History EOY - Year 9

Question 1

Why was WWI called the Great War?

Answer 1

Because the world had never experienced such a big war before.

Question 2

Why was WWI called ‘the war to end all wars’?

Answer 2

Because of how many people died - around 9 million (enormous death toll).

Question 3

What were the long-term causes of WWI?

Answer 3

1. Nationalism - people took pride in their countries. Many leaders thought the best way to prove they were the best was to go to war with their rivals!
2. Militarism -they also took great pride in their armies/navy, and wanted them to be bigger and best, and so got caught up in an arms race.
3. Imperialism - Apart from Britain, other European countries had empires too. They begun feeling the tension and was each others as threats.
4. Alliances - as each country began to feel threatened, they looked for friends to back them up - the allies

Question 4

Which countries formed the Triple Entente (allies)?

Answer 4

Britain, France and Russia.

Question 5

Which countries formed the Triple Alliance (allies)?

Answer 5

Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

Question 6

What do you know about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (which led to the outbreak of the Great War)?

Answer 6

He was murdered by a gang of Serbians called ‘Black Hand’ when he visited Bosnia.

Many Bosnians were not happy that Bosnia had only joined the Austro-Hungarian Empire since 1908, when it had been conquered by the Austrians. And many Serbians wanted Bosnia to join with them.

Question 7

How did the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand lead to the outbreak of the Great War?

Answer 7

Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the murder, so attacked Serbia.

Russia who promised to protect Serbia, gets ready to attack Austria-Hungary.

Germany (who supports Austria-Hungary) declares war on Russia.

Britain prepares its warships.

Germany attacks France before attacking Russia.

Germany asks Belgium to allow German soldiers to march through their country to attack France. Belgium says ‘no’. Germany does it anyway. Britain declares war on Germany to protect Belgium.

Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.

Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary.

Question 8

What do you know about the German plan called Schlieffen to fight both France and Russia (WWI)?

Answer 8

To quickly defeat France with a huge knock-out blow through Belgium, before moving the soldiers east to fight the enormous but slow-moving Russian army.

Question 9

Why wasn’t the Schlieffen plan a success?

Answer 9

The Belgian army put up fierce resistance.

The BEF, a highly trained British professional army held the Germans back.

The Russians launched attack quicker on Germany.

The plan was outdated. Th world had changed. Railways and lorries moved the troops far quicker. The French even hired 600 taxi cabs to ferry extra troops into battle!

By September, the Germans had retreated 40 miles behind the River Aisne and there dug trenches.

The British and French could not get through these, so they dug trenches too.

The war was stuck in a STALEMATE (neither side could get through).

Question 10

What was a STALEMATE in WWI?

Answer 10

By September, the Germans had retreated 40 miles behind the River Aisne and there dug trenches.

The British and French could not get through these, so they dug trenches too.

The war was stuck in a STALEMATE (neither side could get through).

Question 11

Name the main features of a TRENCH warfare. There are 14.

Answer 11

1. Duckboards (on the ground - stop soldiers sink on the mud)
2. Fire step - soldiers stood on these to look and fire ‘over the top’
3. Dugouts - rooms on back wall (to receive telephone orders)
4. Periscope - to see over the top without being shot

5.Concrete bunker - reinforced underground bunker

6. Gas bell - would ring to warn troops to put on gas masks
7. Reserve trenches - soldiers went there to rest/wait
8. Communication trench - to link the front trenches to the reserve ones
9. Aeroplanes helped spot targets

10-14. Barbed wire, machine guns and nests, sandbags, artillery

Question 12

What do you know about the Trench rats?

Answer 12

Dead bodies and food scraps attracted these. They were huge and would attempt to take food from pockets of sleeping soldiers.

Question 13

What do you know about the Trench Foot Disease?

Answer 13

Many soldiers suffered from it.
It was an infection caused by cold, wet and dirty conditions.
It could result in amputation.

