My apologies for only updating this now. Hopefully, you have all had a restful weekend with at least some relaxation and/or fun. But going forward, we need to use the rest of the following week constructively.

This is firstly because the mock examinations were distinctly disappointing, with the main weakness being a lack of factual knowledge (read: revision). But moreover, because we only have eleven weeks of teaching remaining. 

I have set five days of work over the following week consisting of around 2-3 hours work per day. For those of you who were in school on Friday and know about this page, I would be very grateful if you could share the link with other members or the class. 

Day 1. Nazi policies towards workers 

We have already looked at this very briefly on pp. 112-113, covering the establishment of the Deutsch Arbeitsfront (DAF), the uptick in strikes between 1935 and 1937, and the rise in absenteeism. To supplement this:

Day 2. Revising the economy 

Day 3: TBC

Details, details, details. Therefore: 

1 Please research the four main areas that the three sources touched upon:

And 

2 Create revision cards with examples from each topic, that outline in substantial detail, a number of points that can be used in exams to support your explanations. For example:

“Otto Dix’s 1926 painting of the journalist Sylvia Von Harden. Dresden based Dix was one of the pioneers New Objectivity, an artistic movement that sought to reject the romantic and self-involved mores of the Second Reich (the same values that the Third Reich would later embrace). Dix painted journalist Sylvia von Holle sat at a cafe table. The 

deliberately androgynous physical features (monocled with bobbed hair) and 

behaviour (smoking and drinking) were representative of the ‘new women’ (similar to the American ‘Flapper’.)”

  

 

Tuesday
1. Read and annotate pp. 149-154
2. Revise for a keyword test on the following terms: Volksgemeinschaft, Social Darwinism, Untermenschen, Herrenvolk, Lebensraum, Mischlinge, Drang nach Osten, and Volk ohne Rau.

 

Produce Revision cards for the following groups' treatment at the hands of the Nazi party:
1. Mentally ill and physically handicapped
2. The Homeless
3. Homosexuals
4. Religious sects
5. Roma and Sinti

Thursday
Research and establish a clear definition of Volksgemeinschaft. Aim to write around 400-500 words. When you are writing, consider:

a. The extent to which it was more about exclusion than inclusion. Think about the Gleichschaltung policies we have looked at so far.

b. The emphasis on race rather than any other criteria

c. The suppression of the individual in favor of the common good.

d. Its mythical origins, before the Germany had been 'polluted' with alien blood and before industrialization had divided society between class lines

e. The emphasis on 'blood and soil', that is on German's rural peasants who they believed that retained their racial purity and traditional values.