HL History - Perspectives Paper 1 Italy Denis Smith (1983) - Italy’s friendly foreign policy in the 1920s was a facade; they were actually “actively sabotaging” the League of Nations Mussolini - only got “crumbs of colonial booty” after WWI (even though 670,000 Italians died for it) Richard Overy (2009) - “Italy was transformed into a war economy in peacetime” Germany Richard Overy - Four Year Plan (1936) aimed for self-sufficiency (agri) and increased military production, thus could be indicative of war preparation (want less dependence on imports) Gordon Craig (1978) - Hitler survived due to “distractions and differences of the other Powers, his own tactical skill, and a good deal of luck” from 1933-35 Hitler - “If the French had marched into the Rhineland, we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs” Hossbach Memorandum (Nov 1936) - meeting b/n Hitler and top generals/war ministers, stated aim of German FP “to preserve the racial community and to enlarge it” Japan Kenneth Pyle (1996) - Manchura was a turning point b/c it led to Japan’s isolation, abandoned the “cautious realism” of traditional Japanese diplomacy (historical irony = ultranationalist wanted to preserve traditional values, but actually led to socio-demographic revolution) President Franklin D. Roosevelt - duplicitous nature of Japan b/c deceitful to negotiate while preparing for war in fall 1941 Henry Stimson (US Secretary of State; 1947) - agreed to “moral condemnation only” after WWI to enforce peace, but didn’t get to “second half of the question”: what to do with an aggressor? Orthodox US Historians - believe Japan’s expansion was aggressive + war began 1937 with Marco Polo Bridge Incident (in contrast, left wing Japanese historians argue that Mukden 1931 started war) Revisionist US Historians - believe Japan aimed to purge of Western corruption + US encouraged (with oil embargo → right wing Japanese historians argue this embargo caused war) Americans - Tripartite Pact convinced that war in Europe and Asia was the same war (international context was key to changing US attitudes) Churchill (Feb33) - didn’t think League should “quarrel with Japan” Paper 2 World War I Fritz Fischer (1961) - Germany developed an attitude that war “the sooner the better” would be more advantageous + September Programme/War Council demonstrates Germany’s guilt Gerhard Ritter (1962) - Rebutted Fischer (Sept. Programme was after war started) World War II Margaret Macmillan - Germans despised the “dictated peace” of the Weimar Republic + argued against determinism: “When war came in 1939, it was as a result of twenty years of decisions taken and not taken, and not of arrangements made in 1919” = difficult for historians to discuss “inevitability” John Maynard Keynes - Believed reparations greatly contributed to the likelihood of future conflict Geoffrey Jukes (1985) - Hitler began to disregard his experienced generals and “substitute his judgement for theirs” Richard Overy (2010) - Germans failed b/c they didn’t expect the USSR to “recover its economy” A.J.P. Taylor (1961) - Rejected common view that Hitler fully responsible (revisionist) Hugh Trevor-Roper (1962) - Hitler as fully responsible with goal of European domination Bernard Nalty (1991) - “Japan devoutly believed that the warrior spirit would prevail” Spanish Civil War Military historians - argue that neither Nationalists nor Republicans used guerilla tactics significantly (what was there was sporadic and not very effective) Communists and Spanish Anarchists - argue that guerrilla warfare was not used as much as it should have been by the Republicans ( Chief advisor Berzin (Spring 1937) - “From January to March 1937 … 17 trains were derailed which resulted in the destruction of 12 engines and some sixty wagons on each train; Over 500 people were killed” → likely an exaggeration meant to impress superiors in USSR, but shows the potential of guerrilla warfare (which had been brought to Spain by Soviets who had used in Russian Civil War → Soviet advisors oversaw training in Barcelona + Valencia to prepare snipers, mine layers, intelligence gatherers, organized into seven special brigades which engaged in sabotage operations Daniel Kowalsky (Stalin and the Spanish Civil War) - “Franco never employed guerrilla forces in any real sense, and the Republic never took their potential very seriously” Chinese Civil War Mao Zedong (1946) - To defeat Chiang Kai-shek, needed to use mobile warfare strategy, where “the abandonment of certain places or cities is not only inevitable but also necessary … we must cooperate closely with the masses of the people” South Africa Jonathan Crush (2001) - director of South African Migration Programme; “legacy of apartheid and institutionalized racism will take decades to rectify” Martin Meredith (2005) - during the 1990s, “perhaps 5 percent of the black community reached middle-class