September 8th

just uploaded the draft!!! yay im done!!!

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Appendix One

Having a few problems with uploading the stuff, but here is my appendix

Appendix One
Glossary of German Vocabulary
Blitzkrieg – Method of German offensive attack meaning lightning war.
Führer- Ultimate leader.
Heer- The German Army.
Lebensraum- Living room.
Luftwaffe- German Air Force.
Mein Kampf- ‘My Struggle’, a memoir Hitler released in 1925.
Panzer- An armoured tank used by the Germans in the Second World War.
Reich- The German Empire.
Reichstag- The German government.
Wehrmacht- The German Armed Forces, including the Heer, Luftwaffe and Kreigsmarine (navy).

8th September

Scanning the documents in today and handing it up tomorrow. So excited!

5th September

Just read over it again, finalising stuff. Made sure the set out was correct. Going to print it at school dont trust the home printer to make it look good.

So all i have to do now is print it off, scan in my drafts and then im DONE! :) yayyyyy!!!

3rd September

Worked on my essay with my dad and cut down the words so now it is under 2000 words. Looking to hand it up Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Hopefully gives me a few days off of history homework!! :)

2nd September

Met with mr Stewart to have a final consultation. All looking good. need to scan in my drafts but unsure on how to do it cause we dont have a scanner anymore :(

29 August 2010

So just posted up my essay, going into the final stages of drafting. really happy with it. cut down a lot of words with a draft with my dad, so now its about 2000 words which is great :)

CONCLUSION

Adolf Hitler’s role as Commander in Chief of the Wehrmacht throughout the Second World War was initially successful and effective, but deteriorated as the war progressed. Within a few years after becoming Commander in Chief, Hitler managed to occupy most of Central Europe with limited bloodshed, and this continued into the war itself through using the blitzkrieg tactics which enabled him to dominate countries such as Poland and Denmark. However, as the war continued and the Allied nations began to learn the blitzkrieg tactics, Germany began to suffer defeats, with the turning point being regarded as the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. It was evident by the latter stages of the war that Hitler was no longer worthy of the role as Commander in Chief as he lost touch with the reality of the situation and refused to listen to advice from any of his military personnel, which was especially evident at the Battle of Stalingrad when he forbade Germany to surrender even after it was clear that the battle had been lost. Thus, Hitler’s leadership as Commander in Chief was initially successful but then to collapsed along with Germany’s power in the later years of the Second World War.

FOURTH PARAGRAPH

By late 1944, the Wehrmacht had suffered many losses and with Hitler’s mental stability suffering, the power of Germany began to rapidly decline. Between 1944 and 1945 Hitler continued to attempt to defeat the opposition with, “one single and decisive blow” , with the last German offensive attack being the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. Still convinced blitzkrieg would be successful, Hitler ordered his army to conduct a surprise attack on the United States’ forces on 16 December 1944, “in hope [it] might turn the tide on the western front” . Initially, the attack was successful but, “with a combination of speedier tanks and overwhelming air superiority” , the US forces were able to force Germany back to where it had begun the assault, in a last attempt to commit his military forces to defeat a superior opponent. Thus, the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and 1945 showed that Hitler had lost all sense of reality as he was still using clearly outdated techniques which led to the defeat of the German Wehrmacht. By March 1945, “all German military resistance was completely broken” , and in the days that followed, a large majority of the troops across Europe surrendered. Defeat was looming but he continued to order his troops to fight. Hitler had decided that he would take his own life rather than surrender, and on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler shot himself whilst simultaneously consuming a cyanide tablet. Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945. Thus, towards the end of Hitler’s life, it was evident that he had completely lost touch with reality which led to the defeat of the Wehrmacht in 1945.

