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LEVEL 2 AS 2.5 – 90469 THE IMPACT OF A FORCE OR MOVEMENT IN AN HISTORICAL SETTING For Assessor’s use only Achievement Criteria Achievement with Merit Achievement with Excellence Describe cause(s) and/or consequence(s) of action(2) and/or event(s) related to a force or movement in an historical setting. Explain cause(s) and/or consequence(s) of action(s) and/or event(s) related to a force or movement in an historical setting. Comprehensively and accurately explain cause(s) and/or consequence(s) of action(s) and/or event(s) related to a force or movement in an historical setting. Describe the influence on people’s lives of the force or movement in the historical setting. Explain the influence on people’s lives of the force or movement in the historical setting. Comprehensively explain the influence on people’s lives of the force or movement in the historical setting. Structure and organise information and ideas in an appropriate essay format. Structure and organise information and ideas in an appropriate essay format. Structure and organise information and ideas in an appropriate and effective essay format. Achievement Overall Level of Performance (all criteria within a column are met) Introduction Choose ONE historical force or movement that related to the end of a government’s or a leader’s rule AND that influenced people’s lives in one of the topics you have studied this year. You may select a force or movement from the list above, or another force or movement of your own choice. Essay Topic Describe and explain the background and events that led to the end of a government’s or a leader’s rule. How did an historical force or movement related to these events have an influence on people’s lives at this time? Begin by planning the essay on the planning sheet provided on page 4. The ideas below will help you, but add your own knowledge as well. Introduction – write an opening paragraph that identifies: the force or movement you have chosen the historical setting or topic you have chosen the government’s or leader’s rule that ended. Body – write structured and sequenced paragraphs that explain: the background and specific events that led to the end of a government’s or a leader’s rule the outcomes of this event how one selected historical force or movement related to these events influenced the lives of people within the circumstances of this time. Conclusion – write a concluding paragraph that sums up the main ideas and links them back to the focus of the essay. You should aim to write about 600-800 words. GRADE E During the Russian Revolution between 1917 and 1920 the Provisional government were able to come into power after the abdication of the Tsar. The end of the Provisional governments short rule was brought about by the October Revolution with the background of this event being Dual power, Lenin’s return and April Thesis, the July days, the june offensive and Kounilov revolt. The Bolsheviks had an influence of people’s lives at this time because they promised “Land, Peace, Bread” and were able to gain support through the Provisional governments values. The Provisional government came into power after the Tsars abdication in 1917. The Tsar had lost all political authority and popular support even before he abdicated as he was thousands of miles away trying to salvage the failing war effort and wasn’t there when his people needed him most. On the 2nd March Tsar Nicholas II abdicated after he realised he had lost all his most loyal supports, this brought an end to the Romanov dynasty which had ruled over Russia for hundreds of years. The provisional government were put formally in charge and held all political authority but they did not hold genuine power in the eyes of the people as they were only standing in as governing party until a constituant assembly could be held and a new government elected. The Petrograd Soviet however competed with the Provisional government for control and held genuine power in the view of the people as they were a workers union supported by revolutionary groups such as the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Their power was derived from their control of the army’s, railways, communications and the workforce. Lenin and the Bolsheviks believed that the Petrograd Soviet should be in charge as it represented ordinary Russians unlike the Provisional government who were all wealthy members of society. The Provisional Government even at the beginning of their rule had a weak base of support that they were not able to overcome. This was due to the continuation of fighting in World War One, lack of focus on economic problems, lack of support for the people and the alienation of their upper and working class supporters. This Dual Power did not enable the Provisional Government to express their own identity and gain support from the people. Lenin’s returns from exile dramatically altered the course of the Bolshevik party from supporting the Petrograd Soviet to seeking their own exclusive power. This meant the Provisional government was still not able to gain support as the Bolsheviks gained popularity. With the Provisional governments policy – allow all political exiles to return to Russia the only problem now was to return across enemy war zones. Lenin, Zinoviev and other Bolshevik exiles approaches the Germans for help which they readily agreed to hoping that the revolutionaries would take over and withdraw from the war. Lenin’s impromptu speech to the Soviet crowds as he returned from exile increased his popularity by expressing the views of the Bolsheviks with the slogan “Land, Peace, Bread! All Power to the Soviets!” The represented the views of the Bolsheviks to end the war, redistribute land evenly in the countryside and end the desperate food shortage. Lenin’s return ended the cooperation between the Provisional government the Petrograd Soviet and other revolutionary parties which resulted in the collapsing of the country both socially and economically by the end of June. By this time 568 factories closed down and 104,000 workers were unemployed. This resulted in protests and disturbances which were directly linked back to the Bolsheviks. Lenins credibility as a revolutionary leader was damaged after he fled to Finland on a fake passport to escape the blame of the July Days. This seemed to be the end of the Bolshevik party and the Provisional government as the provisional government was seen to be too incompetent to solve the peoples problems. The Bolshevik party however was able to overcome the difficulties and become more powerful than ever which was mainly due to Lenin resolving his differences with Trotsky to see him become a new member of the Bolshevik party. Trotsky was able to use the failure of the July days to establish a more successful strategy to use in the October Revolution. The Provisional government during this time were seen as incompetent and not strong enough to save Russia. The June Offensive and Kornilov revolt midway through 1917 saw the Provisional Government continue to lose support and the Bolsheviks had an increasing influence on the Russian people. In early May Kerensky was promoted to Minister of War despite having little military experience. He aimed to boost the morale of the soldiers with a successful attack on the enemy. He urged the soldiers to view it as a revolutionary advance for Russia of freedom and good future. After early sucess German reinforcements saw the attack fail by inflicting massive casualties on the Russian Army. This lost support for Kerensky due to his unsuccessful military tactics. In August General Kornilov, an ex-tsarist General took the position of Commandor in Chief of the Army. He was accused of attempting a coup when threatened by advancing German troops and marched soldiers towards the capital to defend Petrograd. Kerensky, afraid that General Kornilov was going to replace the Provisional government with a military dictatorship, declared him a traitor and ordered the Bolsheviks release from prison. He was forced to ask the Bolsheviks for help as his own troops were away fighting the war. He gave the Bolsheviks a hero status in the eyes of the people and made them a well armed and prepared force ready to take over in October. This was a major error in Kerensky’s judgement because it resulted in the Bolsheviks achieving a broad base of support. The October Revolution in 1917 was the biggest event of 1917 and finally led to the end of the Provisional governments short rule. Since Lenins return from exile he persistently argued with the Bolshevik central committee for an effective and strategic overthrow which needed to take place before the Second All Russian Congress of Soviets and the elections for the Constituent assembly to be held in November. This events could dramatically change the political problems and damage the chance of the Bolsheviks to come into power. The stages of the takeover were to capture communication and installation centres, capture key vantage points and most importantly capture the provisional government in the winter palace. The Provisional government could do nothing but surrender to the 40,000 strong Bolshevik army and their short rule came to an end. The Bolsheviks seized power in an almost bloodless coup before winning a ten-day battle to legitimise their rule. The Bolsheviks influenced the people of Russia by giving them more equality in their lives. Lenin fulfilled his promise of “Peace, Land, Bread” to make the country a more equal society. Lenin began by restoring peace by beginning immediate peace negotiations with the party leaders. After much stalling and ultimatums Lenin signed the treaty of Brest-Litovisk which placed severe penalties on Russia but in the end saw the people rejoice as the soldiers returned home. With peace restored Lenin set out to end the wealth and power of the ruling class. He did this by abolishing the right to own large house on the 6th of December which meant several families instead of just one could occupy the same space which solved the problem of overcrowding in the cities. He also bought all banks under the property of the state as well as any gold in private banks. With power and wealth taken away from the ruling class he aimed to bring equality to the peasants in the countryside by redistributing land. This was the easiest to fulfil on an administrative level as the peasants had already formed revolutionary groups to seize land from landlords which they merely legitimized with a land decree stating that “Land ownership shall be abolished for ever” and “Land tenure shall be on an equality basis”. This solved food shortages and gave peasants much needed land. The Bolsheviks also aimed to bring more equality between men and woman by giving woman more rights and freedom. The Bolsheviks had a huge influence on society as they made Russia more equal between men and women and the wealthy and peasants. The Bolsheviks did this because they felt “freedom for one is freedom for all.” The Provisional governments rule was ended by the October Revolution in 1917. The background to the revolution was dual power, Lenin’s return, the June offensive and Kornilov revolt. The influence of the Bolsheviks on peoples lives were to bring more equality to the people of Russia and stop a government that was doing nothing to solve the countries problems which reached a critical condition after abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. GRADE E In the time of 1900-1924, Russia, many events took place and many attitudes were held that led to the end of the autocratic system of government, led by Tsar Nicholas II, and subsequently the end of the temporary Provisional Government as well. The force of communism was related to the background of land the ends of these systems of government themselves, and had a strong influence on the people of Russia at this time. Communism is a form of Government which holds the idea in which everything is, in theory, distributed evenly and equally amongst the people of the nation. To achieve a communist government, a revolution is required to overthrow the current system of government and get rid of the rich and powerful classes. This abstract idea was thought up by a German writer, Karl Marx, in his “Marxist theory”, published in 1848. Vladimir Lenin, a prominent figure in Russia, who strongly opposed the Tsarist government, believed that communism could provide a solution to Russia’s pressing problems under an autocratic system of Government. He set up a political party, the Bolsheviks, who worked towards overthrowing the Tsar and his autocracy and creating a socialist government in Russia. Lenin adapted the Marxist ideas of communism to suit Russia and assembled a small group of dedicated professional revolutionaries to plan and develop ideas that would eventually lead to a socialist revolution to overthrow the Tsar and his government. This force, which worked to oppose the Tsarist government and offer Russians a new way forward led to the end of Tsar Nicholas II’s rule. Russia was in a bad way. The tsar was a weak and indecisive man who did little to attempt to understand his people and help them. The autocratic system of government was also well below par, being a corrupt institution that did little but reinforce the foolish rulings of Nicholas II. The people of Russia lived lives of quiet desperation as a result of this. They were able to affect little change in their own circumstances or in the society around them. The majority of the Russia people (85%) were impoverished, uneducated and helpless peasants, for which the Tsar did little more than nothing. They were fed up with a government that didn’t understand their needs and having to sacrifice for a war they were losing and did not support (World War One). For reasons such as these, the Russian people began to look towards better alternatives in forms of government, such as communism. Because they had nothing to lose, they were willing to fully commit to their causes, and go to extreme measures to reach their goal (the termination of Tsar Nicholas’ autocratic government). Opposition towards the Tsar’s autocratic government was strong, and increasing by the day. Many revolutionary parties, such as the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries sought change within the government and placed pressure on the Tsar and his ministers to improve the situation of their nation, or face an overthrow through revolution. This pressure did compell the autocratic government to make some reforms, but they were not seriously committed to change, so those reforms failed. The government continued to look out for it’s own interests. The opposing Revolutionary parties became increasingly frustrated and determined to change the state of their nation, and many ordinary Russians felt the same way, joining their cause. The Bolsheviks, employing the idea of communism, gained great amounts of success as the people of Russia saw this form of government to be a shot at freedom and equality. The Revolution of March 1917 was the key event that led to the end of the Tsar’s autocratic rule. Peasants and workers revolted up the streets of Russia’s capital, Petrograd, protesting, rioting, looting, striking – and demanding a change in Government. This event led to the abdication of Tsar, Nicholas II and the abolishion of his autocratic system of government. Shortly after, the Provisional Government was set up led by Alexander Keransky. At this time, the Bolsheviks began to seriously plan an upcoming revolution to now overthrow the Provisional Government and set up a socialist government, led by Lenin, in Petrograd. The March 1917 Revolution had showed the Bolsheviks Russia became so fed up with their incompetent and corrupt system of government, that they took action and rebelled against it. They were now preparing to take it a step further and establish a communist system of government by overthrowing the Provisional Government. In October 1917, the Bolsheviks ended the rule of the Provisional Government in a swift and decisive revolution. Briefly planned, Lenin and the Bolsheviks stormed key locations in Petrograd before taking Winter Palace – the headquarters of the Provisional Government. The next day Lenin announced he was setting up a socialist government. The termination of both the autocratic system of Government, under Tsar Nicholas II, and that of the Provisional Government, and the introduction of a communist government, had a great affect on the Russian people’s lives at this time. Due to communism, many aspects of life in Russia changed. Short term, many reforms were brought about by the Bolsheviks, such as the decree on peace, Russia called on all other countries participating in World War One to reach an agreement and cease fighting. An armistice was signed with Germany three days later. The Bolsheviks believed peace should be achieved without annexation or idemnity. Land reforms were also put in place, the land was taken from the rich and given to the peasants, the same with factories – these were given to the workers. All titles and inheritance rights were abolished – to ensure equality was achieved (an essential part of communism). For this same reason, church policies were changed. CHEKA was formed, a Bolshevik army used to deal with counter-revolutionaries and reinforce Bolshevik rule. The Gregorian Calender, which at this time was used by most of the modern world, was adopted into Russian society. This movement forward marking the development of the Russian nation (an essential part of Communism). Long-term civil war was begun between the Bolsheviks and their supporters (Reds) and other opposing groups that also wished to become the government of Russia (Whites). The former royal family, the Romanovs, were executed in 1918 at Ekatrinberg. And finally new nations were formed as a result of the civil war (e.g. Latvia and Lithuania). The Bolsheviks (Reds) were victorious in the civil war and became the official government of Russia. They implemented a socialist form of Government and worked towards Communism. The Russian people were to become communists. The background and events that led to the end of both the Tsarist autocracy and the Provisional government were related to the force of communism. As a result of these changes in government and the historical force of communism, the people of Russia suffered, and benefited from, various significant consequences. GRADE E The November Revolution in Russia of 1917 was an event that marked the end of the democratic Provisional Government’s short rule over Russia. While the revolution is noted for ending the Provisional Government’s rule, it is not the only cause of it. This end brought about many changes to the lives of all Russia people, the most significant being their new communist government. Every change in history needs motivation. For this change, in this case, for this revolution to be a success, this motivation must come from a united belief in a cause. In Russia, especially during early 1900s, this cause was communism. This is the belief that the world should live as equals – no rich, no poor, no class systems. All this would happen after a series of revolutions, according to Karl Marx’s plan in his Communist Manifesto of 1848. When this ‘perfect’ equality is reached, a state of ‘Utopia’ is achieved. Perhaps the most important factor leading to the end of the Provisional Government was the formation of a Communist group in Russia. This group originated as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, and was founded in 1898. While the whole group strove for eventual communism in Russia, some wanted to stick to Marx’s plan, and others didn’t. This caused a split in the party into the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The Mensheviks wanted to stay close to Marx’s theory that the bourgeoise revolution must occur before the proletariat revolution took place. They also wanted widespread membership and were unwilling to use violence. On the other hand, the Bolsheviks believed that the revolution of the bourgeois was not necessary. They limited membership to a small, tight-knit group of full-time revolutionaries. Lenin – the leader of the Bolsheviks – believed that communism was not just something to work for when there’s spare time, but a cause one must dedicate their life to. This is why the Bolsheviks were eventually the ones to carry out the November Revolution and thus end the rule of the Provisional Government. World War One both formed and destroyed the Provisional Government. In March 1917, a spontaneous and unorganised, but successful revolution occured that forced Tsar Nicholas Romanov to abdicate. This provided the opportunity for the Provisional Government to take his place as Russia’s leader – or government. While many were delighted to have freedom of speech and to see the disbanding of the Okhrana – liberties given to the Russian people by the Provisional Government, the governments failure to end the war led to extreme discontentment. Continued food shortages and war defeats drew support away from the Provisional Government. People began looking for different leaders to follow. Lenin was, without doubt, a successful leader. The way in which he led the Bolsheviks to carry out the November Revolution showed many that he was an able candidate to rule Russia. In his April Theses of 1917, he ordered the Soviets (who were, up until that point, co-operating with the Provisional Government as a Dual Power) to cut off all support to other political parties. Lenin’s motto “All power to the Soviets” drove his point across well. He also strove to continue his followers that the bourgeois revolution was unnecessary, and that it was time for the revolution of the proletariat to occur – the November Revolution. To the public, he promised “Peace! Bread! Land!” Many began to turn to Lenin for a leading figure and support for the Provisional Government dropped dramatically. Trotsky’s leadership was also extremely vital. In Stalin’s words – “the party is primarily and principally indebted to Comrade Trotsky for the rapid going over of the garrison to the side of the Soviets.” He planted propaganda amongst the people, he organised military preparations such as the recruiting of troops. He played a vital part in the success of the November Revolution – he was, in fact, the overall organiser. The Kornilov Coup was significant in that it highlighted the inability