Modern History syllabus, dot point by dot point

Detente in the 1970s, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I 1972, SALT II 1979), the Helsinki Accords (August 1975), and the collapse of detente by the end of the decade

Why did the superpowers pursue detente in the 1970s and why did it collapse?

Proxy wars and the Cold War in the Third World, including the Vietnam War (1965 to 1973) and the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979 to 1989), and their impact on the superpowers

How did proxy wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan shape the Cold War?

The end of the Cold War, including Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika, the New Thinking in foreign policy, the INF Treaty (December 1987), and the changing superpower relationship

How did Gorbachev's reforms end the Cold War?

The revolutions of 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), the round-table negotiations in Poland and Hungary, and the collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe

How did the Eastern European revolutions of 1989 dismantle the Soviet bloc?

The Berlin Blockade (June 1948 to May 1949) and Airlift, the formation of NATO (April 1949), and the division of Germany into the Federal Republic (May 1949) and the German Democratic Republic (October 1949)

How did the Berlin Blockade and the formation of NATO militarise the Cold War?

The origins of the Cold War, including ideological differences, the wartime conferences at Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July to August 1945), and the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

How did the wartime alliance break down at Yalta and Potsdam to produce the Cold War?

The Korean War (June 1950 to July 1953), including the role of the United Nations, the intervention of the People's Republic of China, and the impact on superpower relations and the militarisation of containment

How did the Korean War 1950 to 1953 militarise the global Cold War?

The Berlin Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall (13 August 1961), including the role of Khrushchev, the Kennedy administration's response, and the consolidation of the German division

Why was the Berlin Wall built in August 1961?

The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), including the origins of the crisis, the role of Kennedy and Khrushchev, the resolution, and the impact on superpower relations

How was nuclear war avoided in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962?

The extension of the Cold War to Asia, including the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War (October 1949), the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950, and the impact on American policy in Asia

How did the communist victory in China in 1949 globalise the Cold War?

The development of the Cold War, including the Truman Doctrine (March 1947), the Marshall Plan (June 1947), the response of the USSR through Cominform and Comecon, and the consolidation of the two blocs

How did the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan formalise containment?

Historical interpretations of the Cold War, including the orthodox, revisionist, and post-revisionist schools, and the impact of post-1991 archival access

How have historians debated the causes and conduct of the Cold War?

The rhetoric and ideology of the early Cold War, including Kennan's Long Telegram (February 1946), Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (March 1946), and the doctrine of containment

How did the Iron Curtain rhetoric and the doctrine of containment frame the early Cold War?

The dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991), including the rise of nationalism in the republics, the August 1991 coup attempt, the rise of Yeltsin, and the formal end of the USSR on 25 December 1991

How did the Soviet Union dissolve in 1991?

Section III (Peace and Conflict): Conflict in the Gulf 1980-2011

The impact of the Gulf conflicts on civilians, including the Iran-Iraq War's casualties, the Halabja chemical attack, the 1991 Shia and Kurdish uprisings, sanctions-era humanitarian crisis, the Iraqi insurgency casualties, and the refugee flows

How did Gulf civilians experience and suffer through the conflicts of 1980 to 2011?

The role of oil and OPEC in the conflicts of the Gulf, including the strategic importance of Gulf oil, oil prices as a cause and consequence of conflict, the Tanker War, attacks on oil infrastructure, and the security guarantees that the major powers extended

How did oil shape the conflicts of the Gulf between 1980 and 2011?

The role of Saddam Hussein, including his rise to power, the nature of the Baathist regime, the cult of personality, the repression of the Kurds and Shia, and his decisions for war in 1980, 1990 and 2003

How did Saddam Hussein consolidate power in Iraq and what kind of regime did he build?

The role of the media and the changing nature of warfare in the Gulf, including the CNN effect, embedded reporting, precision-guided weapons, stealth aircraft, drones, asymmetric warfare, IEDs, and the rise of Al Jazeera

How did the media and the technology of warfare change across the conflicts of the Gulf 1980 to 2011?

The course and outcome of Operation Desert Storm 1991, including the air campaign, the ground offensive, the role of new military technology, the Highway of Death, and the decision to end the war on 28 February 1991

How was Iraq expelled from Kuwait in 1991 and why was the war ended so quickly?

The role of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, including his exile, his return in 1979, the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, his conduct of the Iran-Iraq War, and his foreign-policy legacy after his death in 1989

Who was Ayatollah Khomeini and how did he shape Iran's role in the conflicts of the Gulf?