THIRD PARAGRAPH

The Blitzkrieg offensive tactics which were, “originally startling and bewildering to their opponents, had now become inflexible and predictable” , and this was clear at the Battle of Stalingrad which many historians believe to be, “the most crucial turning point in the Second World War” , and the event which sparked the rapid downfall of the Wehrmacht. It was the battle which highlighted Hitler’s leadership faults and his unrealistic views towards the war and Germany’s situation. The Wehrmacht entered Stalingrad in late August 1942 and conquered the majority of it within weeks, and, at this stage of the battle, Hitler was confident, and stated to an assembly of war veterans in November of that year that, “I prefer to reach my objectives by limited assaults. Time is of no importance” . However Zhukov, commander of the Soviet Red Army, had been building up forces to the north and south of the city preparing to attack the Germans at their weakest points. On 22 November 1942, Zhukov had completely encircled the German troops as well as, “decimat[ing] a whole Italian army” , and for the first time Hitler and his army, “had been completely outmanoeuvred by the superior tactics of the enemy” . By January 1943, it was clear that the Battle of Stalingrad was lost for the Germans with the Commander of the German Sixth Army, von Paulus, stating on the tenth anniversary of Hitler coming into power on 30 January that the, “collapse could not be delayed” . Hitler’s idealistic views are exposed when he promoted von Paulus to field marshal, with the belief that, “no German soldier of that rank had ever been taken prisoner” , and ordered the Sixth Army to not retreat or surrender even though the battle was clearly lost. Historians such as Alan Bullock believe that Hitler, “was ready to destroy Germany rather than surrender...or admit defeat” . Moreover, the battle may not have been needed as the Wehrmacht were far advanced into the Caucasus and did not need to attack the city, although strategically this would have placed the Wehrmacht at a major disadvantage, instead many historians state that Hitler only attacked the city through his hatred of Joseph Stalin after whom the city was named, which, ironically, was the same reason that Stalin ordered the Red Army to defend it so furiously. Thus, the Battle of Stalingrad saw the beginning of the collapse for the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.

SECOND PARAGRAPH

In 1940 in the Battle of Britain the first signs of poor leadership from Hitler emerged, which surfaced more strongly during Operation Barbarossa. Hitler planned to attack Britain and understood that, “the invasion should be postponed until the British air force had been destroyed” , so Hitler placed Hermann Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe, whose planes outnumbered the Royal Air Force four to one, in charge. The attack began on 12 August 1940 when German bombers began an assault on the, “British radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter airfields” . The battle continued for many days with the climax coming on 30/31 August when the Luftwaffe, under the direction of Göring , altered their tactics from targeting factories and airfields to cities and civilians. With airfields and radar stations being spared, the RAF was unable to be defeated. This resulted in retaliation through, “a bombing attack on Berlin” , which showed that Göring was incapable of organising a battle of such magnitude. Hitler’s idealistic and over confident views were shown again in May 1941, when he ordered his troops to invade the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, which he thought, “would give the German Army enough time to take control of the country before the harsh Soviet winter set in” . Initially, the Wehrmacht was successful but as the Soviet winter approached, the supply lines became longer meaning that it was harder to transport goods and appropriate clothing, but he was persistent on continuing the battle. Thus, the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa highlighted the fragile leadership of Hitler.

FIRST PARAGRAPH

Under Hitler’s command, an offensive attack method was developed which was termed blitzkrieg, meaning lighting war, as Hitler believed that, “wars were won by the side that could achieve the swift advance, not by great armies facing each other along deadlocked front fighting a war of attrition” , as in the First World War. The blitzkrieg followed a pattern, with the initial surprise attack coming from the Luftwaffe, then a Panzer attack with the infantry closely behind. This method of attack was successful for the Germans from 1939 to 1940, where Germany was able to conquer most of Central Europe which strengthened Germany economically as well as providing them with a consolidated geographical situation. In Hitler’s first years as the Commander in Chief, he was successful in reoccupying the Rhineland, which had been taken away from Germany under Treaty of Versailles, as well as obtaining the German areas of Czechoslovakia through the Munich Agreement of September 1938 by use of ultimatums. However, the Führer had dreams of economic expansion for Germany or Lebensraum, meaning living space, as he had described it in his political testament, Mein Kampf. Hitler intended to, “isolate Poland and to defeat it in a rapid campaign” , fully knowing that Britain and France would defend Poland if Germany invaded. Not intimidated by their possible interference, Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, before which he stated to his military commanders, “close your hearts to pity. Act brutally. Eighty million people must obtain what is their right” . After the invasion of Poland and the declaration of war, Hitler, “ordered the full conversion of the economy to war” , realising that in order to be successful against the powers of France and Britain, a strong economy would have to support the Wehrmacht’s war efforts. In the early years of the war, Hitler was never prepared to take a defensive position and always believed in quickly and efficiently defeating the enemy, although he knew, “the idea of getting out cheaply is dangerous. There is no such possibility” . It was this mindset and his dominant personality that meant that the Wehrmacht’s initial attacks during the Second World War were highly successful. Thus, “by the summer of 1940 Hitler had achieved domination of the continent” , as a result of the Wehrmacht’s blitzkrieg approach and Hitler’s efficient and optimistic leadership as Commander in Chief.

