I85PREP
⌘ K
HSC Modern History (NSW) study materials
HSC Modern History (NSW) study resources

HSC Modern History (NSW) practice questions

One question at a time. Build your HSC Modern History (NSW) understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which treaty, signed in June 1919, formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers and imposed territorial, military and financial terms on Germany?

  1. The Treaty of Versailles Correct answer.
  2. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  3. The Treaty of Rapallo
  4. The Treaty of Locarno

Explanation

The Treaty of Versailles was the principal settlement with Germany concluded at the Paris Peace Conference and signed in the Hall of Mirrors in June 1919. It stripped Germany of territory, capped its army at 100,000 men, imposed the war-guilt clause and set reparations. The other treaties named dealt with Russia, Soviet-German relations or western European borders.

Question 2Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

The Covenant of the League of Nations was incorporated into which part of the Treaty of Versailles?

  1. Part XIII, dealing with labour
  2. Part V, dealing with the military clauses
  3. The preamble to the treaty
  4. Part I, the opening articles Correct answer.

Explanation

The Covenant formed Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, placing the new League at the very foundation of the postwar order. This meant every state signing the treaty automatically accepted League membership and its obligations. The military clauses sat in Part V and the labour provisions in Part XIII.

Question 3Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which body was established by the Treaty of Versailles to administer the Saar Basin for fifteen years before a plebiscite determined its future?

  1. A commission of the League of Nations Correct answer.
  2. The German Reichstag
  3. The League of Nations Council acting alone
  4. The Reparations Commission

Explanation

The Saar was placed under a League of Nations commission for fifteen years, with France holding the coal mines in compensation for wartime damage. A plebiscite in 1935 then returned the territory to Germany. This arrangement shows how the settlement used League machinery to manage disputed territory.

Question 4Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles require Germany to accept?

  1. The permanent loss of all its overseas colonies
  2. Responsibility for causing the war and liability for losses Correct answer.
  3. A ban on all industrial production of armaments
  4. Immediate membership of the League of Nations

Explanation

Article 231, the war-guilt clause, made Germany accept responsibility for the losses caused by the war and provided the legal basis for reparations. It was resented in Germany as a moral condemnation as much as a financial demand. The clause did not itself fix the sum owed, which was settled later.

Question 5Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which power refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, concluding a separate peace with Germany in 1921?

  1. France
  2. The United States Correct answer.
  3. Japan
  4. Britain

Explanation

The United States Senate rejected the treaty, largely over the Covenant and Article X, and America made a separate peace with Germany in 1921. This absence weakened the League from the outset because its most economically powerful founder was outside the system. It also encouraged later German revisionism.

Question 6Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Under the mandate system, former German colonies were administered in the name of which authority?

  1. The Reparations Commission
  2. The Permanent Court of Arbitration
  3. The United States
  4. The League of Nations Correct answer.

Explanation

Mandates were territories administered by Allied powers on behalf of the League of Nations, which received annual reports from the mandatory powers. The system was presented as a form of trusteeship rather than annexation. In practice the mandatory powers exercised wide control over the territories.

Question 7Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the principal purpose of the Washington Naval Conference of 1921–22?

  1. To divide Germany's overseas colonies
  2. To create a customs union among Pacific states
  3. To limit naval armaments and stabilise the Pacific balance Correct answer.
  4. To establish a League mandate over the Pacific islands

Explanation

The Washington Conference produced the Five-Power Treaty, which set ratios limiting capital ship tonnage among Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy. It also produced the Nine-Power Treaty on China and a four-power agreement on Pacific islands. The aim was to restrain an arms race and reduce tension in the Pacific.

Question 8Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which 1924 plan rescheduled German reparations payments and included a foreign loan to stabilise the German currency?

  1. The Locarno Plan
  2. The Young Plan
  3. The Dawes Plan Correct answer.
  4. The Schacht Plan

Explanation

The Dawes Plan of 1924 reduced annual payments to a manageable scale, reorganised the Reichsbank and provided a large foreign loan. It eased the crisis of the Ruhr occupation and 1923 hyperinflation and encouraged American lending to Germany. Payments were later revised again under the Young Plan of 1929.

Question 9Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the purpose of the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928?

