German Nationalism: Unit Introduction (Modern History)

Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in German Nationalism between 1914–1945 (World War I begins –World War II ends).

Context: My school runs this program in Alternative Sequence (yr 11 and 12s in together) due to the small size of the school. This lesson was delivered as a 2 hour block during the term 4 exam block to introduce the unit for the following year and to allow year 10s and 11s who would be studying the subject together to meet each other.

This resource includes:
1 x PowerPoint
1 x Handout + an answer sheet

The lesson includes:
• A brief history of Germany (political structures)
• Information about conflict which existed pre WW1 (including changing statehoods in Europe.)
• Definitions of important ideologies – nationalism, expansionism, imperialism & militarism
• Introducing the concept of alliances and the war climate in the build up to World War One
• The assassination of Frans Ferdinand and its significance
• Germany’s experiences in WW1 (initial success followed by stalemate and defeat)
• The Treaty of Versailles and its ramifications for Germany

The lesson ends with a group work activity where students are assigned key sections of the Treaty of Versailles which they have to locate online. Once found they must fill in a graphic organiser with a summary + a speculation about the motivation (intended result) for each article.

There is a handout of the graphic organiser for this activity. There is also a teacher answer sheet.