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Welcome! This site is designed to help you with your study of Junior Cert and Leaving Cert History. To the left, you'll see links for each year. Click on your year and you will find a list of all the topics you will study. Each topic page has information, tips and links to pictures, games and other useful websites.

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SITE UPDATE: All pages for the Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe Leaving Cert topic are now complete. I'm working on the other Leaving Cert topics at the moment, hope to have Pursuit of Sovereignty and the Impact of Partition up very soon, as it's the prescribed topic for the 2014 Leaving Cert examination. I can't make any promises with time as I work full-time myself, but I'll do my best!

The prescribed topic for the 2016 and 2017 Leaving Cert exams will be Dictatorship and Democracy.


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11 Time-Travelling Photos of World War One: Then and Now

Dictatorship and Democracy: Key Personalities

Leaving Cert > Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe

Below is the complete list of Key Personalities for Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe, 1920 - 1945.

Each of these personalities are linked on their own relevant pages (e.g. Stalin is linked on the Russia in the Inter-War Years page).

They are listed in alphabetical order.

Charlie Chaplin
British-born actor. Became very famous in the 1920s and 30s, especially for his "Tramp" character. (Anglo-American Popular Culture in Peace and War)

Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister, 1940 - 1945. Led Britain during World War II and was one of the "Big Three" to take part in wartime conferences. (World War II)

Bing Crosby
American singer. Most famous for the song "White Christmas", Crosby had a very successful career as an actor and recording artist from the 1920s until his death. (Anglo-American Popular Culture in Peace and War)

Josef Goebbels
German Nazi official. Goebbels was in charge of Nazi propaganda before and during Hitler's time in power. (Germany in the Inter-War Years)

Adolf Hitler
Fuhrer of Germany, 1933 - 1945. Leader of the Nazi Party, attempted to conquer Europe and establish a totalitarian dictatorship. (Germany in the Inter-War Years, World War II)

J.M. Keynes
British economist. His ideas in the 1920s and 30s were very influential. (Britain in the Inter-War Years)

Vladimir Lenin
Russian revolutionary, and the first leader of the Soviet Union. He died after a series of strokes in 1924, allowing Stalin to rise to power. (Russia in the Inter-War Years)

Benito Mussolini
Italian dictator. Mussolini founded the Fascist Party and led Italy throughout the 1920s and 30s. (Italy in the Inter-War Years)

Leni Riefenstahl
German film-maker. Riefenstahl was employed by Hitler to make propaganda films for the Nazis in the 1930s. (Germany in the Inter-War Years)

Josef Stalin
Russian dictator. Leader of the Soviet Union from the 1920s until his death in 1953. Joined the Allied side in World War II and took part in the wartime conferences. (Russia in the Inter-War Years)

World War II

Leaving Cert > Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe > World War II

Aircraft such as these took part in the Battle of Britain.

In Third Year you studied the main events of World War II, from the Nazi invasion of Poland to the Soviet invasion of Berlin. In this section, you will re-examine those events, while also looking at other battles that took place in the war.

You will also examine how technology influenced the war, from the tanks and aircraft that were used to the computers that were developed to break codes, as well as looking at the alliances that were set up between different countries. In the next section, you'll learn how the war impacted on society.

Continue to Society during World War II

It might seem like there's more than usual to know for this section, but there are no Key Personalities and no Case Studies associated with it, so it balances out.

1939 - 1940:

Invasion of Poland, results.
Russo-Finnish War.
Phoney War.
Invasion of Denmark and Norway.
Invasion and Fall of France.
The Battle of Britain (the Blitz, the war at sea).

1941 - 1942:

Operation Barbarossa (the Battle of Stalingrad).
American entry to the war.

1943 - 1945:

Operation Husky.
Operation Overlord (D-Day).
The defeat of Germany.

Wartime Alliances:

Pacts and Treaties: Pact of Steel, Nazi-Soviet Pact, Anti-Comintern Pact, Atlantic Charter.
Conferences: Casablanca, Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam - decisions taken.

Technology of Warfare:

Tanks: German panzers, Russian T-34s.
Aircraft: RAF, Luftwaffe, radar, Mustangs, Spitires, Navigation systems, V-2 rockets.
Subs: U-boats, sonar, Enigma.
Impact of technology (computers).