  1. To guarantee the borders created at Versailles
  2. To establish a European customs union
  3. To renounce war as an instrument of national policy Correct answer.
  4. To create a system of collective security in eastern Europe

Explanation

The pact was a multilateral agreement in which signatories renounced war as an instrument of national policy, eventually joined by more than sixty states. It lacked enforcement machinery and reserved the right of self-defence. Its weakness was exposed by later aggression in Manchuria and Abyssinia.

Question 10Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which 1925 agreements guaranteed Germany's western borders and paved the way for German entry into the League of Nations?

  1. The Treaty of Trianon
  2. The Treaty of Sèvres
  3. The Treaties of Locarno Correct answer.
  4. The Treaty of Rapallo

Explanation

The Locarno treaties saw Germany accept its western borders with France and Belgium as permanent while leaving its eastern borders open to revision. This secured German admission to the League in 1926. The agreements became a symbol of the conciliatory spirit of the mid-1920s.

Question 11Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the immediate trigger for the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in January 1923?

  1. Germany's annexation of the Saar
  2. Germany's refusal to join the League of Nations
  3. Germany's rearmament beyond treaty limits
  4. Germany's default on coal deliveries owed in kind Correct answer.

Explanation

After the Reparations Commission declared Germany in default on deliveries of timber and coal, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr. The German government responded with passive resistance and printed money, fuelling hyperinflation. The episode showed the fragility of the reparations system.

Question 12Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which provision of the Treaty of Versailles most directly limited Germany's capacity to wage an offensive war in the west?

  1. The mandate over South West Africa
  2. The loss of the Polish Corridor
  3. The demilitarisation of the Rhineland Correct answer.
  4. The loss of Alsace-Lorraine

Explanation

The treaty made the Rhineland a permanently demilitarised zone and permitted Allied occupation of its west bank. This created a buffer against a surprise German attack on France. The other provisions altered territory or colonies rather than restricting military deployment.

Question 13Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the 'stab in the back' myth assert about Germany's defeat in 1918?

  1. That Austria-Hungary had surrendered without informing Germany
  2. That the army had been defeated by superior Allied tanks
  3. That the German army had been betrayed by civilians, especially republicans and socialists, on the home front Correct answer.
  4. That the Kaiser had deliberately sabotaged the war effort

Explanation

The myth claimed that the undefeated German army had been betrayed by democratic politicians and leftists who signed the armistice. It shifted blame away from military leaders who had requested the ceasefire. The myth became a powerful weapon against the Weimar Republic and was exploited by nationalist movements.

Question 14Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which event of November 1923 saw Adolf Hitler attempt to seize power in Munich?

  1. The Beer Hall Putsch Correct answer.
  2. The Kapp Putsch
  3. The Spartacist Uprising
  4. The Munich Soviet

Explanation

Hitler and the Nazi Party attempted a putsch in a Munich beer hall, hoping to march on Berlin and overthrow the republic. The attempt failed and Hitler was tried and imprisoned, where he wrote Mein Kampf. The trial gave him national publicity that later aided his rise.

Question 15Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the main effect of the hyperinflation of 1923 on German society?

  1. It immediately led to the abolition of the Reichsbank
  2. It prompted Germany to join the League of Nations
  3. It increased confidence in the Weimar Republic among the middle class
  4. It destroyed the savings of the middle class and deepened resentment of the republic Correct answer.

Explanation

Hyperinflation wiped out savings, pensions and fixed incomes, hitting the middle class hardest and eroding faith in the democratic state. The currency was stabilised with the Rentenmark in late 1923. The experience left lasting resentment that later benefited extremist parties.

Question 16Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which feature of the Weimar Constitution allowed the president to govern without the Reichstag in an emergency?

  1. Article X of the League Covenant
  2. Article 231
  3. Article 109
  4. Article 48 Correct answer.

Explanation

Article 48 permitted the president to suspend civil liberties and rule by emergency decree when public order was threatened. It was used repeatedly after 1930 to sustain minority governments. This provision became a route by which democratic government was dismantled.

Question 17Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the significance of the Reichstag Fire of February 1933 for the Nazi consolidation of power?

