CCHM 2025 H(E) QP Prelim

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/Humanities (History)/2261/02 [Turn over Name: Class: Register Number: PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2025 SECONDARY 4 HUMANITIES (HISTORY) 2261/02 Paper 2 The Making of the 20th Century Modern World, 1910s - 1991 26 August 2025 1 hour 50 minutes No Additional Materials are required. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST An answer booklet will be provided with this question paper. You should follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper ask the invigilator for extra sheets of paper. Section A Answer all parts of Question 1. Section B Answer two questions. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. This document consists of 6 printed pages.

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/Humanities (History)/2261/02 2 Section A: Source-Based Case Study Question 1 is 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. What is the message of this source? Explain your answer. [5] (b) Study Sources B and C. How far does Source C prove that Source B is wrong? Explain your answer. [6] (c) Study Source D. Are you surprised by what Source D says about the USA? Explain your answer. [5] (d) Study Source E. How useful is Source E as evidence about Soviet responses to the Marshall Plan ? Explain your answer. [6] (e) Study all the sources. ‘The USA’s actions were responsible for the Cold War.’ How far do these sources support this view? Use the sources and your knowledge to explain your answers. [8]

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/History/2261/02 [Turn over 3 Was the USA to blame for the Cold War? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you answer some of the questions. During World War II, the USA and the Soviet Union were allies against Nazi Germany. After the war ended, tensions rose between the U SA and the USSR as the USA took assertive steps to shape the post -war world in its favour. While the USSR focused on rebuilding and securing its borders, the USA promoted capitalism and democracy in a way that seemed aggressive to Stalin. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan offered aid to European countries but were seen by the USSR as tools to expand American influence. The USA’s decision to unite the Western zones of Germany without Soviet consent further worsened relations. These actions deepened mistrust and led to a long-term breakdown in the relationship between both superpowers. Were the USA’s actions responsible for the Cold War? Source A: A British cartoon published in November 1945. The ’12 Points’ was a speech by President Truman urging all countries to work together for international security. ATOMB BOMB: PRIVATE Atlee Stalin

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/Humanities (History)/2261/02 4 Source B: An extract from President Truman’s speech to Congress, March 1947. At the present moment in world history, nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantee of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based on the will of the minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. Source C: An extract from a Communist politician’s speech to the Czechoslovak Parliament, July 1947, explaining Czechoslovakia’s withdrawal from the Marshall Plan. We were invited to participate in the economic discussions in Paris. At first, our government accepted, as we recognised the urgent need for rebuilding our economy. But it soon became clear that this plan was not merely economic. It was an attempt to draw Czechoslovakia into a political grouping directed against our friends in the East. We have no intention of allowing our country to be used as an instrument in the service of one power against another. We will rebuild our nation in cooperation with those who respect our sovereignty and who have stood by us in our hour of need. Source D: A speech by a senior Soviet politician, delivered at the founding of the Cominform in September 1947. The world is now divided into two camps: the imperialist camp, led by the United States and striving for world domination, and the anti-imperialist camp, led by the Soviet Union and fighting for democracy and peace. American imperialism is using the Marshall Plan and other economic aid programmes as weapons to subjugate European countries and turn them into colonies. The USA is imposing its will on other nations through economic dependence, political manipulation, and military alliances. It presents itself as a champion of freedom, but in truth it is the oppressor of nations and the enemy of the working class.

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/History/2261/02 [Turn over 5 Source E: An American cartoon entitled ‘Can He Block It?” It shows Stalin as a basketball player trying to block the Marshall Plan basketball. Source F: A historian’s perspective on the Cold War, published in 2005. From this orthodox viewpoint, Soviet aggressiveness had caused the Cold War, and the Marshall Plan was simply a logical defensive move on the part of the United States. The Plan aimed to promote economic stability and prevent the spread of communism in war-torn Europe. The Soviet rejection of the plan was the natural response of a frustrated aggressor state whose expansionist plans had been thwarted. Rather than accepting cooperation, the USSR perceived economic aid as a threat to its sphere of influence. The Cold War was not the result of American provocation, but of Soviet determination to expand communism and dominate Eastern Europe, making confrontation almost inevitable.

2025 Preliminary Examination/CCHMS/Secondary 4/Humanities (History)/2261/02 6 Section B: Essays Answer two questions. 2 “Nazi policies harmed the Germans more than it helped them. ” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] 3 “Japan’s desire for territorial expansion was the main reason for its defeat in World War II.” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] 4 “The USA was responsible for the Vietnam war in 1964.” How far do you agree with this stateme