Varndean School
History GCSE
Easter Revision Activities
Complete the activities in this booklet..
Don’t forget you should also be using;
• Your revision guide
• Your revision list
• Past questions booklet
If you are missing any of these see your teacher for a new
copy
Put in the ground work this Easter and it WILL pay off!
Bring this booklet with completed activities to the Easter
Revision school sessions
Monday 8th April 1-2 and 2-3
Friday 12th April 12 - 1
Section 1
Paper 1 (45% of final Mark)
Paper 1 is on Germany (1918-1945) and the Cold War (1945-1975), the paper is mostly non
source questions (including two ‘3 part’ questions)
Activity One – Here I have attempted to summarise the Germany unit in ONE page. Your task is to write a more
detailed summary using mine as a template. Alternatively you could use my summary to help you create a mind map
of the whole Germany unit, splitting it into sections.
After the First World War Germany were on the losing side and had to suffer a humiliating defeat, surrendering to
the Allies (Britain, France, USA etc.) in November 1918. The leader of Germany ,the Kaiser (a kind of dictator)
abdicated and fled the country. In the months after the war Germany was turned into a Democracy, with a
President and Chancellor, everyone had the right to vote. This Democracy was known as the Weimar Republic.
The Weimar republic has several problems right from the start. it had signed the Treaty of Versailles, a harsh set of
terms laid down by Britain, France and the USA. The terms were that Germany had to accept all blame for starting the
war, pay millions in reparations (compensation), reduce the size of their army and lose territory. The public were
outraged by the treaty and already were blaming the government for signing an unreasonable agreement. The treaty
of Versailles is very significant as it was the source of many of the Weimar Government and Germany’s problems in
the years that followed. The Weimar government was threatened three times by revolutions – the Spartacist revolt
in 1919, Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the Munich Putsch (carried out by the Nazis) in 1923. Furthermore the
country suffered Hyperinflation and the Invasion of the Ruhr in 1923, many blamed the Weimar Government for
these problems.
After 1923 Germany recovered under the leadership of Stresemann and this period was known as ‘the golden
years’ there was an explosion in new culture and Germany recovered economically as a result of the Dawes Plan. At
this stage the Nazi Party were still a small political, extremist party.
However in 1929 the Wall Street Crash happened and a worldwide economic depression effected Germany
badly. There was famine, unemployment and homelessness. Again many people looked back to the treaty of
Versailles, the crises of 1923 and blamed the Weimar Government. It was during this period of desperation that
people turned to the extreme policies of the Communists and the Nazi Party to solve their problems.
The Nazi party used a variety of tactics to gain votes; they used propaganda slogans such as ‘bread and work’, used
the SA (brownshirts) to intimidate and fight opposition such as the communists and flew Hitler around Germany to
give his famous speeches (rallies). People that supported the Nazis wanted a return to strong leadership in
Germany, not Democracy and a reversal of the treaty of Versailles. Some people voted for them because they didn’t
want the communists to gain power.
Hitler gained power as Chancellor in January 1933 as a result of a steady gain in votes, political tactics, threat of
SA violence, and ultimately because President Hindenburg invited him to. After Hitler became Chancellor he
tightened his grip on power by using the Reichstag fire as an excuse to set up the enabling act, which gave him
the power to pass any law in Germany. He also got rid of opposition in his own party by killing key members of the
SA, who he felt threatened him, in the Night of the Long Knives. When Hindenburg died in August 1934 Hitler
declared himself Fuhrer (dictator) of Germany.
From 1934 Hitler and the Nazi Party created a dictatorship where all aspects of life were controlled, including the
economy, education, work, families and even the Church. Mass propaganda was used to brainwash people and the
presence of the Gestapo (secret police) made people fearful of arrest, even for telling an anti Hitler Joke! Minority
groups such as Jews and the disabled (Racial theory) were discriminated against, most famously during
Kristallnacht in November 1938. The aim of Hitler and the Nazi Party was to drive the country towards fighting a war
and to gain revenge for defeat in the First World War. Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 and plunged Europe into a 2nd
World War, which included the terrible horrors of the Holocaust. The German people continued to suffer under Nazi
Oppression until their surrender in May 1945.
Activity two
Using the words in bold on the previous page or any others you can find in the revision guide
create a list of keywords for the Germany topic. Perhaps you could order them in date order
or put them into categories. Use the space below to do this in rough and them create
flashcards after that.
Activity three
Write the answers to these three practice questions. Bring
them along to the revision session and I will have model
answers to give you.