  1. It provided the pretext for an emergency decree suspending civil liberties Correct answer.
  2. It caused Germany to leave the League of Nations
  3. It triggered the immediate outbreak of the Second World War
  4. It led to the abdication of President Hindenburg

Explanation

The fire was used to justify the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended habeas corpus and freedom of speech, press and assembly. Thousands of political opponents were arrested before the March 1933 election. The decree remained in force throughout the Nazi period.

Question 18Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

The Enabling Act of March 1933 transferred which power to Hitler's government?

  1. The right to legislate without the consent of the Reichstag Correct answer.
  2. Authority to appoint the president
  3. Control over the League of Nations mandates
  4. The power to amend the Treaty of Versailles by decree

Explanation

The Enabling Act allowed the cabinet to enact laws without parliamentary approval, even where they conflicted with the constitution. It passed after communists were arrested and with intimidation of deputies. Together with the fire decree it formed the legal basis of the dictatorship.

Question 19Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the Night of the Long Knives in June 1934 achieve for Hitler?

  1. It eliminated the communist threat in Bavaria
  2. It removed the SA leadership and other rivals, securing the loyalty of the army Correct answer.
  3. It ended the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses
  4. It forced Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag

Explanation

Hitler used the purge to destroy the SA leadership under Röhm and settle scores with conservative critics. The army, reassured that the SA would not replace it, then backed Hitler on Hindenburg's death. The purge removed the main internal challenge to his authority.

Question 20Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which concept described the Nazi ideal of a racially unified national community?

  1. Weltanschauung
  2. Volksgemeinschaft Correct answer.
  3. Gleichschaltung
  4. Lebensraum

Explanation

Volksgemeinschaft meant the 'people's community', an imagined national unity that excluded Jews, Roma, the disabled and political opponents. It was promoted through propaganda, ritual and welfare schemes such as Strength Through Joy. The concept helped legitimise persecution as the removal of outsiders from the community.

Question 21Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the purpose of the Nuremberg Laws of 1935?

  1. To organise the Berlin Olympic Games
  2. To establish the legal framework for rearmament
  3. To define citizenship in racial terms and forbid marriages between Jews and non-Jews Correct answer.
  4. To create a treaty of alliance with Italy

Explanation

The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of Reich citizenship and prohibited marriage and sexual relations between Jews and 'Aryans'. They gave a legal form to antisemitic persecution and were extended to other groups later. The laws marked a shift from sporadic violence to systematic legal exclusion.

Question 22Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Why did the League of Nations fail to impose effective sanctions on Italy after its invasion of Abyssinia in 1935?

  1. Sanctions excluded oil and the Suez Canal, and member states feared losing Italian trade and alliance Correct answer.
  2. Italy was not a member of the League
  3. Britain and France had withdrawn from the League
  4. The League Charter prohibited any economic sanctions

Explanation

The League imposed limited sanctions that excluded oil, coal, steel and the use of the Suez Canal, the measures that might have hurt Italy most. Britain and France were also seeking Italian support against Germany. The episode exposed the League's inability to enforce collective security against a great power.

Question 23Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 commit its signatories to do?

  1. To exchange information and cooperate against the Communist International Correct answer.
  2. To guarantee the borders of Poland
  3. To divide China into spheres of influence
  4. To create a common European currency

Explanation

Germany and Japan agreed to cooperate against the Communist International and to consult if either was attacked by the Soviet Union. Italy joined the following year, strengthening the Axis. The pact aligned the fascist powers against the USSR and deepened the division of Europe.

Question 24Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the main outcome of the Munich Agreement of September 1938?

  1. Czechoslovakia was divided between Poland and Hungary
  2. Britain and France declared war on Germany
  3. Germany agreed to withdraw from Austria
  4. The Sudetenland was transferred to Germany without Czech consent Correct answer.

Explanation

Britain, France, Germany and Italy agreed that Germany would receive the Sudetenland, and the Czech government was not consulted. The agreement was presented as securing 'peace for our time'. It demonstrated the policy of appeasement and encouraged further German expansion.

Question 25Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which factor best explains the shift in British and French policy from appeasement to guarantees of Poland in 1939?

  1. The withdrawal of the United States from the League of Nations
  2. The end of the Spanish Civil War
  3. The failure of the Washington Naval Treaty
  4. The signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the collapse of collective security Correct answer.