Question 14

What foods did the soldiers eat in the Trenches?

Answer 14

At the beginning of the war, soldiers were fed well.

Gradually, the food was rationed (soldiers were only given a certain small amount).

Also, it took so long for fresh food to reach the front line where soldiers were, that food was stale.

There was a shortage of flour, so bread was made of turnips. They would drink weak coffee and oxo.

Question 15

What was daily life like in the Trenches?

Answer 15

Each day was much the same as the last, unless there was a battle (but these were not daily).

They would do the ‘stand to’ before dawn, gathering weapons, taking place on the ‘fire step’ and fire. And the same at nightfall.

Also, they had to repair the trenches, clean weapons, carry supplies, fill up sandbags, etc

Question 16

Who were the ‘Big Three’? (after WWI ended)

Answer 16

The leaders of France, Great Britain and the USA, who represented the 3 most powerful winning countries:

• David Lloyd George (Prime Minister of Great Britain)
• Woodrow Wilson (President of USA)
• George Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France)

Question 17

When was the Treaty Of Versailles signed?

Answer 17

June 1919

Question 18

What was written in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

1. Germany must pay for the war in money and goods.
2. Germany to have no air force, tanks or submarines.
3. German soldiers not allowed anywhere near France.
4. Germany to hand over colonies to Britain and France.
5. Parts of the country cut off to make new ones.
6. League of Nations set up (all countries to join so they could talk about their problems, rather than fight)

Question 19

Why was the League of Nations formed?

Answer 19

To sort problems between countries peacefully.

To work together to fight diseases, slavery and drug smuggling, and improve working conditions.

Less than half of the countries joined, Germany was not allowed.

Question 20

How did the League of Nations try to stop the wars?

Answer 20

If one nation was to declare war to another, all the other members would stop trading with the invading country until a lack of supplies would bring the fighting to an end.

Question 21

What were some of the weaknesses/failures of the League of Nations?

Answer 21

The USA never became a member.
It didn’t have its own armed forces to go in and stop trouble.

Also, it couldn’t stop some invasions (Japan > China, Italy > Ethiopia)

Question 22

What were some of the successes of the League of Nations?

Answer 22

-Freed many slaves.
-Helped many war prisoners return home.
-Worked hard to defeat diseases (cholera, smallpox, leprosy)
- Sorted some disputes between some countries.

Question 23

What caused the Russian Revolution in March 1917?

Answer 23

During WWI, people became angry and bitter as millions of their soldiers were killed.
At home, the war caused terrible shortages. Many Russians could not afford to keep warm or to feed their families.

Question 24

What happened in Russia on the 16th of March 1917?

Answer 24

The Tsar Nicholas II abdicated and a new Government took control of Russia.

Question 25

What happened in April 1917 in Russia?

Answer 25

Lenin, the leader of a political party called Bolsheviks returned to Russia.

Question 26

What did Lenin and the Bolsheviks followed and believed in?

Answer 26

Communism. They believed that: 1. everyone should have an equal share in Russia's wealth, 2. peasants should share the land, 3. workers should own a share of the factories they worked in, 4. the war should end immediately

Question 27

What happened in October 1917 in Russia?

Answer 27

The Bolshviks seized power from The Provisional Government. Lenin and his party began transforming Russia into the world's first COMMUNIST STATE.

Question 28

Did everyone support the Bolshviks in 1917 (Russia)?

Answer 28

No! People were very divided. They only succeed because hardly anyone came to support the Provisional Government. Between 1918-1921 there was a bloody civil war between the supporters and opponents of Communism.

Question 29

What did the Bolsheviks do to gain control after they seized power? And how did they become a ONE-PARTY STATE?

Answer 29

They smashed the offices of opposition newspapers and arrested their editors. Lenin's secret police (the Cheka) tortured and executed opponents of his new government. Lenin was forced to go ahead with the election that the Provisional Government had promised the people. But as he didn't win, he sent his soldiers to the Constituent Assembly and closed it down!