of the Provisional Government. The new Commander-In-Chief of the Armed forces, General Kornilov, decided to overthrow the Provisional Government in August of 1917. The Government quickly released the Bolshevik’s Red Army from prison, armed them and ordered them to protect the city. While Kornilov’s army never reached the city, the Red Army appeared to be the heroes. In a short time, the Provisional Government had given the Red Army everything it needed to overthrow them – weapons, a legal army and most importantly, support from the general Russian public. The November Revolution of 1917 was a quick and quiet uprising. In one night, the Red Army took over strategic points in the city – like bridges, telephone exchanges, banks and government buildings. In one night, the Communists ended the rule of the Provisional Government. In most significant influence on the people was Lenin’s decision to end World War One. While this was extremely positive news to many, this was short-lived. As a consequence of the surrender, Russia was forced to sign the Treaty of Brest – Litovsk. This meant that Russia had to give away most of it’s most arable land and a quarter of its coal and iron reserves. The loss of the Ukraine was most detrimental to Russia, as its prosperous supply of food was greatly needed to feed Russia’s starving people. One quarter of its population found themselves belonging to a different culture, race, language. However, those who were previously deprived and oppressed – the workers, peasants and poor – suddenly found themselves as equals to the rich. This was part of Lenin’s initial reforms – that everyone and everything must be equal. This equality is the fundamental value of Communism. Women, too, were given rights such as the right to buy land, and sign documents without their husbands consent. These changes were the beginning to a brighter future for them. On the other end of the scale, the rich and previously privileged, had their land, wealth and power taken from them. Those who once ordered others to clean the streets, now had to do it themselves. Factory owners had their factories taken away from them. The same happened to all business owners. They suddenly lost all their income and life’s work. The Russian Orthodox Church, which once had a status close to that of nobility, was all but destroyed. All property and power was ceased from them. Followers of the Church were no longer allowed to believe what they wanted to. All religion was discouraged. The Communists only wanted people to devote their lives to Communism. Those in political parties also had their rights and power forcefully taken from them. Unable to avoid the upcoming elections, the Bolsheviks found themselves defeated by the Socialist Revolutionaries. However this did not stop the Communists from dissolving the Constituent Assembly after just one meeting on the grounds that it was a “cover for a bourgeois counter-revolution.” Many political party members were outraged when Lenin declared all political parties, other than the Sovarkom – the Communist party – as illegal. This build-up of frustration and discontentment led to the Civil War in 1921. The Red Army began conscription. Many men and women were once again forced to fight in terror of both the enemy and their own army. The CHEKA was set up – a special force that planted propaganda and also used violence to keep their ‘support’. Thousands were executed by the CHEKA without trial. The famine of 1921 was a direct result of war communism – which was introduced during the Civil War. A Food Commissariat was wet up to requisition food from peasants. The army was given the bulk of the food, while the rest of Russia starved. It was the worst famine Russia had seen in 100 years. People ate bark, and it was said that many resorted to eating human beings as a last resort. No one, not even Lenin, could deny what was happening to Russia. Lenin finally realised that ‘only agreement with the peasantry can save the Socialist revolution in Russia.” He introduced a New Economic Policy. People were once again allowed to own small businesses, and for profit. Freedom of speech was reintroduced, and the CHEKA disbanded. This had a positive influence on all Russia people. The end of the Provisional Government was the beginning to many years of starvation, death and war. The Communists had dreamed of bringing Russia into ‘Utopia’, however, they never did achieve true communism in Russia. The influence communism had on the people could be argued as good or bad, but the communist movement in Russia shows us just how hard, if at all possible, it is to reach ‘Utopia’. GRADE E The end of British rule in India was caused by several key events. Nationalism had an influence on people’s lives at this time. Tension between the British and the Indians caused the end of British rule in 1947. This tension started as soon as the East India Company started to take control of India. They mistreated and exploited the Indians. The British tryed to westernise the Indians and they had little respect for their culture. In 1857-58 the Indian Mutiny showed the mistreatment of the Indians. After the Amritsar Massacre in 1919, public opinion changed. The Indians no longer wanted Home-Rule but total independence or Purna Swaraj. The harsh reaction of the British when they open fired into a crowd of innocent, unarmed civilians shocked Indians and the world. This caused an upsurge of anti-British sentiment. Gandhi used these feelings to fuel his campaigns against the British. The first was Non-cooperation in 1920-22. This was effective because it clearly showed the British that they were no longer wanted in Britain. The Civil disobediance campaign of 1930-32 was extremely successful as it attracted the world’s attention for the Indian cause. Gandhi’s methods of Satyagraha (peaceful protest) and policies of ahimsa (non-violence) succeeded in harming the British reputation when thousands of peaceful protesters were beaten outside the Dharasana Salt Works. The huge support and participation in the Salt March to Dandi was a embarrasment for the British. Britain was very keen to hold on to India because of the benefits to Britains economy and because India was thought of as the “jewel in Britain’s crown”. However these campaigns made it obvious that it would no longer be beneficial for Britain to stay in India. Britain was also under the arrogant impression that the Indians could not rule them-selves. They had been slowly giving away tiny bits of independence to India such as in 1919 when provisional governments were formed. In reality this was very limited Home-rule because the British had the right to veto any provisional government. The Quit India campaign in 1942 was the final push of the Indians to achieve independence and in 1947 India became an independent nation. Nationalism had a very big influence on people’s lives at this time. In this situation, nationalism is the desire of a people to be independent and to be ruled by their own people. Nationalism has been prevalent in India since 1857. However a turning point of Indian nationalism was the Amritsar Massacre. The people had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in order to support one of the key figures representing nationalism (Gandhi). After the massacre Indians of all castes religions were united to fight for independence from the British. Nationalism sentiment inflenced people to join Gandhi’s campaigns. In 1921 Indians from all over returned medals, titles and honours that had been recieved from the British. Teachers left the urban classrooms to teach Satyagraha in rural areas. Lawyers refused to operate under the British Court system. Indians participated in swadeshi (the boycott of foreign items and only buying Indian made). Bonfires were made to burn all British clothing and cloth. Nationalism was an even stronger force by 1930 and people were influenced into breaking the salt law. This was a law imposed by the British saying that no Indians could manufacture their own salt and they had to pay a tax. Gandhi chose this as the focus for his campaign because he knew it would affect and unite all Indians. Many people marched with Gandhi to the sea or took part in manufacturing salt. The major influence that nationalism had on the Indian people’s lives was that it ultimately led to the gaining of independence for India in 1947. This changed many peoples lives. The partition of India into seperate Muslim and Hindu states caused major problems for thousands of Indians. Riots occured all over India and the violenced affected and harmed many people. Gandhi had wanted independence he had done everything in his power to unite Muslims and Hindus. In the end the new rise of Muslim nationalism was too powerful to be supressed. The background and events that lead to the end of British rule in India include the Indian Mutiny, the Amritsar Massacre and the three national campaigns against the British; Non-cooperation, Civil Disobediance and Quit India. Nationalism is a force related to these events and it had a major influence on people’s lives. It caused people’s views to change about the British and this influenced them to participate in campaigns. It ultimately led to the freeing of their nation and their people from the exploitation and injustice of British rule. GRADE E In India during the late 19th century and early to mid 20th century, an important historical force that influenced people’s lives was that of Nationalism. Nationalism was especially important in ending the British Government’s rule in India, helped especially by the important figure Mohandas K Gandhi. India had been ruled by the British Government for a long time, in the beginning under the trading name ‘The East India Company’. The Government soon officially took hold of India, because they could see there was a lot of economic gain to be had (e.g. in the form of tobacco & cotton). The position of the British in India as oppressive colonisers was finally challenged under the leadership of the Indian politician Mohandas K. Gandhi. Gandhi’s eyes had been opened to the British government’s oppressive nature, and so he set about to change this. The largescale movement against the British was sparked off on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar. General Dyer of the British Army, reacted violently and harshly to a group of Indian’s unplanned (unknown to them) disobedience of a new law against assembly. Dyer ordered the crowd to be attacked with machine guns, killing several hundred and wounding many. This event shocked the Indian people, and the British people’s response (approval) was particularly striking. This event solidified Indian opposition to British rule in India, and gave Gandhi far more support for his future campaigns. Over the next decade Gandhi began staging non-violent demonstrations against the British Government, known as acts of civil disobedience. These included boycotting foreign cloth (especially British) and wearing only homespun ‘Khadi’, swadeshi – boycotting all foreign goods, hartal – shutting shops and businesses for fasting and prayer, and burning British cloth. All these actions demonstrated the no-longer subservient nature of the Indian populus, and gained Gandhi further support. In 1929 the stockmarket crashed, throwing the world into depression. This especially affected the western Empires who turned away from their previously imperial actions to deal with their own internal problems of poverty and inflation. This worked well for the Indians struggling for independence, as it demonstrated that it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the British Government would leave. Gandhi took this opportunity to stage one of the most prolific protests against Britain. He decided to demonstrate against the Salt Tax – the British Government had a monopoly on salt manufacture in India, a commodity considered to be vital to Indians. Gandhi decided to oppose this particular law because of the emotional response he was likely to have. The march which began on 12 March 1930, 385 km to the sea at Dandi, was successful, and the salt tax was lifted enabling all Indians to manufacture it. It was symbolic of the new power that the Indians had – Nationalism. This Salt March was the turning point of India’s struggle, and there were a succession of events that led to the removal of the British Government from India. In 1931 the Round Table Conferences were held in London, to discuss India’s future and possible independence. Unfortunately, these talks had no decisive result. The Viceroy of India realised that little could be achieved without the involvement of Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, and so the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931 was made, which decided that Congress would halt further civil disobedience, and that India would have a federal government but the possibility of continuing British control remained. The rift within India soon became apparent – the Muslim League and the India National Congress (predominantly Hindu) were uncooperative, and this had disastrous results for India’s future unity and independence. In March 1940 the Muslim League signed the Lahore Resolution which summed up the Muslim League’s desire for a separate Muslim Pakistan. This soon became a reality, and after the 1945 British elections the labour government was in power, and the prime minister Atlee declared that India and Pakistan would be independent by 1947. On the 15 August 1947, India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain, with the British Government finally retreating and renouncing their claims to India. Throughout this time, the driving force behind the Indians’ actions had been Nationalism. This force affected the lives of the people within India in a number of ways. An important aspect was Gandhi’s involvement. Gandhi was able to relate to the largely illiterate and rural population of India by dressing as they did in a simple ‘dhoti’ and taking up their simple lifestyle. When Gandhi travelled India, he came in contact with many people, and their interaction with him made the idea of Nationalism far more approachable and understandable. One of the key features of nationalism was that it transcended traditional boundaries such as caste (social order/class system in Hindu society), religion (two main religions in India were Hindu and Muslim), gender and political affiliation, as long as purnaswardj was the aim – total independence. Because there were no definite boundaries on the members, the nationalist leaders (e.g. Gandhi) were able to gain a far stronger hold within India. Many people participated in demonstrations such as sit-ins, strikes, avoidance of taxes, protest marches, swadeshi and hartal. Unfortunately the force of nationalism became split between the Hindus and Muslims, as the Muslim community became more unified and began petitioning for partition. This heightened the enmity between the two religions and undermined the open values of nationalism. Many people suffered as a result of the partition, especially in the Punjab where many people were moving between the newly formed state. The force of nationalism had the power to unite people from all creeds and ways of life and did join the beginning until the enmity of two factions was unable to be breached. The lives of the British in India were able affected especially in the form of economic wealth – the mill owners and salt works owners were hard hit by the boycotts and demonstrations. The nationalistic Indians also split members of the Indian community, and alienated many who were unsupportive of the Indians’ cause. The British eventually left India, unsuccessful in the face of a powerful nationalistic movement. In India during the late 19th century and early 20th century, many people in India’s lives were affected by the dominant force of Nationalism. This was hugely influential in the end of the British Government’s rule in India, and there were a number of events which led up to this. GRADE E From around 1600 to 1947, Britain ruled India under an Imperialist rule. Imperialism had a profound effect on people lives at the time and it was the cause of much discontent amongst Indians. Certain events in India, such as the Amritsar Massacre and the non co-operation campaign of 1922, helped lead the end of the British Raj, government, in India. Ironically Imperialism was the force which caused the British Imperialists to finally leave India in 1947. Imperialism is the control of one country over another. Britain was the Imperial ruler over a number of colonies, and the capture of India added to it’s increasing empire. British Imperialism was flawed from almost the beginning of their rule in India. British were insensitive to the beliefs and values of the Indians and this insensitivity eventually ended in the Indian Mutiny in 1857. The British army, which consisted of Indians, were given orders to coat their gun cartridges in pig grease. This caused great upset amongst the Indians as Hindus believed animals were sacred and Muslims thought pigs were unclean. This act was enough to spark the mutiny in which Indians began killing all the British they could find. The British Raj was eventually able to regain control, however the damage had already been done. Indians would never forget the cultural insensitivity of the British. The British Raj was not all negative however; British education was introduced and this led to a new class of educated Indians. As there are so many different dialects in India, learning English enabled them to communicate easily and united the Indians more than ever. This new class of Indians were the main ones who sparked movements against the British, thus using their British education against them. The Indian National Congress was formed in the early 1900’s and comprised of many of these educated Indians; such as Nehru, Patel and most notably Gandhi. Gandhi was a key person in the ending of the British Raj and it is because of him many events occurred which brought about the end of the Raj. Gandhi was a deeply religious man and believed strongly in Ahimsa, or non-violence. This strong belief in non-violence led to the creation of a technique known as Satyagraha. Satyagraha consisted of complete non-co-operation without the use of violence. This method was to be used against the British many times, proving very useful. This method was so useful as the British Raj depended on the co-operation of the Indians in order to run smoothly, so without this the British could not rule properly and Gandhi believed they would eventually leave. The non co-operation campaign of 1922, organised by the Indians National Congress, was a form of Satyagraha which involved Indians returning all medals awarded to them, refusing to pay taxes and boycotting foreign goods. However the Non Co-operation campaign took place near World War One, which meant Britain had other priorities and would have zero tolerance for any disobedience. Gandhi and other leaders were imprisoned and they were unable to continue with the campaign. It did not lead to the immediate end of the British Raj, however it showed Indians could unite for the same cause and gave them a sense of pride which would, over time, lead the the departure of the British Imperial rule. Another major event which led to the end of the British Raj was the Amritsar Massacre. Throughout World War One certain civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, had been suspended by the Raj in order to prevent any revolts against the British. The decision to maintain these laws after the war was a source of great discontent amongst the Indians. The Rowlatt Bill was passed which included a law which prevented Indians from gathering in a group of 3 or more men. In the Punjab area, riots provoked by the passing of the Rowlatt Bills means martial law had been declared in that area. Unfortunately, news did not reach the province of Amritsar and when thousands of Indians gathered to peacefully protest the arrest of Gandhi they were fired upon by the British-Indians Army under orders from General Dyer. Over 300 Indians were killed and over 1000 more wounded. The outrageous act of killing innocent people caused an uproar in India and most Indians who had previously been alright with the Imperial rule now began to resent it. Gandhi, who previously was only seeking partial independence, now wanted complete independence from them as he believed Britain had lost any moral justification for staying in India. This act under the Imperial rule led to many Indians turning against the British and can be seen as one of the main causes of the end of the British Raj. Imperialism influenced many Indians throughout the course of the British rule. Hindu’s believed strongly in the Caste System, which was a heirachry. There were different groups of people, such as traders or the Untouchables; and social aspects depended on which Caste you were in. Only people from the same caste were to be married and for the most part, different caste’s did not interact with each other. This changed when many Indians were conscripted into the Army to fight for Britain in World War One. The heiarachry was abolished as all Indians were forced to be equal, however this was against their beliefs. This continued insensitivity to religious and spiritual values can be linked to the Indian Mutiny in 1857 and led to discontent over the British rule. Another problem of World War One was that because Indians were under Britain’s Imperial rule they had no choice over participation in the War. Indians felt a deep resentment for this unwillfull participation in a war they did not believe in. To add to the resentment, upon return, Indians soldiers were left unemployed with huge taxes due to inflation caused by the war. This inflation also influenced the lives of peasant farmers who were already struggling to pay taxes. British landowners charged huge amounts for rent and kept all profits of goods sold. This was unfair to the peasants, yet the Raj still insisted on collecting tax from them. Peasants were also forced into menial labour such as fanning their British landowners and massaging their feet. This injustice and demeaning activities only added to the deep resentment against the British. Gandhi was deeply influenced by the Imperialist rule in India. The Amritsar massacre caused him to change his views on partial independence and every year on the anniversary of Amritsar