Professional Documents
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Introduction
Quotes are useful snippets of evidence to deploy in your essays, especially when they express a point of view in a
particularly memorable way.
HOWEVER, the Chief Examiner does not like students simply "name dropping" quotes into essays for the sake of it.
Instead, he is impressed by candidates who use quotes as the basis for an argument: this will mean explaining why
the witness is so valuable, elaborating on his/her testimony with further background knowledge and examples, and
then moving on to consider the limitations of the source as a way of leading into the next factor.
In this sense you should be using the analytical skills from the sourcework paper to develop your essay skills.
Here's an example:
Count Brockdorff argued that "Over 50 yearsimperialismpoisoned the international situation", suggesting that
World War One was caused by the rivalry created by the Empire-building of countries such as France, Britain and
Germany. Brockdorff was a respected statesman and his view can be substantiated through reference to examples
of imperial rivalry such as the Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911 [etc]. Nevertheless, it has to be borne in mind that
Brockdorff made this statement in his role as a German delegate at the Versailles Conference of 1919, when his
purpose was to shift as much blame away from Germany in particular as he possibly could.
In this sense, perhaps a more compelling explanation for the origins of the war is provided by Kaiser
Wilhelm II, who stated in 1913 that "The Slavs were not born to rule but to serve: this they must be taught". This
suggests that the main cause of the war was a growing sense of nationalism in the Balkans[and so on].
Worksheet from RJ Tarr at www.activehistory.co.uk / 2
Fat Rodzianko has sent me some nonsense to which I will not even reply. Nicholas II, diary entry
The Russian Revolutions
[The Great War was] a mighty accelerator of events. Lenin
To prevent a catastrophe the Tsar himself must be removed, by force if there is no other way. Kerensky
[Kerensky was] the real master of the modern technology of politics in 1917. Delivered speeches which left Service
[Kerensy's speeches left] his whole body trembling with sweat. Service
I want to take a middle road, but no-one will let me. Kerensky
[The composition of the Provisional Government] reflected how far the moderate opposition had been left behind by the Rogger
radicalisation of the masses.
[The Provisional Government is] a stinking corpse. Lenin
The Germans unleashed Lenin into Russia like a plague bacillus. Churchill
Peace, Bread and Land! Lenin's April Theses
All power to the Soviets! Lenin's April Theses
[Kornilov had] the heart of a lion and the brains of a sheep. Trotsky
Everything now hangs by a thread. Lenin, Sep. 1917
The Bolsheviks did not seize power, they picked it up. Adam Ulam
[The October Revolution was like] picking up a feather. Lenin
[The Bolsheviks] grabbed governmental authority through conspiracythe Russian 'masses' were hijackedby a tiny Service
intellectual elite of meglomaniacs.
Lenin's Russia
The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles. Marx
The worker of the world has nothing to lose, but their chains. Workers of the world, unite! Marx
Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand. Marx
From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. Marx
The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property. Marx
Bolshevism must be strangled in its cradle. Churchill
The sheer size of Russia meant that local and regional considerations predominated over larger ideological issues. Lynch
[Moscow is] the whole brain of our country, all her soul, all that is talented in Russia. Lebedev
Russia: one and indivisible! Slogan of the Whites
Peasants did not love the Bolsheviks, but they loved the Whites even less. Wolfson
We stand for organised terror. This should be frankly stated. Dzerzhinsky
Plots, blockades, and interventions made them lose their heads. Victor Serge
It is a senseless and criminal to decimate the ranks of our intelligentsia in our illiterate country. Gorky
You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves. Trotsky
Liberty is precious. So precious that it must be rationed. Lenin
He who does not work shall not eat. Constitution 1918
Make use of armed troops in the case of resistance to requisition. Decree on War
Communism
[Our policy towards rebellious national minorities should be] merciless annihilation. Lenin to Trotsky, 1918
[In the extermination of Georgian rebels] Our hand shall not tremble. Stalin to Lenin, 1920
Lenin held both Russian workers and peasants in contempt he showed no human feelings whatever. Pipes
[The communist state is like] a man beaten to within an inch of his life. Lenin
[The Kronstadt rebellion was] the flash which lit up reality better than anything else. Lenin
[NEP is a] substitution of requisitioning by a proportional tax. Lenin
[With regard to NEP] a wise Communist will not be afraid of learning from a capitalist. Lenin
Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country. Lenin
Under the Bolshevik regime, Russians were stripped of most the rights they briefly enjoyed in 1917. Alan White
The Soviet experiment turned totalitarian not despite its being socialist but because it was socialist. Martin Malia
Stalin's USSR
Stalin is too rude and this defect [is] intolerable in a general secretary. Lenin's Testament
[Bukharin's] theoretical views can be classified as fully Marxist only with great reserve. Lenin's Testament
[Trotsky has] displayed excessive self-assurance. Lenin's Testament
[Stalin is] an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything to his appetite for power. Bukharin
We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries of the West. We must make up this gap in 10 years. Either we do Stalin
this or they crush us.