The role of President George W. Bush (Bush 43), including the Vulcans, the case for war, UN Resolution 1441, the Powell UN address, the absence of a second resolution, and the decision for invasion

How and why did President George W. Bush decide on the 2003 invasion of Iraq?

The role of President George H. W. Bush (Bush 41), including the formation of the 35-nation Coalition, the diplomacy at the United Nations, the decision to end Desert Storm with Saddam in power, and the New World Order rhetoric of 1990 to 1992

How did President George H. W. Bush respond to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and what did he mean by a New World Order?

The course and consequences of the Iran-Iraq War 1980 to 1988, including its origins, the phases of the war, the use of chemical weapons, the War of the Cities, the Tanker War and superpower involvement, and the UN ceasefire of 1988

Why did the Iran-Iraq War last eight years and what were its consequences for the Gulf?

The origins and consequences of the Iranian Revolution 1979, including the fall of the Shah, the role of Ayatollah Khomeini, the hostage crisis, and the impact on regional and superpower politics

How did the Iranian Revolution of 1979 reshape the strategic balance of the Gulf and create the conditions for three decades of regional conflict?

The course and consequences of the Iraqi insurgency and sectarian civil war 2003 to 2008, including the Sunni insurgency, al-Qaeda in Iraq, the bombing of the al-Askari shrine, the Shia militias, the 2007 Surge, and the Sons of Iraq Awakening

Why did Iraq descend into insurgency and sectarian civil war after 2003 and how was the violence eventually brought under control?

The causes and immediate consequences of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, including the post-war debt crisis, the role of the United Nations, and the formation of the Coalition

Why did Saddam Hussein invade Kuwait in August 1990 and how did the international community respond?

The impact of the 11 September 2001 attacks and the War on Terror on US policy in the Gulf, including the Bush Doctrine, the invasion of Afghanistan, the Axis of Evil speech, and the road to the 2003 Iraq War

How did the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the resulting War on Terror reshape US strategy in the Gulf?

The course and immediate outcome of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including the Coalition order of battle, the three-week ground campaign, the fall of Baghdad on 9 April 2003, the looting and breakdown of order, and the early occupation under the Coalition Provisional Authority

How did the 2003 invasion of Iraq unfold, and why did the rapid conventional victory not produce a stable post-war Iraq?

The negotiation of the Status of Forces Agreement, the Obama withdrawal timeline, the final US departure on 18 December 2011, the costs of the war, and the unstable Iraq inherited by the Maliki government

How did the US war in Iraq end, and what was the state of Iraq at the December 2011 withdrawal?

The international response to Iraq 1991 to 2003, including UN sanctions, the No-Fly Zones, UNSCOM weapons inspections, the humanitarian consequences, the Oil-for-Food Programme, and the failure of containment

How did UN sanctions, no-fly zones, and weapons inspections seek to contain Iraq between 1991 and 2003, and why did containment ultimately fail?

Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919-1946

The peace treaties that ended World War I, including the Treaty of Versailles, and the impact of these settlements on Germany and on the post-war international order

Focus Study 1: The peace and the rise of dictatorships, 1919-1939

The conditions that gave rise to dictatorship in Italy, including Mussolini's rise to power 1919 to 1925 and the establishment of the Fascist state

The conditions that gave rise to dictatorship in Germany, including Hitler's rise to power 1919 to 30 January 1933, the failures of the Weimar Republic, and the collapse of parliamentary politics

The conditions that gave rise to dictatorship in the USSR, including Stalin's rise to power after Lenin's death in 1924 and his consolidation through the late 1920s

The search for peace and security after WWI, and the rise of dictatorships and militarism, including the breakdown of Taisho democracy and the rise of militarism and ultranationalism in Japan and Japanese expansion in the Asia-Pacific

The nature of the Nazi state 1933 to 1939, including the role of terror and propaganda, the polycratic structure of government, economic policy, and the impact on women, youth, and churches

Focus Study 2: The Nazi state 1933-1939

The methods by which the Nazi regime consolidated power between January 1933 and August 1934, including the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, Gleichschaltung, the Night of the Long Knives, and the death of Hindenburg

The development of Nazi racial policy 1933 to 1939, including the Nuremberg Laws (1935) and Kristallnacht (1938), and the historiographical debate over the path to the Holocaust

The League of Nations and the system of collective security, including the major crises of the 1930s (Manchuria 1931, Abyssinia 1935, Rhineland 1936) and the reasons for the League's failure

Focus Study 3: The search for peace and security 1919-1946

The policy of appeasement and the road to war, including the Anschluss (1938), Munich Agreement (1938), the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939), and the invasion of Poland

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Focus Study 4: The conduct of WWII and the post-war settlement

The conduct of World War II and the post-war settlement, including the major turning points 1939 to 1945, the Holocaust, the use of the atomic bomb, and the Nuremberg Trials

Section III (Peace and Conflict): Conflict in Indochina 1954-1979

The anti-war movement in the United States and Australia, the role of the media, including television coverage of the war and the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the Moratorium movement, and the impact of events such as the Kent State shootings

How did the anti-war movement and the media affect the conduct and the outcome of the war?