status” = not widespread changes, 1997 BEE only benefited small percentage of well-connected people Maxine Reitzes (2008) - article we read; “many who have houses immediately rent them out, and move back into ‘zozos’ or backyard shacks … to generate an income” Thabo Mbeki - denialism of HIV/AIDS (banned antiretroviral drugs in public hospitals 1999) Nelson Mandela (2002) - Compared HIV/AIDS pandemic to war (criticized Mbeki’s policies) + “Arts? Sport has the power to change the world”, inspired black South Africans despite the situation Black Sash - human rights organization in Johannesburg; extent of unemployment “of no concern to white South Africans” (1978 Interim report) + “no justice or morality as long as the pass laws exist” (1973) India R. Stern (1993) - in 4 decades, produced “one of the world’s few stable parliamentary democracies” + argued Britain was unlikely to grant Indian independence without short term causes (negative $ impacts of WWII): “persistent British unwillingness to part with the substance of power” + Indian films “provide foundation for an extraordinarily powerful and pervasive popular culture that is distinctly Indian” (not “colonized from abroad”) K. Srinivasan (2004) - article about pop’n growth, female literacy important for “economic, social, and demographic development” of India b/c correlated with higher HDI, lower mortality levels = significant b/c female literacy directly influenced by govn’t policy + argued that inter-state differentials exist due to differences in commitment and efficiency of state governments to the central government’s norms for healthcare and infrastructure Winston Churchill - Supported continuation of British imperialism + saw loss of India as the downfall of the British Empire - “Our continued existence as a great power is at stake. The loss of India would mark and consummate the downfall of the British Empire” British Public - after WWII, majority had accepted that it was time to give up India (ashamed of police actions/violence) Nehru - invited Le Corbusier early 1950s to build ultra-modern Chandigarh capital of Punjab, said that India needed a “slap in the face” with new style of architecture such as the building’s textured concrete Bipan Chandra (2000) - Britain emphasized differences “to promote cleavages among the people” Paper 3 Interwar Years Covenant of the League of Nations - aims “to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security” Alan James (1990) - Greek was in “dire economic straits and suffering from political unrest” in 1920s, thus couldn’t “resist concerted diplomatic pressure from the major powers” and obeyed the League's orders to pull out of Bulgaria in October 1925 Hitler: met with a “stream of love” when liberated Austria in March 1938 + stated in May 1938 that would “crush Czechoslovakia by force of arms in the very near future” Maurice Baumont (1971) - French viewpoint on appeasement (from AJP Taylor article): “to Hitler the Munich agreement was no more than a scrap of paper” AJP Taylor (!971) - Germans in Czechoslovakia were a “tolerated minority” + foreign Policy: “was switched from east to west by the Nazi-Soviet Pact” and not by Munich + Munich was a “desperate effort to avert a war which the Western powers dreaded” + Chamberlain saw as “victory for reason and conciliation” + Soviets saw Munich as trying to “promote a German hegemony” Chamberlain - returned to Britain on Sept 30 1938 after Munich declaring “peace for our time” Russia Lenin’s Last Testament (Dec 1922) - Stalin was “too rude” Soviet Writer - "generations still to come will regard us as the happiest of mortals, the most fortunate of men … because we were privileged to see Stalin, our inspired leader" Nikita Khrushchev - Ukrainians not forcefully deported b/c "there were too many of them and there was no place to which to deport them" John Maynard Keynes (1925) - identified Leninism as a new religion as it claims to give meaning to everything, has fundamental questions, possesses individuals + creates self-sacrifice for cause, aimed to unite the globe Stalin - claimed that “The people need a tsar” + ‘Socialism in one country’ Trotsky - ‘Permanent Revolution’ SS. Montefiore - argued that Stalin just a ruler in long tsarist tradition (determinism) Robert Conquest - argued Stalin’s rise was a deliberate manipulation of political diffs (opportunistic), Zinoviev/Kamenev as weak-willed careerists (as well as other former tsarist bureaucrats who joined the winning side to secure their jobs) M. Lewin - argued that Stalin didn’t know where his policies would take the USSR Poster Slogans - “Under the banner of Lenin, under the leadership of Stalin--forward to new victories!” + “Stalin’s kindness illuminates the future of our children!” (Father of the Nation, 1947) National anthem 1944 - “Stalin raised us to be loyal to the people / Inspired us …” R. Service (1997) - Khrushchev’s