INTRODUCTION

Many historians perceive Adolf Hitler’s leadership of the Nazi Party to be a, “fundamental influence on the course and nature of the [Second World] war” , especially after 1938 when he appointed himself as the Commander in Chief, a position he held until 1945 when he committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. Hitler appointed himself to this position after being disappointed with the efforts of the previous commander, Blomberg, and with Hitler’s new title and power, he was, “totally responsible for the conduct of the war; a powerful and organised nation was at the mercy of one man’s will” . He became known as Führer, and his, “image [was seen] as the saviour of Germany” . In the first years in this new position, Hitler gained many supporters throughout Germany and the military as he managed to release the strict rules that had been placed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. Moreover, with the failing leadership of the existing Weimar Republic, Hitler’s following increased even further. Ian Kershaw states that, “in his public portrayal, he was a man of the people...he embodied the triumph of true Germanic virtues” . The widespread support for Hitler began to increase with his successes in Central Europe between 1939 and 1940, however as Richard Overy stated, “the rise of Hitler was neither inevitable nor irresistible. Initially, Hitler’s ideas, including the blitzkrieg method of attack, were highly successful for Germany with the Wehrmacht conquering numerous Central European countries including Poland, Norway, France and Denmark between 1939 and 1940. As the Wehrmacht conquered Central Europe, Hitler was viewed by the majority of the German people as heroic, and as a result, many German men registered for the Wehrmacht to fight. However, Hitler and the power of Germany began to crumble in 1942 and 1943 beginning with the Battle of Stalingrad which saw the first major defeat of the Heer, which was a result of Hitler, “avoid[ing] all contact with reality” , and making judgements and decisions based on idealistic views. Although there were signs of Hitler’s failing leadership of Germany in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Furthermore, as the war progressed and Germany began to suffer numerous defeats, the heroic image of Hitler was destroyed and many people, including the military personnel on the Front Line, striving to take unrealistic objectives and forced to endure horrendous conditions, became impatient as they could see no progress was being made and they wanted to surrender to the Allies. Thus, initially Hitler was portrayed to the German people as the saviour of Germany, but in the latter stages of the war his image was tarnished with many people losing faith in his ability to lead the nation in a positive manner, especially in the role as Commander in Chief.

27 August 2010

Met with mr stewart today and tried to cut down some words, still need to work on it...
getting nervous!!

Last weeks

Just been going over and over it, adding some stuff taking some stuff out :) so general editing. Booked a meeting with Mr Stewart on Friday at lunch time to talk about the word count and everything else that I have added in. Looking good though :)

10 August 2010

Drafted the essay with Dad, he said it was good :) (quite a compliment from my dad! haha)

August 10 2010

Worked on the first 2 paragraphs, moulding them into one. And adding information about the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa. Word count is still abit of an issue....

9th August 2010

Got final draft back from Mr Stewart, was better than i thought. Fixed some of the grammatical errors.

QUESTION

To what extent was Hitler a success as the C in C when he took over the active direction of World War 2?

6 August 2010

Just handed up the essay! yay!

6 August 2010

final checkpoint today! the essay is ready!
really hoping it is ok. but i have a feeling mr stewart will tear it to shreds!! oh well!!

4th August 2010

Just sent off the first full draft to Mr Stewart, hopefully will get it back tomorrow so I can correct it before the checkpoint on Friday.

Feeling good but nervous about the whole thing.

4th August 2010

Just finished the third paragraph and fixed the introduction again. Going to try and complete the other two paragraphs tonight to hand in for drafting before Friday. Got most of the other paragraphs written just need to finish and polish! Still a bit stressed so much due this Friday! but one step at a time I guess.

But I love this topic, I sat down with my father and we spoke about my grandfather (his dad) and my grandmothers roles in the second world war, turns out my grandad was probably at the Battle of the Bulge, one of the battles I am studying. It just gave me more motivation to know my own family fought in it and against Hitler.

