ACSI 2025 H(E) QP

1 Name: ________________________________ ( ) Class: ________________ Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2025 YEAR FOUR (O-levels) Humanities History 2261/02 Thursday 14 August 2025 1 hr 50min INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES • Do not open this examination paper until instructed to do so. • Section A: Answer all parts of Question 1. • Section B: Answer two questions. • If you use more than one sheet of writing paper, fasten them together. Attach the answer cover page to the TOP of your answers. • Be careful to number all questions attempted correctly. • The maximum mark for this examination paper is [50 marks]. Section A: __________/30 marks Section B: __________/20 marks Total marks obtained: __________/ 50 marks Parent/ Guardian’s Signature and Date: ____________________ This question paper consists of 6 pages, including the cover page.

2 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. What can you infer from Source A regarding British reason for adopting an appeasement policy? Explain your answer. [5] (b) Study Source B. How reliable is th is source to a historian studying British foreign policy in Europe? Explain your answer. [5] (c) Study Source C. How useful is this source as evidence of British responses towards the government’s policy of appeasement? Explain your answer. [6] (d) Study Sources D and E. How far does Source E prove that Source D was right about Hitler’s intentions in Europe? Explain your answer. [6] (e) Study all the sources. “The British were justified in their pursuit of the appeasement policy” How far do you agree with this view? Use the sources and your knowledge to explain your answer. [8]

3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you answer some of the questions. Appeasement in Europe The policy of appeasement was a key feature of British and French foreign policy in the 1930s, particularly in response to the aggressive expansion of Nazi Germany. Rooted in the desire to avoid another devastating conflict like World War I, appeasement involved making concessions to Hitler in the hopes that his demands would be satisfied and peace maintained. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed that these concessions would secure "peace for our time." Was British pursuit of appeasement justified, or did it merely delay and worsen the inevitable conflict? Source A: A British soldier shared his World War I experiences at the Battle of the Somme in France with a BBC* journalist, where 420,000 British soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing—many within the first week. The firing was going on for weeks beforehand, on and off, and getting heavier. But the bombardment, when that started, it was what I always called the dance of hell. It was Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Shells bursting all the time, you know, guns firing, rather, all the time. It was a dance of hell, right enough. Those poor boys who had to go through it! My God, I shall never get it out of my memory. Yes, the dance of hell. *British Broadcasting Company Source B: A radio broadcast by Chamberlain on 27 September 1938 before he went to the Munich Conference. Armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me; but if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it must be resisted. Under such a domination, life for people who believe in liberty would not be worth living; but war is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear, before we embark on it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake.

4 Source C: A newspaper article published in Singapore Straits Times with The caption: ‘WILD REJOICING IN *COMMONS*’ on 6 October 1938. …when Mr. Chamberlain added, “Herr Hitler has invited me to meet him in Munich tomorrow,” a change came over the House. The atmosphere shifted dramatically, followed by the biggest round of cheers of the day. The announcement that invitations had also been sent to Signor Mussolini and M. Daladier created a climax not seen in the Commons for many years. Everyone suddenly realised that the Prime Minister had performed yet another service for peace. Every member of the parliament in the House and every stranger in the public galleries rose to their feet at once, cheering, waving, clapping, shouting, and cheering again. *Parliament Source D: Churchill’s speech in the British parliament on 10 May 1938 after Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement. Both Chamberlain and Churchill were members of the Conservative Party. ‘All is over. Silent, mournful, abandoned, broke, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. She has suffered in every respect by her association with the Western democracies and with the League of Nations, of which she has always been an obedient servant. .. It must now be accepted that all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will make the best terms they can with the triumphant Nazi Power. The system of alliances in Central Europe upon which France has relied for her safety has been swept away, and I can see no means by which they can be reconstituted.

5 Source E: A cartoon published in February 1938 by the British cartoonist David Low shows Germany crushing Austria. The conversation says ‘Why should we take a stand about someone pushing someone else when it’s all so far away?’. David Low was responsible for many anti-German cartoons. Source F: A September 1937 letter from Percy Cudlipp, the editor of a British newspaper to cartoonist David Low when Cudlipp started refusing to publish Low’s cartoon in his newspaper. "The state of Europe is extremely tense at the present time. That being so, I don't want to publish anything in the Evening Standard which would add to the tension, or inflame tempers any more than they are already inflamed. There are people whose tempers are inflamed more by a cartoon than by any letterpress. So will you please, when you are planning your cartoons, bear in mind my anxiety on this score." Britain France Austria Czech Germany British empire

6 Section B: Essay Questions Answer two questions. 2. ‘The Germans suffered during Hitler’s rule .’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] 3. ‘The main reason why communist countries became involved in the Korean War was to support North Korea.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] 4 ‘Gorbachev’s leadership was a total failure.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] Acknowledgement of sources: Source A: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-the-first-day-of-the-somme Source B: https://spartacus-educational.com/Jlow.htm Source C: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/disaster-of-the-first-magnitude.html Source D: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19381006-1.2.116 Source E: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUUJLrxQA1VB- PVOnb1joudgXTSnXHwJMtgw&s