A level History

My Revision Notes Edexcel A2 History: From Kaiser to Führer: Germany 1900-45

Section 1: The Second Reich – society and government in Germany, c.1900–1919

• The constitution of the Second Reich
• Economic and social developments
• Political developments
• The Kaiser and his Chancellors
• How did the political system work in practice?
• The Second Reich by 1914
• The impact of the First World War on Germany
• The German Revolution, 1918–1919

Section 2: To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?

• The historical debate
• Did Germany have a long-term plan for European hegemony?
• Did Germany destabilise peace in Europe before 1914?
• Did German actions in the summer of 1914 cause war in Europe?
• The actions of others and the European system
• Possible interpretations

Section 3: The democratic experiment, 1919–1929

• The Weimar constitution
• The nature of the Weimar Republic’s constitution
• The problems of Weimar Germany 1919–1922: the legacy of the Second Reich and the First World War
• The problems of Weimar 1919–1922: political extremists
• 1923 – year of crisis
• How did the Weimar Republic survive its early problems?
• 1924–1929: ‘Golden Years’– politics and economics
• 1924–1929: ‘Golden Years’– foreign policy and culture

Section 4: The rise of the Nazis

• The origins and ideas of the Nazi Party
• The early years of the party
• Economic and political crisis in Germany, 1929–1933
• The growth of Nazi support
• Support from the conservative elite
• Nazi consolidation of power
• Factors enabling Nazi consolidation of power

Section 5: How popular and efficient was the Nazi regime in the years 1933–1939?

• A consensus dictatorship? Part 1
• A consensus dictatorship? Part 2
• A consensus dictatorship? Part 3
• The role of terror and repression
• An efficient state? Part 1
• An efficient state? Part 2
• An efficient state?  Part 3

Section 6: Life in wartime Germany, 1939–1945

• An overview of the Second World War
• Civilian morale during the war
• Opposition during the war
• How efficient was the Nazi war economy?
• The failures of the war economy
• The persecution of the Jews
• The causes of the ‘Final Solution’