TMJC Prelim 2025 QP

1 CANDIDATE NAME CIVICS GROUP H1 HISTORY TAMPINES MERIDIAN JUNIOR COLLEGE JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION The Cold War and the Modern World (1945–2000) 8838/01 16 September 2025 3 hours Additional materials: 12 Page Answer Booklet READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name and Civics Group in the spaces at the top of the page. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. Section A Answer 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 5 printed pages and 1 blank page. Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History 2 BLANK PAGE

Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History 3 SECTION A You must answer Question 1. Fall of Communism in Poland 1 Read the sources and answer the questions which follow: Source A Andropov: The Solidarity extremists are attacking the leadership of the Polish communist part by the throat. The Church in recent days has also expressed its clear position. It has essentially gone over to the side of Solidarity. Gromyko: The leadership of Poland itself feels power slipping through its hands. Solidarity showed itself to be a patently counter-revolutionary organisation, a pretender to power that has declared itself openly concerning the seizure of power. What is our [Soviet leadership] attitude towards the Polish events? I completely agree with what the comrades have been expressing here. At the same time, we must try somehow to discourage Jaruzelski and other Polish leaders of the attitude with respect to the introduction of Soviet troops. There can be no introduction of troops into Poland. I think that on this score, we can instruct our ambassador to visit Jaruzelski and inform him of this. The consequences would be most serious: international condemnation, increased sanctions from the West, and an even heavier burden on our economy. We have told Comrade Jaruzelski he must himself take all necessary measures to restore order Extract taken from a declassified Soviet Politburo Meeting, Dec 10, 1981. Involved in this meeting were Soviet leader Brezhnev and senior Soviet officials. Source B Citizens of the Polish People’s Republic. I turn to you today as a soldier and as the head of the Polish Government. I turn to you in matters of supreme importance. Our country has found itself at the edge of an abyss. The state structures no longer function. Our extinguished economy is given more shocks every day. The atmosphere of never-ending conflicts, strikes and protest actions have become standard. Have we thus done everything to stop the spiral of the crisis? There have been errors, and we are drawing conclusions from them. Unfortunately, however, the national economy has been turned into an arena for political struggle. Words said in Radom and debates in Gdansk showed the real aims of Solidarity leadership. These aims are confirmed by everyday practice, the growing aggressiveness of extremists, clearly aiming to take apart the Polish state system. We must prevent; we must block confrontation which was openly declared by the leaders of Solidarity. We cannot let these demonstrations be the spark causing a fire in the country. Today at midnight, the Council of State will introduce martial law throughout the country.

Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History 4 Excerpt of televised speech by Polish Communist leader, Jaruzelski on 13 Dec 1981 announcing the imposition of martial law in Poland. Source C If the Second Cold War was generated by a change in US policy, it was the change in Soviet political thinking that brought about the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev’s new approach took the international community by surprise. He recognised that to reduce military spending, arms limitation talks with the US needed to be re-opened. An indication of Gorbachev’s new approach to the West was the replacement of veteran hardliner Foreign Minister Gromyko with Eduard Shevardnadze. Together, they launched a charm offensive on the West with their new political thinking. Margaret Thatcher met Gorbachev in 1984 and declared, ‘This is a man whom I can do business!’ When George Bush replaced Reagan in 1989, Soviet actions had convinced the US government that Gorbachev could be trusted. Excerpt from a book on the Cold War by an American author, 2001 Source D Illustration by a West German cartoonist, depicting Eastern Europeans onlookers surrounding a melting ice-block sculpture, published in the late 1980s.

Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History 5 Source E The decisive turning point for Eastern Europe came with Gorbachev’s renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine. By declaring that each socialist country must find its own way, and by refusing to sanction military intervention, Gorbachev removed the safety net for Poland’s Communist leaders. The Round Table talks of 1989, and the subsequent Solidarity-led government were made possible not simply by Polish opposition, but by Moscow’s new stance. Without Gorbachev’s permissive policy, the Polish communists could still have relied on Soviet military power to suppress dissent. Excerpt from a book by a leading British Cold War historian, published in 1996. . Now answer the following questions: a) Compare and contrast Sources A and B as evidence of the Communists’ response towards the Solidarity movement in Poland. [10m] b) How far do Sources A-E support the view that the collapse of communism in Poland was due primarily to Solidarity’s actions? [30m]

Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History 6 SECTION B: ESSAY QUESTIONS You must answer two questions from this section. EITHER 2 To what extent would you agree that the 1989 Sino-Soviet Summit marked the lowest point in Sino-Soviet relations? [30m] OR 3 ‘Japan and the USA demonstrated a strengthening relationship between 1952 - 1991.’ How far do you agree? [30m] AND EITHER 4 ‘External actors rather than domestic actors drove the development of the Second Indochina War.’ How far do you agree? [30m] OR 5 To what extent do you agree that ASEAN has always been ineffective in responding to Cold War developments? [30m] End of paper

Tampines Meridian Junior College 2025 JC2 Preliminary Examination H1 History