Explanation

The Nazi-Soviet Pact removed the prospect of Soviet support against Germany and destroyed the remaining hope of a negotiated settlement. Britain and France had already guaranteed Poland in March 1939 after the occupation of Prague. When Germany invaded Poland, the guarantees led directly to declarations of war.

Question 26Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which body was established by the Treaty of Versailles to oversee the new mandates and to hear disputes between states?

  1. The International Labour Organization
  2. The Council of Four
  3. The Reparations Commission
  4. The League of Nations Correct answer.

Explanation

The Covenant of the League of Nations created the institution that supervised the mandate system and provided a forum for arbitration between member states. The League embodied the principle of collective security that underpinned the 1919 settlement.

Question 27Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which article of the Treaty of Versailles was used by the Allies to justify German war guilt and the legal basis for reparations?

  1. Article 428
  2. Article 231 Correct answer.
  3. Article 76
  4. Article 48

Explanation

Article 231 assigned responsibility for the war's outbreak and damage to Germany and its allies, and it became the legal foundation on which the reparations bill was calculated. Germans widely resented it as a unilateral confession of guilt.

Question 28Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Why did the United States Senate refuse to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–20?

  1. It opposed the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
  2. It demanded a larger share of German reparations
  3. It wanted Germany to retain its colonies in Africa
  4. It objected to the collective security obligations in the League Covenant Correct answer.

Explanation

Senators led by Henry Cabot Lodge feared that Article X of the Covenant would oblige American troops to defend any League member without congressional consent, and they sought reservations the president would not accept. Without US ratification the League lost the prestige and power of the world's largest economy.

Question 29Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the principal function of the Dawes Committee's work in 1924 in relation to the Rhineland?

  1. It authorised the construction of a French fortification line
  2. It transferred Rhineland coal mines to Belgian ownership
  3. It arranged the withdrawal of French troops once payment schedules were met Correct answer.
  4. It partitioned the Rhineland into a permanent international zone

Explanation

The Dawes Plan linked a rescheduling of reparations to a phased French evacuation of the occupied Rhineland, easing tensions in the west. The settlement showed how economic arrangements could be used to resolve political disputes.

Question 30Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which political grouping in the Reichstag was the largest in the elections of 1928, symbolising the relative stability of the Stresemann era?

  1. The German National People's Party
  2. The Social Democratic Party Correct answer.
  3. The Communist Party
  4. The Nazi Party

Explanation

In 1928 the Social Democrats won the largest share of the vote, while the Nazis attracted only a small fraction, reflecting the relative calm of the mid-Weimar years. Prosperity and moderate politics coincided with the flow of American loans.

Question 31Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the main effect of the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 on the Weimar Republic?

  1. It led to the suspension of the Reichstag and the appointment of a dictatorship
  2. It prompted an immediate French withdrawal from the Rhineland
  3. American loans were recalled, deepening unemployment and political extremism Correct answer.
  4. It caused Germany to default on reparations for the first time

Explanation

The crash ended the flow of short-term American credit on which German recovery depended, triggering mass unemployment and the radicalisation of voters. The resulting crisis enabled the rise of the Nazi and Communist parties and the breakdown of parliamentary government.

Question 32Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which feature of the Nazi Party's organisation helped it mobilise support during the depression years?

  1. A policy of restricting membership to industrial workers
  2. A reliance on funding from the League of Nations
  3. A commitment to parliamentary coalitions with the Social Democrats
  4. A nationwide network of local branches and paramilitary groups Correct answer.

Explanation

The Nazi Party built a dense structure of regional branches, the SA, and specialist organisations that reached into workplaces and neighbourhoods. This presence allowed it to campaign continuously and to present itself as a disciplined movement of national renewal.

Question 33Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which group did the Nazi regime target in the 'Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring' of July 1933?

  1. Political prisoners held in the first concentration camps
  2. People deemed physically or mentally unfit, who were forcibly sterilised Correct answer.
  3. Jewish civil servants dismissed under the civil service law
  4. Members of the SA suspected of disloyalty

Explanation

The law authorised the compulsory sterilisation of people diagnosed with inherited conditions, an early expression of Nazi eugenic policy. It preceded the later 'euthanasia' programme and reflected the regime's commitment to racial hygiene.

