| 1. |
Focus Question: Why did Europe remain in a state of international
tension during the 1920s and 1930s? |
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What two broad factors accounted for the experimentation in politics
and economic life after the Paris peace settlement? Why did the Versailles
settlement foster both resentment and discontent in numerous countries?
Which nation, more than any other, felt that the terms of the treaty were
not being enforced vigorously? What three factors combined to intensify
the effects of the Great Depression? Where did the Allied victors
hope to get the money to repay their war debts? Why did the French
invade the German Ruhr in 1923? What were the results? Which
country invested heavily in Germany following WWI? What brought on
the crash of Wall Street in October 1929? What impact did it have
on the world economy? When and why did Germany's reparation payments
end? Why did agricultural prices decline in the 1920s? What impact
did this have upon the world economy? What type of governmental experimentation
did Britain and France attempt in the face of the Depression? |
| 2. |
Focus Question: What were the chief characteristics of the
Soviet Experiment? |
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How did the dictatorship of the Bolsheviks differ from that of the
Italian Fascists and the German Nazis? What percentage of the population
were members of the Russian Communist party in the early days? What
impact did the presence of communist Russia have on the policies of other
European nations? What was the nature of "War Communism"? Why
did Lenin institute his New Economic Policy (NEP)? What type of society
did it create? What was the real issue between Stalin and Trotsky?
What particular dispute provided the "excuse" for their struggle?
Why did Stalin win? |
| 3. |
Focus Question: How did Stalin change the Soviet Union and
why did these changes impress many Western intellectuals? |
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How was Stalin's agricultural policy after 1928 different from Lenin's?
What was its ultimate purpose? How was the social cost of Stalin's
collectivization policy? How many peasants were killed during rural
collectivization? Why did the soviets believe that collectivization
was necessary? How successful were the soviets in achieving industrialization
between 1928 and WWII? How did they pay for industrialization?
Who made industrial decisions? How did many Western writers and intellectuals
perceive Soviet industrialization and society during the early 1930's?
What event sparked the Great Purges? What rational explanation is
there for the Great Purges, and what impact did they have on the Communist
party? |
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kulaks
Five-Year Plan
Great Purges
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