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Sachsen-Anhalt Abitur History study materials
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Sachsen-Anhalt Abitur History practice questions

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Question 1Historical evidence, chronology and justified interpretation

In der Quellenanalyse zur Französischen Revolution untersuchst du ein Dekret der Nationalversammlung von 1789. Welches Merkmal kennzeichnet einen solchen normativen Text (texte normatif) im Unterschied zu einer erzählenden Quelle?

  1. Er formuliert verbindliche Regeln und verwendet häufig performative Formeln wie „décrète“ oder „ordonne“. Correct answer.
  2. Er schildert persönliche Empfindungen des Verfassers und ist daher subjektiv gefärbt.
  3. Er beschreibt Ereignisse chronologisch aus der Perspektive eines Augenzeugen.
  4. Er liefert statistische Reihen, die quantitative Vergleiche ermöglichen.

Explanation

Normative Quellen wie Dekrete oder Gesetze legen verbindliche Regeln fest. Performative Formeln signalisieren, dass der Text selbst eine Rechtswirkung erzeugt, statt bloß zu berichten. Deshalb prüft man bei ihnen vor allem Adressat, Reichweite und Rechtskraft.

Question 2Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Was kennzeichnete das Ancien Régime als Gesellschaftsordnung, die von den Revolutionären von 1789 infrage gestellt wurde?

  1. Ein zentralistischer Nationalstaat mit allgemeinem Wahlrecht für Männer
  2. Eine ständische Ordnung mit rechtlich privilegierten Klerikern und Adeligen sowie unterschiedlicher Steuerpflicht Correct answer.
  3. Eine föderale Republik mit weitgehender Selbstverwaltung der Provinzen
  4. Eine Klassengesellschaft, in der allein das Bürgertum politische Rechte besaß

Explanation

Das Ancien Régime beruhte auf der Dreiständegesellschaft mit rechtlichen Privilegien von Klerus und Adel, die unter anderem von der direkten Steuer befreit waren. Genau diese Ungleichheit vor dem Gesetz wurde 1789 zum Kern der revolutionären Kritik.

Question 3Weimar democracy, postwar reckoning and public memory

What event conventionally opens the political transition associated with the Novemberrevolution 1918 in Germany?

  1. The founding of the Bundesrepublik in 1949
  2. The building of the Berliner Mauer in 1961
  3. Sailors’ mutiny at Kiel and the cascading Räte/Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte movement culminating in Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication Correct answer.
  4. The Maastricht Treaty in 1992

Explanation

The Novemberrevolution began with the Kiel Matrosenaufstand (late Oct/early Nov 1918), spread via Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte, and led to the Kaiser’s abdication and proclamation of a republic.

Question 4Nazi dictatorship, war, persecution and the Holocaust

Welches Ereignis markiert in der deutschen Geschichte den Übergang von der Weimarer Republik zur nationalsozialistischen Diktatur im Jahr 1933?

  1. Das Ermächtigungsgesetz vom 24. März 1933
  2. Der Reichstagsbrand am 27. Februar 1933
  3. Die Ernennung Adolf Hitlers zum Reichskanzler am 30. Januar 1933 Correct answer.
  4. Die Reichstagswahl vom 5. März 1933

Explanation

Die Ernennung Hitlers zum Reichskanzler durch Reichspräsident Hindenburg am 30. Januar 1933 gilt als Beginn der nationalsozialistischen Herrschaft. Die übrigen Ereignisse folgten später und bauten die Diktatur weiter aus.

Question 5German division, Cold War, détente and European integration

The Marshall Plan, launched in 1947, is best described as which instrument of early Cold War policy?

  1. A nuclear disarmament framework
  2. A military alliance for collective defence
  3. A colonial independence charter
  4. An economic aid programme for European reconstruction Correct answer.

Explanation

The Marshall Plan channelled American financial aid into Western European reconstruction after 1947. Its economic purpose was paired with the political aim of stabilising states against communist influence.

Question 6Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Which 2026 verbindliches Wahlmodul belongs to Rahmenthema 1 (Krisen, Umbrüche und Revolutionen) in Niedersachsen Geschichte?

  1. Wahlmodul 7: Die russischen Revolutionen Correct answer.
  2. Wahlmodul 9: China und die imperialistischen Mächte
  3. Wahlmodul 4: Der Erste Weltkrieg
  4. Wahlmodul 1: Mythen

Explanation

The official 2026 Hinweise assign Wahlmodul 7 'Die russischen Revolutionen' to the 1. Schulhalbjahr / Rahmenthema 1.

Question 7The United States as an industrial society in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

The phrase 'Manifest Destiny', central to US westward expansion, was coined in 1845 by

  1. the journalist John L. O'Sullivan, arguing for the annexation of Texas and Oregon Correct answer.
  2. President Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address
  3. the historian Frederick Jackson Turner in a lecture in Chicago
  4. General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War

Explanation

John L. O'Sullivan used the phrase in 1845 in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, writing that it was America's 'manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence'. It supplied an ideological justification for annexing Texas and claiming Oregon.

