GCSE History: International Relations and USA 1945-1974

Question 1

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 1

28 June 1919

Question 2

What were Germany’s military restrictions under the treaty?

Answer 2

Army limited to 100,000 men, no air force, navy reduced, Rhineland demilitarised.

Question 3

What was the War Guilt Clause?

Answer 3

Article 231 – Germany accepted full responsibility for starting WWI.

Question 4

How much were the reparations set at?

Answer 4

£6.6 billion (set in 1921)

Question 5

How did Germans refer to the Treaty?

Answer 5

A “Diktat” – dictated peace.

Question 6

How did the USA react to the Treaty?

Answer 6

Senate refused to ratify it; USA didn’t join the League of Nations.

Question 7

What was the main aim of the League of Nations?

Answer 7

To maintain world peace through collective security and dispute resolution.

Question 8

Name one success of the League in the 1920s.

Answer 8

Aaland Islands dispute (1921) – peacefully resolved between Sweden and Finland.

Question 9

Why was the League often seen as weak?

Answer 9

It had no army and relied on members for enforcement.

Question 10

What happened in Manchuria in 1931?

Answer 10

Japan invaded; the League failed to take effective action.

Question 11

What was the Corfu Incident (1923)?

Answer 11

Italy invaded Corfu; the League gave in to Mussolini’s demands.

Question 12

When did the Great Depression begin?

Answer 12

October 1929

Question 13

How did the Depression affect Germany?

Answer 13

Massive unemployment; US loans recalled; economy collapsed.

Question 14

What conference aimed to reduce arms worldwide but failed?

Answer 14

World Disarmament Conference (1932–1934)

Question 15

How did the Depression impact the League of Nations?

Answer 15

Members focused on national problems; League lacked backing for action.

Question 16

What was the Anschluss?

Answer 16

The unification of Germany and Austria in 1938.

Question 17

What was the Munich Agreement?

Answer 17

Britain and France gave Hitler the Sudetenland to avoid war (appeasement).

Question 18

Which event marked the start of WWII?

Answer 18

Germany’s invasion of Poland (Sept 1939).

Question 19

What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

Answer 19

A non-aggression pact between Germany and USSR; secretly divided Poland.

Question 20

How did Hitler violate the Treaty of Versailles in 1936?

Answer 20

He remilitarised the Rhineland.

Question 21

What is appeasement?

Answer 21

Giving in to an aggressor to avoid war, e.g., Britain giving Hitler the Sudetenland.

Question 22

Why did Britain follow a policy of appeasement?

Answer 22

Fear of another war, economic issues, unprepared military, belief Hitler was reasonable.

Question 23

What was the Popular View of appeasement in the late 1930s?

Answer 23

It was seen as a success; most people supported Chamberlain for avoiding war. The Munich Agreement was celebrated in 1938 (“Peace for our time”).

Question 24

Who supported the Popular View of appeasement during 1937–1939?

Answer 24

British public, most politicians, and newspapers. Chamberlain was welcomed as a hero.

Question 25

What is the Guilty Men view of appeasement?

Answer 25

A highly critical view that blamed Chamberlain and other politicians for cowardice and poor leadership in the 1930s, accusing them of enabling Hitler's rise.

Question 26

When was the Guilty Men view published?

Answer 26

1940, right after the outbreak of WWII.

Question 27

Who wrote the book Guilty Men?

Answer 27

It was published anonymously by three British journalists under the name “Cato.” One of them was Michael Foot, a future Labour Party leader.

Question 28

How did the Guilty Men view influence public perception?

Answer 28

It helped turn public opinion against appeasement and laid the groundwork for the Orthodox View

Question 29

What is the Orthodox View of appeasement?

Answer 29

Developed post-WWII, it argued appeasement was a mistake that encouraged Hitler’s aggression and made war inevitable.

Question 30

Who is most associated with the Orthodox View of appeasement?

Answer 30

Winston Churchill; also early historians like Keith Robbins.

Question 31

When did the Orthodox View of appeasement become dominant?

Answer 31

From the 1940s through the 1950s and early Cold War years.

Question 32

What is the Revisionist View of appeasement?

Answer 32

Argued that appeasement was a logical and realistic policy given Britain’s weakness and public opinion in the 1930s.

Question 33

When did the Revisionist View emerge?

Answer 33

In the 1960s, especially after access to government records and reflection on Cold War tensions.