Gandhi fasted. Gandhi rejected the Western values imposed on Indians and lived a simple life. He maintained the importance of growing your own food and making your own clothes. The injustice felt by all Indians led Gandhi to develop his technique of Satyagraha, which proved very effective in uniting Indians and leading to the end of the British Raj. Gandhi was a major influence on the Imperialist rule just as the Imperialist rule was a major influence on him. Viceroy Windsford, who was the last Viceroy of India took note of the injustices caused to the Indians and all the events which occurred due to the Imperialist rule in India. Due to these events, it was Viceroy Windsford’s decision that Britain leave India, as enough harm had been done. In 1947, India achieved it’s goal of complete independence. Imperialism caused many events which led to the end of the British Raj in India. Imperialism influenced the lives of many people at that point in time and the discontent felt by the Indians also helped lead to the end of the British Raj. In the end, Imperialism turned against itself and was a major factor in the ending of the British Raj. GRADE E The democratic system in government in the early 1920s began it’s downfall as events occured such as the blame forced on parliament because of the outcome of World War One, the economic turmoil, the fact that there was no tradition of democracy in Germany and fights between people in the streets due to political beliefs. The rise of the historical force of fascism (or Nazism as it was called at the time) spurred hope in many Germans as it’s leader Adolf Hitler promised answers to their economic problems and attempted at nationalistic pride. The movement in government ended up influencing many peoples lives with the loss of freedom and trust in society as the government trained youth for war and persecuted those they did not like. The treaty of Versailles, formed in 1919 demanded many reparations from Germany, including demilitarising certain zones (such as the Rhineland), cutting down on their weaponary and armies/airforce and asking for 6.6 billion pounds sterling. On top of this was the damaging accusation that Germany was to take the blame for World War One. Many Germans, including Hitler who started up the Nazi party, were upset by this and aimed the blame at the new socialist, democratic government who didn’t seem to be holding itself together. This was taken from the impression that many fights were occuring in the streets between communists and nazi party followers in particular. As this occured more often, the government became unstable, directing the reason to the fact that there was no democracy tradition in Germany and opposing partys fought that Germany worked better under authoritarian ruling. There was a loss of faith for the democratic government in the unconvincing way they handled the post world war one crisis. The inflation during the 1920s left everyone in Germany short of money and combining this with the Great Depression in the early 1930s, 5 million Germans were left unemployed, that was one in three men. As Hitler and the Nazi Party campaigned, they offered a decrease in the unemployment rate and many citizens throughout Germany who were in need of quick answers and a hope, took to this promise and stopped their support in the existing government and followed the Nazism movement. However, Nazism influenced many lives throughout Germany one it was in power, but not all for the better. Once Hitler had full power with the title of Feuhrer in 1934, the people of Germany’s lives began to change. There was a loss of freedom in speech as no anti-nazism talk was accepted and there was also a loss of freedom in assembly as private groups and meetings were not allowed, which the Gestapo controlled, in order to keep an eye on what was happening and a control over society. People also lost their freedom of religion as anti-semitism was at the core of Nazism and once they had complete power, the prosecution of the jews started. The Nazism movement meant that concentration and extermination camps were set up for those who opposed Nazism or Hitler and were also for those whom Hitler disliked, including; jews, communists, intellectuals, gypsies and the disabled. There was a loss of trust in society as spying was encouraged to increase and ensure complete loyalty to the Fuehrer. Hitler expressed how he, and therefore the nazi party, regarded loyalty over morality. “Hitler Youth” was started up for the German youth primarily to train the males for war, but also to increased support and loyalty and have them help patrol their own societies. The thought was to train them right from young to support and idolise Hitler and Nazism as a movement, teaching and bringing them up on the beliefs of the government. Women were affected by the change and movement in government as the Nazis discouraged women to work and rather saw that they stayed home, did the household and most importantly, reproduced. Hitler sincerely believed in natural selection, the “survival of the fittest” and preached that the ‘Aryan’ (pure race) were superior, that the Germans were the Herrenvolk or ‘master race’. He therefore saw that it was important to expand their race so encouraged and rewarded mothers for having babies. He did this by providing the families with money, a car and rewarded them with a medal depending on how many children they had. The Nazism movement also pushed Hitler’s idea of more lebensraum (living space). They showed this by expanding their army, against the demands of the Treaty of Versailles and reoccupying the Rhineland in 1936 and invading Czechoslovakia in 1938, Poland in 1939 and Russia in 1941. This majorly influenced the lives of the Germans as it created a war, a second one which Germany yet again did not do too well in. Events such as the post World War One crisis with the treaty of Versailles reparations and humiliation, the economic turmoil and blame towards the new government contributed to the fail of democracy within Germany. The historical movement of Fascism (at that time called Nazism) took over government with authoritarian rule, appointing Hitler as Feuhrer in 1934. This movement influenced many lives as it brought a loss of freedom in speech, assembly, religion, trust and employment for women. It was the beginning of persecution and inspired prejudice, especially towards jews and it was Nazism which led Germany towards war, an experience which would have influenced the people of Germany for the rest of their lives. GRADE M Satyagraha was a powerful, non-violent movement that flourished within India in the 1920’s. Following the leadership of Mohandas Gandhi, Satyagraha assisted in bringing about the end of the British ruling. British traders were first attracted to India in the 17th century due to the availability of cheap cotton textiles. It wasn’t until the mid 18th century that India became subject to harsh British ruling. The Indian Government was run by the British, all senior policemen were British and they also controlled all of the tax laws. India felt disrespected that they were being ruled by foreigners in their own land, but felt there was little they could do. Due to lack of active opposition by Indian politicians, the British continued to rule. In 1919 committee leader Mr Justice Rowlatt recommended that the British enforce a new law stating that policemen were authorised to take ‘strong action’ against any ‘subversive events.’ The law was legalised and there seemed nothing that India could do. Uprising leader, Mohandas Gandhi disagreed with the new Rowlatt Bills. However, with no political party supporting him, both the British and Indians were yet to witness his capabilities. The British ignored the man, while India, desperate for hope, took faith in him. A hartal was organised for the 6 April 1919. As planned, shops and businesses throughout many towns closed in protest of the Bills. The British were shocked that action was being taken against them and instantly arrested Gandhi. Infuriated, his followers called a meeting in Jallianwali Bagh, an enclosed courtyard, to protest his arrest. The police identified this as an ‘subversive event’ and General Official Dyer surrounded the courtyard with hundreds of policemen. Open fire was ordered upon the gatherers. 379 were killed and 1300 injured. The Amritsar massacre of innocent civilians, - men, women and children, created a permanent scar on the British-Indian relations. This event intensified the Indian nation’s determination to have the British leave India so they could be a free country. Due to both the legalising of the Rowlatt Bills and the Amritsar massacre, Gandhi decided to make a set of 11 demands. These were eleven demands that Gandhi felt that India needed to achieve to become an independent nation. First, he made the decision of focussing on one set demand – the abolishment of the salt tax. The British had monopoly over India on this tax, and because all Indians saw salt as an essential part of their daily diet, they were all subjected to this harsh tax. It bore down the hardest on the poor population. Gandhi saw that by abolishing the salt tax, it would unite the people of India, as they would come together to rid them of this common unfairness they all shared. In 1930 the Salt March to the beach of Amedabad took place. Gandhi led 78 satyagrahis to the sea-shore but thousands of satyargrahis, men, women and children followed. Gandhi was the first to make salt – illegally, in protest of the harsh tax. Again he was arrested, along with 100,000 others. The police used extreme violence against the peaceful protestors who only displayed permissive behaviour. This resulted in huge media coverage of the event. A few weeks later another nonviolent March of Satyagrahis was held, to the Dharasana Salt Factory. The police were waiting, armed with batons and used harsh violence against the marchers. Media showed the nation of India both incidents, and India was becoming aware of the change that was finally beginning to spread. A year after the Salt March the first Round Table Conference was held. However Gandhi was absent, all Congress leaders were in jail, and no useful tactics came out of it. The British Viceroy, Lord Irwin realised this and released Gandhi from jail. They immediately started private ‘talks’, and from this emerged the Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931. This was a huge achievement for both Gandhi and India. It stated that all civil disobedience would be stopped, and in return, Indians were free to produce their own salt. All of the followers would be released from jail. This was a major stepping stone for India to become a free country! It empowered India for the first time in many years, and was a significant event that would lead to the end of the British rule. Satyagraha influenced many people’s lives at the time of the various events. Satyagraha taught non-violence civil disobedience and self sufficiency. They influenced millions to spin their own cloth, encouraging swadeshi – the boycott and burning of all foreign goods. Doing this enabled India to be self-sufficient without British and foreign assistance. By teaching the ways of non-violence, Satyagrahi were enabled to achieve their goals through their peaceful marches and protests. Seeing non-violence achieving rights for India inspired and influenced millions. With the leadership of Mohandas Gandhi, Satyagraha was able to influence many people’s lives and with the efforts of this movement, India was able to finally gain their independance in 1947, the end of the British rule. GRADE M During the struggle for Indian independence (1900-1947) an event which led to the of a governments rule was the salt march to Dandi, also known as the Salt Satyagraha. The background of the event, and the event itself led to the end of the British rule in India, and the nationalism which the event invoked had a major influence on ordinary Indians lives at that time. The background to the salt Satyagraha began in the mid 1700’s. Britain had lost control of the Spice Islands to the Dutch and were forced to seek resources elsewhere. It saw India and hastily established trading posts there. The East India Company opened up a trading post in Calcutta in 1753 and began trading resources with the Indian locals. But after the EIC trading post was attacked in Calcutta by the Bengals in 1760, the British government took over from the EIC, and gradually took control of the Indian subcontinent. By the turn of the 19th century Britain had established complete control over India, and then they sought to develop an administration strictly to exploit India’s vast economic potential. This deprived the Indians of their nationalistic feelings, but there was not any organised resistance against the British occupation so their rule continued unopposed. All throughout their time in control of India, the British showed a vast disrespect for the Indian people and their culture, which helped to stir up feelings of discontent, therefore making it easier for Gandhi to get support for his Satyagraha campaigns. This disrespect was shown in the Punjab town of Amritsar, in modern day Pakistan. In 1919, martial law had been declared after a week of anti-British violence which saw 3 Europeans and 1 Christian missionary killed. This martial law included a ban on all public meetings and gatherings and had been enforced by the commander of the Amritsar district, General Reginald Dyer. On June 4th a large crowd of people had gathered in the Jallianwalla Bagh in the centre of the city to protest against Gandhi’s arrest. Dyer ordered his troops in to the Bagh (gardens/square). Some 1500 troops stormed the Bagh to break up the protest and Dyer ordered them to fire on the crowd. No warning shots were fired, the firing lasted for 15 minutes, and by the end, 1516 Indian civillians had been killed or wounded, a figure which is still debated to this day. This event helped stir hate against the British rule and it involved strong feelings of nationalism which would later be used in the salt Satyagraha in 11 years later. Another example of British disrespect was the Khilafatt bills, also in 1917. During WWI, the British had placed harsh laws on the Indian people, to prevent terrorist acts by the enemies of British interests. These laws included censorship of the press, the ability to place martial law without higher consents, and a limiting of basic freedoms. When the war finished in 1917, the chief Justice Rowlatt introduced the Khilafatt bills, which retained the wartime restrictions on the Indian people. Despite multiple protests by Indian politicians, the bills stayed which further showed British disrespect of the Indian culture and people. Another part of the background to this event was the Lahore Congress in January 1929. 1 year before the Salt march. The Indian national congress was eager for immediate independence from the British and demanded a bill to secede from the British commonwealth. Gandhi insisted that 1 year must be given to the British to leave India, and if, by the end of this year, India was not independent, then immediate action would have to be taken. By January 1930, despite talks with the British, India was still under colonial rule. So on January 12th the Indian flag was unfurled on the top of the congress building in Calcutta and that day declared independence day. Gandhi instructed India to prepare for a mass Satyagraha campaign which he decided to focus on the salt tax. The British had a monopoly on salt, and put harsh taxes on it, which meant that the poorest Indians had to pay large amounts of money for something which they could easily get themselves. Salt was a necessity for most Indians as it provided the metabolism necessary for a day working in the fields. So it was something which did not affect wealthy Indians. Before Gandhi embarked on his march, he wrote a letter to the Viceroy, the supreme ruler in India, urging him to repeal the salt tax or immediate action would be taken against British interests in India. After receiving no reply from the Viceroy, on April 4 th, Gandhi and his 78 ashremites, well trained in the art of Satyagraha left Gandhi’s ashram at Sabermati. They were headed for the shores of the Indian Ocean, 240 miles away at a beach called Dandi. On Gandhi’s walk he went through hundreds of villages, his ashramites spreading the word to ordinary Indians about living simply and about the Independence movement. Gandhi and his followers, which by then had swelled to more than 2000 people reached the seashore at Dandi 23 days after leaving Sabermati, a stunning feat for Gandhi, who at the time was over 60 years old. On the night of the 28th April, Gandhi and his followers did not sleep, but prayed. On the morning of the 29th of April, Gandhi did what no other Indian had done in decades, he picked up a lump of salt and mud, placed it in boiling water and produced salt, and in doing so, shaking the foundations of the British Empire. This event had a large influence of the Indian nationalism movement. The movement itself was slow to develop in India, firstly, the illiteracy rate in India at the time was very high, and secondly Hindu and Muslim religions would not work together very well. In the past, Hindu and Muslims had been very suspicious of one another, the Muslims did not like the way in which congress was influenced by Hindus, and Hindus did not like the Muslims quest for power in India, given they were a minority. This conflict would eventually result in partition in 1947 but during the time of the salt Satyagraha the Indians were united under both religions. Indian Nationalism had an effect on peoples lives in many ways. Firstly, the Indians battle for independence gave people a feeling of David v Goliath. They the people with little resources were dismembering the mighty British Empire who at the time were the greatest superpower in the world. The Indian nationalist movement also gave ordinary people a chance to fight for Indian Independence. After the Salt march, ordinary Indians were producing salt all along Indias vast coastline, and people were selling salt illegally in the streets. Indian Nationalism gave people courage and hope that India would be self ruled, and thus had a vast effect on all ordinary Indians at the time. In conclusion, the British, in their blatant disrespect of the culture and native people of India, failed to see the Indians’ strong feeling of nationalism, that eventually led to the end of their colonial rule in India, which was shown at the salt Satyagraha in 1930. GRADE M There were many factors that lead to the end of the British Raj in India and the imperialist force that the Raj imposed. Events such as the Amritsar Massacre and the non-cooperation Campaign led by Gandhi all helped to develop a growing nationalist movement in India which eventually won complete independence for India. However, there were many impacts that the British force of imperialism. A countries deliberate territorial expansion by building a colonial empire often in detriment of or in competition with another country imposed on the lives of ordinary Indians during the Raj’s rule. The force of Imperialism and its characteristics led directly to the Amritsar Massacre on the 13th of April 1919. This in turn led to specific actions such as the noncooperation Satyagraha campaign to be taken against the British Raj, the British rulers of India. In the nineteenth centurary the British took official control of India. Most of the colony was ruled by a viceroy and a series of provincial governors. Indian princely states were indirectly ruled. British administration and control were maintained through the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Army. Any positions of significance were held by the British while Indians were only involved in the lower ranks of the British Raj. Unrest grew in relation to this and the Amritsar massacre in April 1929 was a direct result. The British Raj tended to take their colony for granted. When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, India was automatically drawn in and Indians troops were sent to fight in British campaigns. Only 80000 British troops were sent overseas compared to the 210000 Indian troops that Britain sent. All of the Indians princes resources were at the kings disposal and Indian factories were making boots, clothing, tents and saddlery as well as tens of thousands of rifles and cannon and small gun ammunition. On top of this Indian communities donated large sums to the Red Cross. India was the reservoir for the man power behing Britains victory and unrest amongst the people started to develop when they realised Britain was taking their country for granted. This and the addition of some further factors after World War One led to the Amritsar massacre. It wasn’t until after the war that further unrest developed on a large scale. During the war the government had been granted special powers to control civil liberties under the defence of India Act. These powers were to protect the country against terrorist possibilities. However, after the war a lawyer, Mr Justice Rowlatt drew up specific bills recommending that any area notified as subverse should remain subject to this martial law. These became known as the Rowlatt laws 1918. These laws were restricting and humiliating so therefore caused resentment towards the British on behalf of the Indians. As unrest grew the idea of complete indepence for India grew larger and larger. Gandhi believed that the Rowlatt laws were breaking the peoples right of free expression and therefore breaking the law of god. He offered Satyagraha as a solution to take place on the 6th of April 1919. This was to take the form of Hartal – closure of all shops and businesses. This was widely unsuccessfull and resulted in Gandhi’s arrest. This had exactly the effect the British had not hoped for. Violence broke out at the arrest and in the city of Ahmedabad a British official was killed and government buildings set on fire. In the Punjab City of Amritsar local leaders were arrested which sparked violent clashes and riots. 