Key Terms:
Blitzkrieg, Lebensraum
(click here)

Key Personalities:
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill

Soldiers in a trench during the war.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2011: What did one or more of the following achieve in Britain during the period 1920 - 1945?
J.M. Keynes, those who took part in the Jarrow March, Winston Churchill.

2009: What did you learn about World War II from your study of one or more of the following:
wartime alliances, collaboration/resistance, technology of warfare?

2007: How significant was the role played by the Soviet Union in World War II?

2006: What developments took place in the technology of warfare during the period 1920 - 1945?

Ordinary Level:
2015, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C:
How successful was Stalin's leadership during World War II? (40)

2012, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C:
What did Winston Churchill contribute to British victory in World War II? (40)

2015, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2011, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the technology of warfare. (30)

2011, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C:
What did Winston Churchill and/or J.M. Keynes contribute to Britain? (40)

2010, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on France during World War II (also asked in 2007), or
The Battle of Stalingrad. (30)

2010, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C
2008, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C:
How successful was Winston Churchill as a wartime leader between 1940 and 1945? (40)

2009, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2007, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2006, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Winston Churchill. (30)

Hitler in Paris after the fall of France in 1940.

Links go here
Links go here

Welcome!

The best and brightest of the Renaissance are here to welcome you. The others will be along shortly.

First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson (right) and other unionist politicians
pose with a poster of the Ulster Covenant, signed by Edward Carson.

The Ulster Solemn League and Covenant was signed 100 years ago (28th September). The Covenant was a pledge by Ulster unionists to resist "by all means which may be found necessary"attempts by the British government to introduce Home Rule to Ireland. They then set up the Ulster Volunteers, while nationalists joined the Irish Volunteers. The two men who led the unionist resistance, Edward Carson and James Craig, would be leading figures in Northern Ireland when it was created ten years later.

Recordings made by President John F. Kennedy during his presidency have been released along with a new book about them. He recorded his thoughts on the ongoing conflict in Vietnam, as well as conversations he had with other top figures. Recordings like this have been used by historians looking for new insights into events such as the Cuban missile crisis, and they form an important primary source.

You might have heard of the old lady in Spain who took it upon herself to restore a decaying 19th century fresco in her local church. She's back in the news now that the fresco has become a tourist attraction.

The trailer for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" has been released. The film is set to cover Abraham Lincoln's time as President of the United States, his efforts to abolish slavery, and the civil war that followed.

October 1st

Actor Richard Harris was born in Limerick
on this day in 1930.

1815:
The Congress of Vienna opens to redraw Europe's borders after the Napoleonic War.

1843:
The News of the World begins publication in London. It shut down in 2011.

1848:
German inventor Werner von Siemens founded the company which bears his name.

1908:
Ford puts the Model T car on sale in America for $825.

1928:
The Soviet Union begins its first Five Year Plan.

1938:
Nazi Germany annexes the Sudetenland.

1946:
Ex-Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials.

1960:
Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.

1969:
Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

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Key Personality: Winston Churchill

Leaving Cert > Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe > Key Personalities

Churchill is a Key Personality for:

Winston Churchill, giving his famous "V for victory"
sign outside 10 Downing Street.

World War II

Winston Churchill was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1924. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer from then until 1929. He returned Britain to the Gold Standard, which turned out to have negative effects on the British economy. He also wanted to smash the trade unions during the General Strike of 1926,

Churchill was out of office until 1939. He had warned against Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and encouraged strong alliances between Britain, France and the Soviet Union to keep Hitler under control. Chamberlain put Churchill in charge of the Royal Navy when World War II broke out, but only a year later in 1940, he replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister and led a coalition government between the Conservatives and the Labour Party.

Churchill offered strong leadership during 1940, when the fall of France had left Britain alone in Europe against Germany. He was popular for his rousing and courageous speeches during the Battle of Britain, famously saying he had "nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat". His speeches encouraged the British public to resist Germany. Churchill formed a close personal relationship with US President Franklin Roosevelt. He arranged the Land-Lease Act, which allowed Britain to receive American military goods without payment. America entered the war in 1941.

