Stalin's domestic policies

Outline:

Economic

- Collectivisation 28/29 - 32

   - Success:

     - 90% of farmland

     - Greater control over agriculture

     - Was able to feed the growing working force in the cities, which was also increased by the     collectivisation  

   - Failure

     - Did not increase efficiency greatly 

     - Still needed to buy grain from USA and Canada 

     - Livestock levels fell massively 

     - Famine of 32-33 with 5 mil death from collectivisation 

- Five years plan 

   - Success

     - GDP tripled whereas most other countries were still suffering from the depression

     - Prepared USSR for war

     - Iron levels tripled and coal fourfold and steel sixfold

     - Formed into an industrial society with the doubling of the urban population from 26 to 56 mil

   - Failure

     - The quality if the product lacked behind the capitalist countries, both due to high goals and unskilled peasants working in the factories

     - Focus in heavy industry instead if consumer goods - not good for population

     - Technological gap from western countries

Political

- Great terror

   - Success 

     - Managed to oppress his opponents and made him all powerful as he replaced the purged people with his supports in the party

   - Failure 

     - The army was greatly damaged which halts the army in the first part of WWII 

     - 600,000 party members died

     - Between 2-7 million died of prison camp inmates 

     - 1/8 people punished ~ one in every family 

Social

- Education

   - Illiteracy rate increased from 40% in 13 to 94% in 53

- Family life 

   - Success

     - Increased women in the workforce and military

   - Failure

     - Failed to increase the birth rate and the divorce a rate  

Assess Stalin’s role in the collapse of the wartime alliance

Outline

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Introduction

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1st paragraph

o

Pre war tension and Stalin’s role

•

Communism vs capitalism

•

The countries in the Grand Alliance were ideological enemies, which they put a side to fight Hitler, however when this enemy was defeated their ideological differences became apparent again

•

Collective security vs appeasement

•

Britain’s policy of appeasement was seen by Stalin as an attempt to push Hitler towards a war on USSR soil. He saw the Munich Agreement (Sep 1938) as evidence on this as this allowed Hitler to expand his Eastern border without consulting Stalin

•

Stalin did however sign the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact in 1939 however the motives behind this is debateable

o

Collective security

•

AJP Taylor, Geoffrey Roberts

•

Stalin wanted an alliance with Britain and France against Hitler and was forced to sign the nazi-soviet non-aggression pact due to the reluctance of Britain and France to negotiation with Stalin

•

Roberts argue that every contact with Germany was a response to German approach

o

Germanists

•

Robert Tucker

•

Collective security was a façade and wanted German pact all along

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2nd paragraph

o

Wartime tension and Stalin’s role

•

The opening of the second front

•

Tension was created by the Allies reluctance to open a second front, which Stalin has requested as early as 1941 but this was not done until June 1944. Stalin saw this as a part of a deliberate plan to ensure that the USSR was seriously weakened

-

3rd paragraph

o

Post war tension and Stalin’s role

•

The question about Germany

•

Despite there being a previous outline for reparations from Germany to the USSR, at Yalta it had been agreed that $10 billion would be a starting point for negotiation, though the US and Britain did feel that Stalin asked for too much, Truman backed down on this outline and would only agree to the USSR getting reparations from Eastern Germany, the poorer and agricultural part of Germany, and 25% of the machinery from the western zones, if the USSR in return sent 60% of the value of the aid it had received in the form of goods and raw materials

•

The western leaders also backed down on the Percentages Agreement which would secure the Soviet sphere of influence and suggested that this should be decided by the planned United Nations Organisation

•

US nuclear monopoly

•

This was instrumental in the end of the war time alliance as this posed a threat to the USSR

•

End of lend-lease and denial of loan

•

The lend-lease agreement was ended without notice and the US denied a Soviet request for a loan of $1000 billion

-

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

Stalin's methods of dealing with domestic opposition

-

Opposition

o

Political Opposition of Stalin/ Political Opposition within the Party

o

Political Opposition of the Party/’anti-Soviet elements’

