2.1: History's Harsh Lessons
You have just finished reading about the events leading to the outbreak of World War II. You have learned about the creation of the totalitarian state in Germany under the Nazis beginning in the 1930s. You have looked at Germany's rearmament under Hitler, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, and been asked to consider how the Nazis were able to get away with this. You read about the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and how the Allies adopted a policy of appeasement rather than confrontation.
You will now be reading a critical essay written in 2012 by British war historian Antony Beevor. Beevor argues that although there are renewed political tensions in the world, that we are not bound for another global conflict.
Your task is to respond to his essay, knowing what you do about the world as it stands now, but in light of what you have recently learned about the events of World War II, including those leading up to it and those that sought to resolve it.
Read the essay several times. The first time, read to get a sense of what he is saying. Beevor is an academic, so he uses some words that may be unfamiliar. Look them up on your second run. On your third reading, take some notes.
Your task is to respond to the ideas presented in the essay. You don't need to research for this essay. Write down your questions, thoughts, feelings, and initial reactions. Respond in a written essay format with an introduction, concluding paragraph, and three supporting paragraphs.
Your teacher will look for the following:
- that you have done your best to make sense of Beevor’s essay
- that you have applied several ideas encountered in this section to make sense of his ideas
- that you have backed up your ideas with specific references to his essay and other course materials
You will need to compose your response on a computer and save it in an accepted file format.
Read Beevor's essay "History's Harsh Lessons" here.
This will be marked out of 20 according to the rubric below.