that's ok...i count the first bit as part of "foreign policy". ok i lie - i know the outline of the war, but definitely not enough for me to write an essay on it. no analysis, no historiography. guess i'll just knuckle down and really teach self totalitarianism then...

 

[sunjet]

Probably totalitarism, consolidation of power, transformation of society and a war question, as it's being taken out of the syllabus next year.

Anyone got a good totalitarism essay they'd like to share?

 

[c_james]

I am a prophet. Also, my modern history teacher predicts an ism question (militarism, totalitarinism etc) as there has not been one since 2001.

Militarism has been done I believe...even if it was in 2001 they wouldn't repeat it. Totalitarianism...perhaps.

 

[jdrockefeller]

right, I see... though the only thing you need to know abolut war is that it started off real succesful with blitzkrieg tactics helping Germany to conquer Wester Europe (excluding Britain) by about August 1940 and that defeat at Stalingrad (late 1942) was the turning point. It shouldn't be too hard to teach yourself the war if you have a good textbook. Anyway, I better go do some english study, I'm thouroughly fucked on this front.

Wow. Thanks! You have summarised the entire syllabus better then any textbook ever could have. Continue...

 

[fleepbasding]

if that's it then i guess that's ok...i count the first bit as part of "foreign policy". ok i lie - i know the outline of the war, but definitely not enough for me to write an essay on it. no analysis, no historiography. guess i'll just knuckle down and really teach self totalitarianism then...

yes, of course there is much more to it and writing an essay on it would require a few more token facts and dates. And of course some token historiography- just remember the intentionalist 'vs' structuralist debate. That is the intentionalists claiming that Hitler planned for a largescale European (maybe world) war from the very begining. Their evidence is stuff like expansion of the army in 1935, spending on armanents was highest in Europe as war loomed, ideas expressed in Mein Kampf (lebensraum and struggle in particular) that indicate that Hitler always intended to go to war etc etc. Intentionalist Trevor Roper expresses this as a “fundamental consistency in Hitler’s ideas”.

The structuralists argue that Hitler was opportunistic, driven more by what could be gained easily rather than following any grand plan, played things as they came. They cite his foriegn policy before the war- Rhineland occupation, Anschluss, Sudetenland and rest of Czechoslovakia- as proof that Hitler was emboldened by appeasement and lack of confrontation from Britain and France and didn't expect his next action (Poland September) would cause war. here's a quote: AJP Taylor (regarded as a 'pluralist')- Hitler “exploited events far more than her followed a concise plan.” You could also use Hitler's lack of economic or military preparation for war to evidence this argument.

It's much more complex than this, but this is the general gist of the war historiography. then of course their is the holocaust debate but it follows a pretty much identical framework- ie: Hitler intended final solution all along vs spiraling radicalization within Nazi party as real cause of wholesale genocide.

 

[jdrockefeller]

I'm actually gunning for a foreign policy question, as I've just nutted out a killer essay on it. My money's still on an ism question though...

 

[fleepbasding]

I'm actually gunning for a foreign policy question, as I've just nutted out a killer essay on it. My money's still on an ism question though...

foriegn policy would be nice. I'd love a foriegn policy 33-39 question, if such a thing exists.

 

[jennylim]

hmm...i don't think it'll be foreign policy. but that's just me. btw thanks for the historiography fleepbasding!

i think perhaps a "transformation of german culture" type volksgemeinschaft question though. maybe something to do with jews, as well.

can i just ask how many of you are betting on a totalitarianism essay?? i just want to get a good idea, because my entire class is a bit worried.

 

[kiteblood]

Unlikely that your preferences will be seen this year.

Not necessarily. Similar questions are often asked. I'm not going to make an assumption based on the previous years. Fortunately the narrower questions usually act as a spring board to more general issues.

 

[nwatts]

can i just ask how many of you are betting on a totalitarianism essay?? i just want to get a good idea, because my entire class is a bit worried.

I am, to an extent. They could ask anything! Ahh! Freaking out!!