NHHS 2026 Pure History Prelims Paper 2 Answer Scheme

Page 1 of 4 CANDIDATE NAMECENTRE CLASSINDEXNUMBERNUMBERHISTORY 2174/02Paper 2 Developments in the post-World War II world: The Cold War and decolonisation in Southeast Asia, 1940s - 1991 25 August 2026 1 hour 50 minutes Additional materials: Laptop SUGGESTED ANSWER SCHEME S 2 3 8 6 NAN HUA HIGH SCHOOLPreliminary Examination 2026

Nan Hua High SchoolPreliminary Examination 2026History 2174/02 Page 2 of 16 Section A: Source-Based Case Study1(a)Study Source A.Why did the Soviet minister make this speech at that time? Explain your answer.[5]Level DescriptorMarksL1LiftingE.g. The Soviet minister made this speech because the United States was expanding in Europe and disregarding the national interests of countries.1L2Reason based on outcome without main message OR based on provenanceE.g. The Soviet minister made this speech at that time to persuade [P] members of the United Nations [A] to reject the aid from the Marshall Plan [O].ORE.g. The Soviet minister made this speech to address the members of the United Nations.2L3Reason based on main messageE.g. The Soviet minister made this speech at that time to persuade [P] members of the United Nations [A] that the US was intending on using the Marshall Plan to control Europe [M]. The source states that “implementation of the Marshall Plan will mean placing European countries under the economic and political control of the United States and direct interference by the United States in the internal affairs of those countries.” This means that the United States was going to deprive the countries of their sovereignty as through the Marshall Plan, they would be obligated to align themselves with the United States. *Responses that do not have a P or accurate audience identified will be capped at L3/3 3 L4Reason based on purposeAward the higher mark for responses that address the specific context.E.g. The Soviet minister made this speech at that time to 4 – 5

Nan Hua High SchoolPreliminary Examination 2026History 2174/02 Page 3 of 16 persuade [P] members of the United Nations [A] that the US was intending on using the Marshall Plan to control Europe [M]. The source states that “implementation of the Marshall Plan will mean placing European countries under the economic and political control of the United States and direct interference by the United States in the internal affairs of those countries.” This means that the United States was going to deprive the countries of their sovereignty as through the Marshall Plan, they would be obligated to align themselves with the United States. By making this speech in front of the United Nations in September 1947 after the Soviet Union had rejected the Marshall Plan, [C] the minister was likely trying to justify the USSR and the Soviet satellite states’ rejection of the economic aid and attempting to convince other UN members to do the same. [O] 1(b)Study Source B.What is the message of this source? Explain your answer.[5]Level DescriptorMarksL1Describes source without an inferenceE.g. Source B shows a car and a vulture heading for Western Europe.1L2Sub-message, supportedAward 3 marks for responses that are supported by evidenceE.g. The message of the source is that USA and USSR were in direct competition with each other over Western Europe. (2m) Source A shows a car labelled “Doctor, U.S. Congress” racing against a vulture labelled “communism”. Both of them are heading towards Western Europe, trying to reach Western Europe before the other party. (3m) 2 – 3L3Main message OR outcome of source, supported and explainedAward 5 marks for main message with source content use, and 5 marks for contextual knowledge made with reference to cartoon being published after George Marshall’s speech proposing the Economic Recovery Act.E.g. The message of the source is that the USA was in competition with the USSR, to save Western Europe from communism. Source B shows a car labelled “Doctor, U.S. Congress” racing against a vulture labelled “communism”. The 4 – 5

Nan Hua High SchoolPreliminary Examination 2026History 2174/02 Page 4 of 16 vulture is carrying “chaos”, implying that communism would be devastating for Western Europe and that by depicting the U.S. Congress as a doctor, the source is saying that the USA was the saviour of Western Europe. The source also states, “STEP ON IT DOC!”, which also demonstrates the urgency of Western Europe’s situation that requires a swift and decisive response to save Western Europe from becoming communist.ORE.g. The message of the source is to tell the American government to hasten their actions to help Europe and prevent them from falling to communism. This can be seen where Source B shows a car labelled “Doctor, U.S. Congress” racing against a vulture labelled “communism”. The vulture is carrying “chaos”, implying that communism would be devastating for Western Europe and that by depicting the U.S. Congress as a doctor, the source is saying that the USA was the saviour of Western Europe. The source also states, “STEP ON IT DOC!”, which also demonstrates the urgency of Western Europe’s situation that requires a swift and decisive response to save Western Europe from becoming communist.1(c)Study Sources C and D.How similar are these two sources? Explain your answer.[6]Level DescriptorMarksL1Comparison based on undeveloped provenanceE.g. They are different as one is from an article and the other is from a speech.1L2Common criteria identified, unsupported / Invalid matchE.g. Both Sources C and D are similar in showing that the Marshall Plan would help Western Europe.2L3Similarity/Difference based on content, supportedAward the higher mark of the level for more developed answers OR for comparison of both similarity and difference.E.g. Both Sources C and D are similar in showing that the Marshall Plan would help Western Europe. Source C also shows that the Marshall Plan would restore Western Europe as it states that “It is of vital importance to the United States that 3 – 4

Nan Hua High SchoolPreliminary Examination 2026History 2174/02 Page 5 of 16 European recovery be continued to ultimate success… Europe is thus an essential part of a world trading network”. Similarly, Source D states that “The Marshall Planners are giving priority to the reconstruction of Western Germany. According to them, Germany’s potential industrial productivity was the cornerstone of the European Recovery Program.” Both sources demonstrate that the Marshall Plan was directed at Western Europe’s recovery as it was widely regarded as a key foundation to the economic health of the global economy as well.L4Difference in purposeAward 6 marks for well-developed answers.E.g. Sources C and D are different in their purpose. Source D is trying to convince [P] fellow communist sympathisers [A] that the Marshall Plan was not altruistic in nature and in fact was meant to be self-serving to USA’s interests. [M] The source states that “Western Europe would eventually become a colonial slave of the US” and that “there will never be a real recovery for them. It will make Western Europe a satellite of the US”. This means that the Marshall Plan would not bring genuine benefits to Western Europe. The article was published a few months before the Marshall Plan was formally implemented [C] and thus the author could be attempting to convince other communist sympathisers to resist and opt of the Marshall Plan. Whereas Source C’s purpose is to convince [P] Congress [A] of the importance of the Marshall Plan in the recovery of Europe. [M] The sources states that “It is of vital importance to the United States that European recovery be continued to ultimate success. Considered in terms of our own economy, European recovery is essential. The last two decades have taught us the bitter lesson that no economy, not even one so strong as our own, can remain he