Churchill and Roosevelt agreed the Atlantic Charter in 1941, declaring that all people should have the right to decide their own form of government. The two leaders joined with the Soviet leader Josef Stalin to co-ordinate the Allied war effort. The "Big Three" met in wartime conferences in Casablanca, Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam to make important decisions about the war and the rebuilding of Europe after it. Churchill was responsible for sending British troops to defend Egypt, the destruction of the French naval fleet before it could fall into German hands, and he opposed the opening of a second front until the Allies were sure of victory.

Towards the end of the war, Churchill feared the growth of communism as the Soviet Union took over much of Eastern Europe. Roosevelt did not share this view, which caused some distance to grow between the two. After the defeat of Germany and the end of the war, Churchill's Conservatives lost fresh elections to the Labour Party. Although disappointed, he began writing a six-volume history of the war, and became Prime Minister again from 1951 until 1955. He died in 1965 and was granted a full state funeral by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Allied leaders, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, at the Yalta Conference in 1945.

In short...

Background:

first elected as a Conservative MP in 1924, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1924-29.
Returned Britain to the Gold Standard (negative results), wanted to smash the trade unions.
Out of power from 1929 to 1939.

Prime Minister:

Opposed the policy of appeasement, warned that strong alliances were needed between Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
Put in charge of the Royal Navy by Chamberlain when WWII broke out, replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister a year later.
Strong leadership, rousing speeches, encouraged the British public.
Close relationship with US President Roosevelt - Land Lease Act.

Wartime Conferences:

The "Big Three": Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin.
Met in Casablanca, Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam.
Decisions about the war and the rebuilding of Europe.
Key decisions: Sent troops to defend Egypt, destruction of French fleet.

Later Career:

Feared the expansion of communism after the war, view not shared by Roosevelt.
Lost post-war election in Britain, wrote a history of the war.
Prime Minister again from 1951-1955.

Churchill with a young Queen Elizabeth II (and an even younger Prince Charles) in the late 1950s.
Picture © Getty Images

Society during World War II

Leaving Cert > Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe > Society during World War II

Children in Liverpool playing while wearing gas masks and protective clothing. This picture was taken during the time known as the Blitz, when German planes would regularly bomb British towns and cities.Source: The Liverpool Echo

By now you know all about the war itself, as well as the technology and weapons that were used, but how did people actually live during this time? In Third Year you looked at life in Ireland during what we called "the Emergency", but Ireland was neutral and was not in any real danger of attack. It was very different for people living in Britain, France, Germany and any other European country involved in the war. In this section, the last of the Dictatorship and Democracy part of the course, you learn about wartime life for civilians in Britain, France and Germany. Each had different experiences, you may be asked to compare them.

Germany:

Total war: everyone and all resources involved in the war effort, forced labour.
Suffering: Food shortages, Allied air raids.
The Gestapo and the SS: what were their roles?
The Jews: the Final Solution.
Resistance: Partisans, July Plot, collaboration.

Vichy France (you previously studied this in the France section):

Collaborative actions.
Charles de Gaulle and the Resistance movements.

Britain:

Conscription.
Suffering: Food shortages, air raids (the Blitz).
The Home Guard.
Employment.
Propaganda and entertainment.

If you're answering a question society during World War II, previously studied sections such as "Anglo-American Popular Culture" or Goebbels' role in Nazi Germany may also be useful to you.

Key Terms:
Anti-Semitism, Holocaust, Resistance, Collaboration, Propaganda
(click here)

American comic books such as Captain America and Batman were used as a form of pro-Allied propaganda.
Here, Captain America is beating Hitler up.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2015: What were the economic and social problems of Britain during the inter-war years and/or what was the impact of World War II on its civilian population?

2008: What was the impact of World War II on the civilian population of Britain and/or France?

Ordinary Level:
2015, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the "Home Front" in Britain during World War II. (30)

2010, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2007, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on France during World War II. (30)

2009, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2006, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. (30)

2008, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B
2006, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part B:
Write a short paragraph on the Vichy State in France, 1940 - 1945. (30)

St. Michael's Cathedral in Coventry, England, was built in the Middle Ages. It was destroyed by German bombs during the war, and its ruins still stand today next to a new cathedral.

