can have paragraphs, not needed
intro: 1-2 lines
no conclusion - if there is time, you can write a conclusion
3 arguments is best (2 is a bit less, 4 works as long as it has the same quality)
MILK the question (like C.A.r.e.F.u.L)
M- marks
I- instruction term (command terms)
L- limits
K- key knowledge
first sentence → contention, provide a direct answer to the question
when answering questions on causes, structure arguments chronologically
if a time period is provided, select events that cover the whole time
include some form of specific data (facts, statistics, dates, laws)
avoid narrative and irrelevant discussion
T- topic
E- explanation
E- evidence
S- significance
O- outcome
L- link
explanation before evidence
short quotes!
embed
sandwiched in between explanation
quality over quantity
tell which source
can say “as seen in source a”
or “as witnessed in the propaganda poster in source a”
or in brackets e.g. (source a)
example passage: (excellent)
However, cultural misunderstandings may sometimes manifest themselves unintentionally, with Broome (2006) suggesting that “significant winks in one group”, such as the Aboriginal Australians, might merely be “twitches of the eye in another”, such as the white settlers. Such misunderstandings led to further tension and frontier conflict, with…. (next piece of evidence) (followed by more analysis)
revise content
events leading to 1933
how nazis and hitler came into power
economic social political
look at holocaust, chunk into time periods
legal things
timelines and subheadings in revision
33-38, 39-41 ghettoisation, 4-44 concentration camps, 44-45 death marches
remember years, maybe dates if possible
practice extended responses
brain dump content (one page summary)
use page to revise
two questions
questions will say which sources to use
“referring to sources a and b, and your background knowledge”
double sided source page
bring pens pencils dictionary highlighter
given q&a booklet with criteria and source sheet
can use pencil
at least two pages response
500 words, 650-700
45 mins
5 mins reading time
5-10 mins planning time
highlight parts of source to use
40 mins writing time
(20 mins in vce!)
one visual one quote source
quote from text sources
describe visual sources
clarity of expression, written expression, sentence structure, grammar
spelling mistakes not as important
closed book, exam conditions
clear contention
use source as “springboard into wider point”
e.g. for sport poster source in practice assessment, use it to start talking about other forms of non-violent resistance
WWI ends (1918): Germany defeated, harsh Treaty of Versailles in 1919
Economic chaos: Reparations = money owed, massive inflation, Great Depression (1929) makes things worse
Social unrest: People were angry, unemployed, looking for someone to blame
1920: Hitler joins German Workers’ Party → becomes Nazi Party
1923: Beer Hall Putsch (failed coup), Hitler jailed, writes Mein Kampf
1930-1932: Nazi popularity grows due to promises to fix economy + nationalism
1933: Hitler becomes Chancellor (30 Jan), Nazis take over
Economic: Promised jobs, blamed Jews & Treaty
Social: Nationalism, fear of communism
Political: Weak Weimar gov’t, Nazis use propaganda, violence, SA intimidation
1933:
Enabling Act → Hitler rules by decree
Boycott of Jewish businesses
1935:
Nuremberg Laws: Jews = not German citizens, banned mixed marriages
1938:
Kristallnacht (9–10 Nov): 267 synagogues burned, Jewish shops smashed, 30,000 Jews sent to camps
1939: WWII begins (invasion of Poland, 1 Sept)
Jews forced into ghettos (like Warsaw), walled off, overcrowded, starvation
Einsatzgruppen: Nazi death squads killing Jews behind front lines
Jan 1942: Wannsee Conference – Nazi leaders plan systematic murder of Jews
Major camps: Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec
Deportations from ghettos to camps by trains
Millions killed by gas, starvation, forced labour
As Allies closed in, Nazis evacuated camps
Forced prisoners on death marches → thousands die from cold, exhaustion, shootings
1945: Camps liberated (Auschwitz – Jan, others later)
May 1945: Germany surrenders → end of Holocaust
Year | Event |
---|---|
1919 | Treaty of Versailles |
1923 | Hitler’s failed coup (Beer Hall Putsch) |
1933 | Hitler becomes Chancellor, Enabling Act |
1935 | Nuremberg Laws |
1938 | Kristallnacht |
1939 | WWII starts, ghettos created |
1941-42 | Mass killings begin, Final Solution formalised |
1942-44 | Death camps in full use |
1944-45 | Death marches, liberation |
🧾 Laws & Dates: "ENABLING" (1933), "NUREMBERG" (1935), "KRISTALLNACHT" (1938)
🏚 Ghetto → Camp → March
☠ Final Solution = 1942
💥 WWII = 1939–1945
🔥 Kristallnacht = fire and glass = 1938
❄ Death March = freezing = 1944-45
A peace treaty that ended World War I — but it was really harsh on Germany.
It blamed Germany for the war (“war guilt clause”) and made them:
Pay massive reparations 💸
Lose land 🗺
Shrink their army to almost nothing 🪖
Germans saw it as humiliating, unfair, and it caused economic disaster + anger, which helped the Nazis rise later.
🧠 How to remember: Versailles = Vicious treaty → Germany very mad → Nazis take advantage
A political and economic system where everyone is supposed to share everything equally.
No private businesses — the government controls all jobs, land, production.
Hitler hated communism because:
It was anti-Nazi (and anti-racism)
He blamed communists for Germany’s problems
He feared a communist revolution like in Russia (1917)
🧠 Why it matters: Nazis used fear of communism to gain support from rich people, businesses, and the middle class.
SA = Sturmabteilung (Storm Detachment), also called Brownshirts
Basically, Hitler’s private army of thugs in the early Nazi years.
They beat up opponents (especially communists + Jews), broke up rival rallies, and scared people into voting Nazi.
Helped Nazis seem strong and in control during chaos
🧠 Think: SA = Scary Army used to scare voters and destroy rivals
Mobile Nazi killing squads that followed the German army into places like Poland and the USSR.
From 1939–41, they rounded up Jews, Roma, communists, and shot them in mass graves.
Seen as the early phase of the Holocaust before gas chambers
Killed over 1 million people
🧠 Name sounds German military-y → think death squads
A meeting of top Nazi officials near Berlin
Purpose: Plan the "Final Solution" = the complete extermination of all Jews in Europe
Chilling because it shows how systematic + organised the Holocaust was
Not emotional — just cold planning, like it was an office meeting
🧠 Wannsee = “We decide how to kill millions”
The countries who fought against Nazi Germany in WWII.
Main ones:
🇬🇧 Britain
🇺🇸 USA
🇷🇺 Soviet Union (USSR)
🇫🇷 France
Liberated the concentration camps in 1944–45 (e.g. Auschwitz in Jan 1945)
Their advance caused Nazis to do death marches to try to hide evidence
🧠 Allies = “All together” against Hitler
Let me know if you want a one-line summary cheat sheet or test-style questions on these!