2nd August 2010

Fixed the changes from the drafting by mr stewart and just continuing writing to get it done by Friday. Am happy with where I am, with some hard work going to get it done. Just confidence on writing essays has decreased a bit with my last couple of marks but will use mr stewarts pointers to make this one better.

21st July 2010

Forgot to post this, got my work drafted by mr stewart.

15th July 2010

Had a call with mr stewart today.

And in the first paragraph I will discuss briefly...

How the Weimar was initially happy with him- cause of his successes in Poland, France, etc.
And how it went bad with the Russian Campaign- Battle of Stalingrad.
And also in July 1944.

I will add some various view points from people like his general staff, common soldiers and how he is perceived now.

So basically how he was perceived during his time in C-in-C... like when the war was going well for Germany he was perceived as a hero...

14th July 2010

With the changing of the question- the option under which my question has also changed...it is now Option 1- Individuals in History

:)

14th July 2010

Busy history day for me!! just updated the bibligraphy. Done a separate one for the new question. Am still using some of the books from the old bibliography as it as details on Hitler.

14th July 2010- Introduction

Many historians perceive Adolf Hitler’s leadership of the Nazi Party to be a, “fundamental influence on the course and nature of the [Second World] war” Dic P. 538, especially after 1938 when he appointed himself as the Commander in Chief among other positions until 1945 when he committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. Initially, Hitler’s ideas including the blitzkrieg method of attack was highly successful for the Nazis with the army conquering numerous central European countries such as Poland, Norway, France and Denmark between 1939 and 1940. Hitler appointed himself as the Commander in Chief after being disappointed with the efforts of the previous commander, Field Marshal Blomberg. Moreover, with Hitler’s new title and power he was now, “totally responsible for the conduct of the war; a powerful and organised nation was at the mercy of one man’s will” Bio P 88. As a result of Hitler becoming the commander in chief, the Second World War broke out in Europe in 1939 even after he stated in 1937 that, “whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos” http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/ahitler.html. Prior to the Second World War, Hitler assumed many other positions and passed laws until he was, essentially in complete control of Germany; and he used this power to build the Nazi Regime and to equip the German armed forces for battle. However, Hitler and the Nazis power began to crumble in 1942 to 1943 with the Battle of Stalingrad which saw the first major defeat of the Nazi army, which was a result of Hitler, “avoid[ing] all contact with reality” Bio P. 89, and making judgements and decisions based on idealistic views. Thus, Hitler was a very influential personality of the Second World War and initially led the Nazi Party to many successes after he appointed himself as Commander in Chief.


the first part of the introduction....hasnt been drafted yet. Excuse the referencing in there...will be done later. comments welcome...Is it too narrative???

14 July 2010

Apologies, forgot to write that I found some pretty cool tables and stuff which I would photocopy and place in the blog but our printer/scanner is down at the moment :(

14 July 2010

Just seriously bashing through the reading at the moment. Worked all today on it and planning to start my essay today, leaving the first paragraph for the moment until I have a chat with mr Stewart regarding exactly what I should be putting in there.

In answering mr stewarts comment on my last post- Hitlers changing role in C in C is becoming more evident, with him gradually taking full control over everything (economically and regarding the army). And especially looking at the Battle of Stalingrad, which was the first major defeat for the Nazi army in 1943.
It is also becoming evident from reading that as the second world war progesses you can see that his mental stability is also changing as Hitler suspects everyone to be against his ideas and will not listen to them, even if it is the best thing for the Nazi army at that stage.

Next step, is to begin writing. Sat down to start writing this morning, but felt I needed to do more reading so went through it all. So will do that now, found a great book on various historians views of Hitler and his leadership which will obviously help greatly with the historiography side of things :)

12 July 2010

Just been reading for the past couple of days, got some books from the school library today. Will add them to the bibliography asap.

5th July

Just been doing some reading on Hitler's role in Commander in Chief.

Spoke to Mr Stewart, focussing on the question of; to what extent was Hitler a success as the C in C when he took over the active direction of World War 2?

Introduction- a brief outline on his rise to power.