The impact of the conflict on civilians and Indochinese society, including the human cost of the war, the use of chemical weapons and Agent Orange, the experience of refugees and boat people, and the long-term legacies for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

What was the impact of the conflict on civilians and Indochinese society?

The nature of the conflict, including the use of guerrilla and conventional warfare, the strategies of the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front, and the strategies of the United States, the Republic of Vietnam, and the allied forces

What was the nature of the conflict in Indochina, and why was it fought as guerrilla and conventional war?

The origins of the conflict, including French colonial rule, the rise of Vietnamese nationalism, the role of Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, the First Indochina War 1946 to 1954, the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, and the Geneva Conference and Geneva Accords 1954

What were the origins of the conflict in Indochina and how did the First Indochina War end?

The Tet Offensive of January to March 1968, including the planning by the DRV and the NLF, the attacks on Saigon and Hue, the response of the United States and the Republic of Vietnam, and the political and strategic consequences

What was the significance of the Tet Offensive of 1968?

The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978, the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge and the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, the Sino-Vietnamese war of February to March 1979, and the end of the conflict in Indochina

How did the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the Sino-Vietnamese war bring the conflict to an end in 1979?

The role of China and the Soviet Union in the conflict, including their support for the DRV and the NLF, the impact of the Sino-Soviet split, and the strategic context of the Cold War in Asia

How did China and the Soviet Union shape the course of the conflict in Indochina?

The policy of Vietnamisation, the expansion of the war into Cambodia and Laos, the role of Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, the Easter Offensive and Linebacker bombings of 1972, and the Paris Peace Accords of January 1973

How did Vietnamisation and the Paris peace process bring the United States out of the conflict?

The nature and conduct of the war from 1965 to 1968, including the strategies of attrition and search and destroy, the use of air power and Operation Rolling Thunder, the role of Australia and other allies, and the experience of combatants and civilians

How was the war conducted by the United States and its allies from 1965 to 1968?

The role of Ho Chi Minh and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, including the consolidation of the North, support for the National Liberation Front, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the relationship with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China

How did Ho Chi Minh and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam shape the conflict?

The nature and policies of the Diem regime in South Vietnam, including the failure to hold the 1956 elections, the strategic hamlet program, the Buddhist crisis, and the coup of November 1963

How did the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam contribute to the conflict?

The extension of the conflict to Cambodia, the rise of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, the nature and policies of Democratic Kampuchea, and the impact on Cambodian society

How did the conflict extend to Cambodia and what was the impact of the Khmer Rouge regime?

The reasons for and nature of United States involvement, including the policy of containment, the domino theory, the Gulf of Tonkin incident and Resolution of August 1964, and the deployment of ground troops from 1965

How and why did the United States escalate its involvement in the conflict?

The collapse of South Vietnam in 1975, including the failure of the Paris Peace Accords, the final offensive of the People's Army of Vietnam, the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, and the reunification of Vietnam

How and why did South Vietnam fall in 1975?

Section II (National Study): China 1927-1949

The Chinese Civil War 1945 to 1949, including the strategic balance at 1946, the role of Manchuria, the three decisive campaigns of 1948 to 1949, and the reasons for the Communist victory

How did the Chinese Communists defeat the Nationalists in the civil war between 1945 and 1949?

The founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, including the Common Programme, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the new state structure, and the international recognition of the PRC

What did the founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949 represent, and how was the new regime structured?

The Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931, including the Mukden Incident, the creation of Manchukuo, the failure of the League of Nations, and the impact on Chiang Kai-shek's strategy of internal pacification first

How did the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) reshape Chinese politics and the international system?

The Jiangxi Soviet 1928 to 1934 and the development of Communist guerrilla strategy, including the role of Mao Zedong, the land reform programme, and the KMT encirclement campaigns

How did the Chinese Communist Party survive and develop a new strategy in the Jiangxi Soviet between 1928 and 1934?

