The Great Depression around the world

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to E. Card A, a summary in our words, written today, from the Holocaust Museum's encyclopedia: The Nazi share of the vote in German elections was under 3 percent in 1928, 18 percent in September 1930, 37 percent in July 1932 and 33 percent in November 1932. President Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor on January 30, 1933, as the result of a political deal. Card B, a table in our words from Eichengreen and Hatton (1988); unemployment in industry, percent, 1929 and 1932: Canada 4.2 and 26.0; France 1.0 and 15.4; Germany 13.3 and 43.8; United Kingdom 10.4 and 22.1; United States 5.3 and 36.3. The Holocaust Museum adds that the Depression brought unemployment, hunger and poverty to Germany. Card C, a summary in our words, written today: The Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for the war. Germany lost 13 percent of its territory, its army was limited to 100,000 men, and most Germans found the war guilt clause and reparations oppressive. The Holocaust Museum says the settlement played an important role in the rise of Nazism. Card D, a summary in our words, written today: In Japan the Diet's power grew in the 1920s. By the early 1930s Japan had been in economic depression for years. It invaded Manchuria in 1931 and left the League of Nations in March 1933. Columbia University's Asia for Educators says that in the 1930s the military, claiming to speak for the emperor, secured virtually all political power. In the United States, presidential elections were held on schedule in 1932 and 1936. Card E, two readings written for this sheet, not quotations from any historian. Reading X: The Depression was the main reason the Nazis rose to power. Reading Y: The Depression mattered, but the Nazis took power through a deal among conservative leaders.

2. 1.

   Card A shows the Nazi vote rose from 18 percent (1930) to 37 percent (July 1932). Ari says unemployment explains it. Which fact in the cards complicates that claim most?

   • The vote was under 3 percent in 1928, a year of lower unemployment, so unemployment and the vote moved apart
   • The vote fell from 37 to 33 percent in 1932, the year of card B's 43.8 percent, so jobs alone do not track it
   • Hitler became chancellor after the vote fell in late 1932, so votes had nothing to do with the Nazi rise
   • Germany's rate was already high at 13.3 percent in 1929, yet the Nazi vote in 1928 was under 3 percent, so high rates and votes do not go together
3. 2.

   Bo says the 37 percent in July 1932 explains Hitler becoming chancellor in January 1933. What does card A support?

   • The vote shares show the Depression caused the appointment, since both rose together from 1928
   • Votes were irrelevant, since the appointment was a deal among leaders, so the vote shares add nothing
   • Not alone: the vote fell to 33 percent in November 1932, and card A says a deal made the appointment
   • It does: 37 percent gave the Nazis a majority in the Reichstag, so the appointment followed from the vote
4. 3.

   Kira says Versailles cannot matter: the Nazi vote was under 3 percent in 1928, ten years after the war. Which reply uses the cards best?

   • The low 1928 vote shows the treaty mattered just after the Depression, since it had no effect before 1930
   • A grievance can work slowly: card C says the settlement mattered, and the 1930 jump came when hardship arrived
   • Card B's 13.3 percent for 1929 shows hardship was already the cause, so the treaty can be set aside
   • A 1928 figure cannot be compared with later votes, since card A gives no unemployment rate for 1928
5. 4.

   Card D: Japan was in depression, and the military gained power in the 1930s. Luz says the Depression created military rule. What do the cards support?

   • The same years, but card D adds the military's claim to the emperor's voice, which the Depression does not explain
   • Military rule began with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, which caused the Depression in Japan that card D describes
   • The Depression created military rule, since both appear together in card D and nothing else is named there
   • The Depression had nothing to do with it, since card D says the military claimed the emperor's authority
6. 5.

   Card B: the United States rose 31.0 points, Germany 30.5. Card D: elections went on in the United States. Milo asks what the pair shows about hardship and politics.

   • Hardship does not matter to politics, since the United States kept elections while Germany did not
   • Politics in each country followed its own history, which shows the Depression played no role
   • The United States was hit harder than Germany, so American hardship must have been worse and its politics calmer
   • Similar rises led to different results, so a jobless rise alone does not fix the outcome
7. 6.

   Noah compares Germany's appointment of 1933 with the military's rise in Japan in the 1930s. What do cards A and D together support?

   • Both moved toward harsher politics in depression, by different routes, so depression alone does not set the route
   • Neither case can be compared, since one is a vote and the other a military claim, and they differ in kind
   • Both followed the same route, since each saw a political deal in which an elected body lost power to a small group
   • The Depression produced the same regime in both, since both left the League of Nations in the 1930s
8. 7.

   Pia lists the United States as a third case. Using cards B and D, which question about it is most useful?

   • Why was the United States's jobless rate lower than Germany's in 1929, since that explains its politics?
   • Why was the United States richer than Japan, since wealth explains regime type?
   • Why did the country with the largest jobless rise keep ordinary elections, and what did that depend on?
   • Why did the crash happen in October 1929, since that explains why elections continued?
9. 8.

   Reading X says the Depression was the main reason the Nazis rose; reading Y adds a deal. Ren asks which fact in card A favors Y.

   • The vote fell from 37 to 33 percent in late 1932, yet a deal made Hitler chancellor in January 1933
   • The vote was under 3 percent in 1928, before the crash, so the Nazis began as a small party
   • The vote rose from 18 to 37 percent between 1930 and July 1932, a rise that tracked the loss of jobs
   • President Hindenburg held office in January 1933, which shows presidents choose chancellors
10. 9.

    Tala says reading Y denies that the Depression mattered. What do cards A and E show?

    • Y denies it, since a deal among leaders replaces any role for hardship in explaining the Nazi rise
    • Y and X are the same reading, since both mention the Depression as part of the story of the Nazi rise
    • Y is wrong, since card A shows the vote rose with unemployment, which is just what X predicts
    • Y says the Depression mattered and adds a deal, so it differs from X in weight, not in denying one
11. 10.

    Zee wants to decide between readings X and Y. Which new evidence would help most?

    • The text of the Versailles treaty, since its terms show whether hardship or resentment drove votes
    • Voting records by region and occupation, to see which groups moved to the Nazis
    • More unemployment totals for 1932, since larger totals would show the Depression was decisive in the vote
    • Hitler's later speeches, since what he said after taking power shows why Germans voted in 1932 for him