Question 34Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the purpose of the Reich Chamber of Culture established in September 1933?

  1. To control who could work in the arts and to enforce ideological conformity Correct answer.
  2. To fund avant-garde artists who supported modernism
  3. To negotiate copyright agreements with foreign publishers
  4. To preserve the independence of university curricula

Explanation

The chamber required artists, writers, musicians and journalists to join and could exclude those deemed politically or racially unsuitable. It thus removed independent cultural life and ensured that the arts served propaganda aims.

Question 35Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which organisation was responsible for the systematic murder of Jews and others in occupied eastern Europe during the Second World War?

  1. The Wehrmacht high command alone
  2. The Reich Labour Service
  3. The SS and its security apparatus Correct answer.
  4. The Hitler Youth

Explanation

The SS, through agencies such as the Reich Security Main Office, directed the Einsatzgruppen and the death camps in occupied Poland and the Soviet Union. Its role shows how the regime fused ideological policing with military occupation.

Question 36Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the Wannsee Conference of January 1942 coordinate?

  1. The allocation of labour for the Atlantic Wall
  2. The division of occupied France between military and civilian rule
  3. The administrative arrangements for deporting Jews to the east Correct answer.
  4. The timetable for the invasion of the Soviet Union

Explanation

Senior officials met near Berlin to agree on the organisation of deportations and to define who would be classified as Jewish under Nazi rules. The meeting marked the shift from emigration schemes to a continent-wide programme of systematic murder.

Question 37Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which international response followed the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933?

  1. Protests and boycotts of German goods in several countries Correct answer.
  2. The expulsion of Germany from the League of Nations
  3. An immediate League of Nations military intervention
  4. An embargo imposed jointly by Britain and France

Explanation

The April boycott prompted rallies and consumer boycotts abroad, particularly in the United States and Britain, but governments declined to take official action. The episode showed the limits of international opposition to Nazi domestic policy.

Question 38Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39 contribute to the breakdown of European order?

  1. It led to a formal alliance between Britain and the Soviet Union
  2. It allowed Germany and Italy to test weapons and tactics while the democracies abstained Correct answer.
  3. It ended Italian ambitions in the Mediterranean
  4. It persuaded France to abandon the Maginot Line

Explanation

German and Italian support for Franco, including the Condor Legion, provided experience in air and armoured warfare, while British and French non-intervention showed their reluctance to confront the dictators. The conflict thus encouraged further Axis aggression.

Question 39Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which agreement of 1935 allowed Germany to expand its navy beyond the limits set at Versailles?

  1. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement Correct answer.
  2. The Stresa Front
  3. The Locarno Treaties
  4. The Four Power Pact

Explanation

Britain signed a bilateral naval agreement permitting Germany a fleet of about 35 per cent of the Royal Navy's tonnage, thereby accepting German rearmament. It undermined the collective front the Allies had proclaimed at Stresa and showed the weakness of Allied unity.

Question 40Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the significance of the Rhineland remilitarisation of March 1936 for the balance of power in Europe?

  1. It showed that the democracies would not enforce the treaty, weakening collective security Correct answer.
  2. It led to Germany's expulsion from the League of Nations
  3. It triggered an immediate French military response
  4. It prompted Italy to join the League's sanctions regime

Explanation

German troops entered the demilitarised zone while Britain and France, absorbed by the Abyssinian crisis and domestic opinion, took no military action. The success convinced Hitler that the western powers lacked the will to resist and emboldened further expansion.

Question 41Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which principle did the League of Nations invoke when it condemned Japan's seizure of Manchuria in 1931?

  1. Collective security under the Covenant Correct answer.
  2. The Open Door policy for European trade
  3. The right of national self-determination for colonists
  4. The mandate system's trusteeship rules

Explanation

The League declared Japan the aggressor and adopted the Lytton Report, appealing to the Covenant's commitment to collective security. Japan simply resigned from the League in 1933, exposing the absence of enforcement machinery.

Question 42Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the outcome of the League of Nations' response to Japan's invasion of Manchuria?