The Long March 1934 to 1935 and the emergence of Mao Zedong as Communist leader, including the Zunyi Conference, the relationship with Zhang Guotao, and the establishment of the Yan'an base area

How did the Long March transform the Chinese Communist Party, and why did Mao Zedong emerge as its dominant leader?

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 1937 and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, including the fall of Shanghai and Nanjing, the Rape of Nanjing, the move of the capital to Chongqing, and the stalemate of 1938 to 1941

How did the Marco Polo Bridge Incident escalate into the Second Sino-Japanese War, and how was the war fought to 1941?

The Nanjing Decade 1928 to 1937 and the achievements and failures of the Nationalist government, including state-building, economic modernisation, the New Life Movement, and the limits of KMT control

What were the achievements and failures of the Nationalist government during the Nanjing Decade (1928-1937)?

The Northern Expedition 1926 to 1928 and the consolidation of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government, including the role of the First United Front, the Whampoa Military Academy, the alliance with the warlords, and the establishment of the Nanjing decade

How did the Northern Expedition and the consolidation of Chiang Kai-shek's power transform China between 1926 and 1928?

The Second United Front 1937 to 1945, including the Xi'an Incident, the New Fourth Army Incident, and the deterioration of KMT-CCP relations during the war with Japan

How and why was the Second United Front formed in 1937, and why did it break down well before the end of the war?

The Shanghai Massacre of April 1927 and the destruction of the First United Front, including the role of the Green Gang, the Wuhan-Nanjing split, and the impact on the Chinese Communist Party

Why did Chiang Kai-shek destroy the First United Front in 1927, and what were the consequences for the Communist Party?

The Yan'an period 1937 to 1947 and Communist mass mobilisation, including land reform, the Rectification Movement, the development of Mao Zedong Thought, and the growth of the Communist base areas

How did the Chinese Communist Party expand its political and military strength during the Yan'an period (1937-1947)?

The defeat of the KMT and the retreat to Taiwan 1949, including the reasons for the collapse, the evacuation of personnel, treasure, and military equipment, and the establishment of Chiang's authoritarian regime on Taiwan

Why did the KMT collapse on the mainland in 1949, and how did Chiang Kai-shek consolidate the Republic of China on Taiwan?

The end of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the post-war balance, including the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the race for territory, the Chongqing negotiations, and the Marshall Mission

What was the state of China at the Japanese surrender in 1945, and what made renewed civil war likely?

Former syllabus National Study: Germany 1918-1939

Nazi economic policy 1933 to 1939, including the work-creation programmes under Schacht, the Mefo bills, the Four-Year Plan of 1936 under Goering, rearmament, autarky, and the limits of the economy by 1939

What were the aims and outcomes of Nazi economic policy between 1933 and 1939?

Nazi foreign policy 1933 to 1939, including withdrawal from the League, conscription and rearmament, the Rhineland, the Anschluss, the Munich Agreement, the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and the invasion of Poland

What were the aims and methods of Nazi foreign policy between 1933 and 1939?

Nazi social and racial policy 1933 to 1939, including the position of women, youth, and churches, the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, the persecution of Jews and other minorities, and Kristallnacht of November 1938

How did Nazi social and racial policy reshape German society between 1933 and 1939?

The collapse of the Weimar Republic 1929 to 1933, including the impact of the Great Depression, the rule by presidential decree under Bruning, Papen, and Schleicher, and the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933

Why did the Weimar Republic collapse between 1929 and 1933?

The Nazi consolidation of power and the nature of the Nazi state 1933 to 1939, including the Reichstag Fire Decree, the Enabling Act, the Night of the Long Knives, the role of the SS, Gestapo, and SD, and the role of propaganda under Goebbels

How did the Nazis consolidate power and shape the state between 1933 and 1939?

The Stresemann era 1924 to 1929, including the Dawes and Young Plans, the Locarno Treaties, League of Nations membership, the cultural life of the Weimar Republic, and the limits of recovery

How stable was Weimar Germany during the Stresemann era of 1924 to 1929?

The nature of opposition and resistance to the Nazi regime, including political, religious, youth, and conservative-military opposition, and the reasons resistance was limited

What was the nature and effectiveness of opposition and resistance to the Nazi regime?

The emergence of the Weimar Republic 1918 to 1924, including the collapse of imperial Germany, the impact of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar Constitution, and the political and economic crises of 1918 to 1923

How did the Weimar Republic emerge, and why did it face such severe crises between 1918 and 1924?

Section II (National Study): Indonesia 1945-2005

Konfrontasi (Confrontation) with Malaysia 1963 to 1966, including the Dwikora command, the Borneo campaigns, the role of the PKI, and the consequences for the Indonesian economy

Why did Sukarno launch Konfrontasi against Malaysia, and what were its military, diplomatic, and economic consequences?

