Unit 1: Totalitarian Ideology in Theory and in Practice, c1848–c1941 HIS1N

To what extent were totalitarian states influenced by ideology?

Introduction

This unit provides an overview of the development of totalitarian ideologies as they developed from the mid-nineteenth century and an opportunity to investigate three totalitarian regimes and the extent to which ideology shaped them. Candidates will study Marxism as it developed from the mid-nineteenth century and its application in the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1941. This study of a communist regime will be complemented by a study of non-communist totalitarian ideologies as developed from the late nineteenth century: the establishment and development of Fascism in Italy from 1919 to 1940 and the development of Nazism in Germany from 1928 to 1939. It is not intended that students will study all aspects of totalitarian regimes; rather there will be a focus on the key themes of the establishment of the regime and the extent to which the regime that developed was consistent with totalitarian ideology, with reference to the intolerance of diversity and the Cult of Personality.

Content

The USSR and Marxism

• Marxist stage theory, including the dictatorship of the proletariat and how it was adapted by Lenin and Stalin

• The power struggle to replace Lenin, 1924–1929: strengths and weaknesses of Stalin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin; the role of ideology as it relates to the future of the revolution and the Soviet economy

• The intolerance of diversity in the 1930s, with reference to economic, political, religious and culturaldiversity, including the purges

• Marxist theories of leadership and the Cult of Stalin

Fascist Italy

• Fascist ideology, with reference to militarism, nationalism, corporatism, anti-communism and racism

• The rise of Fascism: the attraction of Fascist ideology, the role of Mussolini, the weakness of liberal Italy post-war, the fear of communism; the establishment of the one party state

• The intolerance of diversity with reference to political, economic, religious and cultural diversity

• Il Duce and the Cult of Mussolini in relation to Fascist ideology

Nazi Germany

• Nazi ideology, with reference to nationalism, socialism, race and anti-semitism and Volksgemeinschaft

• The rise to power of Hitler from 1928 to January 1933: the economic crisis in agriculture and industry, the attraction and strengths of the Nazis and Nazism, the failures of democracy and the role of the elite

• The establishment of dictatorship from January 1933 to the Army Oath of Loyalty

• The intolerance of diversity with reference to anti-semitism, the Roma, asocials and competing political ideologies

• The Fuhrer Myth and Nazi ideology, including the Fuhrerprinzip

Unit 2: The USA and Vietnam, 1961–1975 HIS2Q

Introduction

This unit provides an opportunity to investigate the problems faced by the United States, both at home and

abroad, as a result of increasing involvement in Vietnam. It will cover the period from the inauguration of

President JF Kennedy to the fall of Saigon in 1975. Students will need to have a firm grasp of the chronology

of events both in Vietnam and the USA. They will also need to be aware of the Cold War context in which the

war was fought. The study of Vietnam focuses on the attempts by the USA to win the war and the problems

that were encountered in Vietnam and at home in trying to do so.

Content

Wider Historical Context

In order to judge the extent of change across the period, candidates will need a broad understanding of the

historical context of the Cold War and in particular US involvement in Vietnam. There should be awareness

of the situation in South and North Vietnam following French withdrawal from colonial rule after 1954, of

the motives behind US policies towards Asia after the Communist revolution in China and the Korean War,

including the so-called ‘domino theory’.

The reasons for US involvement in Vietnam, 1961–1963

• The situation in Vietnam by 1961

• The context of the Cold War and the reasons why the Kennedy administration intervened to support South Vietnam

• The actions and policies of President Kennedy: the Strategic Hamlets programme

• The significance of the assassinations of President Diem and President Kennedy

Escalation of the US war effort, 1964–1968

• The personality and policies of President Johnson

• The Gulf of Tomkin Resolution and its impact

• The aims and objectives of the US army in Vietnam

• The mass bombing campaign

The crisis of the war, 1964–1968: Vietnam

• The Vietcong: leadership, tactics and effectiveness

• The failure of the US and its allies to win the hearts and minds of the people of South Vietnam

• The importance of logistical support from North Vietnam

• The Tet Offensive and its impact in Vietnam

The crisis of the war, 1964–1968: inside the USA

• The importance of television and the media in influencing public opinion

• Growing student protests, especially from 1966

• The impact of atrocities such as the My Lai Massacre

• The Tet Offensive and its impact in the USA

• Political divisions in the presidential campaigns of 1968

The end of the War, 1969–1975

• The aims and policies of Nixon and Kissinger, the Paris Peace negotiations and the failure to achieve a

lasting peace settlement

• The reasons for, and effects of, the widening of the war into Laos and Cambodia

• The impact on US policy of anti-war protests and the Watergate affair

• US withdrawal and the position of Vietnam in 1975