History 329: Europe in Crisis, 1890-1945
Dr. Kreider
Final Paper Essay Question
Take Home essay, Due during Final Exam Period
Wednesday May 11th by 4:00 p.m., Clark C-355 or History Department office
200 Points
I. Instructions:
In one 6-7 page, typed, double-spaced, well-written and proofread essay answer the question
presented below. (If the paper is accepted late without previous approval, the student’s grade will be
reduced one grade for each day it is late.)
In this paper you are making an argument, thus your paper should have an introduction, and a
THESIS STATEMENT. YOU MUST use the in class films, (The World at War, Triumph of the
Will, History of Britain: The Two Winstons), The Racial State, Weber’s The Hollow Years, Orwell’s
The Road to Wigan Pier, Borowski’s This Way for the Gas. . . , the Winks and Adams textbook, as
well as lectures to back up your argument. Use specific examples to do this! You MUST cite these
sources using FOOTNOTES in the Turabian Style (see handout from class also found online on
RamCT as Turabian2009).
I recommend you sit down with the question and prepare all the evidence you wish to use to
formulate the answer in an outline. Then go to the computer and type up your answer. Spellcheck and
THEN PROOFREAD your work. (Do NOT just rely on Spell Check . . . it is evil and will play you
false!) Instead sit down and take 15 minutes to read your paper out loud to yourself or someone else.
You will find that you catch most of your errors. I can’t give you credit for your great ideas if I can’t
tell what you are saying.
II. The Question:
In a well argued, well documented and eloquent essay, answer the following question:
Despite the initial post WWI rejection of nationalism and war, by the 1920s several new political
ideologies, most significantly communism and fascism again mobilized violent hyper-nationalism or
internationalism respectively to gain political strength in central and southern Europe. In contrast,
Western Europe remained firmly liberal-democratic, despite the presence of these ideologies in
their electorates. What explains these two different paths? How did fascists like Hitler and
Mussolini or the French and British governments reorganize their societies and mobilize (or not)
their populations toward war, both literally and symbolically? Why did their respective citizenries
support their governments and their actions? Compare the two parts of Europe (i.e. France and
Britain to Germany and Italy) and their interwar development. Be sure to consider social, political,
economic and gendered reasons as part of your answer. You must include the course readings listed
above and your books as evidence to support your argument. Use footnotes so that I can see where
you are getting your information from. (See handout)
