November 2023 – Versailles/St Germain AND the 1941-45 wartime alliance
May 2023 – First World War civilians AND US entry into WWI
November 2022 – Instability in the successor states AND strategy led to Axis defeat
May 2022 – Paris Peace Treaties AND Appeasement
November 2021 – Mussolini’s foreign policies AND Causes of the Second World War
May 2021 – Paris Peace Treaties AND Causes of the Second World War
November 2020 – Paris Peace Treaties AND Soviet Foreign Policy
November 2019 – German foreign policy AND the 1941-45 wartime alliance
May 2019 – League of Nations AND economic/strategic factors WWII
November 2018 – Appeasement AND Civilians in the Second World War
May 2018 – Paris Peace Treaties AND the League of Nations
November 2017 – Mussolini’s foreign policies AND the defeat of Axis Powers WWII
May 2017 – Appeasement AND Civilians in the Second World War
November 2023
To what extent did the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain achieve the aims of the peacemakers?
Examine the importance of the wartime alliance (1941-45) to the development of the Second World War in Europe.
May 2023
Examine the impact of the First World War on the civilian population of two European countries between 1914-18.
To what extent did US entry into the First World War contribute to the defeat of the Central Powers?
November 2022
Evaluate the causes of instability in the successor states of central and eastern Europe up to 1939.
“The Axis was defeated because of poor strategic decisions.” Discuss.
May 2022
To what extent had the Paris peace treaties (1919-23) achieved their aims by 1929?
“The weakness of collective security was the main reason for Chamberlain’s signing of the Munich Agreement.” Discuss.
November 2021
Evaluate the successes and failures of Mussolini’s foreign policy between 1921 and 1941?
Examine the reasons why the invasion of Poland in 1939 developed into a major European war by 1941.
May 2021
Discuss the nature and impact of the treaties of St Germain and Trianon.
“The Great Depression caused the collapse of collective security.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
November 2020
“The Paris peace treaties (1919–1923) caused more problems than they solved.” Discuss with reference to two treaties.
Katherine – The Paris Peace Treaties were effective to a certain extent as some of the treaties successfully settled conflicts between the Central and Allied Powers while others failed harshly and became an incentive for growing nationalism and anti-western sentiments in Central Power counties due to their resentment towards the controversial judgements with the self-determination concept.
The peace treaty which was the most harsh was the Treaty of Versailles mainly because of the war guilt clause that blamed Germany for beginning the First World War. Germany forfeited 13% of its European land and lost all of its colonies. Germany’s reparations that is worth £6.6 billion gave a great blow to her collapsed economy with inflation and widespread starvation due to the naval blockade by the Allied Powers. The treaty also included terms of disarmament where Germany could only have 100,000 troops with air force forbidden. The punitive indemnities built up nationalism and resentment towards the Allied Powers which planted seeds for more radical ideologies.
The fairest peace treaty was the Treaty of Lausanne that officially ended the conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied powers over disputes of its ceded lands. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized the territory of modern day Turkey. Although Turkey had to give up Cyprus and parts of land in the Arab region, it was able to retain Eastern Thrace. The contracting parties agreed to abolish all extraterritorial powers, fiscal and tariff supervision powers in Turkey. However, the division of the Ottoman Empire and the treaty of Lausanne led to the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey in 1923 due to religious identity. The exchange of their population was viewed as legalized ethic cleansing by hindsight.
Germany would agree with the argument that the Treaty of Versailles was the most harsh treaty because they didn’t want to pay for the reparations even if they possibly could. As the Allied Powers forbade Germany to join the League of Nations, it further stimulated Germans’ resentment towards them. Due to the fact that the war guilt clause blamed Germany solely for starting the war, Germans would reject the idea of making peace and compromising with the Allied Powers because it would be seen as an agreement to the war guilt clause. The Allied Powers would agree with the argument that the Treaty of Lausanne was the fairest treaty because they compromised with Turkish nationalists who would fight against any unfair treaties such as the Treaty of Sevres. The Allied Powers initially wanted lands,fiscal and tariff supervision in Turkey, but by giving up these terms they didn’t lose as much if they insisted on continuing fighting with Turkey.