Question 34

Which historian is often linked to the Revisionist View?

Answer 34

A.J.P. Taylor – he argued Hitler had no grand plan and Chamberlain did what was practical.

Question 35

What is the Counter-Revisionist View of appeasement?

Answer 35

Combines criticism of appeasement with more recent evidence, suggesting Chamberlain misjudged Hitler and ignored good advice.

Question 36

When did the Counter-Revisionist View develop?

Answer 36

1990s to present.

Question 37

What are criticisms of Chamberlain in the Counter-Revisionist View?

Answer 37

He was overconfident, ignored his cabinet, personalised diplomacy, and underestimated Hitler’s intentions.

Question 38

What was the Cold War?

Answer 38

A period of tension and ideological rivalry (1945–91) between the USA and USSR, without direct conflict.

Question 39

What were the key agreements at the Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)?

Answer 39

Division of Germany, free elections in Eastern Europe, USSR to join war against Japan.

Question 40

What were the main disagreements at the Potsdam Conference (July 1945)?

Answer 40

German reparations, Poland’s government, and general mistrust between Truman and Stalin.

Question 41

What was the "Iron Curtain" speech?

Answer 41

Churchill’s 1946 speech describing the division between East and West Europe.

Question 42

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Answer 42

US policy (1947) to support countries resisting communism.

Question 43

What was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 43

$13 billion in US aid to rebuild Europe and prevent the spread of communism.

Question 44

How did Stalin respond to the Marshall Plan?

Answer 44

He created Cominform (1947) and Comecon (1949) to control Eastern Bloc countries and resist US influence.

Question 45

What caused the Berlin Blockade (1948)?

Answer 45

Stalin blocked Allied access to West Berlin in response to Western efforts to unify Germany.

Question 46

What was the result of the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 46

The West successfully supplied Berlin; Stalin ended the blockade in 1949; NATO was formed.

Question 47

What was NATO and when was it formed?

Answer 47

A Western military alliance formed in 1949 to defend against communism.

Question 48

What was the Warsaw Pact?

Answer 48

A military alliance formed by the USSR and Eastern Bloc in 1955 as a response to NATO.

Question 49

What is MAD and how did it affect the Cold War?

Answer 49

Mutually Assured Destruction—the idea that full-scale war would destroy both sides, leading to caution in direct conflict.

Question 50

What did Sputnik represent in the Cold War?

Answer 50

USSR’s technological lead and the start of the space race.

Question 51

What was the significance of the Korean War?

Answer 51

First armed conflict of the Cold War, showing US willingness to fight communism.

Question 52

Why did the Hungarian Uprising fail?

Answer 52

USSR sent tanks; West did not intervene due to risk of wider war.

Question 53

Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1961?

Answer 53

To stop East Germans fleeing to West Berlin.

Question 54

What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 54

USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; USA saw it as a direct threat.

Question 55

What was the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 55

USSR removed missiles from Cuba; USA secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey. Hotline set up between leaders.

Question 56

What caused the Korean War?

Answer 56

North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 to unite the country under communism.

Question 57

What was the outcome of the Korean War?

Answer 57

Stalemate; Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel.

Question 58

Why did the USA get involved in Korea and Vietnam?

Answer 58

To stop the spread of communism (containment policy).

Question 59

What is the Domino Theory?

Answer 59

The belief that if one country falls to communism, others nearby will follow.

Question 60

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?

Answer 60

Alleged North Vietnamese attack on a US ship; used to justify full US entry into the war.

Question 61

What was the Tet Offensive?

Answer 61

A large-scale surprise attack by communists in 1968; shifted US public opinion against the war.

Question 62

Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

Answer 62

Guerrilla tactics, low morale, media backlash, protests, and corruption in South Vietnam.

Question 63

What were the consequences of the Vietnam War for the USA?

Answer 63

Military and political humiliation; more cautious foreign policy.

Question 64

Who were the Viet Cong?

Answer 64

Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam.

Question 65

What was the My Lai Massacre?

Answer 65

US troops killed 500+ civilians in a South Vietnamese village in 1968.

Question 66

When did the USA leave Vietnam?

Answer 66

1973, after the Paris Peace Accords.

Question 67

When did Vietnam become fully communist?

Answer 67

1975, after the fall of Saigon.

Question 68

What were the effects of the war on the USA?

Answer 68

58,000 deaths, public protests, loss of trust in government, and a more cautious foreign policy.