-

Methods

o

Terror

•

The Purges

•

Kirov Affair 1934

•

Removal of the Left Opposition 1936

•

Removal of the Right Opposition 1938

•

The Great Terror 1937-38

•

Purging the Party

o

Accusations and arrests of many of high ranking party members

•

Purging the People

o

Over 250,000 ‘Anti-Soviet elements’ arrested. Random terror and people were encouraged to denounce ‘oppositionists’ led to huge number of arrests in society. Torture was legalised and NKVD were given regional arrest quotas

•

Purging the Army

o

The best commander were brutally executed in fear of a coup

o

Persuasion

•

Cult of Personality

•

Stalin’s role as leader was emphasised

•

Rewrote history to give Stalin credit for all of the country’s greatest achievements, to have become Lenin’s closest comrade and an important figure in the civil war

•

Propaganda

•

Censorship was widely used, which meant that all art that was able to be publish was positive of the regime and Stalin, and favoured ‘Socialist Realism’ that portrayed the virtues of the soviet way of life

•

Textbooks were rewritten to show the greatness of the USSR

o

Consent

•

Food

•

In some areas, the factories set up shops, which provided workers with milk, eggs, vegetables and meat which had been rare commodities in the cities before the plans. It is difficult to generalize about this period, but workers in some areas became better of during the plans.

•

Women

•

One of the most important sources of labour was women. Ten million women entered the industrial workforce during the first three plans. By entering the factories women were emancipated from theirtraditional role in the home, as well as they got increased educational opportunities.

•

However, women were discriminated as they received less paid as well as it was more difficult for them to gain advancement. 

•

Education

•

During the plans, the literacy rate increased from 51 percentage to 81 percentage, as the party recognized the need fore a more educatedworkforce.

Stalin's rise to power

-

Lenin’s death and testament

o

Lenin’s early death in 1924 aged 53 after a long period of ill-health

o

The choice by the Central Committee of not reading Lenin’s testament at the next party congress, as the testament spoke ill of several high ranking members of the party and especially Stalin, who Lenin thought should be removed from the position of General Secretary

o

Stalin was in charge of arranging Lenin’s funeral where he made a speech proclaiming his devotion and loyalty to Lenin. He also gave the wrong date to Trotsky, who had been thought of as the most likely successor, but due to the fact that he did not show up for the funeral was seen as disrespectful and disloyal  

o

All this allowed Stalin to convince the public that he had been close with Lenin, who was a national hero – Lenin Enrolment was used to convince them

-

Stalin’s position in the Party

o

Member of Politburo, Orgburo and Secretariat

o

Gave him a unique overview of the daily running of the party and the country which gave him an edge

o

This also allowed him to build up a base of support of party members, unlike his main rival Trotsky who had no significant position within the Party apparatus

o

Due to his position as general secretary, 1922, he was in charge of appointing the new members of the politburo which allowed him to pick his supporters for the positions – this increased his power greatly

-

The NEP and the ban on factions

o

Lenin had created the ban on factions in 1921, also known as the Resolution of Party Unity, which meant that you could not criticise the party, and those accused of doing so would subsequently be banned from the party

o

The NEP in 1921 created a lot of disagreement in the politburo, as many saw this as a retreat towards capitalism, whereas others supported it

•

Main features

•

Return to capitalism in countryside in a sense as free trade in grain was reinstated. Grain requisitioning was ended and the peasants had to turn over 10% of grain to the government as a tax but was allowed to sell surplus grain to private traders

•

Reintroduction of private ownership of small and medium sixed factories

o

Stalin used the disagreement over the NEP combined with the ban of factions to oust his enemies from the politburo.