Kayra – The Paris Peace Treaties had some successes and some failures because whilst some of the treaties worked in favour for the allied powers by allowing them more territory, some failed due to a lack of commitment from the allied powers accompanied by their apathy towards situations in certain minor countries and economic struggle after WWI.
The peace treaty which was the most harsh was the Treaty of Versailles as the terms imposed were harsher. Reparations put onto Germany were significantly more than the other treaties (6.6 billion pounds) which severely impacted their economy negatively, resulting in major hyperinflation and Germany was also forced to take sole blame for starting the war (war guilt clause) which led to resentment against the Allied powers. Germany also lost 13% of her European territory and one-tenth of its population (between 6.5 and 7 million people) which affected their pride and economic potential greatly.
The fairest peace treaty was the Treaty of Versailles due to Germany’s prior actions regarding treaties in the past. In 1918, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and the Central Powers which ended her participation in WWI. This treaty was known to be an especially harsh treaty imposed by Germany. Due to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia lost one-million square miles of its territory (an example being Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania were given to Austria-Hungary and Germany), one-third of its population (55 million people) and much of its industry (coal mines). In addition to this, it was decided that Russia was to pay 6 billion marks in reparations. This damaged Russia’s economy and pride greatly. Because of Germany’s past agreements on terms for Brest-Litovsk, it can be argued that in hindsight, it was only fair for Germany to receive a treaty that was viewed as harsh to them. Germany had punished Russia severely due to their involvement in WWI, and the treaty of Versailles did the same to Germany as well, punishing them almost to the same extent (excluding the war guilt clause) as they did with Russia. If Germany as Russia’s enemy had expected Russia to recover from the treaty, it would be justifiable for the Allied Powers to expect Germany to recover from their treaty as well and spare them no empathy.
Clemenceau, Lloyd George would most likely agree with my argument as they could use Germany’s past actions as leverage in order to reason and legitimize their terms for the treaty of Versailles without sounding revengeful. In particular, France might use this argument extensively due to their anger against Germany. France was particularly revengeful due to their severe sufferings and war damage due to their geographical location of being close to Germany and Clemenceau was adamant to ensure that Germany suffered. Knowing that Germany imposed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk would justify their wants for a harsh treaty. Though Russia was not there at the peace conference, its leaders and people would still probably vouch for the Treaty of Versailles due to their national anger towards Germany due to the humiliation and effects from Brest-Litovsk.
“The main aim of Russian/Soviet foreign policy in Europe between 1919 and 1941 was to promote collective security.” Discuss.
November 2019
To what extent was German foreign policy successful between 1919 and 1933?
TS – Germany’s foreign policies were successful because by 1929 the country was internationally accepted. She had signed several international agreements (Locarno, Kellogg-Briand) and become a member of the League of Nations in 1926.
The debate about this topic is how much the Weimar Republic was responsible for the rise of the Nazis and the Second World War.
Successes – Treaty of Rapallo 1922, Dawes Plan 1924, Ruhr Crisis ended, Locarno Pact 1925, League of Nations 1926, Treaty of Berlin 1926, Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 and Young Plan 1929. Also, one could add Gustav Stresemann and the ‘Golden Age’ of the Weimar Republic.
However, the once-proud military was still weak (despite secret deals with the USSR) and the Rhineland was still demilitarised. These severely hamstrung their ability in foreign affairs. The Danzig corridor and separation of Germany continued to exist and this ensured relations with Poland remained poor. Furthermore, when the world suffered the Great Depression the failure of the Weimar Republic in ‘negotiating’ the Treaty of Versailles was used repeatedly by the Right to gain support.
David T. Murphy argues that German public opinion was generally against all the foreign policy decisions of the Weimar Republic. The reason was that the acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles remained in place despite the amendments made.
Evaluate the importance of the wartime alliance (1941–1945) to the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe.
May 2019
“In the 1920s, the League of Nations was successful in Europe.” Discuss.