Question 8Imperial rivalry, World War I and the interwar order

Welches Ereignis gilt als unmittelbarer Auslöser des Ersten Weltkriegs im Juli 1914?

  1. Der Abschluss des Versailler Vertrags
  2. Die Ermordung des österreichischen Thronfolgers Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo Correct answer.
  3. Der Ausbruch der Russischen Revolution
  4. Der Rücktritt Bismarcks als Reichskanzler

Explanation

Am 28. Juni 1914 wurden Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand und seine Frau in Sarajevo von Gavrilo Princip erschossen. Österreich-Ungarn nutzte dies für ein Ultimatum an Serbien, woraus über die Bündnissysteme der Weltkrieg entstand. Die anderen genannten Ereignisse liegen zeitlich davor oder danach und sind keine Kriegsauslöser.

Question 9Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

What best characterizes 'Doppelherrschaft' (dual power) after the February Revolution of 1917?

  1. Parallel authority of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet Correct answer.
  2. Sole rule by the Tsar's State Council
  3. A military dictatorship of Kornilov alone
  4. Immediate one-party Bolshevik control of all Russia

Explanation

After February 1917, the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet shared overlapping authority - Doppelherrschaft - until the Bolsheviks dismantled it in October.

Question 10Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Which event most directly forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate in March 1917?

  1. Mass strikes, military mutiny, and elite defection during the February Revolution in Petrograd Correct answer.
  2. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany
  3. Stalin's collectivization campaign
  4. The Kronstadt sailors' revolt of 1921

Explanation

The February Revolution's urban unrest, garrison mutiny, and loss of elite support made Nicholas II's position untenable, leading to abdication.

Question 11Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Which demand slogan is most closely associated with Bolshevik mass appeal in 1917?

  1. Peace, Land, and Bread (Frieden, Land und Brot) Correct answer.
  2. Enrich yourselves through private farming forever
  3. Restore the Romanov dynasty immediately
  4. Join the Entente for total war victory

Explanation

Lenin's April Theses and Bolshevik agitation centered on peace, land redistribution, and food - meeting wartime social grievances.

Question 12Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

What was the Provisional Government's most politically damaging stance on World War I?

  1. Continuing the war effort despite widespread war-weariness Correct answer.
  2. Immediately signing a separate peace with Germany in March 1917
  3. Abolishing all armies overnight
  4. Joining the Central Powers as a full ally

Explanation

The Provisional Government's decision to continue the war alienated soldiers and workers and strengthened Bolshevik peace propaganda.

Question 13Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Lenin's April Theses most importantly called for which strategic shift?

  1. Transfer of power to the soviets and rejection of support for the Provisional Government Correct answer.
  2. A permanent coalition with Kadets and Octobrists
  3. Immediate restoration of the Duma monarchy
  4. Abandoning Marxism for liberal constitutionalism

Explanation

Lenin argued that the bourgeois Provisional Government should not be supported and that soviets should take power - a break with many moderate socialists.

Question 14Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Why did the July Days (1917) fail to produce a lasting Bolshevik takeover?

  1. Premature street action lacked coordinated seizure of state power and provoked a temporary backlash Correct answer.
  2. Germany immediately occupied Petrograd and dissolved all parties
  3. The Tsar returned and restored absolute rule
  4. The soviets had already been abolished before July

Explanation

July demonstrations were suppressed; Bolsheviks were temporarily repressed and Lenin went into hiding - showing that mass protest alone was insufficient without organized power seizure.

Question 15Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

What was the Kornilov Affair's main political effect in autumn 1917?

  1. It discredited Kerensky and revitalized Bolshevik credibility as defenders of the revolution Correct answer.
  2. It permanently restored Tsarist rule
  3. It ended all soviet institutions forever
  4. It made Russia a German protectorate overnight

Explanation

Kornilov's attempted right-wing putsch forced Kerensky to arm left forces; Bolsheviks regained influence as anti-counterrevolutionary defenders.

Question 16Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

The Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was crucial in October 1917 primarily because it:

  1. Organized the coordinated seizure of key Petrograd points under soviet cover Correct answer.
  2. Negotiated the Treaty of Versailles
  3. Created the first Five-Year Plan
  4. Elected Nicholas II as constitutional monarch

Explanation

The MRC, linked to the Petrograd Soviet, coordinated Red Guard and garrison actions that secured communications, bridges, and the Winter Palace.

Question 17Russia1917 and the development of Stalinist dictatorship

Which statement best captures a social-historical Ursache of 1917 beyond battlefield defeat alone?

  1. Wartime inflation, food shortages, and agrarian conflict eroded support for the old order Correct answer.
  2. Russia had already completed full industrialization with no peasant majority
  3. All workers enjoyed secure welfare states before 1914
  4. There was no land hunger among peasants

Explanation

Urban provisioning crises, price shocks, and unresolved peasant land hunger interacted with military collapse to radicalize politics.

Question 18Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, the decision that reorganised the territories of the Heiliges Römisches Reich to compensate princes for losses west of the Rhine, was adopted in Regensburg in which year?