Question 30

When was the peace Treaty of Brest Litovsk signed between Germany and Russia?

Answer 30

In March 1918.

Question 31

Why did many Russians feel the Treaty of Brest Litovsk brought a shameful peace?

Answer 31

Because of the huge amount of territory that Russia had to give up, as well as, coal mines and factories.

Question 32

Give examples of laws that the communists passed to make Russia a more equal society.

Answer 32

1. Women were declared equal to men 2. All land was taken away from the Tsar and old landlords 3. money and jewellery in rich people's bank accounts were taken by the state 4. factories were taken away from their owners and given to committees 5.peasants with extra grains had to hand it over to the government (so people in the cities had enough bread) 6. maximum of 48h week for factory workers 7. rich people were forced to share their houses with the poor

Question 33

Many rich/educated Russian people escaped from the new communist regime, but others didn't. What was like like for them?

Answer 33

Life for them became unbearable. Their houses were raided, they had to do cleaning jogs, etc Ordinary Russians were rude and hostile to them.

Question 34

Why was the Tsar's royal family (Romanov) executed?

Answer 34

First the family was placed under house arrest (they could not leave it), then moved to a town in the mountains. The Bolshviks feared that if the Tsar escaped he could help the opponents. There were rumours of plots to free the imperial/royal family. In July 1918, the family was told to hide in the cellar for their safety, however this was a trick to murder them there. These orders had come from the communist government!

Question 35

When did the terrible civil war in Russia started between the Reds (Communists) and the Whites (Opponents of the new Communist regime)?

Answer 35

Summer of 1918.

Question 36

What was the Holocaust?

Answer 36

The massive killing of millions of innocent people just because they were Jewish.

Question 37

What prejudice did the jews face over history?

Answer 37

Jews have been treated different over long periods of time. It goes back 2000 to Roman times. When Christianity became the official religion of the Empire, Judaism became a rival religion. By the year 1000 Jews became a target for brutal persecution. They were blamed for the plagues and a scapegoat for people's problems. Laws against the jews were passed in different countries. They were made to live separately in ghettos, wear badges, hats and clothing to show they were Jewish. They were forced to leave their country and became refugees.

Question 38

What is Anti-Semitism?

Answer 38

Any hostility or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic or racial group.

Question 39

What is Genocide?

Answer 39

An act with intent to destroy a race or religious group.

Question 40

Which other groups of people were persecuted, killed and put into concentration camps by the Nazis?

Answer 40

Gypsies (Roma and Sinti), disabled, gay men, Jehovah's witnesses and prisoners of war from the Soviet Union.

Question 41

Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. What happens between 1933 and 1939?

Answer 41

Between those dates, the Jews in Germany faced terrible discrimination and prejudice and some were killed. However, it was during the WW2 that the mass killing occurred.

Question 42

What did the Nazis do in the 1930s to exclude the jews from the German society?

Answer 42

They excluded the Jews from areas of German society by: passing hundreds of anti-Jewish laws

Question 43

What were some of the anti-Jewish laws the Nazis passed in the 1930s?

Answer 43

Jewish people: - could not work for the government - were not allowed to be members of sports clubs - born in other countries could no longer be German citizens -could not be editors of newspapers -were expelled from the army - not allowed to be vets - who were teachers were banned from school -children banned from schools - not allowed to own businesses -not allowed in cinemas and theatres -had their driving licenses removed -had to hand in old passports -had to hand over valuables such as gold, silver, etc without compensation

Question 44

What did Hitler create in 1933?

Answer 44

The Gestapo, a secret police to do his commands and capture political enemies. He sets up the first concentration camp.

Question 45

What do you know about Hitler's earlier life until he became leader of the Nazi Party?

