GCSE History Key Topics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What was Kristallnacht (November 1938)?
- A failed assassination attempt on Hitler
- A coordinated attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany (Correct answer)
- The first meeting of the Nazi Party
- A peace agreement between Germany and Britain
Correct answer: A coordinated attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany
Kristallnacht ('Night of Broken Glass') on 9-10 November 1938 saw Nazi-orchestrated attacks on Jewish properties across Germany and Austria. Over 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, 267 synagogues burned, 91 Jews killed, and 30,000 arrested.
Question 2: Which event is considered the immediate trigger for the start of World War I?
- The sinking of the Lusitania
- The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (Correct answer)
- Germany's invasion of Poland
- The Russian Revolution
Correct answer: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 was the immediate trigger for WWI. It set off a chain reaction through the alliance system that drew all major European powers into war.
Question 3: What was the Beveridge Report (1942) and why was it significant for Britain?
- A military strategy document for D-Day
- A report identifying five social evils and proposing a welfare state (Correct answer)
- A trade agreement with the United States
- A plan for rebuilding bombed British cities
Correct answer: A report identifying five social evils and proposing a welfare state
The Beveridge Report (1942) identified five 'Giant Evils' — Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness — and proposed comprehensive social insurance. It became the blueprint for the post-war welfare state, including the creation of the NHS in 1948.
Question 4: In Weimar Germany, what was the main cause of the hyperinflation crisis of 1923?
- Overproduction of consumer goods
- The government printed excessive money to pay reparations and striking workers (Correct answer)
- A sudden increase in oil prices
- The collapse of the stock market
Correct answer: The government printed excessive money to pay reparations and striking workers
The Weimar government printed money to pay reparations and to support workers striking against the French occupation of the Ruhr. This caused catastrophic hyperinflation — by November 1923, a loaf of bread cost 200 billion marks.
Question 5: What was the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and how was it resolved?
- A trade dispute resolved through economic sanctions
- A nuclear standoff resolved when the USSR agreed to remove missiles from Cuba in exchange for US concessions (Correct answer)
- A military invasion of Cuba by NATO forces
- A civil war in Cuba ended by UN intervention
Correct answer: A nuclear standoff resolved when the USSR agreed to remove missiles from Cuba in exchange for US concessions
The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) was a 13-day confrontation when the US discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was resolved when the USSR removed the missiles in exchange for a US promise not to invade Cuba and the secret removal of US missiles from Turkey.
Question 6: What did the Representation of the People Act 1918 achieve in Britain?
- It abolished the monarchy
- It gave voting rights to women over 30 who met property qualifications, and all men over 21 (Correct answer)
- It introduced proportional representation
- It established the House of Lords
Correct answer: It gave voting rights to women over 30 who met property qualifications, and all men over 21
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was a landmark in British democracy. It gave the vote to all men over 21 and, for the first time, to women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. It tripled the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million.
GCSE History Key Topics 2
What was Kristallnacht (November 1938)?