Y314: the Challenge of German Nationalism 1789-1919 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y314: the Challenge of German Nationalism 1789-1919

136 questions
13 subtopics
Thematic study and historical interpretations, one of twenty-one
Y301 to Y321

The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919 is unit Y314 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-one options in unit group 3, the thematic study and historical interpretations; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics and three depth studies are social and intellectual forces, economic forces, political and military forces, the extent of Unification, 1848/1849 Revolutions, nationalism and Unification 1867–1871, Wilhelmine Germany and the growth of Nationalism 1884–1914. 136 recall questions across 13 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y314: the Challenge of German Nationalism 1789-1919

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Social and intellectual forces: origins and growth of German nationalism

Summarise what Fichte urged in his Addresses to the German Nation.

Show the answer
Speaking in French-occupied Berlin in 1807–08, he called on Germans to regenerate themselves through a national education, claiming that theirs was an original people whose language made them uniquely capable of moral renewal.
Social and intellectual forces: repression, rival visions of unity and nationalism after 1871

Why did the Kulturkampf damage national unity?

Show the answer
It defined a third of Germans as enemies of the Reich, provoked passive resistance by bishops and priests, and drove Catholics into the Centre Party, which grew into one of the strongest forces in the Reichstag before Bismarck abandoned the campaign.
Economic forces: economic and social effects of industrialisation

How did the German socialist movement develop before 1875?

Show the answer
Lassalle founded the General German Workers' Association in 1863 to pursue reform through universal suffrage, while Bebel and Liebknecht founded a Marxist Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1869, and the two merged at Gotha in 1875.
Political and military forces: Managing German nationalism and its opponents

Why did Prussia and Austria fight Denmark in 1864?

Show the answer
The Danish king's new constitution sought to absorb Schleswig, and Bismarck exploited the German national outcry to act jointly with Austria, defeat Denmark and take the duchies into joint occupation, which gave him a quarrel to use against Austria later.
The extent of Unification: the Reich of 1871, its divisions and national unity

What was distinctive about the status of Alsace-Lorraine?

Show the answer
Annexed in 1871, it was governed as an imperial territory under Berlin rather than as a federal state, and although it received its own assembly in 1911 it never gained equality; its voters repeatedly elected deputies who protested at the annexation.
Depth study: 1848/1849 Revolutions — causes of revolution and the Frankfurt Parliament

Who sat in the Frankfurt Parliament?

Show the answer
Overwhelmingly educated professional men: lawyers, officials, professors, teachers, clergy and businessmen, with almost no artisans or peasants, which is why it was mocked as a parliament of professors.
Depth study: Nationalism and Unification 1867–1871 — the Confederation and the war of 1870

What was the Luxembourg crisis of 1867?

Show the answer
Napoleon III tried to buy Luxembourg from the Dutch king as compensation for Prussia's gains of 1866; German national opinion protested, Bismarck let the outcry block the sale, and the affair deepened Franco-Prussian hostility while binding the south to Prussia.
Depth study: Nationalism and Unification 1867–1871 — consequences of the war

How did unification change German politics constitutionally?

Show the answer
It created a federal state with a national parliament elected by universal male suffrage but a government answerable only to the Kaiser, reconciled most liberals to authoritarian institutions in exchange for national unity, and entrenched Prussian and military predominance.

The 13 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Social and intellectual forces: origins and growth of German nationalism	Recall questions on the origins and growth of German nationalism from 1789, the impact of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna.	8
Social and intellectual forces: repression, rival visions of unity and nationalism after 1871	Recall questions on disappointment in 1815, the Burschenschaften and Carlsbad Decrees, Hambach, Kleindeutsch and Grossdeutsch, 1848, mass nationalism after 1871, the Kulturkampf, Pan-Germanism and nationalism in war and defeat.	12
Economic forces: Economic nationalism and modernisation, Zollverein, economic integration	Recall questions on economic nationalism and modernisation, the Zollverein, economic integration.	8
Economic forces: economic and social effects of industrialisation	Recall questions on the economic and social effects of industrialisation including the rise of socialism, arguments for free trade and protection, the effect of economic change on nationalism and national unity.	9
Political and military forces: Managing German nationalism and its opponents	Recall questions on Managing German nationalism and its opponents, assessment and comparison of the contributions of Napoleon, Metternich, Bismarck and Wilhelm II, the impact of external forces and circumstances on German nationalism including the decline of Austria.	11
Political and military forces: role of warfare in uniting Germany	Recall questions on the role of warfare in uniting Germany, political challenges from the left and right.	9
The extent of Unification: the Reich of 1871, its divisions and national unity	Recall questions on the constitution of 1871 and Prussian dominance, the southern states, religion and particularism, Poles, Danes, Alsace-Lorraine and Zabern, Jews, the parties, the wars as unifying and divisive, and unity by 1914.	20
Depth study: 1848/1849 Revolutions — causes of revolution and the Frankfurt Parliament	Recall questions on the economic, social and intellectual causes of 1848, the spring risings, Metternich’s fall, Frederick William IV, the creation, membership and weaknesses of the Frankfurt Parliament, Malmö and the German question.	11
Depth study: 1848/1849 Revolutions — failure, support and interpretations	Recall questions on the constitution of 1849, Frederick William IV’s refusal of the crown, the end of the revolutions and recovery of the authorities, supporters and opponents, gains for nationalism and interpretations of 1848.	8
Depth study: Nationalism and Unification 1867–1871 — the Confederation and the war of 1870	Recall questions on Germany in 1867, the North German Confederation, the customs parliament elections, the Luxembourg crisis, the Spanish candidature, the Ems telegram, the declaration of war, reasons for victory and Sedan.	9
Depth study: Nationalism and Unification 1867–1871 — consequences of the war	Recall questions on consequences of the war and constitutional developments, the relative importance of Bismarck’s statesmanship and contextual factors 1862–1871.	11
Depth study: Wilhelmine Germany and the growth of Nationalism 1884–1914 — Wilhelm II, Weltpolitik and the navy	Recall questions on Wilhelm II’s background and ideas, Bismarck’s fall, Weltpolitik, the Navy Laws and Tirpitz’s risk theory, the failure of the naval programme, the Moroccan crises and the Reichstag’s powers.	10
Depth study: Wilhelmine Germany and the growth of Nationalism 1884–1914 — the army, domestic politics and the July crisis	Recall questions on the Daily Telegraph and Zabern affairs, the army’s privileges, economic growth and its politics, the 1912 election, Germany’s role in July 1914, the Fischer thesis and its critics.	10

Y314: the Challenge of German Nationalism 1789-1919 is 136 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.