P1-Why he began to exercise this power and the changes he made (but not going into the 1930's- so basically from 1938 when he appointed himself as Commander in Chief- until the beginning of the Second World War)

P2- The successes of Germany initially, eg them invading multiple countries in a short amount of time.

P3- The downfall of the Nazi Regime and Hitler's eventual suicide in 1945.

Conclusion.

The next step from here is to continue reading, probably another trip to the Barr Smith and then start writing. My aim is to have the whole essay written by the end of these holidays so next term I can focus on refining it and also make it less stressful for me, due to many other assignments due at the same time. But all is good, feeling a lot better about the essay now! :)

23 June 2010

Didnt get a chance to blog yesterday but after reading some more into the politics, etc. I found I wasn't really enjoying it and felt that if I wasn't enjoying it in the reading stages then I probably wouldn't enjoy it throughout the whole process!!

So have changed more to think of Hitler as a person. Currently working on a couple of questions with Mr Stewart, via email.
Originally thought of;

"To what extent did the failures and the successes of the Nazi Regime affect Hitler's grip on power and his personality during the Second World War?"

but that is too broad. So I have now posed the question;

"Why did Hitler lose his power at the conclusion of the Second World War?"

And a positive of studying Hitler is that I am not starting from scratch, in fact I do actually consider myself at exactly the same point as I am now with the politics, maybe even further due to past research and my dad being a bit of a world war two buff!! So am now looking forward to this. Will obviously have to fast track the past two checkpoints and will aim to get them done asap!

20th June 2010

Just been reading still, will probably start writing after the immediate school assignments are handed in- but I have it basically written in my head.

After a chat with Mr Stewart going to focus more on the politics with the wall as just a symbol. Will work on creating a new question.

5th June 2010

Finally went to Barr Smith Library today with mum. Borrowed 7 books to read, will add them to the bibliography! Going back in the holidays- when these books are due back to get the articles!!

3rd June 2010

Confirmation on question- still looking at doing something along the lines of this....

To what extent can the fall of the Berlin Wall and East Germany be attributed to domestic factors as apposed to international factors?

Will need to word it a bit better though!! trying to say; how was the fall of the Berlin Wall viewed from both East and West Germany as well as internationally.

:)

1st June 2010

Received dvd from Mr Stewart, awaiting some new books. Just reading lots at the moment and going to watch the movie with Dad this weekend.

Have to ask Mr Stewart about how to reference it properly.

17th May 2010

Just briefly thinking of the plan for my essay-

Introduction- brief background, establishing why and when the wall was built.

P1- Eastern Berlin- how the fall of the wall was perceived.

P2- Western Berlin-how the fall of the wall was perceived.

P3- How the fall of the wall was internationally viewed- concentrating on the Soviet Union and also probably the USA or Great Britain (haven't decided yet)

Conclusion- Summary of the views from every side and possibly touch on what it has done to Germany and what it meant for Germany's future, etc.

15th May 2010

Recently went into the Westminster library and got some books - added them to bibliography. Still planning to go to the Barr Smith. Beginning to write a plan.

29th April 2010

Spoke with Mr Stewart today about possible questions-

To what extent can the fall of the Berlin Wall and East Germany be attributed to domestic factors as apposed to international factors?

Within this question, I will look at how the fall of the wall was perceived in both sides of Germany (East and West) and also in the Soviet Union.

This question falls under Option 5- War and Society
The essay will demonstrate the student's research skills, understanding of historical concepts, and ability to evaluate the causes or war, or the course of war, or the impact of war on the lives of individuals and their communities.


Bibliography also updated.

28th April 2010

Looked through my dad's war book collection and found some good titles (adding to bibliography soon). Some not directly on the Berlin Wall but rather giving me an insight into the situation in Germany and other European nations during the Second World War.

31st March 2010

Began research into the Berlin Wall and began my bibliography. Also planning a trip to the Barr Smith library.

31st March 2010

Trying to add people to the blog, it is so hard for some reason. Sorry everyone!!!

22nd March 2010

Blog set up :) very confusing.

17th February 2010

The history class visited the Barr Smith Library in the city.

From this, I started to think about my essay question;
Probably something to do with the Berlin Wall

• Comparison between the East and West views as to why the Wall was built?
• Comparison of views on the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), from all countries that were directly involved, eg; Soviet Union, Germany, USA..etc.