Suharto's New Order 1967 to 1998, including dwifungsi, GOLKAR, Pancasila as sole foundation (asas tunggal), the Berkeley Mafia and economic development, and the limits of pembangunan

What was Suharto's New Order, and how did it transform Indonesian politics, economy, and society between 1967 and 1998?

The Indonesian National Revolution 1945 to 1949, including the Battle of Surabaya, Dutch police actions, the Renville and Linggadjati agreements, the Madiun Affair, and the transfer of sovereignty at the Round Table Conference

How did the Republic of Indonesia survive four years of armed struggle and diplomacy to win international recognition by December 1949?

The proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945, including the role of Sukarno and Hatta, the pemuda pressure at Rengasdengklok, the drafting of the proclamation, and the establishment of the Republic

Why and how was Indonesian independence proclaimed on 17 August 1945, and what were its immediate political consequences?

The Reformasi period 1998 to 2004, including Habibie's openings, the 1999 election, the Wahid and Megawati presidencies, constitutional amendments, decentralisation, and the limits of democratisation

How did Indonesia transition from authoritarianism to democracy between 1998 and 2004, and what were the limits of Reformasi?

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the fall of Suharto in May 1998, including the rupiah collapse, the IMF programme, the May 1998 riots, student protests, and Suharto's resignation

How did the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis bring down the Suharto regime, and why did Suharto resign on 21 May 1998?

Sukarno's Guided Democracy 1957 to 1965, including the abandonment of parliamentary democracy, the role of NASAKOM (Nationalism, Religion, Communism), the West Irian campaign, and the deepening economic crisis

What was Guided Democracy, and how did Sukarno's political balance of NASAKOM transform Indonesian politics between 1957 and 1965?

The 30 September 1965 coup attempt (G30S) and the anti-Communist massacres of 1965 to 1966, including the killing of the generals, the role of Suharto, and the destruction of the PKI

What happened on the night of 30 September 1965, and how did the army's response transform Indonesian politics through the anti-Communist massacres of 1965 to 1966?

The Indonesian occupation of East Timor 1975 to 1999, including the December 1975 invasion, annexation as the 27th province, the resistance under FRETILIN, the Santa Cruz massacre, and the 1999 referendum

Why did Indonesia invade and occupy East Timor in 1975, and what were the consequences for Indonesian foreign relations and Timorese society?

The nature and impact of the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies 1942 to 1945, including the collapse of Dutch rule, the use of Indonesian nationalists, the formation of PETA, romusha labour, and Japanese sponsorship of the independence movement

How did the Japanese occupation transform Indonesian political life and create the conditions for the proclamation of independence?

The nature and breakdown of parliamentary democracy in Indonesia 1949 to 1957, including unstable cabinets, the 1955 elections, regional and ideological tensions, economic problems, and the move towards Guided Democracy

Why did parliamentary (liberal) democracy fail in Indonesia between 1949 and 1957, and how did this open the way to Guided Democracy?

The 2004 election and the establishment of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency, including the consolidation of Indonesian democracy, civil-military relations, and the conclusion of the national study period

What was the significance of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's election as Indonesia's first directly elected president in 2004?

Terrorism and conflict in early Reformasi Indonesia, including the 12 October 2002 Bali bombing, the response to Jemaah Islamiyah, the Aceh insurgency, the December 2004 tsunami, and the 2005 Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding

How did the 2002 Bali bombing transform Indonesian counter-terrorism, and how was the Aceh insurgency ended through the 2005 Helsinki peace process?

Section III (Peace and Conflict): Conflict in Europe 1935-1945

The course of the European war 1939 to 1941, including the invasion of Poland, the Phoney War, the German conquest of Western Europe in 1940, the Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa of June 1941

How did the German advances of 1939 to 1941 transform the European war?

The defeat of Germany 1944 to 1945, including Operation Bagration, the D-Day landings, the liberation of Western Europe, the Soviet advance, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Berlin

How was Germany defeated between January 1944 and May 1945?

The growth of European tensions 1935 to 1939, including the failure of the League and collective security, the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the Spanish Civil War, the policy of appeasement, the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and the invasion of Poland

How did European tensions grow between 1935 and 1939 to make general war possible?

The impact of the war on civilians 1939 to 1945, including aerial bombing of cities, occupation policies and resistance, the Holocaust, displacement and forced labour, and the experience of women and children on the home front

How did the European war affect civilians between 1939 and 1945?

