International Relations Past Questions

1919 – Topics 1 to end topic 4 for Mocks

4 mark questions

 What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in relation to territorial changes?
 In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles affect the German economy?
 Describe what the Treaty of Versailles stated about Danzig and the Polish Corridor.
 In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles restrict German armed forces?
 What did France gain from the Treaty of Versailles?
 What territory did Germany lose in the Treaty of Versailles?
 What did the Versailles Treaty decide about (i) the Saar and (ii) the Rhineland?
 What did Wilson hope to achieve from the peace settlement of 1919-20?
 What were the main aims of the League of Nations when it was set up in 1920?
 What was the role of the Council within the League of Nations?
 Describe how collective security was supposed to work.
 Describe the deficiencies of Britain and France as leaders of the League of Nations.
 Describe the role played by the League of Nations in two disputes in the 1920s.
 Describe the work of the Lytton Commission.
 Describe the increase in Italian militarism in the 1930s.
 Describe Germany’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
 Describe how Hitler made use of the Spanish Civil War.
 What as the ‘Greater Germany’ that Hitler aimed to establish?
 What did Hitler achieve by the Anschluss?
 Describe the events of 1938 which led to the Anschluss.
 Describe Hitler’s policy towards Austria between 1934 and 1938.
 What did Hitler do between 1934 and 1938 to challenge the Treaty of Versailles?
 What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
 What was agreed about Poland by the Great Powers in 1945?
 What was discussed, in relation to Poland, at the Yalta Conference?
 What decisions, in relation to Germany, were agreed at Yalta and Potsdam?
 What issues were addressed at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences?
 What was the ‘Cold War’?
 Describe how Czechoslovakia became communist-controlled in 1948.
6 mark questions

 Why was it difficult to make a peace settlement which would please all the Allies?
 Why was Wilson unsuccessful in achieving his goal of self-determination for the peoples of Europe?
 Why did Clemenceau and Lloyd George disagree over how to treat Germany?
 ‘The peacemakers at Versailles were successful.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
 Why did Clemenceau find it difficult to achieve his aims at the Paris Peace Conference?
 Why was Wilson disappointed with the peace settlement?
 Why did Germany sign the Treaty of Versailles?
 Why was Germany unhappy with being forced to accept responsibility for the war?
 Why were the peacemakers at Versailles severe on Germany?
 Explain why Germany thought the Treaty of Versailles was motivated by revenge?
 Why did the Treaty of Sevres have to be renegotiated?
 Why did the League not include some major powers when it was set up?
 Why did the Great Depression make the work of the League difficult?
 Why was the League dominated by Britain and France?
 Why was the American decision not to join the League a great blow to the organisation?
 Why did the League of Nations have some successes in the 1920s?
 Why was the League able to achieve some successes in dealing with international disputes in the 1920s?
 Why did Japan invade Manchuria?
 Why did some people argue that the policy of appeasement followed by Britain and France was wrong?
 Why were Hitler’s foreign policy actions in 1935-36 successful?
 Why was Hitler involved in the Spanish Civil War?
 Why was Mussolini’s support over Anschluss important to Hitler?
 Why did Britain and France permit the Anschluss?
 Why did Hitler want to take over Czechoslovakia?
 Why did Britain follow a policy of appeasement towards Germany?
 Why did Britain and France allow Germany to re-militarise the Rhineland?
 Why did Chamberlain, on his return from Munich in 1938, say, ‘I believe it is peace for our time.’?
 Why were there tensions at the Potsdam Conference in 1945?
 Why did tensions between the USSR and the Western Allies increase at the Potsdam Conference?
 Why did Truman develop a strategy of containment?
 Why was the Truman Doctrine significant?
 Why were Western governments suspicious of the USSR in the period 1945 to February 1948 (the
communist takeover of Czechoslovakia)?
 Why did Stalin set up the Berlin Blockade in 1948?
10 mark questions

 ‘Most Germans were horrified by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.’ How justified was this reaction?
Explain your answer.
 ‘The Treaty of Versailles was too harsh.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 How effectively did the peacemakers of 1919-1920 deal with the problems they faced? Explain your answer.
 To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles a reasonable treaty in the circumstances of the time? Explain
your answer.
 How satisfied were the French with the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer.
 ‘The Treaty of Versailles was a fair settlement.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
 How far did Lloyd George achieve his aims at the Paris Peace Conference? Explain your answer.
 How satisfied were the ‘Big Three’ with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer.
 ‘The German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles was unreasonable.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The League of Nations was an effective organisation for preserving peace in the 1920s.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The League of Nations was destroyed by the Depression of the 1930s.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The Depression had a greater impact on the League than did events in Manchuria.’ How far do you agree
with this statement?
 ‘It was the Abyssinian crisis that destroyed the League of Nations as an effective peacekeeping body.’ How
far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘It was the Hoare-Laval Plan rather than World Depression that destroyed the League.’ How far do you agree
with this statement? Explain your answer.
 Which was the more important cause of the failure of the League: its organisation or its membership?
Explain your answer.
 ‘Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia damaged the League more than Japan’s invasion of Manchuria had.’ How
far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The policy of appeasement was a mistake.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.
 ‘Hitler was not a planner in foreign affairs. He just took opportunities that others gave him.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘Hitler had achieved his foreign policy aims by the end of 1938.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.
 ‘Hitler’s policies towards Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938-9 were completely successful.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The policy of appeasement made sense at the time.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
 ‘The Munich Agreement made war more, not less, likely.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain
your answer.
 ‘The British-French guarantee to Poland was more responsible than the Nazi-Soviet Pact for the Second
World War.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 How far was the Nazi-Soviet Pact responsible for war breaking out in Europe in 1939? Explain your answer.
 ‘The Nazi-Soviet Pact was of greater benefit to Germany than it was to the Soviet Union.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech at Fulton was the main cause of tension between the West and the Soviet
Union between 1946 and 1950.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘It was the Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe that caused the Cold War.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The Berlin Blockade was a serious threat to world peace.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain
your answer.
 Was Soviet policy towards Eastern Europe from 1945 to 1948 aggressive or defensive in nature? Explain your
answer.
 ‘Truman and Churchill were responsible for starting the Cold War.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The USSR was to blame for starting the Cold War.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
 USA Depth Study Past Questions
4 mark questions