•

Eliminating the Left Opposition 1927

•

This included Zinoviev and Kamenev

•

This was the group that opposed the NEP and saw it as too capitalistic

•

Stalin allied with the Right Opposition and supported the NEP

•

He then used the ban on factions to have the Left Opposition dismissed from the Politburo

•

Eliminating the Right Opposition 1929

•

This included Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky

•

They supported the NEP

•

Stalin argued that the NEP was un-communistic and used the ban on factions to have the Right Opposition dismissed from the Politburo  

What was the impact of foreign intervention in terms of the outcome of the Spanish Civil War

Introduction: Germany and Italian had the biggest impact on the nature and outcome of the war whereas the USSR played an important role in the length of the war. 1. Paragraph - Topic sentence - German and Italian intervention in the war had an impact both on the outcome and the nature of the Spanish Civil War - Evidence - Germany supported the Nationalists with a total of around 10,000 men, 800 planes, submarines and 200 tanks. - Italy supported the Nationalists with a total of around 70,000-75,000 men, 750 planes and 150 tanks. - Both countries also gave the Nationalists military equipment, essential for their own soldiers - Concluding sentence - Their contributions played a significant role in the nationalists’ victory in the war - Their contributions meant that the casualty rate and the brutality of the war was increased - Their contributions meant that Britain and France was hesitant to participate in the intervention, and it meant that USSR also intervened   2. Paragraph - Topic sentence - USSR’s intervention in the Spanish Civil War had an impact on both the nature and the outcome of the war. - Evidence - Some historians argue that Stalin joined the war to protract it which would possible weaken Germany, and because it might mean that the also inevitable war would be fought on Germany’s western borders instead of its Eastern to the advantage to Stalin. - USSR organised transport of international volunteers to Spain and Russian weapons - Concluding sentence - Russian intervention might not have had a great impact on the outcome of the war but it did play a role in the duration of it.   3. Paragraph - Topic sentence - French and British intervention had an impact on both the outcome of the war. - Evidence - Both countries were hesitant to intervene and therefore followed the policy of humanitarian aid over military - This however, also had an impact as it still favoured the Nationalists which dealt the fatal blow to the Republicans who could have benefitted from their support - Concluding sentence - Though a more subtle role than many of the other countries involved the two countries’ involvement still had an impact on the outcome of the war   Conclusion:

 

Hitler's policies towards women

• Political
• Women had received greater amounts of rights and freedoms during the rule of the Weimar
• However, it ended with Hitler and the Third Reich
• Women had no place in politics, according to Hitler
• Consequently:
• No women delegates in the Nazi party’s Reichstag
• Hitler argued that ‘the Emancipation of Women’ was invented by the Jews and should therefore not be followed
• Women were to stay at home and nurture the coming generation
• Industry and education
• Goebbels wrote in 1929: “the mission of women is to be beautiful and to bring children into the world.”
• Women were not to work
• Employers were encouraged to hire men rather than women
• Due to other policies (economic recovery) there were more women employed in 1939 than in 1933
• Women were not to be educated – no higher education
• 1934: 10% of the male population in higher education could be girls
• Hitler’s concept of Lebensraum created the need for people to fill the newly conquered territory, so that  became women’s priority number one
• Social                     
• Historian Lisa Pine argues:
• The Nazis systematically reduced the functions of the family to the single task of reproduction. The family as an institution completely in the service of the totalitarian state.
• Women were strongly encouraged to marry and have as many children’s as possible
• Especially the Aryan race were encouraged
• KKK – Kinder, Kirch, Kuchen
• Children, church, cooking
• On Hitler’s mother’s birthday, 12^th august, the Motherhood Cross gave out rewards to mothers, Gold for 8 children, silver for 6 and bronze for 4.
• On the harsher end of the spectrum:
• The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage - 1933
• A loan program that gave couples 1000 Marks, but depending on the number of children they had, the payback amount would decrease 25% per child
• Abortions were prohibited
• Lebensborn – an SS, state supported, program designed by Heinrich Himmler to produce more Aryan offspring
• Aryan race women could go and meet with SS officers who were considered of good genes to have children – outside marriage

