Revision Advice for Year 11

Introduction to the summer exams

You soon will be embarking upon your final GCSE exams. It is worth 25% of your final grade so it is very important that you perform to the best of your ability.

To help you revise effectively the History Department has produced this revision pack to help you. Because of the nature of the course most of your revision for the exams will take place during the holiday period and in the first few weeks of the Summer term. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that you have the self-discipline and maturity to organise your revision schedule effectively. It is recommended that you revise in intense 30-minute bursts rather than watching TV for a few hours with a book on your lap. Plan what topic you intend to revise before you start. Focus on those areas where you know you are weak. Everybody revises in different ways. Make notes, flashcards. Construct flow charts and diagrams, record your voice reciting key facts and dates. Get together with a friend and discuss issues and test each other. Generally, just reading notes is not as effective.

You will sit one History paper during the exam.

Paper One Unit 2 Germany 1918-39.

Below is a breakdown of the main topics that you do need to revise. Tick them off as you cover them.

Unit 2, Germany 1918-39

·  The impact of World War One upon Germany

·  The Treaty of Versailles and German reactions to it

·  The creation of the Weimar Republic and its early problems

·  The Weimar constitution

·  Politics in Weimar Germany

·  Opposition from left and right: Spartacists and the Kapp Putsch

·  Hitler’s early life.

·  The beginnings of the Nazi Party

·  Hitler, Nazism and Nazi Beliefs

·  Reparations and the hyperinflation crisis

·  A first attempt to seize power. The Nazi Party and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch

·  What dangers did the Weimar Republic face between 1918-33?

·  The beginnings of recovery under Stresemann. Weimar’s golden age?

·  Stresemann’s foreign policy

·  The Nazis in the wilderness. 1924-29 Gustav Stresemann

·  The Economic Crisis and Hitler’s Opportunity

·  How and why were the Nazis able to win so many votes and become Germany’s largest political party?

·  Hitler is appointed Chancellor. The Enabling Act

·  Hitler’s henchmen

·  The Nazis’ aims upon taking power

·  Consolidating their Power

·  The Night of the long Knives

·  The Police State. Maintaining Nazi Control through terror

·  Opposition to the Nazis and how the Nazis dealt with it

·  Goebbels and Propaganda/Censorship. Arts Sport and Entertainment

·  The Führer myth

·  Nazi views on race.

·  Anti Semitism and the Jews

·  Youth and education in Nazi Germany

·  Women in Nazi Germany

·  Religion in Nazi Germany

·  The Nazi Economy and Workers in Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler

·  The Social impact of Nazism on social classes. What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?germany versailles jpg

The above list should help you to revise more effectively.

Some Tips

Remember the keys to success in examinations are good organisation, good preparation and a good night’s sleep the night before.

When you start the examination read all the questions carefully so you don’t make the mistake of answering a question only to discover that you have given the answer that the next question requires.

Think! What type of question is this? What does the question want me to do? Failing to answer the question set is the number one reason why marks are lost. Don’t answer the question that you would have liked to be there; answer the question that IS there.

In this pack are sheets that are full of information about the topics you have studied. They will complement the information that you have in your own files. Use all possible resources from which to revise. Do not just rely on this booklet.

Some useful websites are http://www.bbc.co.uk/revision/

http://www.projectgcse.co.uk/ (Good on the Cold War)

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/ This has some GCSE information and lots of links to other useful sites.

http://library.thinkquest.org/10826/timeline.htm A detailed, clear and linked timeline of the Cold War.

Mr Bannister can be contacted at if you need advice.