5 British residents were killed. However what happened next was a very important turning point in Indian history. Amritsar was a Sikh holy city in the Punjab. It was in Army control and under martial law. Meetings and protests of any kind were forbidden. A crowd had gathered at Jalliawana Bagh to protest Gandhi’s arrest. The crowd included women and children complete with picnic blankets along for the day out. A member of the Army, General Dyer took 50 troops to Jalliawana Bagh and stationed them in rising ground. He ordered them to shoot into the crowd to disperse them untill all ammunition was exhausted. On the 13th of April 1919 the Amritsar Massacre occurred. In all, 397 people died and a further 1137 were injured. The British government sent the Hunter Commission to make an inquiry about police brutality during the Martial Law period – namely the Amritsar Massacre. The released a report in May 1920 stating only that General Dyer had been wrong to use such force to disperse the crowd. The report was not sufficient enough to satisfy the Indian peoples anger at the event and many had lost all faith in the British authority to rule. The Amritsar Massacre was a huge turning point for Indian society. Instead of more only wanting more participation in the ruling of their country most wanted complete independence for India and the end of British rule. By the end of 1920 the Indian Nationalist Movement was completely under way and Gandhi was working on a new form of Satyagraha to win Indian independence – Non-cooperation. He believed that non-cooperation was less likely to lead to violence than direct civil disobedience. The idea was accepted by Congress 144 votes to 132 and independence for India began. The campaign included certain rules. All medals and titles conferred on Indians from British must be given up, no participation was to be taken in the Montagu Chelmsford reforms. The British attempt to satisfy the Indians without giving up rule over India – and most importantly the introduction of Swadeshi, a complete boycott of foreign goods. Khadhi (home spun cloth) and the Gandhi cap made from Khadhi became the symbols of Swadeshi and the spinning wheel became an item of immense importance. These aspects of the non-cooperation campaign reinforced the basic Indian ways and connected well with peasants who made up a large majority of the population. With added support of most of the Indian population behind him Gandhi conducted Satyagraha’s under the non-cooperation campaign over the next few years breaking British laws one by one like for example the Dandhi salt tax law in which the making of salt was illegal. With the slow destruction of these laws, widespread support and general noncooperation the British Raj soon had nothing left to rule India on. This was the end of the British governments rule on India. However over the many years the British were ruling India there were many consequences and impacts on the lives of Indians. These included social impacts, economic impacts and political impacts. Imperialism had dire social impacts on the lives of Indians. Imposition of British ideas and belief in the superiority of British society and values created a social gulf. Indians were left feeling inferior to the British and this was only reinforced by the creation of British only clubs such as the Calcutta Golf Club. However imperialism also led to a well educated Indian middle class who formed the first Indians National Congress in 1885 to help gain more political power. They also formed 2 home rule parties in 1915 one led by Tiler and one by Englishwoman Annie Bessart. Economic impacts included the negative impact on the imperial decision to take part in World War One on the economic livelihood of Indians. Increased taxes on peasants, like in Kaira left them angry and resentfull of British rulers. There was also a negative impact on the economic priorities of Indians – plant owners were encouraged to grow commercial crops leaving little room for food crops leading to famine. However there was a positive impact with the introduction of British technology and agricultural techniques. By 1990 the British had built 70000 miles of road and 40000 miles of railway in India. They also introduced an irrigation system to the country to help prevent drought and famine. Some political effects of Imperialism include the centralised hieracial rule of the British left some Indians feeling powerless and resentfull unable to participate in their own government. Examples include the exclusivity of the INC when it was first established. It was established by an Englishman A.O. Hume and only included widely educated middle class men with an English education. However imperialism did have the positive effect of causing Indians from all walks of life to take part in Indias political future. Overall the events like these of Amritsar and the non-cooperation campaign were essential in that of causing the end of British Raj’s rule in India. However, during the British governments time in India there was specific effects on the lives of people both socially, economically and politically. GRADE M From 1857-1947, India was subject to British Imperialism. This was the process by which Britain sought to increase its power and status by taking over overseas territories and creating a colonial empire. The characteristics of British Imperialism, along with the actions of Gandhi contributed to the Amritsar massacre in 1919, which consequently led to the end of Imperialism. India was controlled by a Viceroy and a series of provincial Governors, princely states were indirectly controlled. Indians held no positions of significance in the administration of the government which led to resentment of the Imperialists. British imperialism had many economic, social and political effects on the lives of Indians at the time. The effects of World War One on Indians as a result of British decision making contributed to the end of the Imperialist rule. Indians were not consulted about their participation in the war, the British declared India at war without any consultation. Indians men were sent to fight British campaigns and according to British politician Stanely Reed, “India was the reservoir for the manpower that made final victory possible.” India’s unwilling involvement in the war also caused economic dislocation in India. Before the war, Germany had been India’s second biggest market. After their involvement, Germany was no longer a market. This resulted in an increase in hunger and poverty. There was a shortage of wheat in the Punjab and what wheat did exist was exported to Britain. These factors caused severe discontent towards the Raj, contributing to the end of their rule, as they were factors leading to the Amritsar Massacre. The situation in India at the end of World War One also led to the Amritsar Massacre, an event that led to the end of the imperialist rule in India. Turkey was on the loosing side of WWI, and the British took part in the construct of the Treaty of Sevres, shortly after the war. This treaty stripped the Sultan of his empire and greatly decreased the size of Turkey. To all followers of Islam this was an affront to their religion. Muslims in India erupted, this caused severe discontent towards the Raj. During the war, the British had implemented the Defence of India Act, which stripped Indians of many civil liberties such as freedom of the press. After the war, a British committee imposed the Rowlatt Bills – an attempt to prolong wartime powers. Any area notified by the government as subversive could be put under martial law, the British could conduct trials without a jury and had the power to imprison any suspect. These two unjust actions of the Imperialists led directly to the Amritsar massacre, which consequently ended their rule. The actions of Gandhi and the British reactions to them led directly to the event of Amritsar, the cause of imperialisms downfall. After the injustices imposed on Indians by the Raj, Gandhi decided to conduct a hartal – the closing of all shops and businesses. The dates were mixed up in Bombay, but there was a satisfactory response in some cities such as Gujaral. The imperialists reacted by arresting Gandhi on April 8 1919, a decision they would live to regret. There were outbreaks of violence and arson in protest of Gandhi’s arrest. In Amritsar, a Punjab Sikh holy city, a peaceful protest led to Amritsar being put under martial law. British imperialist decisions to arrest Gandhi after the hartal and to place Amritsar under martial law led to the events that would end their rule. On April 13, 1919 an event took place in Amritsar, as a result of Imperial decision making which would lead to the end of the Imperialist rule. A meeting was held in Jallianwala Bagh to protest Gandhi’s arrest. British General Dyer put Amritsar under martial law which forbid large meetings, but Indians later claimed they knew nothing of this. Dyer entered the Bagh with fifty troops and instructed them to fire into the crowd until their ammunition was exhausted. This took ten minutes. This imperialist action was the cause of the end of the Imperialist rule, as from this moment on the people of India wanted nothing to do with such a government and were determined to make them leave. The British imperialist had huge economic effects on the lives of Indians. A primary aim of the Raj was to exploit India economically in a way that would assist them back in Britain. India provided the raw materials for British factories, and British factories provided a market for cheap goods. This had a negative effect on the lives of Indians artisans as they could not compete with cheap British imports. The imperialists developed primary industry so that they could produce commercial crops. They were especially interested in cotton as a raw material. As a result of these commercial crops, cotton merchants, mill owners and farmers suffered from a lack of demand for their products. They received less income which had negative effects on their lives. The imperialist decision to involve India in WWI had negative effects on the economic livelihood of Indians. As well as the one million soldiers that faced unemployment upon return which created unrest, India had contributed vast amounts of raw materials and money through taxation to the war effort. The poor peasants could not afford this which was a negative influence of Imperialism on their lives. There were some positive effects of Imperialism on the lives of Indians, the British developed technology and agricultural techniques which produced the railway system. However, these economic benefits often led to social impacts as Indians were often ejected from train carriages by the British. There were several negative influences of imperialism on the lives of Indians which often led to social effects. There were several social effects on the lives of Indians as a result of British imperialism. The British imposed their values and beliefs on Indian society and this led to Indians feeling inferior and resentful towards the Raj. Indians were not treated equally, at the Calcutta Golf Club Indians were not allowed to attend or socialise, however many Indians worked there for the British. British officers were always tended to by Indian slaves who would fan them on hot days. These influences led to Indians feeling very bitter towards the Raj as they were constantly looked down on. One of the main aims of the administration in India was education, and the Englishstyle of education in India created a new middle class that could speak English, do clerical skills and therefore staff branches of administration in sub-ordinate positions. This influenced the lives of these Indians as the new middle class wanted a say in their government and consequently led the growing nationalist movement. There were many political influences on the lives of Indians as a result of the presence of the imperialists. Indians were not fairly represented in government, for example in 1900, five percent of the Indian Civil Service were Indian and none in important positions. This led to the creation of Indian National Congress, but this party was created from the educated Indian middle class and did not fairly represent Indians either. This unfair representation in government led to an increase in protest action from people from all walks of life, like in Champaran and Kaira, and several individual leaders emerged, such as Gandhi. The presence of British imperialism influenced these people’s lives as they would become protestors for life. As a result of the presence of the British imperialists in India, several background factors contributed to the Amritsar Massacre of 1919. The effects of World War One on Indians and the situation after the war, along with the actions of Gandhi, and British reactions to these led to the massacre. This was the event that led to the end of the imperialist rule as Indians lost all respect and trust for them. As a result of the imperialists, there were several influences on the lives of Indians economically, socially and politically. GRADE M Bloody Sunday was a turning point in the Cold War that eventually led to the end of Tsar Nicholas Romanov’s rule over Russia. Bloody Sunday was an event directly related to the force of Autocracy and this force had a major influence of the lives of the people in Russia at this time. Between the years 1894 and 1917, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas Romanov who was an Autocrat. This meant that he held supreme authority over everything including the Army and Navy. Though Nicholas had the leaders of his government departments to advise him, he generally made all the important decisions himself. There was no parliament under the ruling of Autocracy which meant the people had no way of letting their voices be heard. There was also the censorship of all newspapers and magazines, making it even harder for people to have an opinion. If the Tsar and his government did hear of any opposition it was quickly put down by the Tsar’s secret police, the Okhrana. Absolutely no opposition to the Tsar and his government was tolerated. There were many causes of Bloody Sunday. The first being the complete “Russification” of all non-Russian citizens, or conquered peoples, such as Latvians, Georgians and many more. These people were forced to speak Russian, wear Russian clothing and even follow Russian customs. This unfairness caused many uprisings amongst non-Russians and they were quickly joined by many Russian citizens who were either sympathetic or looking for some rights of their own. These uprisings caused a build up in tension which finally led to opposition groups to the Tsar forming. The first opposition group was the Liberals. They were supported mainly by the middle and educated classes. They were campaigning for a democratic parliament and for the Tsar to become a constitutional monarch. They also wanted civil rights such as freedom of speech to be installed for everyone. They held peaceful meetings and discussions and published articles, calling for change. Another opposition group was the Socialist Revolutionaries. They were mainly supported by the peasants in the rural areas. They wanted to abolish Autocracy completely and for the Tsar to be killed. They also wanted all the land to be given to the peasants to be farmed collectively in communes. This group published propaganda and encouraged a revolution amongst the peasants. They also committed acts of terrorism and political assasinations, to try and destabilize the government. The last opposition group to the Tsar was the Social Democrats. They were supported by the workers and students in the cities and towns and, like the Liberals they were mainly peaceful. They campaigned for Russia to become a socialist state. Another event that undermined the Tsar and ultimately led to Bloody Sunday was the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 to 1905. This war was over the ownership of Korea and Manchuria. Russia suffered many defeats at the hands of the Japanese and though the Tsar and his government were hoping for a small and victorious war to raise moral amongst the Russian people, it instead lowered it. The Bloody Sunday march of the 22nd of November 1905 was a terrible event that eventually led to the demise of Tsar Nicholas as the leader of Russia. Around 200,000 workers and their families filled the streets of St Petersburg and marched up to the winter palace to present a petition to the Tsar. They were campaigning for better civil rights and also more rights in the workplace. The Tsar was out of town on the day of the march however and when his guards saw the oncoming crowd they began to fire at them. Hundreds were killed and thousands wounded. This event also sparked the beginning of the 1905 revolution. The force of Autocracy had a major influence on the lives of the people of Russia at the time. The first group of people affected were the workers in the rural communities. Up until 1861, these workers were considered serfs which meant that they were legally owned by their landlords. In 1861 they were freed and were now able to make some decisions for themselves such as who and when they wanted to marry and whether or not they wanted to leave the estates that they worked on. When they were freed they had expected to be given some land by their landlords because many of them had spent their lives working and living on this land and they thought they deserved a fair share. However, this was not the case. They were offered only small amounts of land which they had to pay for, despite many outbursts and demonstration throughout Russia. The government offered to loan them money to buy the land, however this just put them into debt. Another group of people greatly affected by the force of Autocracy were the workers in the towns and cities. They often lived and worked in the cities slum areas, around the major polluting factories. They were paid such low wages that they couldn’t afford to pay for any proper accommodation. Instead, they were forced to sleep in overcrowded barracks with many other people, where diseases were quickly spread. Workers in smaller factories sometimes even had to sleep alongside their workbenches. There were no safety regulations in the workplace and there was no accident compensation so common accidents were often fatal. They had almost no rights and forming trade unions was illegal at this time. The middle and rich classes lived the good life under Autocracy. They had large estates in the countryside and often palaces or mansions in the cities. They threw grand parties and banquets and wore extravagant clothes and jewels. There was slight unrest amongst this class under the rule of Autocracy however. They felt that they at least deserved a say in how the country was run. The non-Russians, or conquered peoples of Russia also lived a hard life under Autocracy. They were part of the Russification regime which meant that they had to speak Russian, wear Russian clothing and follow Russian customs. They were also banned from practicing their own religions and their children were not allowed to learn their native language. There were many causes, including Bloody Sunday, that led to the end of Tsar Nicholas’s rule over Russia. The influence and effect that Autocracy had on peoples lives at this time was massive and also contributed to the demise of this leader. GRADE M The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the end of an autocracy in Russia. Russia had been ruled by the Romanov family for over 300 years, but a build up of events such as the Russo-Japanese war in 1904, Bloody Sunday in 1905 and the four Dumas that failed to give the Russians the right to have a voice in the way they were ruled led to a higher level of intolerance for the Tsar and the 300 years of rule by the Romanov family concluded with Tsar Nicholas abdicating his throne in 1917. In 1904 Russians were living in horrendous conditions in their work and home. This was heightened by the unnecessary Russo-Japanese war. Tsar was confident that he would easily beat the Japanese, and under estimated his enemy. Fighting over a port in China, the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in just 45 minutes in the battle of Tsustima. Russians at home were shocked and angry at the Tsar for sending their sons, husbands and fathers to die for such a minor cause. As living conditions in Russia worsened, the people attempted a direct approach to the Tsar for help. Father Capon led approximately 20,000 peasants to the Winter Palace in 1905 where they would ask for trade unions, better working conditions, an end to the Russo Japanese war and a right to vote in Parliament. The response they received was one that shocked the entire nation. As the Tsar was not present, the Generals ordered the soldiers to shoot at the crowd, through it was a peaceful protest. Around 500 were killed, mainly consisting of women and children. The Russian people reacted with anger – and the Tsar was forced to respond to his people. They no longer asked him for changes in their everyday life, they demanded it. The Tsar answered the outcrys of his people by issuing the October Manifesto, in which he promised them a Duma. The pro-revolutionists settled down, and the Tsar took this as an opportunity to crush any chance of uprising against his rule. Peter Stolypin, the first Prime Minister was in charge and over 2,000 were killed by Stolypin’s Necktie as the Russians dubbed the noose by which so many had been killed. The Duma also failed to give the people the right to have a say in the manner in which they were ruled and adhered strictly to the Tsar’s wishes only. If they went against the Tsar’s demands, they were dismissed – which resulted in the creation and dismissal of four Dumas – the last of which was in 1917. For a brief period of time, the Tsar was united with his people in an upsurge of patriotism as they entered WWI in 1914. However, this did not last long as the Russians soon realized the cost of war and directed their blame and anger on the Tsar. Food was taken from the people who were just barely surviving at home and put on trains to supply the soldiers with food – however as the Russian winter rose to its climax, the frozen tanks lay on incomplete railways and rotted. By 1917 1.7 million had been killed, 8 million wounded and 7.5 million taken prisoner. Conditions became right for revolution. People were sick of the Tsar and his blind eye towards the sufferings of his people. However, the masses of death and injuries that were inflicted upon the Russian army and the increasingly impoverished people at home was more than the Russians were willing to tolerate. The Tsar was forced to abdicate on the train on 15 March 1917, hence ending 300 years of Romanov rule in Russia. The people of Russia were greatly influenced by the fall of autocratic rule and the use of communism in that they had demanded change – and this time, they successfully achieved their goal. Lenin’s communist ideas, ‘April Thesis’ had a great influence on the people in that it outlined all that the people wanted – ‘land, peace, bread.’ He stripped the landowners, church and nobels of 540 million acres of land and shared it out between the people. He improved their working conditions by introducing the eight hour working day as well as a new social security system. Though the people reaped these benefits, Lenin’s single handed control over Russia by the power of the Red Guard came at a cost for the people. In November of 1917, the first ever free election was held in Russia. The people had their say and the Socialist Revolutionaries were voted in. However, Lenin had control over all of Russia and was not willing to let it go so easily. He provided for the people, but he was also determined to have his way with Russia. He prevented the first meeting with the Bolsheviks by using the Red Guard. Resentment grew towards Lenin as he signed a humiliating peace treaty, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 with Germany and Austria-Hungary, in exchange for leaving the war. Russia was forced to pay 300 million gold roubles in reparation to Germany and lost land including Estonia, Finland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Georgia. By mid 1918 there were many people who were disatisfied with Lenin. Though communism dictated that all people should co-operate and live peacefully together, Lenin was determined that no-one should revolt against the rise of communism and in order to protect his revolution he banned freedom of the press, outlawed all political parties except for the communist party and put in place the Cheka, his secret police, used to crush any enemies of communism and of Lenin. As opposition against Lenin grew, an army was formed, made of people who hated Lenin. It consisted of 2 main groups – the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, who were upset that Lenin was not sharing his power, and the land owners, nobles and the church who resented Lenin for stripping them of their land and power. However, due to the fact that they had varying aims and disliked one another, they were quickly crushed by the Cheka and Red Guard in the Red Terror of 1919. Lenin showed little compassion for his people as he was concerned with hiw new found power as unquestioned ruler of Russia – and in keeping his dominance over Russia. He dominated by the power of the Red Guard, and took food from the people in order to sustain his army. This led to food shortages in 1920 and 7 million Russians died from famine. The people of Russia demanded a change in rule from the Tsar – and they had been granted this, yet the change came at a heavy cost. In conclusion it is shown that the impoverished people of Russia had little tolerance for their ignorant, oppressive Tsar and build up of events that heightened their anger and resentment towards him eventually led to his forced abdication in 1917. However, Lenin, their communist leader who had promised them everything the Tsar had failed to grant his people had been able to improve their lives in some aspects – yet he could not fulfill all their demands, and the changes that they wanted came at a heavy cost. The people of Russia were not satisfied by either the Tsar or Lenin, and whatever change that was granted in their everyday lives came at a heavy cost for many. GRADE M Communism was an important force that instigated the November 1917 Revolution. Through the ideas of Lenin and Karl Marx, the force of communism changed people’s lives, and inspired the November 1917 Revolution. This revolution meant an end to the Provisional Government and the suffering of it’s people. After the revolution, Lenins new reforms, the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, Civil War, and War Communism were all results of the influence of the force of communism. Communism originated from the ideas of the German philosopher Karl Marx. Karl Marx believed the bourgeoise and nobility were exploiting it’s workers by gaining a substantial profit. A revolution was Karl Marx’s answer to this problem. He knew an equal society would be created if the workers rose up and revolted against the upper nobility. All of the profits made by industrialisation would be shared equally among everyone, instead of going primarily to the capitalists. A workers revolution would create ‘Utopia’, the perfect society. The ideas of communism, were most strongly portrayed through the leader Lenin, who used this force to end the Provisional Government’s rule. Lenin adopted Marx’s ideas to suit Russia’s circumstances and in 1902, he published a pamphlet called, ‘what is to be done?’ This pamphlet, although influenced by Marxism, portrayed new communist ideas that came to be known as Leninism. Lenin believed that in order to overthrow the Provisional Government, he needed a party of full-time proffessional revolutionaries and strict discipline rule. Older Marxists were impressed with Lenin’s ideas and in 1895, Paul Axelrod wrote, “I felt that I had before me, a man that would be the leader of the Russian Revolution, not only was he a cultured Marxistbut he knew what he wanted to do and how to do it.” The Provisional Government’s failure to improve Russia’s growing economic and social position, contributed to the November 1917 Revolution. The Provisional Government was created to run Russia after the Tsar’s abdication. The Provisional Government failed to supply food to the towns, control the industry for the workers and provide peace and hope for the soldiers. This failure to recognise the suffering of the Russian people, inspired Lenin to seize control and plan a revolution. Lenin recognised he needed more support in order to stage a revolution, so from AprilNovember, the Bolsheviks campaigned for more popularity. Demonstrations were held by Lenin in Petrograd, promising ‘Peace, Bread, Land’, to the people. Lenin used propaganda such as the Soldiers Truth and Trench to persuade soldiers to support communism and revolution. Popularity in the Bolshevik Party increased from only 20,000 members to 200,000 members. Lenin felt the time was right to instigate the revolution and call on his followers to rally behind him. On the night of 24-25 November, the Bolsheviks’ seized control of Petrograd. They took over the main points in the city such as the state banks, the government buildings and the railway stations. The Winter Palace was seized shortly after. The Bolsheviks’ announced, “The Provisional Government has been overthrown.” This was the last underlying factor made by the Bolsheviks, as after this revolution the force of communism was in control. A direct result of the November Revolution and overthrow of the Provisional Government was this new and exciting communist state. Lenin’s new reforms declared all Russian people equal regardless of age, gender or race. This relates to the communist ideas of equality and freedom. The Russian army was disbanded and soldiers were allowed to go home, causing support for the communist party to increase. All of the wealthy were punished by having their property confiscated and transferred to working class families. All private ownership of estates was abolished as under the values of communism everyone was equal. The wealthy were forced to pay large sums of ‘loans’ to the government which left many of them poor. Peasants were granted the right to own land and the crops they harvested. This was considered anti-communist by Karl Marx’s theories because all land was supposed to be distributed equally. Lenin recognised this but needed the peasants support of his new government was going to be successful. Overall these reforms were influenced by Communism and improved the lives of the lower classes such as the peasants. A direct consequence of this new Communist government was the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. Lenin ended the war with Germany, because it didn’t coincide with his Communist beliefs. This war was considered anti-communist because it dealt with capitalist issues. This brought harsh consequences for Russia. Trosky was the head negotiator at the peace talks in the town of Brest-Litovsk, but was unable to talk Russia out of the harsh demands. Lenin had to give in to the demands as the Russian Army could no longer defend it’s territory. Overall Russia lost 62 million of her population, one-quarter of her territory, one-third of her agricultural land, more than half of her industry and had to pay a hefty sum of 300 gold roubles in war damages. This was the worst treaty Russia had encountered in 300 years. Faith in the communist party was falling dramatically. The new government had made many enemies since the revolution of 1917. Many Russians were angry at the humiliating treaty with Germany and the power of the Bolsheviks, because of this Civil War occurred. Enemies of the communists were called the ‘whites’ and included the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. Countries such as America and Britain supported the ‘whites’ by sending over arms. The ‘reds’ were supporters of the communist government. During the war, which lasted four years, the Communists re-introduced conscription and peasants were forced to fight. This had a negitive impact on their lives as they lived under harsh disipline and feared that if they deserted, their families would be detained or killed. The Civil War, shed negitive light on the new government, as Lenin went back on many of his promises he made before the revolution. This negative influence on the people by the force of communism, was further strengthened when Lenin introduced war communism. Under this, peasants were no longer allowed to own or sell their own grain. In order to eat, they had to exchange their grain to the state for food. The peasants were beginning to be seen as the enemy which didn’t coincide with Karl Marx’s ideas of equality. Peasants reacted to this by selling their grain on the black market. By 1971 the agricultural production had fallen and famine struck Russia. Initially, the force of communism inspired Russians to revolt against the Provisional Government. Actions made by Lenin and the Bolsheviks caused the November 1917 Revolution, which overthrew the existing government. After this event, peoples lives changed dramatically. In the beginning, peasants and workers lives improved but as the Communists gained more power, they were put in the same position as they were in the beginning of the century. GRADE M Communism was a significant force in Russia, and was supported by the Bolshevik party. It was primarily responsible for the October 1917 Revolution, as those involved with the revolution aspired to turn Russia into a communist state. The Revolution ended the rule of the Provisional Government, many factors contributed to this, including national discontent with the rule of the Provisional Government, and the idea of communism. The revolution had many consequences, such as a new communist government, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, dictatorship of the Communist party, civil war, and a New Economic Policy. Communism had a great influence on the lives of the people of Russia during this time. Communism, based on the theories of Karl Marx, was a philosophy that predicted a series of revolutions that would eventually end with communism – a classless society that advocated equality. This idea began to become popular with a group called the Social Democrats in Russia during the time of the rule of the Tsar. At that time, the lower class of Russia made up of peasants and workers, were oppressed and neglected by the autocratic Tsar, which angered them, as they made up 85-90% of the population, yet had no say in government. Thus, the idea of equality which the movement of communism presented to them was appealing. However, a split in the Social Democrats led to the formation of the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks in 1903, which was an important background event that led to the end of the rule of the Provisional Government later on. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, were the minority, but modifying Marxist theory slightly, foresaw that Russia would only have a proleterian revolution, where the workers would overthrow the bourgeoisie that controlled the wealth, than share it among the people until Russia would gradually achieve communism. The Bolsheviks believed the Revolution should be carried by the Bolsheviks alone, a small party, on behalf of the proletariat. This was unlike the Mensheviks, who wanted to gain as many members as possible. The Bolsheviks began to work to spread their views and lay the foundation for communism, as they believed it would deliver equality to Russia. It was this desire for equality that led to the Bolsheviks’ battle for power with the Provisional Government, and finally, the end of the PG’s rule. After the February 1917 Revolution (Julian Calendar), two governments were set up – the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. The Provisional Government, following the abdication of the Tsar, did introduce new reforms to Russia, but failed to address the key issues – the end to the war, the peasants’ cry for land, and food for the people. But the revolutionary Soviet maintained support of the largely unchanging PG, as it feared counter-revolution. Lenin, in Switzerland at the time, was upset by this, so returned to Petrograd in April 1917. He began to speak to soldiers and workers about his ‘April Thesis’, a list of his policies, and captured the essence of these policies with the slogan, “Peace! Bread! Land!” The people of Russia began to listen to the Bolsheviks as their policies were relevant to their desires, and the PG began to lose control of Russia. This was an important event that led to the end of PG rule, as the Bolsheviks knew that with power, they would be able to come into rule more easily. The rule of the Provisional Government finally ended with the event of the October 1917 Revolution. After gaining power for the Soviet, the Bolsheviks decided to do their anticipated revolution. Lenin and his partner, Leon Trotsky, spent time gathering support from workers and soldiers in Petrograd and Moscow. Once troops were organized, the Bolsheviks used their army, the Red Guards, to take over important parts of the city, such as the central telephone exchange, government structures, and the headquarters of the PG, the Winter Palace. There was not much resistance to the takeover; the Bolsheviks had achieved the first successful Communist Revolution in the world, and ended the rule of the Provisional Government. Following this, the Bolsheviks immediately formed the new communist government, the Soviet of Peoples Commissars, and put their policies into practice. Establishing social and economic reforms. There were many effects of this, the most prominent being the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a significant consequence of the communist revolution. Russia had backed out of the war in accordance with its policies. The Bolsheviks had believed that Germany would stage its own communist revolution through the German Prisoners of War that would take the Communist ideas back home, and that Germany would then become Russia’s partner and help them financially. But Germany continued to fight in the war, so Lenin felt he had no choice but to make peace with Germany for backing out, and this was done through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918. It had a significant influence on the lives of Russians, as Russia lost 25% land, 30% people, and 50% industry. But Lenin felt it was necessary in order to protect the communist movement. The dictatorship of the Communist party was another outcome of communism. Lenin still wanted to create an equal nation out of Russia. But he also wanted to protect his power, which contradicted many of his initial ideals. He could not stop elections for a new government, the constituent Assembly, taking place, and the Communists did not win, as many still favoured the Social Revolutionaries, which showed the differing opinions in Russia due to what seemed to be a negative influence that the communist influence was having on the people of Russia. So Lenin used the Red Guards to break up the Assembly, took control of the Soviet, abolished all other political parties, and created the Cheka, a violent police force. Lenin had come across a problem – Marxist theory had stated that the proleteriat would temporarily rule over a nation. But in Russia, Lenin realised that the uneducated proleteriat did not understand this as well as he hoped, and felt that he had to modify Marxist theory and rule over Russia in order to establish communism in the nation. But more problems were coming, as seen with the Civil War. Despite intentions to improve Russia, many were unhappy with communist rule, and a civil war struck in 1918, which clearly affected and had an influence on the lives of many at that time. Lenin set up the Red Army with conscription, to promote communism, and forced the Cheka to kill any opposition to the Government. This was the brutal Red Terror, from 1918-1922. During this time, he also introduced War Communism to keep the economy going. People were forced to work to provide the Army with food, clothing, and weapons. Businesses and factories were seized, inflation escalated, and food shortages were occurring. The Army celebrated a victory after 3 years of fighting. This showed the negative influence that Lenin’s idea of communism was having on the people of Russia, as Russia was brought to its knees, and Lenin had turned into a dictator. Lenin tried to remedy this with a new policy. Lenin’s New Economic Policy was another outcome of communism. Following the war, Lenin could see that his nation was in trouble; even some communists were unhappy with communist rule. So he introduced the NEP in 1924, which, like the start of communist rule, introduced many social and economic reforms. Some Communists felt that the NEP would allow some peasants and private businessment to become too powerful, and that this was capitalism. But Lenin countered this, saying, “We are now retreatingin order to get a better run for our longer leap forward.” And indeed, it seemed to be a positive influence in the lives of Russians, as it resulted in a drastic improvement in many aspects of Russia. Throughout all these outcomes of the communist movement, the force of Communism had the greatest influence in the lives of peasants. Before the Revolution, peasants lived in abject poverty; slums and cold, no say in their lives. But after the revolution, Lenin gave the peasants the right to own farming land – Lenin realized that this went against the communist ideology, but knew that as peasants were the majority of the population, he needed their support to achieve full communism later on. This made peasants happy, and they saw communism in a more favourable light. But with War Communism, Lenin needed to provide the Army with food, so seized most of the peasants’ grain in 1918. By 1921, the angry peasants refused to grow crops, and a food shortage occured from 1921-1922. But with the NEP, they were once again allowed to own land, which provoked in peasants a greater acceptance of communism. The lives of workers were also similarly influenced by the communist force. Before the Revolution, they, too, lived lives of poverty; but after the revolution, work conditions were improved, and they ran the factories themselves. But with war communism, these conditions became worse, and by 1921, the city workers were angry about all the unfulfilled promises the Communists had made. But with the NEP, this changed opinions again, as hours were made less, trade unions were more accepted, and they were able to choose where to work. Workers, too, became more accepting of Communism. Nobility, landowners, and factory owners were also influenced by the communist movement. Nobility lost their titles as a result of the equality ideal, landowners lost their land to the peasants which they had been denying to them for years, and factory owners lost their factories when they were put under control of elected workers’ committees. Communism meant that these groups no longer had a high standing in society. The Tsar and his wife were also influenced by communism. With the February Revolution, the Tsar, once at the head of an entire nation, had lost his title. After the October Revolution, during the civil war, the Tsar and his family were executed, Communism had ultimately lost the Tsar his rule and his life. Communism was a driving force in Russia, and was the main reason for the end of the rule of the Provisional Government. Several factors and events contributed to this end, including Marxism; national discontent, and the failure of the Provisional Government. The end of PG rule had many outcomes, including a new communist government, civil war, and a new economic policy. Throughout these outcomes, the underlying force of communism was influencing the lives of many, particularly the peasants, workers, nobility, land/factory owners, and was overall met with mixed feelings from the people of Russia. GRADE M In Russia 1917 there were many background and specific events that led to the ending of the Tsarist rule that had controlled Russia for centuries. Communism as a force triggered some of these events to cause a revolution that over threw the Tsar to put communism in its place. One of the first background events leading to the end of the autocratic ruling in Russia, was the impact WWI was having. The Russian army was failing dramatically due to lack of equipment and weapons. On top of this, were bad decisions being made by the Tsar Nicholas. After many losses, the tsar chose to leave his place at the winter palace and lead the Russian army himself. This weakened the autocratic rule because he left all of the decision making to the Tsarita and Rasputin. All of these decisions made by the Tsar, caused discontent and unrest through out Russia, creating desire for change which led to the first Revolution in March 1917 which resulted in the Tsar being forced to abdicate. The new government created, Dual power, was another background event leading