Hitler's rise to power

Hitler's rise to power

•  Long term causes

• Political Problems of the Weimar Republic

• The association between the Weimar and the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles
• Weak constitution
• Article 48
• Gave the President extensive emergency powers
• He was able to suspend civil liberties in the event of an emergency
• This undermined the populations confidence in the democratic state
• Became important after the Reichstag Fire where Hindenburg used it to declare a state of emergency in which Hitler was enabled to arrest Communist and Socialist opponents and close down their newspapers
• Proportional Representation
• Parties gain the same percentage of seats in the Reichstag as the percentage of votes they gain in the elections
• Led to weak coalition governments, which undermined the credibility of the Weimar Republic, and led to many different governments (8 between 19-23). This also led to the fact that the governments had a hard time agreeing on anything.

• Economic weakness of the Weimar Republic

• Treaty of Versailles
• Loss of territory
• Lost 13% of European territory and all overseas colonies
• This included important industrial areas, such as Upper Silesia, Alsace-Lorraine and the Sudetenland.
• Lost 75% of their iron ore
• Loss of population
• Lost 12% of their population  
• Reparations
• Allied Reparations Committee in April 1921 had determined the reparations to £6,600 million
• This led to serious inflation as the government tried to finance the war pensioners and the reparations by printing more paper money undermining the mark. This led to serious dissatisfaction from the population whose savings were lost  
• The Ruhr Crisis (1923)
• Worsened the economic situation and led to hyperinflation and this resulted in the creation of the Dawes Plan (1924)
• The Dawes Plan (1924) and the Young Plan (1929)
• Although the decreased the rate of payment and the Young Plan reduced the final amount of reparations they did tie the German economy closer to the American ones which had grave consequence when the Wall St Crash happened
• Nazi exploitation of the ‘stab in the back’ myth
• Ring-wing and nationalists blamed the Politicians (Catholics, Socialists and Jews) for losing the war as they believed that Germany still had the military strength to win the war. Hitler used this propaganda in his campaigns to gain their votes.

• Short term causes

• The impact of the Great Depression

• The Germany economy was greatly dependent on loans from America to keep their economy afloat, with the Wall St Crash this flow of capital seized and the Allied powers demanded their reparations this deeply damage the economy
• Unemployment rose from under 2 million before the crisis to 3.5 in 1930, 4.4 million in 1931 and peaked at 6 million in 1932
• This caused further distrust in the government by the population
• Correlation between unemployment and Nazi votes
• Less than 3% in 1928 to 107 in 1930 and to 230 in 1932

• Immediate causes

• Political intrigue in the Reichstag

• Von Schleicher replaced Von Papen as Chancellor, however Von Schleicher’s land reform worried the conservative president Hindenburg and he therefore wanted to replace him with Hitler to stabilize the government and he and his allies also believed that they would be able to control Hitler
• He was appointed in March 1933 and immediately had the SA begin to attack their political enemies (especially the Communists and Social Democrats). They closed down their papers, their meetings were attacked and their members were beaten. Hitler promised the army to tear up the military clauses in the Versailles Treaty to stop them from intervening   

• The Reichstag Fire

• Alleged Dutch communist Van der Lubbe set fire to the Reichstag building, which Hitler took advantage of and passed an emergency law which allowed the Chancellor to suspend the parliament, which formed the basis of a police power state

• The Enabling Act

• March 1933 Nazi gained 52% in elections
• Hitler passed the emergency law called the ‘Enabling Act’. To gain support for the act the SA stood outside the parliament to intimidate the members of parliament to vote for the act. The act allowed Hitler to pass laws without seeking the approval of parliament or the President. It formed the legal basis of the Nazi dictatorship. The Nazis could now close down the other opposing political parties, arrest political opponents etc. They could crush all opposition.
• In 1934, Hitler was the sole leader of the Nazis and he could start build the Nazi dictatorship.