The reasons for Allied victory in Europe, including the economic, industrial, and demographic advantages of the Allies, the strategic decisions of the Grand Alliance, the role of intelligence and technology, and the contributions of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain

Why did the Allies win the European war?

The turning points of the European war 1942 to 1943, including El Alamein, Operation Torch, Stalingrad, Kursk, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the strategic bombing offensive

What were the major turning points of the European war in 1942 and 1943, and why did they shift the strategic balance?

Section III (Personalities): Albert Speer, Hitler's Architect and Minister of Armaments

Speer's knowledge of and complicity in the Final Solution, including the GBI Berlin clearances, the Posen Conference of October 1943, his presence at the SS economic conferences, and the post-war evidence of the Walters Letter and Brechtken's research

What did Speer know of the Final Solution, and how should his complicity be assessed?

Speer's role as Hitler's architect 1933 to 1942, including the Nuremberg Party rally designs, the Cathedral of Light, the New Reich Chancellery, the Welthauptstadt Germania project, and the political function of monumental architecture

How did Speer's work as Hitler's architect serve the political and ideological aims of the Nazi regime?

Speer's role as Minister of Armaments and War Production 1942 to 1945, including the rationalisation of production, the use of forced labour, the relationship with Sauckel, and the production peak of mid-1944

How effective was Speer as Minister of Armaments and War Production between 1942 and 1945?

Speer's background and rise to prominence, including his middle-class upbringing, his architectural training, his joining of the Nazi Party in 1931, and his ascent through Hitler's personal patronage to the role of First Architect of the Reich

What was Albert Speer's background, and how did he rise to prominence within the Nazi regime?

Speer's trial at Nuremberg and his Spandau imprisonment 1946 to 1966, including his strategy of accepting general responsibility while denying specific knowledge, the 20-year sentence, the Spandau Diaries, and the construction of his postwar persona

How did Speer present himself at Nuremberg, and what did his Spandau years contribute to his postwar image?

The historiography and modern interpretations of Albert Speer, including the early postwar acceptance of the 'good Nazi' persona, the Sereny and Fest revisions of the 1990s, the archival opening of the 2000s, and the decisive reassessment by Brechtken in 2017

How have historians interpreted Albert Speer, and how has the verdict changed over time?

Section III (Personalities): Leon Trotsky, Revolutionary and Theorist of Permanent Revolution

Trotsky's role in the 1905 Revolution, including his return to Russia in February 1905, his chairmanship of the St Petersburg Soviet from October to December 1905, his arrest in December 1905, his 1906 trial, and the political lessons embodied in Results and Prospects

What role did Trotsky play in the 1905 Revolution, and what did the experience teach him?

Trotsky's assassination in Coyoacan, Mexico, on 21 August 1940, including the 24 May 1940 Siqueiros raid, the NKVD penetration of the Coyoacan household, the Ramon Mercader operation, and the long preparation of Stalin's order

How was Trotsky assassinated, and what does the operation tell us about Stalin's reach?

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How did Trotsky perform as Commissar for Foreign Affairs, and what was the significance of Brest-Litovsk?

Trotsky as Commissar for Foreign Affairs, November 1917 to March 1918, including the publication of the secret treaties, the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, the 'no war, no peace' formula, the German offensive of February 1918, and the eventual signature of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on 3 March 1918

Trotsky's background and political development, including his Jewish Ukrainian farming family, his Nikolayev radicalisation, his arrest and Siberian exile, his 1902 escape, the London meeting with Lenin, and the 1903 RSDLP split that placed him outside both factions

What was Trotsky's background, and how did his early life shape his political development as a Marxist?

Trotsky's life and writings in exile, 1929 to 1940, including the Prinkipo, French, and Norwegian residences, the Mexican refuge, the autobiography My Life (1930), the History of the Russian Revolution (1932), and The Revolution Betrayed (1936)

Where did Trotsky live in exile, and what did he write there?

Trotsky's founding of the Fourth International in September 1938, including the 1933 break with the Comintern after the German catastrophe, the International Left Opposition, the Transitional Programme, the Founding Conference at Perigny, and the rival socialist tradition the new International represented

Why did Trotsky found the Fourth International in 1938, and what was its programme?

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How did Trotsky respond to the Moscow Trials, and what was the Dewey Commission?