Links go here
Links go here

Hitler's Foreign Policy and the Causes of World War II

Leaving Cert > Dictatorship and Democracy in Europe > Hitler's Foreign Policy and the Causes of World War II

Europe in September 1939. Image adapted from Wikipedia.

You've examined Hitler's foreign policy before. In Third Year you only need to look at three angles: Hitler's destruction of the Treaty of Versailles with the Anschluss and remilitarising, the reactions of Britain, France and America, and the Munich Conference which allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland.

Now, you'll look at Hitler's foreign policy in more detail. You'll learn how his actions brought Europe closer and closer to a war which finally began in September 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland in his quest for "lebensraum".

Continue to World War II

It might seem like there's more than usual to know for this section, but there are no Key Personalities and no Case Studies associated with it, so it balances out.

Hitler's Aims:

Destroy the Treaty of Versailles, create a "Grossdeutschland", Lebensraum.

Early Actions:

Disarmament conferences.
Dollfuss and Mussolini.
Anglo-German naval agreement.
Italy and Abyssinia, the Spanish Civil War.
Remilitarising the Rhineland.
Hossbach Memorandum.

Hitler's Successes:

Anschluss with Austria.
The Sudetenland (Munich Conference, Appeasement, invasion of Czechoslovakia).
The Polish Corridor (Nazi-Soviet Pact)
War.

The Causes of World War II:

Hitler's aims and methods.
The weakness of the League of Nations.
The policy of appeasement.
Isolation of the US.

Key Terms:
Lebensraum
(click here)

Key Personalities:
Adolf Hitler

British Prime Minister Chamberlain and Hitler sit down to dinner during the Munich Conference.

Higher Level (100 marks each)
2015, 2012: To what extent was Hitler's foreign policy, 1933-1939, responsible for the outbreak of World War II?

Ordinary Level:
2011, Dictatorship and Democracy, Part C:
How did Adolf Hitler manage foreign policy up to the outbreak of World War II? (40)

A poster encouraging people to vote for the union of Germany and Austria. A plebiscite (referendum) on unity was held on 10 April 1938. The poster lists Hitler's foreign policy achievements, presenting them as propaganda to entice people to vote for union.

Adolf Hitler has destroyed the Diktat (forced Treaty) of Versailles!
1933: Germany left the League of Nations of Versailles!
1934: The reconstruction of the army, the navy and the air force began!
1935: The Saar returned home! Military sovereignty of the Reich is restored!
1936: Rhineland completely liberated!
1937: War guilt extinguished!
1938: German Austria joins the Reich! Grossdeutschland (Greater Germany) is realised!
On the 10 April, commit to the liberator of Germany, Adolf Hitler.
Everyone vote Yes!

Links go here
Links go here

Welcome!

The best and brightest of the Renaissance are here to welcome you. The others will be along shortly.

First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson (right) and other unionist politicians
pose with a poster of the Ulster Covenant, signed by Edward Carson.

The Ulster Solemn League and Covenant was signed 100 years ago (28th September). The Covenant was a pledge by Ulster unionists to resist "by all means which may be found necessary"attempts by the British government to introduce Home Rule to Ireland. They then set up the Ulster Volunteers, while nationalists joined the Irish Volunteers. The two men who led the unionist resistance, Edward Carson and James Craig, would be leading figures in Northern Ireland when it was created ten years later.

Recordings made by President John F. Kennedy during his presidency have been released along with a new book about them. He recorded his thoughts on the ongoing conflict in Vietnam, as well as conversations he had with other top figures. Recordings like this have been used by historians looking for new insights into events such as the Cuban missile crisis, and they form an important primary source.

You might have heard of the old lady in Spain who took it upon herself to restore a decaying 19th century fresco in her local church. She's back in the news now that the fresco has become a tourist attraction.

The trailer for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" has been released. The film is set to cover Abraham Lincoln's time as President of the United States, his efforts to abolish slavery, and the civil war that followed.

October 1st

Actor Richard Harris was born in Limerick
on this day in 1930.

in development