 What difficulties faced older, heavy industries in the USA, during the 1920s?
 Describe the development of the movie industry in the USA in the 1920s.
 Describe how Henry Ford organised motor car production.
 Describe how mass production methods benefitted new industries in the USA in the 1920s.
 Describe the main changes in popular entertainment in the 1920s.
 What developments were there in popular culture in 1920s America?
 Describe the American cinema and movie industry in the 1920s.
 Describe the attractions
 What was Prohibition?
 Describe Prohibition.
 Describe the difficulties faced by Black Americans in the 1920s.
 Describe how the ‘boom’ of the 1920s made life easier for Americans.
 Describe the increasing prosperity of American industry in the 1920s.
 ‘What was buying on the margin’ in relation to the Stock Market’?
 What was ‘speculation’ in relation to the stock market?
 Describe the stock market boom of the 1920s.
 What weaknesses were evident in the American economy by 1929?
 What was the Wall Street Crash?
 Describe the events of ‘Black Thursday’, 24 October 1929.
 Describe a ‘Hooverville’.
 What did Roosevelt promise to the American people at the time of his election to the Presidency?
 What were Roosevelt’s ‘fireside chats’?
 Describe the benefits of Roosevelt’s ‘fireside chats’.
 Describe Father Coughlin’s opposition to the New Deal.
6 mark questions

 Why did the American economy boom in the 1920s?

 Why were the policies of Republican governments an important factor in the economic ‘boom’ of the 1920s?
 Why did some people disapprove of flappers in the 1920s?
 Why was the lifestyle of the modern young American woman controversial?
 Why did the lives of some American women change in the 1920s?
 Why did Prohibition fail?
 Why was Prohibition hard to enforce?
 Why was Prohibition repealed?
 Why did farmers not share in the prosperity in the 1920s?
 Why did American agriculture decline in the 1920s?
 Why did some traditional industries in the US decline in the 1920s?
 Why were prices on the stock exchange so high by early 1929?
 Why was the US economy showing signs of weakness by 1929?
 Why did the weaknesses in the US economy lead to the Wall Street Crash?
 Why did the Crash cause many US citizens severe financial difficulties?
 Why did the stock market crash of 1929 lead America into economic depression?
 Why did Hoover fail in his bid to be re-elected President in 1932?
 Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential election?
 Why did unemployment continue despite the New Deal?
 Why did Roosevelt come into conflict with the Supreme Court?
 Why was there opposition to the New Deal?
 Why did Republicans criticise the New Deal?
10 mark questions

 ‘Prosperity in the 1920s benefitted Americans.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
 How far did Americans benefit from the ‘boom’ of the 1920s?
 To what extent was the title the ‘Roaring Twenties’ justified when applied to American society in the 1920s?
Explain your answer.
 ‘Prohibition had a greater impact on American society in the 1920s than racial intolerance.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘Prohibition had a greater impact on American society in the 1920s than intolerance.’ How far do you agree
with this statement? Explain your answer.
 To what extent was the USA an intolerant society in the 1920s?
 How intolerant was American society in the 1920s? Explain your answer.
 How widespread was intolerance in US society in the 1920s? Explain your answer.
 ‘Mass marketing was the main reason for economic boom of the 1920s.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The main reason for the lack of prosperity in farming communities in the 1920s was over-production.’ How
far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 How far was government policy the crucial factor in the economic boom of the 1920s? Explain your answer.
 ‘Republican policies contributed more to the economic “boom” than did the availability of hire purchase.’
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The greatest impact of the Wall Street Crash was on the banks.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.
 ‘The greatest impact of the Wall Street Crash was on the American economy.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?
 To what extent was the end of the economic ‘boom’ caused by over-production? Explain your answer.
 ‘The main reason Roosevelt won the 1932 Presidential election was because he promised change.’ How far
do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 because he promised a ‘New Deal’ to the American people.’ How
far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘Hoover was responsible for his own downfall.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
 ‘The main reason Hoover lost the 1932 Presidential election was because he failed to deal with the economic
depression.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 ‘The greatest opposition to the New Deal came from the Supreme Court.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
 How successful was the New Deal? Explain your answer.
 ‘The New Deal was a failure as it did not solve unemployment.’ How far do you support this view? Explain
your answer.
 ‘The New Deal made life better for Americans.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.