Describe the main events of the Munich Putsch. (4)
Explain how the events of 1930 – 1933 resulted in Hitler
becoming Chancellor. (6)
How far did the Nazis achieve control in Germany between
1933 and 1945? Explain your answer. (10)
Easter Revision session
Topic – Germany (Paper 1)
Key questions
•Why did the Weimar Republic Fail?
•Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1933?
•How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933–1945?
•What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?
How to answer paper 1 (Germany AND Cold War) questions.
My action plan, what do I NEED to revise or still don’t understand! Be specific.
The Start of the Cold War – 1945 – 1949
There was always tension between Communist Russia (USSR) and the USA due to different ideologies.
Soviet Communism was based on the idea of equality of property and state ownership of industry whereas
US Capitalism meant that if you worked hard you could get very rich and that everybody should have the
equal opportunity to do this. After defeat of Germany (the common enemy) at the end of World War 2 these
differences became more clear. Mainly due to a set of events that led to the Cold War (hostilities but no
exchange of fire).
Yalta and Potsdam - the basics
Yalta - February 1945: Germany was not yet defeated, so, although there were tensions about Poland, the
big three - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill - managed to agree to split Germany into four zones of
occupation, and to allow free elections in Eastern European countries. Russia was invited to join the United
Nations, and Russia promised to join the war against Japan when Germany was defeated.
Potsdam - July 1945: Germany had been defeated, Roosevelt had died and was replaced by Truman.
Churchill had lost the 1945 election and Atlee was now PM – new personalities led to open
disagreements. Truman came away angry about the size of reparations and the fact that a communist
government was being set up in Poland. Truman did not tell Stalin that he had the atomic bomb or that he
had made the decision to drop it on Japan.
In 1947, two important events occurred: firstly, President Truman warned the American Congress
that it was America's job to contain Communism - this became known as the Truman Doctrine - and
secondly, General George Marshall came up with a plan to help Europe recover from the war using
American money - this became known as the Marshall Plan.
By 1947, Greece was one of the few countries in Eastern Europe that hadn't turned communist. The
Communist rebels in Greece were prevented from taking over by the British Army.
America was becoming increasingly alarmed by the growth of Soviet power. So, when the British told
Truman they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman stepped in to take over. In
March 1947, he told the American Congress it was America's job to stop communism growing any stronger.
This was called the Truman Doctrine. It is often said that Truman advocated containment (stopping the
Soviet getting any more powerful), but Truman did not use this word and many Americans spoke of "rolling
back" communism.
In June 1947, General George Marshall made a visit to Europe to see what was needed. He came away
thinking Europe was so poor that the whole of Europe was about to turn Communist. Marshall and Truman
asked Congress for $17 billion to fund the European Recovery Programme nicknamed the Marshall Plan to get the economy of Europe going again. Congress at first hesitated, but agreed in March 1948 when
Czechoslovakia turned Communist. The aid was given in the form of food, grants to buy equipment,
improvements to transport systems, and everything "from medicine to mules". Most (70 per cent) of the
money was used to buy commodities from US suppliers: $3.5 billion was spent on raw materials; $3.2 billion
on food, feed and fertiliser; $1.9 billion on machinery and vehicles; and $1.6 billion on fuel.
Stalin forbade the Cominform (countries under Soviet control joined) countries to apply for Marshall Aid.
The main point of tension between USSR and USA was Berlin. In 1945, the Allies decided to split
Germany into four zones of occupation. The capital, Berlin, was also split into four zones. The USSR took
huge reparations from its zone in eastern Germany, but Britain, France and America tried to improve
conditions in their zones.
In June 1948, Britain, France and America united their zones into a new country, West Germany. On 23
June 1948, they introduced a new currency, which they said would help trade.
The next day, Stalin cut off all rail and road links to west Berlin - the Berlin Blockade. The west saw this as
an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender, so they decided to supply west Berlin by air.
The Berlin Blockade lasted 318 days. During this time, 275,000 planes transported 1.5 million tons of
supplies and a plane landed every three minutes at Berlin's Templehof Airport. Stalin thought the west
would cave in to this pressure and hand over West Berlin to the Soviet Union. They didn’t so on 12 May
1949, Stalin abandoned the blockade.
Activity four
Using the words in bold on the previous page or any others you can find in the revision guide
create a list of keywords for the Causes of the Cold War topic. Perhaps you could order them
in date order or put them into categories. Use the space below to do this in rough and them
create flashcards after that.