towards the change of government to Communism. This was because of how much of a failure it was in Russia. The real problem was how Dual Power (which was led and set up by Alexander Kerensky) didn’t deal with urgent problems. There were things like food shortages, fuel shortages, working conditions, getting land for peasants and most importantly ending the war. Their ignorance to the more important issues in Russia, was what caused real discontent throughout the people in Russia. It created more desire for a change of government that will deal with Russians equally. Another event that led up to the change of government from Tsarist rule and Dual power to communism was the Karnilov coup in late August 1917. This event was what made the Provisional government (which is part of Dual power) look weak and the Bolsheviks look like heroes. The Bolsheviks were a revolutionary group who had been fighting for a communist revolution since their formation in 1903. General Karnilov, the commander-in-chief of armed forces in Russia, planned a counterrevolution where he was going to march into Petragrad and set up a military dictatorship strong enough crush major powers in Russia but it disintergrated before reaching Petragrad. Even so, the Bolshevik members were released from prison because of this after being put in there during the July days. As well as this the were armed, creating an army, they paraded the streets in defence of Petragrad. After this event the Bolshevik membership grew rapidly from 20,000 in February to around 200,000 in August. The Karnilov coup was a fright to Petragrad but beneficial to the Bolsheviks who then led Russia through the Nov Revolution with a lot of support to get to the stage of communism. The November Revolution was on the night of the 7th, the Bolsheviks took control of the main powers of Petrograd, the telephone exchange, the state banks and the railway lines. It was a peacefull but forcefull revolution with no violence or riots. And finally communism was in its place with the Bolsheviks leading them through. Communism as Russia’s new government, influenced many lives at the time. The peasants in Russia were a vast majority, and they were affected greatly. At first they were impressed and happy with the new government led by Lenin. One of the first reforms was for the peasants to be able to have their own land. This was something they had been fighting for their whole lives. But in 1918, a civil war broke out between the communists and anti-communists. Because of this Lenin introduced the “War Communism” policy, which is where the peasants were forced to give all of their produce to the government to supply the communist army with food (the red Army). They could keep only a small amount for themselves. As well as this, the CHEKA which is the Red Armys secret police, would target and kill any peasants suspected of keeping to much for themselves. This policy was enforcing the communist way of the government owning everything and affected the peasants negatively. Another group of people influenced by the force of communism. Like the peasants, they were satisfied with the new government also. This was because as soon as the communists were in power, one of the first reforms made was signing a peace treaty with Germany. Even though it was a humiliating loss of ¼ of Russia’s territary, it was needed to be done to save the Russian army. But then in 1918, the civil war broke out and soldiers were forced to reconscript into the red Army, the communists. The red army numbered up to 3 million and was led by Leon Trotsky who enforced harsh dicipline and respect of higher ranks. This communist war affected many soldiers who had died in it and many who had to go through it all with the horific bloody violence. In conclusion, there were many events which led up to the two changes of government in 1917, from Autocracy to Dual power, and from Dual power communism. The communist rulling influence different people in different ways some positively and others very negatively. GRADE M Vietnam entered the 20th Century as a slave to imperialism, chained and unable to escape the oppressive force of France. France exploited Vietnam’s people and resources for its own economic gain and such exploitation was the major factor in the development of the force of nationalism. Growing unity amongst the Vietnamese people and the charismatic leadership of Ho Chi Minh would eventually lead to the general uprising known as the August Revolution. This event was the first attempt at removing the French government from power but it failed. However prolonged hostilities and the First Indochina War would eventually lead to the end of the French government’s rule. These prolonged hostilities strengthened Vietnamese resolve and ensured that nationalism would remain as firm resistance to future imperialist occupation. France initially became involved in the region of Indochina in 1802 when a Vietnamese Prince Nguyen Anh asked for help in regaining his throne. The French willingly agreed and gained a military presence in Vietnam. Within 90 years all of Indochina would be under French rule. The French maintained strict political and social control through the use of military force and also exploited Vietnam economically. The French imposed absolute control over the Vietnamese political system. To maintain political control the French used the method of ‘divide and rule’ over the traditional village and provincial leaders. Tonkin and Cochinching were made colonies of the French empire while Annam had local officials but was ultimately also controlled by France. The use of local officials was a clever ploy to create a sense of freedom amongst the Vietnamese but if political stability was threatened the French military would react with brutal force. The excessive force used by the French military strengthened France’s imperialist rule and oppressed the indigenous people of Vietnam. An example of the excessive force used by the French occurred in the 1930’s in Tonkin when a local resistance group the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dong had organised a series of violent protests, assassinations and eventually a general uprising. The leaders were all quickly caught and executed and similar punishments awaited other resistance leaders. Alternatively political prisoners were held in La Maison Centrale in Hanoi. It was a horrific example of French brutality, glass shards and barbed wire lined the walls and numerous sadistic torture devices were hidden inside. Such brutality quickly created a sense of hatred towards the French occupation. Military force was also used to enforce strict social control. With the intent of completely pacifying Vietnam the French began the ‘Civilising Mission’ making the French language compulsory and introducing Catholicism. This only intensified Vietnamese hatred of the French, particularly because Christianity directly undermined their traditional Confucian beliefs. Further negative impacts included the introduction of opium, which although profitable further destroyed the moral fabric of Vietnamese society, leading to an increase in prostitution and gambling. The physical nature of Vietnam was also altered as French architecture was used in major public buildings such as the Opera House in Hanoi. However France was ultimately in Vietnam for its own economic gain. In order to take advantage of Vietnam’s vast reserves of rubber, rice and tin vast improvements had to be made to basic infrastructure so local peasants were conscripted to provide the labour to build the neccessary roads, bridges and docks. Almost all conscripts were treated poorly. In one example 12,000 workers at the Michelin rubber factory died from mistreatment. Thousands of Vietnamese were also forced off their land as the French sought to create new commercial opportunities, further disrupting the traditional family and village structures and leaving many Vietnamese suffering in poverty. Such ruthless exploitation quickly created a sense of unity amongst the Vietnamese people and it was this development that would eventually lead to the August Revolution and later the First Indochina War. The catalyst for the August Revolution occured during the Japanese occupation of Vietnam during World War Two. Faced with the mounting costs of waging war Japan turned to Vietnam to make up the shortfall in funds and resources. Consequently a food shortage developed and floods worsened the situation. The resulting famine claimed over two million Vietnamese lives and provided a further boost to the nationalist cause. With phrases such as “break open the rice stores to avert the famine” used to ensure the support of peasants. The Viet Minh (led by the charismatic Ho Chi Minh) led the August Revolution in August of 1945. Hanoi was the first city to fall on August 16 and the other major centres followed in quick succession. The culmination of the general uprising occured on September 2 when Ho Chi Minh read the declaration of independence to a crowd of cheering supporters in Hanoi. For the time being Vietnam was free from the oppression of France. However the newly formed Democratic Republic of Vietnam was not internationally recognised and with the help of China and Britain control was soon returned to the French. The failure of this first form of Vietnamese independence only strengthened the Vietnamese peoples resolve and hostilities continued, eventually escalating into the First Indochina War. Although Viet Minh were far greater in the ensuing eight years of conflict the French were the first to recognise that defeat of the Viet Mih – who had the support of the population – was near impossible. This view was further reinforced by the massacre that occured at Dien Bien Phu where a large French camp endured 55 days of bombardment from the Viet Minh. When the French finally surrendered over half the camp was dead or seriously wounded. The decisive battle of the First Indochina War had ended in humiliation for the French and back home support was rapidly waning for France to remain in Vietnam. After the defeat at Dien Bien Phu the French government effectively lost control of the nation of Vietnam and this was confirmed by the events of the Geneva Accords. Ho Chi Minh was finally awarded control of an internationally recognised state when he travelled to the Geneva Accords. The DRV would occupy the land north of the 17th parallel while the French puppet emperor Bro Dai would retain control of the south. The Vietnamese people were free to choose to live in the north or south, the first time in over a century that they were able to experience freedom of choice. The force of nationalism clearly had a major influence upon the lives of the people of Vietnam. It ended the imperialist rule of the French government, ensuring that the Vietnamese could experience life free of strict political control, suffocating social control which destroyed the culture and moral fabric of Vietnam and the ruthless exploitation that left many Vietnamese suffering in poverty. Nationalism effectively liberated Vietnam from the shackles of French imperialism. The force of nationalism clearly had its roots in decades of imperialist oppression. The people were exploited and lacked freedom. This united them in a common struggle for independence which would result in the end of the French government’s control of Vietnam after the First Indochina War. The constant struggle of the Vietnamese for independence meant that support for the force of nationalism continued to grow. Ensuring that nationalism would remain as a strong counter to future imperialist occupation. It was a counter that would be tested on numerous occasions in the years to come. GRADE M (UPGRADED FROM A) In early 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of a coalition government in the German Reichstag. It was from this position that he began his assault on Democracy. Through his actions the Democratic government of Germany was replaced by a Nazi party and Hitler dictatorship. Hitler then set out to reshape and reform the German state in accordance with the Nazi party beliefs and ideals that were essentially his own set out in Mein Kampf. Hitlers aim to gain power through the ballet box and end Democracys rule in Germany came after his failed Munich Putsch of 1923. This failed Putsch showed him that military take over of the government was less effective and more difficult than through the Reichstag (Parliament). Hitler soon rose to the top of the Nazi party and set about measures to establish it as a well organised, effective, political machine. Hitler organised massive political rallies, re-shaped the party into a more effective structure and used his impressive oratory skills to motivate and impower his audience. As a result of his leadership the Nazi party had one third of all Reichstag seats by 1933, the highest percentage of any party. Because of this the Nazi party was named in a coalition government with Hitler as Chancellor. Hitler was now confident enough to organise another election where he thought he would gain an outright majority. In the lead up to this election however the Reichstag was burnt to the ground. The “attack on German security” was quickly blamed on German communists. Hitler was quickly able to use manipulation and propaganda to exploit the German peoples fears of Communism. His methods succeded as he had the “Decree for the protection of the People” passed which allowed him to imprision any “threat” to Germany. Consequently Hitler exploited this power, locking up many communists and outspoken political opposition. With all opposition now either imprisioned or too intimidated to oppose him, Hitler passed the “Enabling Act.” This Act gave Hitler dictorial powers for the next four years. This “Act” marked the end of Democracy rule and the start of the new dictatorship that was to be established by Hitler and the Nazi party. Hitlers new goal was to now “Nazify” the German state in accordance with Nazi party beliefs and ideals. The Nazi party believed in a unified German Aryian state with “traditional” values united under Hitler as their Fuhrer. Hitler’s first step was to unify German people. Germanys foreign policy consequently became more agressive and the German army was rebuilt in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany attempted Annchluss with Austria in 1934 but failed due to opposition by Italy, however it succeded in 1938. As a result of their agressive foreign policy Germany was able to seize the Czechoslovakia area named the Sudentenland with no military opposition. The Germany people were now told to return to their “rightfull” place in society. Adult males were told to work the fields in order to provide for their family. Adult females were encouraged through the form of tax cuts, to bear and raise children. The children of Germany were educated in a system intrenched in Antisematic views and also system that focussed on physical strength and attributes. Jews within Germany were to become scapegoats for Germany’s past failure. Germans were told to boycott Jewish shops and businesses. Public beatings of Jews became common practice. The Nuremburg Laws were passed in 1935 which forbid Jews to marry Aryian Germans and denied Jews German citizenship. All these steps were leading to the “final solution” in the eyes of Hitler which was the genocide of the Jewish people. The third step was to bring all of Germany in accordance with Nazi beliefs through the political system. Trade Unions were banned as they opposed the Nazi government. Religion was also banned as it required loyalty other than the loyalty towards Hitler and Germany. All judges had to be Nazi party members and rule in accordance with Nazi views and interests. The German army also swore a personal oath to Hitler instead of to the state of Germany. The Nazi party also aimed to gain knowledge on anyone who may be anti-Germany or anti-Hitler. This was achieved through the block warden who collected gossip on every person in their area. This method resulted in a nation who obeyed the Fuhrer over even their family, it turned Germany into a ‘nation of snitches’. This however was Hitlers goal, to have extreme loyalty from his people. The government portrayed Hitler as a “superhero” who was the only man who could help Germany in its time of need. Through the decisive actions of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party the rule of Democracy came to an end. The state of Germany then was turned into one obediant to Hitlers beliefs and ideals. The German people were willing to relieve their ambitions and moral responsibility in return for national greatness promised to them by their Fuhrer Hitler. GRADE M After the abdication of the long-time autocrat of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II, a democratic government was hastily formed, led by Fredreich Ebert. The Weimar Government, as it was known, signed the treaty of Versailles causing widespread unpopularity. They were dubbed the ‘November Criminals’ and most Germans felt betrayed by the Weimar Government. Among them, a soldier, Adolf Hitler. Hitler joined the Nazi party in 1920 and by 1921 he had risen to become its leader. It was Hitler who instilled his ideals which became known as Nazism on the Nazi Party. Hitler formed the S.A. (stormtroopers) in 1922 who were, theoretically guards. In 1923 Hitler led his SA and Nazi party members to Munich where they attempted a coup. The coup was quickly dealt with – Germany was not ready for a new leader just yet. Hitler was arrested and sent to prison. The Munich Putsch, while ultimately a failure, gained the Nazi party and Hitler himself a lot of publicity. This was realised when they won seats in parliament at the next election. While in prison, Hitler wrote the book ‘Mein Kampf’ (‘My Struggle’) which, due to his now well-known name, became a bestseller. In this book Hitler outlined his ideals which, cumulated, formed the single ideal of Nazism; expansionism, social Darwinism, power of state, racism, anti-capitalism, anti-marxism, and nationalism. The Nazi Party stood united under Nazism. Also, while imprisoned, Hitler decided that for the Nazis to gain power, they had to do it legally by campaigning and winning seats in parliament. He had learnt from his failed Munich Pursch. Hitler’s unique speaking power became eminent to the public not long after he was released from prison. Hitler’s speeches preached Nazism to all those who would listen, while his SA men stood guard, intimidating those who would dare disagree with their leader. Word spread throughout the German public and many turned to Nazism as an answer to their problems. And Weimar Germany had many problems. Unemployment was high, the depression and hyper-inflation combined with reparations payments had crippled the economy. The Treaty of Versailles was a great source of bitterness and so Hitler’s nationalistic ideals were a great pulling power for ordinary Germans to believe in Nazism. The Nazis continued to gain support and Nazi propaganda convinced many to vote for them during elections. The force of Nazism had gripped many Germans and the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler were gaining power. Not unaware of this, the government was curious about Herr Hitler. The chancellor of the time, Von Papen, was very unpopular and President Hindenburg offered the position of chancellor to Hitler after Von Papen resigned. On 30th January 1933, Hitler became Chancellor. Nazism was beginning to take over. The true force of Nazism was realised when Hindenburg passed the enabling act and the emergancy decree. These acts officially made Hitler a legal dictator, and gave him the power to arrest and hold people indefinately without evidence or trial and pass laws without parliaments consent. Weimar Germany was essentially over. Nazism reigned. Hitler immediately eliminated his political opponents and set the ideals of Nazism into action. It was now that people began to feel the effects (both good and bad) of Nazism. Jews were the worst affected group, followed by social undesirables (disabled, alcoholics, gypsies etc) and communists. These groups suffered the brutal hand of Nazism. Jews were declared aliens in Germany, they couldn’t marry ‘Germans’, they couldn’t hold certain jobs (e.g. education, civil service jobs) and they were subject to public humiliations. The mentally disabled were ‘euthanised’ and many were steralised. Gypsies were forced to register and settle. And finally, over six million were sent to ‘death camps’. On the other side, Aryan Germans were treated as superior, Germans were told that they were special, unemployment was at an all-time low and almost everyone loved their Fuhrer, Hitler. Children were moulded into perfect German citizens; school textbooks were re-written to adhere with Nazism and young people joined the Hitler youth movement. They learnt that Jews were evil people, that Communists had caused the problems that Germany had faced in the 1920’s and they learnt about Nazism. Nazism overthrew the Weimar government through the Nazi leader, Hitler. He instilled Nazism into Germany and the effect on the people was great. Some suffered, some prospered but in the end, Nazism failed. Many still believe in Nazism today, and one wonders what could happen if Nazism becomes a leading force in today’s world. Could we potenially relive the horrors of Nazi Germany? GRADE M During the 1920’s, 1930’s and `1940’s, the Nazis were an important force. Their influence and power was seen through the Weimar Republic and into their own Nazi State. However, the Nazi’s did not come into complete power until the 1930’s, when the Weimar government collapsed. From the time of the beginning of the Weimar through to their end, they faced many situations that shook the support they had. Meanwhile, towards the end of the Weimar reign, the Nazi party began to influence people’s lives, gaining support and votes, so that when time was up for the Weimar, the Nazi’s were there to take their place. The Weimar Republic was founded after the end of World War 1. Immediately they faced problems – people didn’t want them, people didn’t want democracy and, the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles was probably their first big mistake, although the mistake could not be avoided with international pressure, the Weimar signed the Treaty, and in doing so lost great support. Over the next four years, the Weimar faced problem