Trotsky's response to the Moscow Trials, 1936 to 1938, including the August 1936 trial of Zinoviev and Kamenev, the January 1937 Pyatakov trial, the March 1938 Bukharin trial, and the John Dewey Commission of Inquiry at Coyoacan in April 1937

Trotsky's role in the October Revolution of 1917, including his May 1917 return, his July arrest, his Bolshevik membership from late July, his Petrograd Soviet chairmanship from September, his chairmanship of the Military Revolutionary Committee, and his direction of the 24-25 October seizure of power

What was Trotsky's role in the October Revolution of 1917?

Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution, including its 1906 formulation in Results and Prospects, its mature 1929 statement in The Permanent Revolution, and its political function as the alternative to Stalin's Socialism in One Country

What was Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution, and why did it matter politically?

Trotsky as People's Commissar for War, 1918 to 1925, including the construction of the Red Army on conscription and military specialist foundations, the political commissar system, the armoured train, the defence of Petrograd in 1919, and the Polish War of 1920

How did Trotsky build and lead the Red Army during the Russian Civil War?

Trotsky's analysis of Stalinism in The Revolution Betrayed (1936), including the doctrines of the degenerated workers' state, the bureaucracy as a social caste, the Soviet Thermidor, the call for political revolution, and the influence of the analysis on twentieth-century anti-Stalinist Marxism

What was Trotsky's analysis of Stalinism in The Revolution Betrayed (1936)?

Trotsky's defeat in the struggle for the succession to Lenin, 1922 to 1929, including the trade union dispute, the Lenin Testament, the troika, the Left Opposition platform, the United Opposition of 1926-1927, the November 1927 expulsion, and the Alma-Ata and Prinkipo exiles

How and why did Trotsky lose the struggle with Stalin in the 1920s?

The historiography and modern interpretations of Leon Trotsky, including the Stalinist anti-myth, Isaac Deutscher's classic trilogy of 1954 to 1963, Pierre Broue's 1988 biography, the post-1991 archival opening, and Robert Service's revisionist 2009 biography

How have historians interpreted Leon Trotsky, and how has the verdict changed over time?

Section III (Personalities): Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China

Mao's background and rise to prominence, including his peasant upbringing in Hunan, his exposure to the New Culture and May Fourth Movements, his role as a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, and his ascent within the CCP through the late 1920s and early 1930s

What was Mao Zedong's background, and how did he rise to political prominence within the Chinese Communist Party?

Mao's Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, including the May 16 Notice, the Red Guards, the persecution of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, the rise of Lin Biao and the Gang of Four, the Down to the Countryside Movement, and the long political and human consequences

Why did Mao Zedong launch the Cultural Revolution, and what role did he play in its conduct from 1966 to 1976?

Mao's death on 9 September 1976, the Hua Guofeng interregnum, the rise of Deng Xiaoping and the reform settlement, the 1981 Resolution's verdict that Mao was 70 percent correct and 30 percent in error, the continuing place of Mao in PRC public space, and his contested place in modern Chinese history

What was the legacy of Mao Zedong's leadership of China, in his death and after?

Mao's establishment of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1953, including the consolidation of CCP power, the Common Program of 1949, land reform, the campaigns against counter-revolutionaries, the Three-Anti and Five-Anti campaigns, the 1950 Sino-Soviet Treaty, and the First Five-Year Plan from 1953

How did Mao Zedong establish and consolidate the People's Republic of China between 1949 and 1953?

Mao's conduct of foreign policy, including the lean to one side and the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Sino-Soviet split of 1960, the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the development of nuclear weapons in 1964, the Zhenbao Island clashes of 1969, and the opening to the United States and Nixon's visit in February 1972

How did Mao Zedong conduct PRC foreign policy, and what was his role in the Sino-Soviet split and the opening to the United States?

Mao's Great Leap Forward of 1958 to 1962, including the People's Communes, the Backyard Furnaces, the Lushan Conference of 1959, the dismissal of Peng Dehuai, and the Great Famine in which an estimated 15 to 45 million people died

Why did Mao Zedong launch the Great Leap Forward, and what were its consequences?

Mao's Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956 to 1957, the subsequent Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 to 1958 led by Deng Xiaoping, the destruction of the intellectual class, and the consequences for the trajectory of CCP policy

Why did Mao Zedong launch the Hundred Flowers Campaign, and what was the relationship between it and the Anti-Rightist Campaign?

Mao's decision to intervene in the Korean War in October 1950, the conduct of the war by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army under Peng Dehuai, the Panmunjom Armistice of 1953, and the consequences for Sino-Soviet relations and PRC domestic politics

What role did Mao Zedong play in the Korean War, and what were its consequences for his leadership and the PRC?