We must liquidate the Kulaks as a class. Stalin
Everywhere was the cry, There is no bread. We are dying. Gareth Jones
Russia is hungry, but not starving. Duranty
Worksheet from RJ Tarr at www.activehistory.co.uk / 5
[Walter Duranty was] the greatest liar of any journalist I have met in 50 years of journalism. Muggeridge
[Collectivisation] turned the countryside into a scene of despair, bloodshed and terror. Shukman
The idea that the famine was deliberately man made is crap, rubbish. Lewin
We have become Dizzy with Success. Stalin
[Soviet writers must be] engineers of human souls. Stalin
[Stalin was the] best read ruler of Russia from Catherine the Great up to Putin. Montefiore
Gorky is a vain man. We must bind him with cables to the party. Stalin
Stalin a man who never had an equal in world history. Avdienko
When the woman I love presents me with a child the first word it shall utter will be: Stalin. Avdienko
[Stalin is] the world's greatest living statesman. Duranty
One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is merely a statistic. Stalin
Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything. Stalin
A man deserves to be shot ten times over for [my] crimes. Bukharin
[The Moscow show trials are] a conscious and premeditated frame-up. Trotsky
When chopping wood, chips fly. Yezhov
I may be small, but I have strong hands: Stalin's hands. Yezhov
Whoever opposed Stalinwas doomed tomoral and physical annihilation. Khrushchev
One careless word or gesture and [we] would fly off irrevocably into the abyss. Solzhenitsyn
The Spanish Civil War
The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. Picasso
[The Spanish Civil War was] decided in the chancelleries of Europe rather than on the battlefields of Spain. Trevor-Roper
It is necessary now to defeat socialismwhat does it matter if we have to shed blood. Robles, 1933
There is no alternative but to destroy and rebuild society from its foundations. Caballero, 1933
All the convents in Madrid are not worth the life of a single Republican. Azana
[To the International Brigades]: You can go proudly. You are history. You are legend. Dolores Ibarruri
Germany needs to import ore. That is why we want a Nationalist government in Spain. Hitler
"Miss Canary Islands 1936" Franco's nickname
[The nationalists are conducting a] crusade against communism to save religion, the fatherland and the family. Bishop of Salamanca
"Dr. Negrin's resistance pills" (Lentils)
[Guernica was] flaming from end to end...the streets became long heaps of red impenetrable debris. Steer
Chinese Civil War / Rise of Mao
The sky cannot have two suns. Chiang Kai Shek
Learn from the masses, and then teach them. Mao
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Mao
The Japanese are a disease of the skin; the communists are a disease of the heart. Chiang
Communism is not love; it is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy. Mao
The guerilla must move among the people as a fish swims in the sea. Mao
The army must become one with the peoplesuch an army will be invincible. Mao
One word from Mao is worth 10 thousand words from any other. Lin Biao
Selling space to buy time. Chiang Kai Shek
First internal pacification, then external resistance. Chiang Kai Shek
Revolution is not a dinner party. Mao
The peasants are the sea. We are the fish. The sea is our habitat. Mao
[When the Japanese attacked Nanking] anything female between the ages of 10 and 70 was raped. Edgar Snow