Friday, January 30, 2009

Chapter 6: Hitler's actions & foreign policy (Part 1)

Hitler's actions and foreign policy:

Shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933, he rearmed Germany. (Rearmament is the building up of a country's military force.) He also pursued an aggressive foreign policy in order to gain "Lebensraum" (land for Germany).

Video on rearmament



During the video, think about the following:
- In what ways did Hitler rearm Germany?
- How would this lead to the collapse of peace in Europe?

After the video, read the textbook for specific facts and figures on the above. For example, the textbook says that Hitler built up the German army from 100,000 in 1933 to 550,000 in 1935.

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Another of Hitler's actions was the remilitarization (some books call it "reoccupation") of the Rhineland. The Rhineland is in the west of Germany, close to France. You can see the map here.
Germany was not allowed to station troops there due to the Treaty of Versailles. By stationing his troops there, Hitler was sending a bold message that he was prepared to violate the Treaty of Versailles, and perhaps even invade France some day.



This is a rather long video. When watching it, besides thinking about how it led to the collapse of peace, can you think of reasons why the remilitarization of the Rhineland was so popular with the Germans?


Try this worksheet on Hitler's actions & foreign policy

Now, go on to Part 2 of this series.

Chapter 1 - Causes of WW1

World War I started in 1914. However, the causes of World War I stretch back way back into the 1800s.



As you watch this video:
- Identify the causes of World War One
- Notice that the causes are all related to one another, and they occur during the same time period
- Notice that some causes seem to be more prominent than others

Chapter 6: Failure of the League of Nations

This video shows how the League of Nations failed to respond to aggression. In 1935, Italy invaded Abyssinia, but the League could not respond effectively.



The video stops after 2 plus minutes but the soundtrack continues playing. You can either stop the video or just continue listening to the music.

When watching the video, think of the following points:
1. Why could the League not respond to aggressive countries such as Italy?
2. How did this lead to the failure of the League?
3. There are three reasons for the League of Nation's failure in the 1930s. Besides the failure to control aggressive countries, its member nations cared more for themselves and the League, and it could not get countries to disarm. Which do you think was the most important reason for the League's failure and why?

History SBQ Guide


In my opinion, this is an excellent guidebook. You can find it at most Popular bookstores or order it online. Your school library may also have a copy.

Chapter 2, Treaty of Versailles; Chapter 4, Rise of Hitler; Chapter 6, Appeasement

This video is about:
1) the terms and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. (0:01 to 1:00) Chapter 2
2) the rise of Hitler (1:01 to 2:00) Chapter 4
3) the causes of the collapse of peace and start of war in Europe (2:00 onwards) Chapter 6



When watching the video, think about the following issues:

Treaty of Versailles
- What were the main terms?
- Do you think the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh?

Rise of Hitler
- Which reason do you think was the most important for Hitler's rise?

Causes of War
- What is appeasement?
- Do you think appeasement was a sensible policy?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Chapter 2, Paris Peace Conference

This video is about the Paris Peace Conference.



When watching the video, think about the following:
1. What did the various leaders (Lloyd George, Wilson, and Clemenceau) want in the Treaty of Versailles?
2. Why did the various leaders behave the way they did? Was it due to their experience during the First World War?


For those that prefer words rather than pictures, here is a video showing roughly the same content but in a different manner:

The History Tutor

Welcome to the History Tutor. This site will contain a lot of Youtube videos relevant to the GCE 'O' and 'N' level syllabus, as well as other handy information.