Springfield 4E 2023 History

1 [Turn Over SPRINGFIELD SECONDARY SCHOOL Preliminary Examination 2023 Secondary 4 Express/ 5 Normal Academic STUDENT NAME CLASS REGISTER NUMBER HUMANITIES 2273/02 Paper 2 History 24 August 2023 (The Making of the Contemporary World Order, 1900s–1991) 1 hour 40 minutes Additional Materials: Writing Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your class, index number and name on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. Section A Answer all parts of Question 1. Section B Answer one question. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. For Examiner’s Use Section A /30 Section B /20 Total /50 Do not turn over this question paper until you are told to do so. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ This question paper consists of 6 printed pages.

2 [Turn Over Section A: Source-Based Case Study Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates. Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 (a) Study Source A. Are you surprised by Source A? Explain your answer. [5] (b) Study Sources B and C. How far does Source B prove that Source C was wrong about Stalin’s rise to power? Explain your answer. [6] (c) Study Source D. How useful is this source to a historian studying Soviet Union in the 1920s? Explain your answer. [6] (d) Study Source E. What is the cartoonist’s message? Explain your answer. [5] (e) Study all the sources. ‘Trotsky’s failure to become the leader of Soviet Union was entirely his own doing .’ How far do these sources support this view? Use the sources and your knowledge to explain your answer. [8]

3 [Turn Over Trotsky’s struggle for power in Soviet Union BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you answer some of the questions. After the death of Lenin in 1924, it was not clear who would replace him as the next leader of Russia. The two main contenders for the position were Stalin and Trotsky. Nobody expected Stalin to lead Russia as Trotsky was regarded as Lenin’s right-hand man and was also the head of the Red Army. However, by 1928, Stalin was able to achieve supreme power and emerged as the leader of Russia, while Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party and sent into exile. Why did Trotsky lose the struggle for power with Stalin? Source A: An extract from Lenin’s Testament written in 1924 before he passed away. Source B: An account from a Communist Party member recalling Trotsky’s behavior at a party meeting in 1920. He was a supporter of Stalin’s views on communism. Comrade Stalin, becoming Secretary -General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using the authority with sufficient caution. Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, has proved his outstanding ability. He is personally the mos t capable man in the present government, but he has displayed excessive self-confidence and preoccupation with the administrative side of the work. These two qualities of the two outstanding leaders of the present Central Committee can inadvertently lead to a split, and if our Party does not take steps to stop this, the split may come unexpectedly. Trotsky, in his usual disruptive way, was jumping and speaking on every point, here assuming the role of a spokesman of the entire communist movement. He was already demonstrating the combination of brilliance and arrogance destined to secure him a dazzling career, but which also helped to push him toward final pathetic defeat. While he was a brilliant orator, he had too many characteristics that made it extraordinarily hard for Communist p arty members to work with him. His uncompromising principles and direct approach sometimes alienated potential allies, hindering the formation of crucial alliances necessary for sustained influence. He was not a ‘natural comrade’ compared to Stalin. The Pyromaniac

4 Source C: A Russian historian writing about the rise of Stalin, published in 1967. Source D: An account from Trotsky on why he missed Lenin’s funeral in 1924. This source was published in Trotsky’s memoirs in 1938. Trotsky’s power was in the formidable Red Army of which he was the leader. Stalin, as the Secretary-General of the Communist Party, therefore proposed to the Central Committee that Comrade Trotsky should be removed from his position as Head of Army, for the war has been over for some time, and should be put in charge of the electric work in the USSR. Stalin's strategic planning and manipulation of party dynamics were indeed remarkable. He skillfully built alliances and secured the support of key party members to further his ambitions. Through a series of political man oeuvers and the formation of factions, Stalin successfully marginalised Trotsky and other potential rivals within the party. I was sitting with my wife in the working half of my car, with the high temperature that was the usual thing at that time. There was a knock on the door, and my assistant handed the decoded telegram from Stalin telling me that Lenin had died. I was told: “The funeral will be on Saturday, you cannot get back in time, and so we advise you to continue your medical treatment.” Accordingly, I had no choice. As a matter of fact, the funeral did not take place until Sunday, and I could easily have reached Moscow by then. Incredible as it may appear, I was even deceived about the date of the funeral. Stalin presumed correctly that I would never think of verifying it, and later he could always find an explanation. I must recall the fact that the news of Lenin’s first illness was not communicated to me until the third day.

5 [Turn Over Source E: A British cartoon published in 1925 with the title “Winter Sport in Russia’. It shows Trotsky on the left and another member of the Communist Party on the right. Source F: Adapted from a book published in 1954, written by a French historian. In 1923, Trotsky chose not to confront Stalin as he felt a sense of security. At that time, neither Trotsky nor anyone else could have anticipated the formidable and influential figure Stalin would eventually become. The idea that his rival was a willful, sly, yet shabby and inarticulate man in the background appeared almost comically absurd to Trotsky. Trotsky's failure to take decisive action against Stalin during this critical period would lead to his eventual expulsion from the Communist Party and, ultimately, to his exile and assassination in 1940.

6 Section B: Structured-Essay Questions Answer one question. 2 This question is on the World War II in Asia-Pacific. (a) Explain why Japan was forced into waging war in the Asia-Pacific. [8] (b) ‘USA’s use of atomic bombs to end the war