UCSB Hist 133C, Winter 2004
Germany since 1945
marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/classes/133c

Prof. Marcuse
HSSB 4221, 893-2635
marcuse@history.ucsb.edu

Hist 133c Final Examination, 2004 (pdf print version)

This final exam is a word-limited take-home, due in my office, 4221 HSSB, at the end of the regular exam time: Thu, March 18, 2004, 11am. Earlier submissions must be slid under my door, NOT placed in the envelope, if I am not in my office.
All answers must be typed, and a word count inserted in brackets at the end of each ID and of the essay (see example at end of this paragraph). In microsoft word, highlight each ID or essay answer, then use the Tools-Word count command. The exam is worth 15% of the final grade. [100 words]

  1. Identify and define the significance (3 @ 15 points each=45% of the exam grade)
    Identify and define the significance of three of the following six terms. Your identification should include an approximate date, which should situate the event correctly in relation to other important events. Take special care to explain why the term is significant in the context of German history.
    Each ID should be about 200-250 words long; 300 absolute maximum.

    Grand Coalition
    Ostpolitik

    Walter Ulbricht
    Byrnes' 1946 Stuttgart speech

    Prague Spring
    December 11, 1989

  2. Essay question: Answer one of the following questions. (55% of the exam)
    (I am giving you a choice after all, so I will have more varied reading.)
    The essay should be about 1000-1200 words long; 1500 absolute maximum.
    1. West Germany and East Germany each pursued different strategies for overcoming the legacies of dictatorship. Describe at least four programs or events from four different decades for each country (thus 8 total), and argue which country ultimately developed the most effective participatory democracy. Note that you will also have to define what you understand by "most effective participatory democracy."
    2. We discussed various factors that came together to cause the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Drawing on both analytical descriptions of historical events and personal stories (such as those in "The Promise," Harald Wagner and Frank Eigenfeld's stories, etc.), argue which two factors were the most significant in toppling the Honecker government. Note that in order to do this you should also make a case why two or three other factors were less significant (refute counterarguments to your claim).

exam posted by H. Marcuse, March. 17, 2004, noon
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