Paper 1 Section B/B: Conflict and tension: the inter-war years,

June 2020

Q1: Source A is critical of the Munich Agreement. How do you know?

Explain your answer using Source A and your contextual knowledge. Study Sources B and C in the Sources Booklet.

Answer:

features of the source. For example, the USSR is are criticising the Munich Agreement over the Sudetenland because it made it easy for Nazi Germany to take over the whole of Czechoslovakia; the caption shows that Stalin blamed the Munich Agreement for making Nazi Germany stronger and therefore more able to advance towards the East and attack the USSR. For example, the cartoon shows that Great Britain and France have put Czechoslovakia in danger from Nazi Germany.

Q2: How useful are Sources B and C to an historian studying the remilitarisation of the

Rhineland? Explain your answer using Sources B and C and your contextual knowledge.

Answer:

In analysing and evaluating sources, students will draw on their contextual example, the context of the time in which source was created, place, author’s evaluate the relationship between the sources based on analysis of For example, the sources are useful because they show how the remilitarisation of the Rhineland occurred as the result of international action not just German action. Source B indicates that the foreign policy of France and USSR determined Germany foreign policy. Whereas the British provenance of Source C shows a critical opinion of its own government’s inaction by suggesting they have been fooled into believing Germany’s claim to have only peaceful intentions. For example, Source B is useful for understanding the causes of the remilitarisation; Germany alleged they were threatened and encircled by the 1935 mutual assistance pact between France and the USSR. Hitler reneged on the German commitment at Locarno to resolve disputes peacefully and instead chose to strengthen his western defences by sending troops into the Source C shows a critical opinion of the British government’s policy of not taking any action against Germany breaking the Treaty of Versailles. Some people in Britain saw Hitler’s action in the context of his wider rearmament programme and feared it was a precursor to more military action such as the pursuit of Lebensraum in the East. For example, Source B is useful for showing that Germany wanted to justify its actions to the British and explain why they were entitled to remilitarise the Rhineland even though this meant going against the Treaty of Locarno as well as the Treaty of Versailles. Source C is useful because it shows that Britain did not believe Germany wanted to be peaceful. It is criticising Germany for talking about peace whilst sending troops and weapons into the Rhineland. to the enquiry point, for example, Source B says that the Germany needed to defend itself; Source C shows Germany taking large amounts of weapons into

Q3: Write an account of how events in Abyssinia in 1935-36 affected the

League of Nations.

Answer:

with complex sequencing and reasoning supported by a range of accurate and example, to an analysis of how/why tension increased at different stages and /or showing understanding about how much each part of the sequence increased tension and led to a crisis. For example, the events in Abyssinia showed the League of Nations was openly sabotaged by the actions of leading member nations such as Italy but also by the secret deal made by Hoare and Laval from Britain and France. This showed that self-interest was their priority; they wanted to keep Mussolini on their side rather than Hitler’s and so they agreed Italy could have territory in developed sequencing and reasoning supported by a range of accurate factual analysis of how/why tension increased at one stage in the process. For example, Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia showed that the League of Nations lacked strength to prevent acts of aggression because the only way it could have any influence was by imposing trade sanctions. However, the sanctions used against Italy in 1936 did not include oil or coal and so Mussolini’s military capability was not compromised. For example, the League of Nations issued moral condemnation against Italy but was ignored by Mussolini. should demonstrate their ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.

Q4: ‘The payment of reparations was the main reason Germany objected to the

Treaty of Versailles.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [SPaG 4 marks] 206G8145/1b/b

Answer:

explanation of the relationship between causes supported by detailed factual For example, the payment of reparations was not in itself Germany’s main objection to the Treaty because this had been agreed at the signing of the armistice in 1918. However, it was the unfair and dictated scale of the reparations that was the devastating blow. This brought with it other humiliating and debilitating military and territorial clauses that did not reflect Wilson’s For example, the reparations payments were hated because German people were suffering from starvation after the war and they were angry that the reparation bill was so huge it would be hard for Germany to recover. Germany had to pay money to the Allies for the damaged caused during the war. It was estimated that it would take over 60 years to pay back the full bill. For example, the War Guilt clause was also hated by the German people because it forced them to accept the full blame for starting the war. There was no negotiation when the terms of the treaty were being drawn up and the ideas of fairness in the Fourteen Points were largely ignored. Germany was singled out for blame and punitive terms. The treaty was forced on Germany and they were threatened with renewed fighting if they did not accept all the terms. For example, Germany had to accept military terms that limited the size of the army and navy. The Treaty of Versailles took a lot of land off Germany; some was given to Britain and France and some was controlled by the League of was forced to pay money for the damage caused in France during the war. was forced to sign the Treaty. • The learner’s achievement in SPaG does not reach the threshold