History Elective (2024 syllabus) Timelines, Content and Essays

Info about the paper Source Based: The topics for the source-based case study are prescribed and indicated by the symbol ( * ) in the syllabus content. Candidates are expected to have a sound knowledge of the prescribed units and an understanding of the ways in which sources may be evaluated. Essay: Candidates are required to answer 2 out of 3 questions set. The questions will test Objectives 1 and 2 and require candidates to analyse, evaluate and make judgement on events and/or issues . Each question is worth a total of 10 marks. Questions will be set on any issue/topic within the units in the syllabus except for the issue assessed in the source- based case study in Section A in the same year of examination. Topics to be Tested: Chapter 1: Paris Peace Conference and The League of Nations in the 1920s Chapter 2: Case Study of Nazi Germany (SBQ) Chapter 3: Case Study of Militarist Japan Chapter 4: The Outbreak of World War II in Europe (SBQ) Chapter 5: The Outbreak of World War II in Asia Pacific Chapter 6: The End of World War II in Europe and the Asia Pacific Chapter 7: Origins and Development of the Cold War in Europe, 1945 - 1955 (SBQ) Chapter 8: Case Study of the Korean War, 1950 - 1953 (SBQ) Chapter 9: Case Study of the Vietnam War, 1954 to 1975 Chapter 10: The End of the Cold War Chapter 9: Case Study of the Vietnam War, 1954 - 1975 Chapter 10: The End of the Cold War Chapter 1: Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations in the 1920s (Essay only) Allies (Winners): Britain, France, Italy and United States) Defeated Powers (Losers): Austria-Hungary, The Paris Peace Conference: Took place after WW1 ended in 1919. Aim of world leaders was to reach a settlement that would legally and officially end WW1 (Armistice of Nov 1918 was only an agreement to stop fighting). To officially end the war, must hv treaties between victorious Allies and defeated powers. Purpose of the PPC: to decide the terms of the treaties

Content: Influence of historical actors and public sentiments on negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference Public Sentiments: - Strong public sentiment that Germany should pay for all the damage and destruction caused by the war - Apart from USA, all countries that had fought the was were exhausted, economies were in a bad state - Total British and French casualties amounted to ~9 million - Case for treating Germany harshly was strengthened by Germany’s own harsh peace treaty with Russia in 1918 (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk). Had stripped Russia of huge amts of land and a third of its population. The United States: Woodrow Wilson - The Idealist - GOALS - Aimed to build a more peaceful world after WW1 - Believed Germany should be punished but not too harshly - Believed in self-determination (nations should rule themselves rather than being ruled by others) - REASONS - Not at the forefront of the war, did not suffer heavy casualties - An idealist who wanted to build a better and more peaceful world - Believed in self-determination and wanted to strengthen democracy (Wilson’s fourteen points) Britain: David Lloyd George - Middle ground position - GOALS - Wanted to rebuild Britain’s economy - Wanted to deter Russia from spreading communist beliefs in Europe - Punish Germany but not too harshly as a weak Germany was detrimental to Britain’s economy and security (why?)- Germany was a major trading partner, Britain wanted G to act as a buffer against communist Russia - Concerned about idea of self-determination as Britain itself was a coloniser - REASONS - Fiercest fighting did not take place on its land - Losses not as great as the French => did not feel as aggrieved - Seeking stern justice and deterrence, not vengeance - Main intention to deter Germany from starting another war France: Georges Clemenceau - GOALS - To punish Germany severely for the enormous damage inflicted on France during the war - Wanted to receive reparations - Wanted Germany to be weakened so that it could not threaten France again - Concerned about self-determination as France was a coloniser - REASONS

- Lost 1.4 million men in the war- workforce almost wiped out - Experienced great destruction and suffering - WW1 was the second time France had been invaded by Germany - Public sentiment in France influence: ppl wanted harsh and vindictive punishment for Germany - Clemenceau’s intention was to punish- make Germany pay for the destruction and suffering, cripple Germany to ensure that it would not happen again Content: Eventual terms of the Paris Peace Conference and its immediate impact on Europe in the 1920s 1. Treaty of Versailles and its immediate impact on Germany - War Guilt Clause, reparations, demilitarisation, territorial reductions (LAMB) War Guilt Clause - Article 231 of TOV assigned complete blame for starting the war to Germany - Admission of guilt justified other harsh terms - UNFAIR: Germany was only pulled into war because of defensive alliance with Austria- Hungary Reparations - Payment of 6600 million pounds - Reparations were agreed upon without consulting Germany - Harsh- Germany was crippled by war to, now they had to rebuild economy + pay reparations Demilitarisation - army limited to 10 000 men - Conscription banned (soldiers had to be volunteers) - Not allowed armoured vehicles/submarines/aircraft - Navy limited to six battleships - Rhineland demilitarised- no German troops allowed in - Political Impact: Humiliation, former great power reduced to this state Territorial Reductions - Lost all overseas colonies in Africa and Asia Pacific (Political Impact- no longer a great power, humiliation) - Lost control of coal rich region, Saar, to French for 15 years, after which plebiscite to let inhabitants choose (economic impact- coal was an impt resource, loss of it hampered economic recovery) 2. Re-drawing of national boundaries and the creation of new nation-states

- Breakdown of old empires - Self-determination Breakdown of old empires - After the war, many old empires had collapsed. There was a need to redraw the boundaries of Europe - Austro-Hungarian Empire -> Broken down into many new states - Ottoman Empire - Russian Empire-> Bolsheviks established the USSR/Soviet Union in 1922, which eventually comprised Russia and 14 other socialist republics - German empire -> Republic of Germany under Friedrich Ebert->Weimar Republic - - Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, forbade Austria from forming a union (Anschluss) with Germany without the consent of the league [opp of self determination] Self-Determination - Formation of new, independent nation-states - Optimism for Democracy - After WW2, the fall of old empires allowed old and new states in Europe to establish democracies, a move