secret report was “a turning point in the USSR’s politics”, but his policy changes “upset the institutionalized support that had facilitated his rise” (over 30 years Stalinist practice = up against entrenched interest groups) M. Lewin - fear of secret police had mostly faded by the 1980s Abel Aganbegyan: Gobachev’s economic advisor; believed there was zero economic growth in the 11th Five Year Plan from 1980-85 R. Service (2007): involvement in the war in Afghanistan “tied a cord” around the neck of the USSR + Gorbachev “genuinely wanted a more democratic USSR”, felt it could succeed due to his conversations with the West, also not Gorbachev’s intent to cause collapse of communist regimes + argued that Yeltsin’s actions showed he wasn’t solidly committed to democracy D. Volkogonov: needed “novostroika” instead of perestroika b/c system was so far gone R. Walker (1993): “tensions of the Soviet system were most precariously balanced” during Gorbachev’s era, as the nationalities question was not solved in the 1980s J. K Galbraith (2002): Yelsin’s economic policies were “Shock without therapy” R. Sakwa (2011): Yeltsin’s regimes used elections after 1993 “to legitimize its own power” Economists - believed worse downturn under Yeltsin than in US/Germany during Great Depression Types of Historians/Perspectives *Always explain type of perspective and why it’s valuable (after you write about what the person said/believed, add one more sentence placing value on it + giving own opinion) Historical Determinism vs. Teleology vs. Nihilism Determinism is the stance that events are historically predetermined/constrained by various forces - Structuralist → political and military structures are the main driving forces of historical change - Diplomatic = politicians/high rulers dictate diplomacy (leaders as driving force) - Military = power structure in nations, thus drives change (think of Japan being molded to army when began to disregard in Manchuria) - Socio-cultural influences such as impact of large social groups (bureaucratic elite) - Annales → geography is the driving force of historical change (access to natural resources such as need for oil, climate change) Nihilism states that history has no particular path and is determined by accidents - Accidentalist → accidents drive historical change Teleology indicates that history has a path which can be followed or changed (thus lessons can be drawn from history) - Intentionalist → the ambitions and intentions of individuals drive historical change (free will) - Opportunist (ex. Hitler taking advantage of $ instability in Germany) - Ideological differences b/n leaders - ‘Revolution from above’ (some ppl believe Stalin intended to enact 2nd revolution to become significant leader like Lenin, countered by some historians who like M. Lewin who argues that Stalin didn’t know where his policies would take USSR, thus more opportunistic) - Marxist → economic forces drive historical change, centrality of social class and economic constraints which determine historical outcomes, generally deterministic as it points towards end of history with classless human society - Hegelian → intellectual movements drive historical change Great Man Theory → determined path with periodic interruptions (counters determinism), significant people able to change the direction of history Revisionist → reinterpretation of traditional orthodox views on evidence/motivations, points out that traditional accepted perspectives need to be changed Quantitative → historians use statistics to argue for specific perspective History From Below → focuses on the perspective of ordinary people Types of perspectives → think of political leaning (extreme, left, right, conservative, liberal), country/society of origin (Western, Russian, Japanese, etc), gender (male, female), class (upper-class, bureaucratic elite, lower class, peasants, factory workers, populus, ‘grassroots’), position in society (president, military commander), role in events Historical Terms to Use *Remember to repeat terms from question/thesis (ex. challenges) to emphasize coherence and consistency of points *Use evaluative phrases such as “It is understandable”, “As a consequence”, “It is also important to consider”, “makes sense” - Historical Significance - Widespread - Profound - Long-lasting - Perspectives - Continuity - Change - Turning Point - Causes and Consequences - Immediate - Short-term - Long-term - Evidence - Value (extent that a perspective/piece of evidence is valuable/makes sense) - Presentism (ethical dimension of historical interpretation) - Pre-existing - Chronology, Timeline - Context - Culture - Social, Economic, and Political factors - Feudalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism - Quantitative Data - Methods of Warfare (guerrilla, attrition, conventional: aerial, naval, ground) - Specific Strategies: Mobile Defense, Island Hopping