Mao's role in the Long March of 1934 to 1935, including the breakout from the Jiangxi Soviet, the Zunyi Conference of January 1935, the trek to Shaanxi, and the consolidation of Mao's authority within the CCP leadership

What role did Mao Zedong play in the Long March, and how did the experience consolidate his position in the Chinese Communist Party?

Mao's leadership in the Chinese Civil War of 1946 to 1949, including the failure of the Marshall Mission, the decisive campaigns of 1948 to 1949 (Liaoshen, Huaihai, Pingjin), the role of land reform, and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949

How and why did Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party defeat the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War of 1946 to 1949?

Mao at Yan'an from 1936 to 1948, including the development of the Yan'an Way, the Rectification Campaign of 1942 to 1944, the elaboration of Mao Zedong Thought, and the elevation to Chairman of the Central Committee at the Seventh Congress in 1945

How did the Yan'an period shape Mao Zedong's leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and his political doctrine?

The historiography of Mao Zedong, including the early Western journalism of Edgar Snow, the Cold War sinology of Stuart Schram, the New Left sympathetic accounts, the official PRC 70 to 30 verdict of 1981, the post-archive revisionism of Jung Chang and Frank Dikoetter, and the sociological and institutional approaches of Andrew Walder and Roderick MacFarquhar

How have historians interpreted Mao Zedong, and how have those interpretations changed?

The development of the Mao cult of personality, including the formation of Mao Zedong Thought at the Seventh Congress in 1945, the role of Lin Biao and the Little Red Book, the cult's peak in the Cultural Revolution, and the eventual repudiation in the 1981 Resolution

How did the cult of personality around Mao Zedong develop, and what role did it play in his exercise of power?

The succession crisis of Mao's last decade, including the rise and fall of Lin Biao, the rise of Deng Xiaoping and the moderates, the rise of the Gang of Four, the death of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong in 1976, and the arrest of the Gang of Four

What was the succession crisis under Mao Zedong, and how did it culminate in his death and the post-1976 settlement?

Section II (National Study): USA 1919-1941

Prohibition, including the Eighteenth Amendment, the Volstead Act, organised crime, and repeal under the Twenty-first Amendment

Why did Prohibition fail and what were its social consequences?

Roosevelt's leadership, including his early career, the use of the fireside chats, his cabinet, and the expansion of presidential power

What kind of leader was Franklin Roosevelt and how did he transform the American presidency?

The path to Pearl Harbor, including American policy in Asia, the oil embargo of July 1941, the Hull-Nomura negotiations, and the Japanese attack of 7 December 1941

Why did the United States and Japan go to war in December 1941?

The Second New Deal, including the Wagner Act, the Social Security Act, the WPA, the court-packing plan, and conservative and radical opposition

What did the Second New Deal add to the First and what opposition did Roosevelt face?

The USA in 1919, including the political system, economic conditions, society, and the impact of World War I

What were the political, economic and social conditions in the United States in 1919?

The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and the causes of the Great Depression

What caused the Wall Street Crash and how did it produce the Great Depression?

American foreign policy 1919 to 1939, including the rejection of the League of Nations, the Washington Conference, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and the Neutrality Acts

Why was American foreign policy in the 1920s and 1930s dominated by isolationism?

The American economy in the 1920s, including Republican government policies, tariffs, taxation, the boom in consumer industries, and weaknesses in the economy

How did Republican economic policies shape American prosperity in the 1920s?

Evaluating the New Deal, including the recession of 1937 to 1938, the impact on women and African Americans, and historians' assessments

How successful was the New Deal in addressing the Depression?

Roosevelt and the First New Deal, including the Hundred Days, banking reform, relief programs, and the recovery agencies

What did Roosevelt achieve in the First Hundred Days and what did the First New Deal try to do?

Society between 1919 and 1941, including African Americans and the Great Migration, the changing role of women, and immigration restriction

How did the experience of African Americans, women, and immigrants change between 1919 and 1941?

The social impact of the Depression, including the Dust Bowl, internal migration, the unemployed, and the documentary record

How did the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl reshape American society?

The impact of the Great Depression on American society, Hoover's response, and the 1932 election

How effectively did Herbert Hoover respond to the Depression and why did he lose the 1932 election?

American foreign policy 1939 to 1941, including the revision of the Neutrality Acts, Lend-Lease, the Atlantic Charter, and undeclared naval war in the Atlantic

How did Roosevelt move the United States from neutrality towards intervention between September 1939 and December 1941?

Social and cultural developments in the 1920s, including the Jazz Age, mass consumption, the changing role of women, the Harlem Renaissance, immigration restriction, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Scopes trial

How did American society and culture change in the 1920s?