  1. Japan was forced to withdraw by economic sanctions
  2. The United States sent naval forces to expel the Japanese
  3. The League appointed a mandate administration over Manchuria
  4. Japan withdrew from the League and retained control of Manchuria Correct answer.

Explanation

The League's censure had no military or economic teeth, so Japan left the organisation in 1933 and consolidated the puppet state of Manchukuo. The episode became a precedent for later aggressors.

Question 43Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which feature of fascist ideology in interwar Europe emphasised the primacy of the nation over the individual?

  1. Liberalism
  2. Pacifism
  3. Social democracy
  4. Ultranationalism Correct answer.

Explanation

Fascist movements held that the nation, understood as a racially and culturally unified community, had a claim on individuals superior to personal rights. This belief justified the subordination of parliaments, unions and minorities to the state's purposes.

Question 44Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which leader established a fascist regime in Italy in the early 1920s?

  1. Vittorio Orlando
  2. Luigi Facta
  3. Antonio Gramsci
  4. Benito Mussolini Correct answer.

Explanation

Mussolini's National Fascist Party exploited postwar discontent and the fear of socialism, culminating in the March on Rome of October 1922, after which he was appointed prime minister. He then dismantled democratic institutions over the following years.

Question 45Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the purpose of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 for Mussolini's regime?

  1. To secure Italian membership of the League Council
  2. To create a customs union with Germany
  3. To end the occupation of the Ruhr
  4. To settle the dispute with the papacy and gain Catholic support Correct answer.

Explanation

The treaty created the Vatican City State and compensated the Church for the loss of the Papal States, ending decades of hostility. The agreement gave the regime legitimacy among devout Catholics and removed a potential source of opposition.

Question 46Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which economic policy did the Nazi regime pursue to prepare Germany for war in the mid-1930s?

  1. Four Year Plan for rearmament and economic self-sufficiency Correct answer.
  2. Collectivisation of agriculture
  3. Free trade within the League of Nations
  4. Nationalisation of all heavy industry

Explanation

The Four Year Plan, placed under Hermann Göring in 1936, aimed to make Germany ready for war within four years by expanding armaments and reducing dependence on imports. Autarky and rearmament took priority over consumer production.

Question 47Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What was the main purpose of the Nazi 'Strength Through Joy' organisation?

  1. To train workers for military service
  2. To offer subsidised leisure activities in return for political loyalty Correct answer.
  3. To supervise the education of university students
  4. To organise the deportation of Jews

Explanation

Strength Through Joy provided cheap holidays, concerts and sports as a reward for conformity, aiming to bind workers to the regime after independent unions were destroyed. It combined welfare provision with surveillance and propaganda.

Question 48Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

What did the Nuremberg Trials of 1945–46 establish in international law?

  1. That the German army was absolved of all wartime conduct
  2. That the League of Nations would supervise postwar Germany
  3. That individuals could be held criminally responsible for crimes against humanity Correct answer.
  4. That heads of state enjoyed complete immunity from prosecution

Explanation

The trials before the International Military Tribunal rejected the defence that obedience to orders excused atrocities and affirmed individual accountability for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. They laid the foundation for later international criminal courts.

Question 49Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

Which factor best explains the survival of the Weimar Republic through the crises of 1919–23?

  1. The steady support of the Allied powers for German democracy
  2. The willingness of moderate parties and the army to defend parliamentary government Correct answer.
  3. The complete recovery of the economy after 1920
  4. The absence of any organised opposition from the right

Explanation

The republic survived because coalitions of moderate parties, the president and the army suppressed uprisings from both left and right, and because the currency reform of 1923 restored stability. Its survival depended on pragmatic alliances rather than deep popular commitment.

Question 50Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

How did the Treaty of Saint-Germain of 1919 affect the new Austrian republic?

  1. It granted Austria a share of the German reparations
  2. It restored the Habsburg monarchy to the throne
  3. It transferred Austrian Galicia to Italy
  4. It recognised Austrian independence but forbade union with Germany Correct answer.

Explanation

The treaty dissolved the Austro-Hungarian Empire, recognised the Austrian republic and prohibited Anschluss with Germany, while imposing territorial losses and military limits. The ban reflected Allied fear of a strengthened Germany rather than Austrian wishes.