RVHS 2025 J2 Prelims H2 History Paper 1

2025 RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations Page 1 of 8 9174/01 History RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations 2025 In preparation for the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level HIGHER 2 ______________________________________________________________________ HISTORY 9174/01 Paper 1 The Changing International Order (1945-2000) 15 Sep 2025 3 hours ______________________________________________________________________ READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write in dark blue or black ink. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. Section A Answer Question 1. Section B Answer two questions. 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. This document consists of 5 printed pages and 3 blank pages.

2025 RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations Page 2 of 8 9174/01 History Section A You must answer Question 1. The German Question and the Origins of the Cold War 1 Read the sources, and answer the questions that follow. Source A A cartoon by a British cartoonist, published in 1946. Source B The carrying out of the Potsdam Agreement has been obstructed by the failure of the four - power Allied Control Council to take the necessary steps to enable the German economy to function as an economic unit. Administrative departments have not been established, equitable distribution of essential commodities between the zon es to produce a balanced economy has not been arranged, although these are expressively required by the Potsdam Agreement. The United States firmly believes that Germany should be administered as an economic unit. The United States has formally announced its intention to unify the economy of its own zone with any or all of the other zones willing to participate in the unification. So far only the British Government has agreed to participate. We deeply appreciate their cooperation. This policy of unification is not intended to exclude the governments not now willing to join. The unification will be open to them at any time they wish to join. From a speech delivered by US Secretary of State James Byrnes in the German city of Stuttgart, 6 September 1946. Bevin (UK Foreign Minister) and Byrnes (US Secretary of State) “Pity you fellows can’t get your part going. I fixed mine ok.” Molotov (Soviet Foreign Minister)

2025 RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations Page 3 of 8 9174/01 History Source C The Soviet Government has familiarised itself with the July 6th letter from the Government of the USA, where the situation in Berlin is described to be a result of the Soviet Government imposing restrictive measures on transport, amounting to a blockade. The Soviet Government cannot agree with this statement and considers that the situation has instead arisen as a result of the violation by the Governments of the USA, Great Britain and France of agreed decisions at the Wartime Conferences. After the London meeting, measures were undertaken unilaterally by the Governments of the USA, Great Britain and France towards the division of Germany, including preparations for the creation of a separate Government and a separate currency reform for the Western zones of occupation introduced in June this year. As such, the situation created in Berlin, as well as in all Germany, is the direct result of the systematic violation by the Western Governments. From a letter by the Soviet Ambassador to the United States, 14 July 1948. Source D The Soviets were still insistent that we call off our actions to create a West German government. But they were no longer insistent that this had to be done before they would call off the blockade. They were now willing to agree that all restrictions on tr affic in and out of Berlin imposed after 1 st March 1948 that started the crisis would be lifted. The Soviets were ready to retreat. When we refused to be forced out of the city of Berlin, we demonstrated to the people of Europe that with their cooperation we would act resolutely when their freedom was threatened. Politically, it brought the peoples of Western Europe more closely to us. The Berlin blockade was a move to test our capacity and will to resist. This Soviet action and their previous attempts to take over Greece and Turkey were part of their plans to probe for soft spots in the Western Allies' positions all around their own perimeter. From the memoirs of Harry Truman, 1956.

2025 RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations Page 4 of 8 9174/01 History Source E Stalin’s main objective was the security of the Soviet Union. The first priority was to neutralise the German menace by destroying Germany’s economic power. The Anglo-American strategy was driven by the fear that if Germans in the Western zone remained imp overished, they would turn back to Nazism – or to Communism. The Soviets first established a Communist -led government without allied consent and broke Potsdam agreements by extracting and dismantling whatever fell within their grasp. In 1948 the Western Allies held their own conference on Germany, announcing ‘that close co - operation should be established among themselves in all Western German matters arising out of Marshall Aid. Such co -operation is essential if Western Germany is to make its full contribution to European recovery.’ In June, plans to form a West German government were announced. Then a new currency was introduced into the Western zones. The Soviets replied by cutting communications between West Berlin and the Western zones. It is sometimes suggested that American decisions like the Marshall Plan pushed Stalin from compromise to rigidity, and European divisions were caused by America’s insensitivity. This was not so. The immediate cause of the division of Germany and Europe li es in Stalin’s own errors and his uncompromising tactics. From a book by a historian, 1960. Source F Neither side can bear sole responsibility for the onset of the Cold War that grew out of a complicated interaction of development. Externally, Americans and Russians were left facing one another across prostrated Europe at the end of WWII. Internally in the Soviet Union, the search for security, the role of ideology, massive post -war reconstruction needs, the personality of Stalin, together with the United States’ need for self -determination, fear of Communism, and the illusion of omnipotence made the resulting confrontation a hostile one. Both superpowers sought peace, but in doing so yielded to considerations which made resolution of differences impossible. It seems likely that Washington policymakers mistook Stalin’s determination to ensure Russian security for a renewed effort to spread communism. From a book by a historian, 1972. Now answer the following questions: (a) Compare and contrast the evidence provided in Sources E and F about the Origins of the Cold War. [10] (b) How far do Sources A -F support the view that the Western powers were responsible for the Berlin Crisis? [30]

2025 RVHS JC2 Preliminary Examinations Page 5 of 8 9174/01 History Section B You must answer two questions from this section. EITHER 2 How important was the role of Western Europe and Japan in promoting the growth of the glo