I GCSE HISTORY 

 

 

The International GCSE History syllabus examines major global issues of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, covering the history of particular regions in more depth. Historical knowledge and understanding together with the skills required for historical research are emaphasised. 

 

Cause and effect, continuity and change, similarity and difference and how to use and understand historical evidence as part of their studies are explored. 

 

The subject is suited to pupils already interested in the past. It providies a basis for further study at A Level, and also encourages lifelong interest in the subject. 

 

Teacher assessments are continuous during LIVE TAUGHT lessons, marking of coursework and assignments and summative tests. 

 

Homework will be given at the end of each week, usually as the form of a short essay, research activity or source analysis. 

 

Parents have 24 /7 access to all of their children's coursework. Additionally the school holds 3 parent consultaions per year - one each term. 

 

 

 

The 20th century: International Relations since 1919 

 

To what extent was the League of Nations a success? 

 

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? 

 

Who was to blame for the Cold War? 

 

How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism? 

 

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

 

Why did events in the Gulf matter, c.1970–2000? 

 

Were the peace treaties of 1919–23 fair? 

 

 

What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles? 

 

Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted? 

 

What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923? 

 

Could the treaties be justified at the time? 

 

 

The peace treaties of 1919–23: 

 

The roles of individuals such as Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the peacemaking process 

 

The impact of the treaties on the defeated countries 

 

Contemporary opinions about the treaties. 

 

 

 

How successful was the League in the 1920s? 

 

How far did weaknesses in the League’s organisation make failure inevitable? 

 

How far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult? 

 

How successful was the League in the 1930s? 

 

 

The League of Nations: 

 

Strengths and weaknesses in its structure and organisation: work of the League’s agencies/humanitarian work 

 

Successes and failures in peacekeeping during the 1920s 

 

The impact of the World Depression on the work of the League after 1929 

 

The failures of the League in the 1930s, including Manchuria and Abyssinia. 

 

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? 

 

 

What were the long-term consequences of the peace treaties of 1919–23? 

 

What were the consequences of the failures of the League in the 1930s? 

 

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

 

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? 

 

 

The collapse of international order in the 1930s 

 

The increasing militarism of Germany, Italy and Japan 

 

Hitler’s foreign policy to 1939: 

 

– the Saar 

 

– remilitarisation of the Rhineland 

 

– involvement in the Spanish Civil War 

 

– Anschluss with Austria 

 

– appeasement 

 

– crises over Czechoslovakia and Poland 

 

– the outbreak of war. 

 

 

 

Why did the USA–USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945? 

 

How had the USSR gained control of Eastern Europe by 1948? 

 

How did the USA react to Soviet expansionism? 

 

What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade? 

 

Who was the more to blame for starting the Cold War: the USA or the USSR? 

 

 

The origins of the Cold War: 

 

The 1945 summit conferences and the breakdown of the USA–USSR 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. 

 

 

 

This Key Question will be explored through case studies of the following: 

 

America and events in Korea, 1950–53 

 

America and events in Cuba, 1959–62 

 

American involvement in Vietnam. 

 

Specified Content: 

 

Events of the Cold War 

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

Why was Saddam Hussein able to come to power in Iraq? 

 

What was the nature of Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq? 

 

Why was there a revolution in Iran in 1979? 

 

What were the causes and consequences of the Iran-Iraq War, 1980–88? 

 

Why did the First Gulf War take place? 

 

 

The rise to power of Saddam Hussein in Iraq 

 

The rule of Saddam Hussein up to 2000, and the consequences of his rule for different groups in Iraq 

 

The nature of the Shah’s rule in Iran and the Iranian Revolution of 1979 

 

The causes and consequences of the Iran-Iraq War, 1980–88; Western involvement in the war 

 

The causes, course and consequences of the Gulf War, 1990–91. 

 

 

 

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start? 

 

 

How did Germany emerge from defeat at the end of the First World War? 

 

What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Republic? 

 

To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923? 

 

What were the achievements of the Weimar period? 

 

 

 

What did the Nazi Party stand for in the 1920s? 

 

Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930? 

 

Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933? 

 

How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933–34? 

 

 

(a) How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933–45? Focus Points 

 

How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime? 

 

How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents? 

 

How did the Nazis use culture and the mass media to control the people? 

 

Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society? 

 

Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state? 

 

(b) What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? Focus Points 

 

How did young people react to the Nazi regime? 

 

How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family? 

 

Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule? 

 

How did the coming of war change life in Nazi Germany? 

 

Specified Content: 

 

The Revolution of 1918 and the establishment of the Republic 

 

The Versailles Settlement and German reactions to it 

 

The Weimar Constitution, the main political divisions, the role of the army 

 

 

Economic crises and hyper-inflation 

 

The occupation of the Ruhr 

 

The Stresemann era 

 

Cultural achievements of the Weimar period 

 

 

Nazi ideas and methods 

 

The Munich Putsch 

 

The roles of Hitler and other Nazi leaders 

 

 

Political, economic and social crisis of 1930–33 

 

Reasons for the Nazis’ rise to power 

 

Hitler takes power 

 

The Reichstag Fire and the election of 1933 

 

 

TheEnablingAct 

 

The Night of the Long Knives 

 

The death of Hindenburg 

 

The removal of opposition 

 

Methods of control and repression 

 

Use of culture and the mass media 

 

Economic policy including re-armament 

 

 

Women and young people 

 

Anti-Semitism 

 

Persecution of minorities 

 

Opposition to Nazi rule 

 

 

The conversion to war economy 

 

The Final Solution 

 

Parents are responsible for arranging their child's examinations at their local registered examination centre. Cambridge Home School students study from every part of the globe and so it is not practical for the school to offer a single venue to sit examinations.. Consequently Cambridge Home School is not registered with Cambridge International Examinations but has partnerships with examination centres registered with Cambridge International Examinations, Edexcel, OCR and AQA will support students in locating a suitable venue for sitting their written and practical examinations.