Therefore Liberals wanted constitutional reform and more power to be given to the Reichstag. Whereas socialists demanded social reform and power to the workers and trade unions. However conservatives, such as Bismarck wanted to conserve to the Junkers – the elite class. To do this he proposed the Anti-Socialist Law in 1879 and also passed the Tariff Law, which appeased the liberals. The years leading up to the war the German people were dreading it, there were protests in Berlin in July 1914.
The reason why so many people joined these extremists was that in the Treaty of Versailles the Germans would have to accept ‘the War guilt clause’. Everyone found this an outrage as the Germans eventually signed the Treaty. The Govterment system that was put in through the Weimar was democracy. This new system was new to Germany and looked to be crumbling after the first few years. The country had a militaristic past as which had gave the President some concerns that the old elite may try and overturn the Weimar with much support.
Government officials banned foreign films and filmmakers relied on the war to perform as a muse. This film series presents key works that helped to both define and influence this movement. Through the use of asymmetrical camera angles and stylized lighting techniques . in 1914, the Great War began in Europe. Germany was cut off from its supply of international cinema .
The film was used to legitimize the Third Reich, thus gaining support for action by the German people. Triumph of the Will poses difficult questions on what constitutes great art more than sixty years after its completion. When evaluating this film, should we separate the film’s creator, Riefenstahl, from her film and its consequences? When judging a work as great art, should we separate content from form? Can Nazi art be considered great art although we know their message is against humanity?
Hitler used propaganda, elimination of the opposition, and a cult of personality to gain the support and trust of the German people in a time of economic crisis to his benefit and the rest of the world's loss. Single party states arise from a crisis, and Germany was suffering from a very large one at that time. The end of World War I in 1918 had left the economic state in shambles, and the loss struck the German people hard. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles the following year resulted in the demilitarisation and many cuts from German land and territory. Hitler criticized the carving up of Europe by the "Big Four" (the US, UK, France and Italy), stating that the Germans were the "master race".
William Carr states ‘ A revolutionary situation did exist in 1918 as long as the people were no longer prepared to obey the old rulers’ This highlights the disruption amongst the people, an awareness that there was a shift of power but whether this new awareness constitutes a revolution can be questioned. The end of the Kaiser rule was significant as the lifelong belief the German people once had in their Kaiser and his Authoritarian rule was shattered; a significant change in mentality that allowed the possibility of a new democratic republic. This was such drastic change and for the first time meant Germans in theory
Antigone believed that the power of the gods was greater than the power of any king. Antigone shows, thru civil disobedience, that breaking some of
 societies laws is both a right and responsibility. This ideal was also exhibited by some German youth in World War II that organized the passive resistance movement, The White Rose. The White Rose was a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor. The group became known for an anonymous leaflet campaign that called for active opposition to Adolf Hitler.
‘The outbreak of war in Europe was due to an aggressive German foreign policy which had been waged since c.1900’. How far do you agree? It has been a matter of fervent controversy that Germany went to war with aggressive or defensive intentions. Source V suggests that Germany went to war solely for defensive reasons due to the extensive array of alliances that encircled her as well as diplomatic tension. Overall, Source W challenges source V, as it indicates that Germany’s aggressive actions since the turn of the century resulted in war.
For many, general Boulanger provided the focus for a new sense of nationalism based on military glory, he advocated that Alsace- Lorraine (surrendered by France to German empire- 1871) should be returned to France. Anti-Semitism had developed in France in the 1880’s; cartoons published in ‘Le Psst’ were similar to that published in the anti-Semitic Nazi journal, Der Stürmer) The historian John Roberts has stated that ‘If history is the story of significant change France has little history between the wars’ The outbreak of the 1st world war united the French nation briefly under the strong leader of Poincaré and, later, Celmenceau. G declared war pm France on 3rd Aug 1914, after france had supported Russian mobilisation plans and refused to declare neutrality. The war provided an opportunity for the nation to unite behind a united aggressor and to erase the memory of the defeat in the Franco-Prussian
Causes of WW 11 Who, or what was to blame in causing WW 11? The Versailles Treaties have been blamed for fillnig the Germans with bitterness and the desire for revenge. The League of Nations has been for failing to secure general disarmament and collective security. The Great Depression has been mentioned because without it Hitler would never have come to power. While these factors created tension, something more was needed to create the war.