after problem – Hyper-inflation, occupation of the Ruhr, Munich Putsch and countless uprisings. Life for the Weimar had not got off to a great start. However, the late 1920’s were years of good and prosperity for Germany, and the Weimar. Things were looking up until 1929, when the Great Depression hit, and the Weimar began their downward spiral. Economic and social life went down, while on the political side, a new party, the Nazi’s, began to also prove problomatic. With the Weimar unable to climb out of its hole, the Nazis began to rise in power. By 1933, the Nazi’s and their leader, Adolf Hitler, had become the leading political figure. Hitler was, after much time, appointed Chancellor, and even managed to obtain the Enabling Act, which granted him emergency presidentual powers. All this was trouble for the Weimar, and was their beginning of the end. It took one more major event for the Weimar to crumble – the death of Hindenburg. Although the Nazis had a majority of power, they did not have complete power. In 1934, this changed. President Hindenburg died, and Hitler announced he was the new president. Along with his power of Chancellor, Hitler gave himself the new title of Fuhrer. He was now supreme ruler. With President Hindenburg the last Weimar authorative, his death was the end of the Weimar and the end of an era. Throughout this time, the Nazi’s had been influencing people’s lives. The Nazi’s influenced people’s lives by playing on their emotions of current and past events. Through the use of events such as the Treaty of Versailles, in which the Nazi’s blamed the Weimar for, the Nazi’s promised to go against the Treaty, which played on people’s anger towards it. By firing them up and then promising people what they wanted to hear, the Nazi’s influenced people’s lives by playing on their emotions. The Nazi’s also influenced people’s lives through the use of propoganda. The Nazi’s campaigned through poster’s, radio, books, cinema, rallies and functions to get their message across. This then ensured that all people heard them, and gave them their support. So, propoganda was a way the Nazi’s influenced people’s lives. One of the main influences the Nazi’s had on people’s lives though was that they were changing the system of their lives. The Weimar had been a democracy, yet the Nazi’s were aiming for total control – a dictatorship. This had an influence on people’s lives as before the Weimar had been the dictatorship of the Kaiser. Many people liked the Kaiser’s dictatorship and had not wanted him to abdicate. With the Nazi’s showing signs of returning to a dictatorship, they influenced people’s lives by giving a sense of hope that things would be in a Nazi dictatorship as good as they had been in the Kaiser’s dictatorship. The Weimar government faced many events and struggles that would eventually result in its downfall. Even before its collapse, the Nazi’s began their progression towards power, creating events that helped in the Weimar’s departure. Throughout this time, they also influenced people’s lives, gaining support so that when the Weimar disappeared, they were ready to begin their terrifying reign. GRADE M In 1933, Germany, the Weimar Republic came to an end. The rule was taken over by the Nazi Party as Hitler was appointed as Chancellor and later the Furer of Germany. After the German Kaiser was thrown over after World War 1, a democratic government was set up in Germany, known as the Weimar Republic. However, it didn’t last. Representational Democracy allowed extremist minority groups such as Nazis or Spartacists to have seats in the parliament and Weimar Republic’s failure to solve Germany’s economic problems arising from the Treaty of Versailles and Germany’s assumed war-guilt reparation fee, and an even bigger economic blow caused by the USA stock-market collapse in 1929 resulting in the big depression, ended with a dictatorship by Hitler and the Nazi Party. In 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany as he promised to solve its economic problems. President Hindenburg allowed this to happen as he thought that he would be able to control Hitler due to his lack of experience. However, after the Reitstag Fire in July 1933 Hitler was able to take advantage of article 48, giving all power into the hands of one leader in case of emergency. The incident was blamed on the communists and calling emergency Hitler installed the Enabling Act. Thus Weimar Republic has ended as President Hindenburg was already dead. After the Enabling Act Hitler banned all opposition. The Nazi Party became the only party in the State. Opposition such as communists were crushed, Trade Unions were banned, people lost many of their freedoms such as freedom of press. People were indoctrinated with Nazi propoganda, youth groups such as Hitler Youth were formed to educate children in a Nazi way, books not according to Nazi policy were burned, teachers that did not teach according to Nazi methods were arrested or shot. Another outcome of the event was the oppression and eventually the killing of the Jews. Also amongst those to be killed were handicaps and homosexuals. Concentration camps were set up by an ellite Nazi group – the SS. The SS could also arrest and execute people without trial. Eventually Hitler’s rule led to taking over of the Rhine, 1936, the invasion of Czechoslovakia and later Poland in 1938, that led to outbreak of World War II. In conclusion, Weimar Republic ended with Hitler’s dictatorship in 1933. This was a result of its incompetence in solving Germany’s economic problem and in development of extremist parties. The outcomes of the event were devastating loss of rights and lifes for people in Germany, and those beyond it as a result of World War II. GRADE A Britain took control of India in the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s they were opposed by Indian nationalists. The campaigns led by the Indians led to the end of Britain’s rule in India. Imperialism effected the lives of people in India politically, socially and economically. Imperialism is when a country takes control of colonys to make an empire, detrimentally or in competition with other empires. In the 1600s, the British set up the East India Trading Company. This trading company allowed the British to get into India. The Indians did not suspect the British of anything and welcomed them to India. Britain began to slowly take control of India and by the nineteenth century had full control and India became an colony of the British empire. The British set up the Indian Civil Service in the early 1900s, the discrimination against Indian membership was a leading event towards Indian Nationalism and the end of the British rule. For an Indian to recieve membership into the Civil Service they had to be educated in the British schools in India. Most Indians could not afford to pay the fees for the British schools and there weren’t enough schools for the population. Therefore, there were never many British educated Indians. Sometimes they had to sit the tests in English and these tests were in English, this also brought down the number of Indians in the service. In fact only five percent of the Indian Civil Service were Indian. The Indians that did get into the Service were never given a high ranking and would be treated badly. Another event that led to the end of British law in India was the introduction of the Rowlatt laws. These laws indirectly stated that the British had control over India and could call in the Indian Army at anytime to control restless areas. These laws were also discriminative against Indians as they stopped the Indian people from having any political control. Indians were not allowed to vote. Gandhi began a hartal to protest against the Rowlatt laws, and was imprisoned. A hartal is when all Indian shops and businesses close for a day. In Amritsar, a part of the Punjab state, a protest was organised to oppose Gandhi’s arrest. The Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, O’Dwyer, believed that the Punjab was a particularly restless state so he had called in the Indian army. The Rowlatt laws were the background factor which led to the Amritsar Massacre in April 1919. The massacre was a turning point in the Indian people’s views towards the British in India. The Indian army called in by O’Dwyer, was led by General Dyer. Dyer had been told to read an order stating that “no group of more than four men must gatherthe army will use whatever measures to gain control”, however, he did not read the order in the Jallianwalla Bagh, in Amritsar, even though he believed protest was going to occur there. On April the fourteenth, thousands of Indians gathered in the Bagh. Most were celebrating the Sikh holy day and were sicialising. A very small number were talking about the British. No-one was armed and there were men, women and children in the Begh. Dyer and the Indian army blocked all the exits and Dyer ordered his men to shoot for ten minutes. Three hundred and seventy nine people were killed and Indian nationalism rose. The nationalists continued to protest against the British rule until the British left India in 1947. Imperialism politically influenced the lives of the Indians as they were given no political freedom. Indians who were able to recieve the strict membership into the Indian Civil Service were not allowed to gain any of the high ranks. This was the same with the Indian Army and the Indian police forces. Due to the Rowlatt laws Indians were refused the chance to vote and could not recieve any high position in the Indian government. All the high positions in India and those who controlled India, in England, were all British, like the Secretary of State, the Viceroy and his governors and the Lieutenant-Governors of each state. All the judges and lawyers were British. The British indirectly controlled the princely states. The people had no political freedom due to imperialistic actions of the British. The British imperialists economically influenced the Indian people’s lives. During World War One, when the need for indigo decreased, the British land owners increased the rents on the land that Indian peasants worked on in Chemipevan. After the war, when indigo was needed, the landowners kept the high rent in place and kept all the profit they gained to themselves. The British made it illegal to manufacture salt, they also produced a salt tax on the salt that was bought. Salt was a necessity to the Indian diet, so the Indians believed that the tax was unfair. During World War One, the British exported all the wheat made over to Britain, leaving the peasants who needed the wheat to survive, were left starving. Imperialism produced a social gulf between the Indians and the British. Most Indians were used to living in areas were they were classified as equals, “my parents never lived in a place where they were unequal to everyone else.” However, the British believed that the Indians were uncivilised and inferior to them. The British had all white golf clubs, like the Calcutta Golf Club, where Indians were only allowed to work as waitors or cleaners. Indians became servants to the British and were photographed fanning a British judge or working a large fan in a British lounge. The British employed Imperialism to gain control of India in the nineteenth century, however due to many nationalistic events and protests the British rule ended in 1947. Imperialism politically, economically and socially influenced the lives of Indian people. GRADE A During the Russian Revolution a powerful force that helped Tsar Nicholas II’s downfall was Autocracy. The Tsar ruled Russia by decree meaning that he alone had the power and right to make laws and the people of Russia had no say in the matter. A number of events helped cause the Tsars fall from power. One was the RussoJapanese war of 1904-05. Japan attacked Russia both at sea and on land and defeated the Russians heavily. In the end Russia lost and had to make peace with the Japanese, this caused unpopularity of the Tsar with the people. During the war there was a revolution against the Tsar and many civilians were shot outside the Tsars winter Palace in St. Petersburg. This caused more dislike for the Tsar. When World War 1 broke out in 1914 Russia declared war on Germany and AustriaHungary becoming one of the allies. When this happened the Tsar was more popular than ever but as the war went on and so did the defeats the Tsar became more unpopular, especially after he took command of the military personally so he was blamed for the defeats. The final straw was the 1917 Revolution where the Bolshevik party over threw the Russian government and the Tsar’s days of ruling Russia were over. During the Tsars rule Russia was the only Absolute Monarchy left in Europe and the ordinary people in Russia were sick of it. Their neighbouring countries had at least some form of elected government but Russia lagged behind. Despite the creation of the Duma they still wanted more freedoms than under the Autocracy. People in the countryside also wanted land which they had been given by the Tsars father Alexander III but at a price. Now they wanted to get rid of the Autocratic Government and start a new with a better government that was not so oppressive. In conclusion Autocracy was an important factor in the downfall of Nicholas II and also heavily influenced ordinary peoples lives in Russia at the time. GRADE A The November revolution 1917 is arguably one of the most important events in world history. It resulted in the forming of a new socailist state in Russia. There were many background events which led to the end revolution in Russia and the overthrowing of the Provisional Government. The resulting Bolshevik government had enormous affect on the people of Russia in their economic and millitery policies. In 1917, the legal government in Russia was the Provisional Government which came into power after the Tsar abdication. Russia was however being literally governed by two parties, was under Dual Power. These two parties were the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soveit. The Petrograd Soveit had important control over the army so the Provisional Government could not get anything done without the Soviet. At first these two parties agreed on most issued but gradually a rift developed based around an important issue, World War One. In 1917 World War One was not going all too well for the Russian army. They had suffered many embarassing losses against the German army. Public opinion began to go against the war. The Petrograd Soviet agreed with this and they wanted all Russian involvement in the war to stop. The Provisional Government however wanted to continue involvement. With the two governments argueing with each other it was only a matter of time before there was conflict. Kerensky, head of Provisional Government appointed General Kornilov as minister of war. Kornilov however had different ideas to how the country should be run and planned to march on the Winter Palace. Kerensky paniced and turned to Lenins Bolsheviks to help him. The Bolsheviks were a growing party gaining increasing support at the time. Kerensky armed the Red Gard, (millitery wing of Bolsheviks). Kornilovs troops however failed to reach the palace as railway workers refused to transport the troops. The damage however had been done as now the Bolsheviks were now seen as the protecters of the Russian people. Their popularity soared. The Red Gaurd also ‘failed’ to return the rifles given to them. The Bolsheviks were now armed and ready for revolution. Lenin returned from hiding and Finland and urged the Bolshevik leaders that the time was right to seize control. They agreed and in November 1917 the Bolsheviks took strategic points in Petrograd. They eventually stormed the Winter Place and found almost no resistance. Many of the palace allowed the Bolsheviks to go through. In an almost bloodless affair the Provisional government was overthrown and a new Socailist State was formed. Bolshevik beliefs originated from the beliefs of Karl Marx. Marx believed that every country was on the road to communism and that once the proletariat was overthrown there would be little need for governments. The Bolsheviks believed that for them to be in total control over Russia there must be no opposition. They used the Cheka, their secret police to eradicate any open opposition to the Bolsheviks. Opposition was either exiled or even murdered. The Bolsheviks used terror to force the people into believing in their cause. This meant that people had a lack of civil liberties. Bolsheviks also believed that for communism to work they must have complete control over the enemy. The government took over industry and told farmers what to make. If people refused to give their food to the state then the Cheka was used to seize all holdings. Farmers therefore refused to grow as much food which resulted in a famine which killed millions of Russian people. The Bolsheviks 1917 revolution was an extremely important event. It caused an overthrow of the Weimer Republic and a communist state being formed. Bolshevik policy also had a great effect on the lives of the Russian people for many years after. GRADE A The background and events of the Reichstag Fire led to the end of President Hindenburg’s rule in Germany during the time of Nazi Germany. At this time, the historical force of Fascism was related to these events and had an influence on people’s lives at the time. The force of Fascism is said to have started in Mussolini’s Italy, and had also moved on to Spain. Adolf Hitler also used fascism, adding some of his own characteristics. Some of the key features of fascism included having a dictatorial leader, being right wing and putting the country before the individual. President Hindenburg was the president of Germany at the time when Hitler was trying to get into power. Though Hitler’s Nazi Party was gaining popularity at this point, it still did not have enough. Hitler had once been offered the role of viceChancellor but declined, saying he wanted to be a Chancellor. He got his chance when one of Hindenburg’s friends, General von Schleicher tried to get the president to sack Franz von Papen and make him a Chancellor. Franz von Papen heard about this, and persuaded President Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor. Hitler was sworn in as a Chancellor of Germany on January the 30th 1933. On the 27th of February 1933, a week before the general elections, the Reichstag building was set on fire. Found at the scene was a young Dutch communist, who claimed he started the fire. Hitler used this to his advantage, and claimed that this was the start of a communist revolution in order to gain more support. Although Hitler did gain more support from the Reichstag Fire in the elections he only got 44% of the vote which was not the two-thirds majority needed in order to come to power. However, on March 23rd Hitler made the Enabling Act. This gave him dictatorial powers for four years but could also be renewed. All but one of the parties voted to pass the Enabling Act. When President Hindenburg died, Hitler was also given his presidential powers. This meant it was the end of Hindenburg’s rule, and the end of Weimar Germany. At this time, Fascism had an influence on people’s lives. In order to try to gain support from the people, propaganda was produced. This propaganda glorified Germans and the Aryan race and was used to make Germans feel superior. Another way Fascism influenced people’s lives was after the Reichstag Fire. The Nazi Party used the Communist revolution threat to their advantage in order to arrest any communists. Police had permission to tap phones and search through letters in order to find communists. This had an influence on people’s lives as if they knew any communists, then they may have been suspected. In conclusion, the background and events of the Reichstag Fire led to the end of President Hindenburg’s rule in Germany, and the force of Fascism had an influence on people’s lives by using propaganda, and arresting people who were or had connections with communists. GRADE A Ngo Ding Diem was the leader of the government of South Vietnam for only four years. After the establishment of his government in 1954 following the Geneva Conference. Diem worked tirelessly to secure his position, and still failed, even with America’s support due to a number of factors + specific events. The force of Nationalism demanded that South Vietnam be united with the North and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a formidible foe. The Viet Cong, or the “National Liberation Front” had a strong presence in Sth Vietnam + used subversion to undermine Diem’s regime. Diem’s government did not have the support it needed to survive against the force of Nationalist Communism. The history of Vietnam leading up to Diem’s rule had a significant impact. The Vietnamese were a patriotic people who had fought long + hard against the imperialist French to reunite Vietnam as a free, independent nation. This goal had nearly been achieved in the August revolution in 1945, but due to foreign powers intervention it was not so. After more fighting – the 1st Indochina War and then Dien Bien Phu, the French + the Vietnamese were forced to reach a peace settlement at the Geneva Conference, 1954. Here, French Colonialism ended and the nation of Vietnam was divided into Nth Vietnam and Sth Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, with Ho Chi Mihn given government of the North, and Ngo Dinh Diem given control of the South. In the place of French soldiers, Ameria pledged herself to establishing + supporting Diem’s regime in the Sth as strong anti-communist dominance. The influence this had on people’s lives was profound, with the changing of borders and power, and also the introduction of American culture, such as Coca Cola which is still today popular in Vietnam. Diem attempted to secure his position through the elimination of his rivals. His political competition was strong, with two parties of 2 million people and 1.5 million people plus armies. Diem used American funding to bribe his opponents, and executed a series of military offensives in the streets of Saigon which subdued all opposition. The Emperor of Vietnam, Vao Dai was eliminated through Diem staging a referendum and Diem appointed himself the new Prime Minister, President and Minister of Defense. He also dealt harshly with the criminal syndicate ‘Binh Xuyen’ who controlled the