Examine the contribution of economic and strategic factors to the Allied victory in 1945.
November 2018
Discuss the reasons for, and the results of, the policy of appeasement.
“The Second World War had a devastating impact on the civilian population.” Discuss with reference to any two European countries.
May 2018
“The Treaty of Versailles was a harsh and unfair peace.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Discuss the reasons for the failure of the League of Nations by 1938.
November 2017
“Italian foreign policy was inconsistent in the period between 1922 and 1940.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Evaluate the reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe in the Second World War.
May 2017
“The policy of appeasement was necessary because, by the mid-1930s, collective security had failed.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Examine the impact of the Second World War on the civilian populations of two countries in Europe between 1939 and 1945.
Previous Examination Questions
1. Fundamental differences between the Radicals and the Socialists over economic policies were the main reason for the failure of the Cartel des Gauches government in 1926. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
TS – The main reason why the Cartel des Gauches did not solve the economic problems of France was because the country could not address the consequences of the First World War. The war debts, costs of rebuilding and high inflation were far greater problems than the differences between the Radicals and Socialists.
Avoid the trap within the content of the statement – you do not need to have a detailed knowledge of the each party to write a good answer. Focus on the decade as a whole to explain why France could not solve all of its problems. Examine the social, economic and political impact of the First World War on France.
2. Discuss the state of the French economy during the 1920s and the extent to which it had recovered by 1929.
TS – The French economy had recovered by 1926 and went through three years of prosperity. However, this recovery masked underlying problems with inflation and a continued lack of opportunity for the majority of workers and farmers.
3. Examine the divisions in France during the 1920s and extent to which they contributed to political instability.
TS – The economic problems such as the cost of rebuilding France and inflation after the First World War led to a lack of consensus and political instability in the 1920s.
Economic divisions – post-war France, the rebuilding of the country, the value of the franc. The working class did not benefit from economic growth, the 1914 wages only returning in 1929. Consequently, there was support for the Left, especially after the successful 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. But there was support for the Right because of Mussolini’s success and fear of the Left. As a result, between 1919 and 1940, France had forty different governments and twenty prime ministers.
In addition to the economic problems in the country, politically there was the foreign disaster of the Ruhr. This affected the support for the Bloc National in the 1924 election and led to their defeat.
BUT – three years of prosperity in the late-1920s, treaties such as Kellogg-Briand, Locarno Pact signed so there was some political consensus. Moreover, the Third Republic and the electoral system of democracy survived – it did not in 1940 with the authoritarian Vichy government coming to power.
Robert Paxton would agree that there was political division in 1920s France because there was no agreement on raising taxes.
William Shirer agrees with this although puts most of the blame on the Left. They were in power in 1924 with a large majority but did not pass tough legislation for fear of confrontation.
4. Evaluate the significance of social issues in France during the 1920s, such as low birth rate, the position of women, and the widening gulf between the social elite and other sections of French society.
TS – France became more divisive during the 1920s, leading to even further in the 1930s with the rise of the Left and Right. The main policies of France were to rebuild the economy, restore global markets and achieve security from Germany. None were really achieved and these failures only added to the feeling amongst the workers and poor that the elite were those responsible.
5. To what extent was French culture during the 1920s influenced by the experiences of the First World War?
TS – French culture in the 1920s, or Les Annees Folles, was influenced by the First World War in their art (surrealism) but more so from the United States because of their domination of cinema and growing economy.
6. Why was the League of Nations founded in 1920?
7. Compare and contrast the economic problems faced by two European countries between 1919 and 1939.
8. Compare and contrast the foreign policies of Hitler and Mussolini.
9. What were the aims and achievements of Stalin’s foreign policy between 1928 and 1941?
12. Discuss the impact of political polarization during the Second Spanish Republic.
13. “In the 1920s, the League of Nations was successful in Europe.” Discuss.
14. Examine the contribution of economic and strategic factors to the Allied victory in 1945.
15. Discuss the reasons for, and the results of, the policy of appeasement.“