Answer 45

Born in Austria. Very unhappy childhood. Had a rough start of life in Vienna (was a failure, a loser and a loner). In WWWI he joined the German army, and that changed his life. He was a brave soldier and was quickly promoted. Hitler said the war was 'the greatest of all experiences'. He got involved in politics after the war and became the leader of the Nazi party (very small then). He formed his own private army - Storm-troopers.

Question 46

What happened in 1929 in Germany? How did that contribute to Hitler's growing popularity?

Answer 46

A world economic depression hit Germany hard! Workers lost jobs, wealthy industries were threatened. Hitler made great promises to these people and offered easy solutions to difficult problems.

Question 47

In January 1933, the elderly President Hindenburg asked Hitler to become Chancellor of Germany. Why?

Answer 47

He thought Hitler might solve Germany's economic problems and that he would be easy to control.

Question 48

What happened to the Germany's Reichstag (Parliament) in February 1933?

Answer 48

It was burnt to the ground. Some believe Hitler was behind it. Hitler used the fire as an excuse to arrest his communist opponents.

Question 49

In March 1933 the Enabling Act was passed. What did this allow Hitler to do?

Answer 49

To pass any laws that he wanted.

Question 50

What was the Night of the Long Knives? (Nazi)

Answer 50

The night Hitler sent his own bodyguards to murder leading members of the Nazi party who opposed him.

Question 51

When did Hitler become in control of Germany? (Chancellor as well as Head of State and Commander of the Army)

Answer 51

2 August 1934 He was a dictator!

Question 52

Give examples of the policies that the Nazis adopted, which helped them increase in popularity (and also helped Hitler rise to power).

Answer 52

They promised: - farmers would get more land and pensions would improve - all German-speaking people would be united in one country - the jews would not be German citizens - to increase employment and wages - to abandon the Treaty of Versailles and there would be special laws for foreigners

Question 53

List the reasons that helped Hitler and the Nazis rise to power.

Answer 53

- the effects of the economic crash in the USA - use of propaganda with simple slogans to appeal to the ordinary people of Germany -The Nazis were present in many German cities - he was a popular and effective speaker -he used the regular public meetings to tell the Germans what they wanted to hear - he used simple language and short phrases to convey his message - he came across as energetic and passionate, as someone who cared about the German's situation - they had the support of those who did not want to loose their lands/businesses because of the Communists

Question 54

Hitler was in control 1934-38, but not everyone supported him. It was important to create a One-Party State, so everyone showed complete obedience. What 4 methods did Hitler use to achieve this?

Answer 54

1. Terror 2. Propaganda 3. Youth 4. Economic success In more detail: 1. he used the Secret Services to terrorise German people into obedience (they arrested/imprisoned people without trial, some were taken to concentration camps - jews, communists, etc, spied on people... people lived in fear) 2. used this to control the people's minds, anti-Nazis newspapers closed down, Nazi posters ell over Germany, foreign radio stations not allowed, books could not be published without permission 3. lessons at school about the rise of Nazis and the evil of communism, biology lessons to teach the Aryan race was superior to others, all young people had to belong to the Hitler Youth, boys were being trained for obedient service and loyalty

Question 55

Describe Hitler's actions that lead up to WW2?

Answer 55

- He started building up Germany's armed forces - which was against the Treaty of Versailles He introduced conscription = every German man now had to spend time in the army, navy or air force. He ignored the Treaty of Versailles again and sent troops to re-occupy Rhineland. He helped Franco, the Spanish dictator. - He demanded that Austria should be joined with Germany (against the Treaty of Versailles) - Occupied part of Czechoslovakia. - Later invaded the rest of it, ignoring the Munich agreement. - First of September - INVADED Poland

Question 56

What was the Munich agreement between Hitler and the British Prime Minister Chamberlain?

Answer 56

Hitler could have the Sudetenland as long as he would stop demanding more territory. But this failed and Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Question 57

Chamberlain believed in the Policy of Appeasement. What was this?

Answer 57

To give Hitler the most of what he wanted to keep him happy and in the hope he would not make more demands.