This document highlights possible questions and broad themes that we covered which form the focus of each section

• Key Area 1 , The Liberal Experiment

• Key Area 2, The Road to Dictatorship.

• Key Area 3, The Nazi state in peace and war.

Key Area 1: The Weimar Republic

I feel that the question in the Exam related to Key Area 1 is the most contained. That is, the focus of the Exam question is limited and is the best area to focus on.

This area is dominated by the successes and failures of the Weimar Republic. Two things to remember here:

• The Republic came to power with the baggage of the Treaty of Versailles and the shame of defeat along with little experience of democracy

• It was at best a compromise between the far left and the far right. That the Republic survived for so long against all the odds (think Putsch and Hyperinflation) tells us that it was a more resilient government than it is given credit for. For the right wing the alternative was possible revolution and civil war similar to the Russian experience barely a year before.

• It was not all bad during the time of the Republic. Think of the "Golden Years' of culture and relative political and economic stability from 1924 - 1929

• Consider the impact of Stresseman

• Consider the "Grand Coalition" he put together

• Think about the state of the Weimar Government on the eve of the Great Depression. Stresseman dies, the political stability collapses, the Great Depression arrives and the Government does not know what to do except balance the budget which appears harsh and uncaring to many Germans.

• NOTE: the term "Golden Years" refers to the economic, political and social stability of the period between 1924 and 1929 not just the cultural renaissance.