police, using American funds again in battling threats to his power. The result of this was that people living in South Vietnam had none of the political power they desired and the government of the DRV looked for more attractive in comparison. Diem’s Regime placed huge restrictions on the way that his subjects could live. Public meetings were barred and newspapers + books censered. The punishment for being a communist was death and for association with communists you faced a life sentence with hard labour. Thousands were executed. Diem promoted his family members into key positions in the government and relied on his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu’s support heavily. Nhu founded the only political party in Diems regime, the Can Lao. The party had spies everywhere + was a means of control for Diem. Nhu’s wife promoted herself to ‘first lady’ and worked to outlaw things which opposed her catholic beliefs. Gambling, prostitution, cock wrestling and other common practices amongst the Vietnamese people were outlawed. Because of the way Diem was using American funds, the USA began to disapprove of Diem’s Regime and withdrew some of their support. At the Viet Cong became stronger, with more support amongst the people, Diem began to withdraw from his position. Nhu took over the government as Diem went into hiding upon the occurance of the Viet Cong Rebellion. Diem’s Regime ended and his government failed to last the distance as the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong began to rise up against it. War broek out between North + South Vietnam in the 1960s and lasted for decades before reunification was finally achieved. The support from America diminished with Diem’s popularity and also with the mounting number of American casualties in the war. The South Vietnamese Army wouldn’t fight the North Vietnamese Army deserting instead, and South Vietnam was reunited with Nth Vietnam in 1975. The influence on people’s lives was once again the disruption of lives through war, changing balance of power and the gaining of political power for the Sth Vietnamese after reunification occured. The Nationalist Movement in Vietnam, which was influenced greatly by communism, gave Vietnamese people something to fight for. It promoted a unified Vietnam with independence from foreign powers + the ability to govern its own affairs, along with the very appealing ideal of communism for the peasant majority of Vietnam. Those who didn’t wish to be included in the new united communist Vietnam left the country and those who supported it stayed. The Viet Cong’s oppression under Diem’s regime, and the opression of all his subjects led to widespread dissatisfaction with Diem’s regime which resulted in its failure to withstand the force of Nationalist Communism. The desire of people to have political influence in equality was too great. The Viet Cong Rebellion was the last straw + when war broke out between Nth Vietnam + Sth, Diem’s regime crumbled. GRADE N From the very beginning, when the Weimar government of social democrats was formed there was resistant opposition. Germans did not know what democracy was, so political opposition they felt betrayed by government who had signed harsh treaty of Versailles. Also even though there was a period of support and peace in Weimar Republic, it was abruptly ended by devastating Great Depression and death of Stressemann. This saw the beginning of the end of the Weimar Republic and a wave of Nationalist power began to take over. Firstly Germans were, for obvious reasons, angered by their defeat in WW1. They were even more angered that a new socialist democratic government was forced upon them. They became known as Weimar government. They did not have a good beginning to start with as Germany had not previously been ruled by a democratic government so opposed anything new. Also, even though the Socialist democrats leader had to sign Treaty of Versailles or have another war, signing the Treaty was seen as an absolute betrayl by the German people. Political opposition, therefore became very widespread and common. The first uprising was the Spataerst uprising, which were the communists. It was well known that many feared great of communism so when Ebert (first Weimar Republic president) appointed to the Feukops (right wing party) to take action, they obliged, but not in support of the social democrats but because in that case they had the same cause, so far, of communism. However when the Feukops themselves decided to rebel against the government and take over, Ebert was then freed to appeal to the public. Luedity then decided to co-operate and a workers strike ended his Kapp Putsch in 1920. So even though the uprisings were dealt with, never-theless the fact that there was such strong opposition was not a good sign for the new government. As if uprisings and ‘Putschs’ were not enough, there were also political assassinations due to hatred of the November criminals. The members of parliament who had signed the treaty of Versailles were known as November criminals as treaty signed in November. So the social democrats were off to a bad start but when the reperations were introduced in 1921 at 6.6 billion pounds this only caused more unrest and weakened the German economy that was already severly struggling. Hyper inflation resulted when Ruhr was invaded by French and Belgian troops as the Germans would not pay reparations. Matters only seemed to be getting worse. Extremists were easily gaining support and Social Democratic Weimar Government was slowly declining. Luckily, in 1923 a new chancellor Stressemann made matters better. He got rid of French and Belgian troops, signed treaties like Locano Treaties and was able to reduce expenditure by a ¼. So in the 1920’s while Strettemann was chancellor there was little support for extremists, therefore the Nazi Party’s Munich Putsch was unsuccessful. The years Stressemann was chancellor were known as the Golden 20’s which speaks for itself. When the Great Depression and Stressemann’s death both hit the Weimar Republic in 1929, this opened the path for the Weimar to finally take action. They campaigned about the policies of reducing unemployment, rebuilding Germany’s economy, army and making it a major world power yet again. This gained them a lot of support. By 1932 they were the largest single party. This was alarming to Hindenburg, the President who could see that there was widespread support for Nazis, and Hitler. Thinking that he could control Hitler if he kept him closer, Hindenburg had Hitler Chancellor in 1933. When Hitler became Chancellor this was a major sign of the end of the Weimar government and the social democrats – Nationalism began to dominate the country and the Nazis use of propaganda including Nuremberg etc, only seemed to make the Nazis more popular. One of the most important things that showed Hindenburg’s initial idea of being able to control Hitler was rong, was when Hitler used the Enabling Act. This gave Hitler the power to invoke laws without consent from the President or the Reichstag. One of the laws passed was a ban on introduction of new political ??. This showed Nazis domination was not about to end anytime soon. The death of Hindenburg in August 1934, was the last event that officially ended the Weimar Republic and began the rule of Nationalistic dictatorship of Nazi state. The Nazis had been able to get rid of communist opposition by using Emergency ?? when Kerchstag Fire was blamed on communists and also sending them to concentration camps. The Weimar’s Republic had finished, Hitler and the Nazis took over instantly. In conclusion there are a number of factors including opposition of government, economic problems like hyperinflation and great depression, and the terms of the treaty of Versailles which led to the end of the Weimar Government. The wave of Nationalism from the Nazis and Hitler were the factors that influenced or forced the end of the Weimar Government. The people of Weimar Government were only happy while Stresseman was Chancellor but otherwise they disliked the Weimar. There was widespread support for Nazis so when they came to power this was good news for normal Germans but for minority groups and Jews, Nazis coming to power led to their deaths or persecution. It really depends what point of view you look at it from but mainly for normal Germans, Nazis coming to power brought about revival of German pride and patriotism. GRADE N Nationalism is the desire and actions of people with common bonds to be united and independent. It is made up of a common history, religion and language. The people of Serbia were one such example of a Nationalistic group who felt a sense of loyalty to their Nation state. Their main rival to their existence was Austria-Hungary who wanted their destruction to stop their empire from crumbling. This rivalry would eventually result in the end of leader’s rule Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The outcome of this event would cause World War ! in Europe. This essay will discuss the background and events that led to the end of this leaders rule over the Balkan States. I will also discuss how the historical force of nationalism had an influence on people’s lives at this time? The formation of Serbian Nationalism over hundreds of years was a key backgrond influence that led to the end of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Serbia was finally recognised as ain independent state by the congress of Berlin in 1878. However it had taken hundreds of years for Serbian Nationalism to be formed. As early as the 6th Century BC the Serbs had existed in the Balkan Peninsula and had already accepted Christianity as a common religion by the 9th Century. By 1346 the Serbian Empire was the most powerful in all the Balkan Peninsula. However through the 1459 Turkish invasions Serbia was severally weakened and was completely controlled by the Byzantine Empire. It took until the congress of Berlin until Serbia was recognised as an independent state. Serbia could once again begin to grow within their own nation. The struggles and successes faced by the Serbian people led to a growth in the desire for national security. This largely shaped the way the country was won as the Serbs knew the influence a colonising force could have on their nation. This would have large implications for Austria-Hungary who wanted the destruction of Serbia. The weakening of Austria-Hungary and the growing conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbian Nationalism was a background influence that caused the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The already weak empire had less than half its population 50 million people belonging to two racial groups. This meant that over half the population in Austria-Hungary was made up of a collection of smaller racial groups. Austria-Hungary feared that if the Serbs within their empire were able to break free this would encourage other ethnic groups to demand “nationalism”. This threat of nationalism towards Austria-Hungary caused peoples lives to be influenced. This was especially evident in the smaller ethnic groups in Austria-Hungary. Many of these groups lost power and status and were to become increasingly controlled by Austria-Hungary. Therefore the fact that the southern Slavs were the most relentless caused Austria-Hungary to take action, leading to the Bosnian Crisis which was a background event that caused the end of an individual leader. The Bosnian Crisis was the first background even that caused Serbian Nationalism to be heightened to an extreme level. The crisis began by the upcoming of a “Nationalistic” group in Turkey called the ‘Young Turks’. Their main objective was to recreate the old Turkish Empire to its former glory. What made Austria-Hungary nervous was that they would try to recover the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina which had been administered by Austria-Hungary since 1878 congress of Berlin. Austria-Hungary believed that these were needed to halt Nationalism and began to strive for annexation. Serbia also felt a common connection with these two states. They both shared the same Orthodox religion so Serbia also looked for annexation. Austria-Hungary seeing a need to act quickly met with the Russian Foreign Minister Isvolsky. He returned to grant annexation in return for free access to the straits at Constantinople. However before the deal could be supported by Britain and France, Austria had already annexed the states. Russia feeling cheated called for a conference. However Austria-Hungary refused siding with their Germanic ally. The end of the crisis saw Russia, now disconted, knowing that she would never again side against her Serbian friends. Another key backgrond factor that resulted from the Bosnian Crisis was Serbian Nationalistic organisations being set up to play an increased impact on people’s lives. In particular was the Narodna Odbrana group who influenced the Serbian people to feel national self awareness and through propaganda caused the Serbs to take great nationalistic pride in their nation. The nationalistic organisation Narodna Odbrana also worked to get the Balkan Peninsula ready for war. This would help in the next background factor the Balkan League. The formation of the Balkan League in March 1912 gave the Serbs increased strength. The resulting first Balkan war would give the Serbs with more land and be yet another background factor that caused the end of an individual rule. By 1912 the countries of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro decided to forget their differences, and join together in an alliance called the Balkan League. There league was put to the test in October 1912 when Turkey was almost completely driven out of Europe in 7 weeks. Austria-Hungary looking on felt nervous and was even more alarmed at how Serbia had grown into the strongest of the Balkan states. At the London Peace Conference on 20th of December 1912 Austria-Hungary pushed for the creation of Albania to stop Serbia having access to a coastline port. Thwarted in nationalistic goals this event caused even more tension between these two states. This conflict would cause the people in Serbia to resent Austria-Hungary and look for ways to get her back. The force of Nationalism began to influence people’s lives in areas of the Balkan Peninsula. In particular was the old Turkish province of Thrace who would now become subjected to Serbian Nationalism and its form of control. Although accepted by most some Balkan states began to get disconted with this arrangement for example Bulgaria. The Second Balkan War was a key background even that led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war saw Serbia once again grow in size and stature as the transfer of power increasingly moved towards the Serbian goal of one south Slave kingdom. After the peace conference of 1912 Bulgaria began to get disconted with the amount of Bulgarians living in other countries. Therefore in June 1912 the implications of this event was World War 1 which broke out in August 1914. On the 23rd of July an ultimatum was sent by Austria-Hungary to Serbia and on the 28th war was delared on Serbia. The rest of the powers were then drawn in to help their Serbian friends or Austria. It influenced people’s lives as it was the biggest war the world had scene and caused much loss of live. Overall, Serbian Nationalism caused the end of Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was an leader. This assassination did not arise from one event but took many background factors to highten Serbian Nationalism until even murder was committed for the good of a greater Serbia. Nationalism also had a great impact on peoples lives throughout Europe at this time. GRADE N In the early 20th century after the defeat of Germany in World War I the Wiemar republic was formed. It was supposed to make Germany a better place but instead it made Germans angry and disatisfied. After many failures, the Wiemar republic was overthrown by the Nazi’s. The Wiemar republic was formed in the city of Wiemar. It was the new government and according to it’s leaders it would make life for Germans much easier during the depression. However the Wiemar Republics attempts to solve the depression were not seen as good and they added to the depression’s problem. The Wiemar Republic thought that the solution to the Depression was to limit peoples money and work. They wanted unemployment benefits to be lowered more money to be printed and taxes to be raised. This wasn’t seen as good because instead of solving the problem it would have made the matter worse. When the Nazi Party heard of the Wiemar Republics actions they were outraged as they knew what their actions would do to the country as well. In order for these actions not to take place the Wiemar Republic needed to be thrown out of Government. The Nazi’s succeeded this in 1933 by winning the national elections. The Mazis gained more votes by stating that the Wiemar republic was bad and they had many ways to cure Germany of the Depression, which were successful. The influences that the Wiemar Republic had on German lives were not good. Because the Wiemar Republic wanted tax raises, unemployment benefit cuts and more money printed it would make life for Germans much harder. Because Germany had so many unemployed it made sense to lower the unemployment benefit to save more money however people who were unemployed would become poorer because less money would be given to them and they can’t find a job. Raising taxes was also a bad idea but the Government needed money desperately to repay loans. Raising taxes meant less money for Germans and more poor and homeless everywhere. If people had less money they would find it difficult to maintain a home and get to work which would add to the already massive unemployment problem Germany already had. The Wiemar Republics other idea was to print more money. Last time extra money was printed in Germany it lead to inflation. Prices were so high that people could barely afford to by one egg. Money became so useless during inflation that it was often burnt to start ovens. People were bringing a barrow-load of German Mark’s to buy a single pair of shoes. The influence these actions had on Germans was not good because it just made the problem harder for them. In conclusion the Wiemar publics rule on Germany was not good and the actions they had proposed just added to the already bad problem during the Depression. They wanted to raise taxes, cut unemployment benefits and print more money. This wasn’t the answer to solve the depression and the Nazis’ had better views for the people of Germany which is why the Wiemer republic was thrown out of German government. GRADE N The October Revolution in Russia in 1917 was successful. It was the result of both short and long problems in Russia. The revolution won by the Bolsheviks believed in communism as it was their driving force. This victory led Lenin under Russia’s leadership. Russia had a combined development and a ruler who were not supported by everyone. Karl Marx, a German philosopher had theories known as ‘communism’. He believed that a revolution was inevitable in every country. Everyone who believed and supported him were called ‘communists’. All communists wanted an equal country, where all wealth are shared and there’s no privately owned property. Karl believed that workers should become rebels. After Lenin was exiled he started to plan a revolution. The social classes were the peasants, workers, bourgeoisie and intelligentsia. 85 percent of Russia’s people were peasants. They wanted a better living condition and a decrease on their taxes as the government didn’t give them a lot of money for working. The urban workers wanted a better working condition and an increase on their pay. The bourgeoisie had only few rights but the intelligentsia wanted the right to vote. All classes started little protests or joined revolutionary groups. The urban workers were the people who got involved in ‘Bloody Sunday’, when they raided bread shops and harassed the shop owners. Russia was a very big country which was covered by ‘taiza’. The Arctic Circle was pretty much frozen. This country is too cold that it’s not good for farming. Only 5 percent of people lived in the area where it was not too cold therefore it was good for farming. However, for the rest of the country due to its climate effects, bad harvest led to starvation. Discontent people started revolutionary groups. The opposition included the Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democrats. They believed in communism, everything has to be shared. All their aims had something to do with the Tsar. They wanted him to redistribute the land or persuade him to share some of his wealth and power. The Tsar didn’t pay attention to their request. The opposition members wanted a revolution or to overthrow the Tsar. In March 1917 the intelligentsia wanted a constituent assembly. They wanted to set a new form that would put them in charge of governing Russia. They held a Duma meeting led by Rodzianko, disobeying the Tsar. Duma formed ‘Provisional Committee’ and the revolutionaries formed ‘Petrograd Soviet’. These groups wanted to overthrow the Tsar. Discontentment was also increasing. Bolsheviks gained many supports while Kerensky and Provisional Committee lose authority. Lenin, after being exiled planned a revolution that would be led by the Bolsheviks. In November 7, the winter palace was stormed by the Bolsheviks, urban workers and the Red Terrors. The Tsar with his family were harassed. The Tsar surrendered. The Bolsheviks seized power. Lenin gained leadership as soon as he was control, he started planning on new and improved strategies on how to make Russia a better and safe place. He started “Sovietakom”. This was his new order of decrees on land, peace, workers, unemployment, marriage, etc. Lenin, without any doubt, was a better leader than the Tsar. He did not want to become the ruler of the country just because he wanted money and power. Lenin believed in communism, everything to be shared equally. Today, Russia is still a strong communist country. The background of the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 was successful in terms of changing Russia for the better. The Bolsheviks and Lenin strongly believed in communism that they did everything they could to make Russia a communist country. Up until today communism remains in Russia.