O Level History 2147 · Topic 4

Core content: Option B: past paper questions

102 real questionsasked in 10 of the last 10 exam series2021–2026usually: Explain, Describe, Use

Real questions on core content: option b

The newest 20 of 102 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q5b[6]
Why did the League fail to prevent the Italian invasion of Abyssinia?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q5c[10]
‘By the end of the 1920s the League had satisfied the high expectations of its supporters.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q6a[4]
What was the Munich Agreement of 1938?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q6b[6]
Why did Germany invade Poland in September 1939?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q6c[10]
Which was more important: the remilitarisation of the Rhineland or Anschluss? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q7a[4]
What was Marshall Aid?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q7b[6]
Why was the Truman Doctrine announced in 1947?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q7c[10]
‘There was little agreement between the Soviet Union and the West in the peace conferences of 1945.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q8a[4]
Describe US involvement in Vietnam under Eisenhower, 1955–61.
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q8b[6]
Why did the United States agree to the Paris Peace Accords of 1973?
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2147/12 · May/June 2026 · Q8c[10]
How successful was the United States in its dealings with Cuba, 1961 to 1962? Explain your answer. Section B: Depth studies Answer one question from this section. Depth study A: The First World War, 1914–18
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q5b[6]
Why was the United States’ absence from the League important?
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q5c[10]
How far were the most important achievements of the League to be found in its humanitarian work? Explain your answer.
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2147/13 · May/June 2026 · Q6a[4]
What was Britain’s policy of appeasement?
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2147/22 · May/June 2026 · Q2a[7]
Study Sources A and B. How far do these two sources agree? Explain your answer using details of the sources.
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2147/22 · May/June 2026 · Q2b[8]
Study Sources C and D. How similar are these two cartoons? Explain your answer using details of the sources and your knowledge.
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2147/22 · May/June 2026 · Q2c[8]
Study Sources E and F. How far does Source E prove that Lamont in Source F was wrong? Explain your answer using details of the sources and your knowledge.
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2147/22 · May/June 2026 · Q2d[8]
Study Source G. Is Source G surprising? Explain your answer using details of the source and your knowledge.
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2147/22 · May/June 2026 · Q2e[9]
Study all the sources. How far do these sources provide convincing evidence that the Germans were justified in their view that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair? Use the sources to explain your answer.
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2147/23 · May/June 2026 · Q1a[7]
Study Sources A and B. How far do these two sources agree? Explain your answer using details of the sources.
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What examiners said

This question was well answered and there were many strong responses in which candidates showed a good understanding of whether ‘the successes of the League in handling international disputes during the 1920s demonstrated that it had real power’. Candidates were able to provide examples of both the successes and failures of the League in the 1920s. The disputes over the Aaland Islands, Upper Siles...
— Examiner report, May/June 2023, 2147/12 Q6(c) (Cambridge)

Most responses demonstrated some understanding of the weaknesses of the League of Nations. The strongest responses were well organised and produced a balanced answer by explaining why the absence of the USA was the main reason for the weakness of the League. They were able to explain that the USA’s military and economic power, which had not been weakened by the First World War, would have given st...
— Examiner report, October/November 2022, 2147/11 Q5(c) (Cambridge)

There were mixed responses to this question, ‘Which did more to damage relations between the USA and USSR: disagreements over Poland or Marshall Aid?’ Candidates were more confident explaining the impact of Marshall Aid on relationships than they were on the explaining the damage inflicted on relationships as a result of disagreements over Poland. Responses identified that Marshall Aid was part of...
— Examiner report, October/November 2022, 2147/11 Q7(c) (Cambridge)

Practise this topic

Answer these questions online and get each one marked against the official mark scheme, with what you missed and how to fix it.

Practise core content: option b

In the syllabus

4.1 Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles?.
Why did the victors not get everything they wanted?.
What was the impact of the Treaty on Germany up to the end of 1923?.
Could the Treaty be justified at the time?.
The roles of Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the peacemaking process.
The terms of the Treaty.
Social, economic and political impact of the Treaty in Germany to the end of 1923.
Contemporary opinions about the Treaty.

4.2 To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

How far did weaknesses in the League’s organisation and membership make failure inevitable?.
How successful were the League’s attempts at peacekeeping in the 1920s?.
How important was the League’s humanitarian work?.
How far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult in the 1930s?.
The structure, aims and membership of the League.
Successes and failures in peacekeeping during the 1920s:; Vilna 1920; Aaland Islands 1920–21; Corfu 1923; Bulgaria 1925.
The League’s humanitarian work:; refugees; health; working conditions; slavery.
The League in the 1930s:; causes, events and consequences of the Manchurian crisis and of the Abyssinian crisis.

4.3 How far was Hitler’s foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?

What were the long-term consequences of the Treaty of Versailles?.
What were the consequences of the failures of the League of Nations in the 1930s?.
Was the policy of appeasement justified?.
How important was the Nazi–Soviet Pact?.
Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939?.
Hitler’s foreign policy aims.
Rearmament.
The Saar.
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland.
The Rome–Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact.
German and Italian involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
Anschluss with Austria.

4.4 Who was to blame for the Cold War?

Why did the US–Soviet alliance begin to break down in 1945?.
How had the USSR gained control of Eastern Europe by 1948?.
How did the United States react to Soviet expansionism?.
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?.
Who was more to blame for starting the Cold War: the United States or the USSR?.
The origins of the Cold War:; the 1945 summit conferences and the breakdown of the US–Soviet alliance in 1945–46; Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe to 1948, and American reactions to it; the occupation of Germany and the Berlin Blockade; NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

4.5 How effectively did the United States contain the spread of communism?

The United States and events in Korea, 1950–53.
The United States and events in Cuba, 1959–62.
American involvement in Vietnam, 1955–75.
Case studies of:; American reactions to North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, the involvement of the UN, the course of the war to 1953; American reactions to the Cuban Revolution, including the Missile Crisis and its aftermath; American involvement in the Vietnam War, including reasons for involvement, tactics and strategy, reasons for withdrawal.

4.6 How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe, 1948–c.1989?

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, and how did the USSR react to this opposition?.
How similar were events in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968?.
Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1961?.
What was the significance of Solidarity in Poland for the decline of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe?.
How far was Gorbachev personally responsible for the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe?.
Soviet power in Eastern Europe:; resistance to Soviet power in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968); the Berlin Wall; Solidarity in Poland; Gorbachev and the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe Depth studies Candidates must study at least one of the following Depth studies: A The First World War, 1914–18 B Germany, 1918–45 C Russia, 1905–41 D The United States, 1919–41 E The Second World War in Europe and the Asia–Pacific, 1939–c.1945.

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