  1. 1803 Correct answer.
  2. 1789
  3. 1815
  4. 1834

Explanation

The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss was adopted on 25 February 1803 in the Altes Rathaus in Regensburg. It compensated secular princes for territories lost to France on the left bank of the Rhine (ceded under the Frieden von Lunéville of 1801) by handing them ecclesiastical and small secular territories on the right bank.

Question 19Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

In the context of 1803, what is the difference between Säkularisation and Mediatisierung?

  1. Säkularisation transferred ecclesiastical territories to secular rulers, while Mediatisierung stripped smaller secular Reichsstände of their immediate status under the Kaiser Correct answer.
  2. Säkularisation abolished serfdom, while Mediatisierung introduced freedom of trade
  3. Säkularisation dissolved the Reichstag, while Mediatisierung created the Rheinbund
  4. Säkularisation removed clergy from public office, while Mediatisierung expelled foreign rulers from the Reich

Explanation

Säkularisation meant the transfer of church lands - bishoprics, abbeys and monastic property - into the hands of secular princes. Mediatisierung meant that formerly reichsunmittelbar (immediate) small territories and Reichsstädte lost their direct subordination to the Kaiser and were absorbed into larger states. Together the 1803 settlement dissolved 2 Kurfürstentümer, 9 Reichsbistümer, 44 Reichsabteien and 45 Reichsstädte.

Question 20Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation formally ended in 1806. What immediate act brought it to a close?

  1. Kaiser Franz II laid down the imperial crown after the founding of the Rheinbund Correct answer.
  2. The Frankfurter Nationalversammlung voted to dissolve the Reich
  3. The Wiener Kongress declared the Reich abolished
  4. The Reichstag in Regensburg passed a law of self-dissolution

Explanation

After sixteen German states left the Reich to form the Rheinbund under Napoleon's protection in July 1806, Kaiser Franz II laid down the crown of the Heiliges Römisches Reich on 6 August 1806, ending the thousand-year-old polity. He continued as Franz I, Kaiser von Österreich.

Question 21Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

What did the Preußisches Oktoberedikt of 9 October 1807 principally achieve?

  1. It abolished hereditary subjection (Erbuntertänigkeit) and allowed free choice of occupation and free sale of land Correct answer.
  2. It granted Prussian subjects a written constitution with an elected parliament
  3. It introduced compulsory military service based on universal conscription
  4. It created a customs union between Prussia and the southern German states

Explanation

The Oktoberedikt, issued under Freiherr vom und zum Stein after Prussia's defeat at Jena und Auerstedt and the Frieden von Tilsit, abolished Erbuntertänigkeit, removed the estate-based restrictions on landholding and occupation, and thereby began the Bauernbefreiung - the classic example of the 'Revolution von oben'.

Question 22Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Preußische Städteordnung of 19 November 1808 is regarded as a milestone of modern administration because it

  1. introduced elected Stadtverordnetenversammlungen and municipal self-administration Correct answer.
  2. abolished all urban guilds and craft corporations at a stroke
  3. placed all towns directly under royal governors appointed in Berlin
  4. transferred police powers from the state to private property owners

Explanation

Stein's Städteordnung of 19 November 1808 gave towns self-administration: citizens elected a Stadtverordnetenversammlung, which in turn elected the Magistrat. It is the classic case of citizens being trained in political participation through local government.

Question 23Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Under Staatskanzler Karl August von Hardenberg, which measure of 1810/1811 most directly dismantled the guild monopoly on economic activity in Prussia?

  1. The introduction of Gewerbefreiheit through the edict of 2 November 1810 Correct answer.
  2. The Regulierungsedikt on peasant landholding
  3. The Emanzipationsedikt granting Jews civic equality
  4. The founding of the Universität zu Berlin

Explanation

The edict of 2 November 1810 introduced Gewerbefreiheit: anyone who paid the Gewerbesteuer could practise a trade, breaking the guilds' exclusive right to license craftsmen. This was central to opening a labour market for the coming industrial economy.

Question 24Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which document, signed on 9 June 1815, set out the general European territorial settlement produced by the Wiener Kongress?

  1. The Wiener Kongressakte (Wiener Schlussakte des Kongresses) Correct answer.
  2. The Heilige Allianz treaty
  3. The Frieden von Lunéville
  4. The Karlsbader Beschlüsse

Explanation

The Wiener Kongress met from September 1814 and produced its Kongressakte on 9 June 1815. The Fachlehrplan treats it as the basis of a new European Sicherheitssystem - the 'Wiener System' of great-power balance and congress diplomacy.

Question 25Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Deutsche Bundesakte of 8 June 1815 created the Deutscher Bund. What kind of political body was it?

  1. A loose Staatenbund of sovereign princes and free cities with federal elements Correct answer.
  2. A centralised Bundesstaat with a directly elected national parliament
  3. A personal union of Austria and Prussia under one monarch
  4. A military alliance without any permanent institutions

Explanation

The Deutscher Bund was a Staatenbund: its roughly 39 members - 35 princely states and 4 free cities - retained full sovereignty. Its permanent organ was the Bundesversammlung (Bundestag) in Frankfurt am Main, chaired by Austria. The Fachlehrplan describes it as a 'Staatenbund souveräner Fürsten und freier Städte mit föderalen Elementen in der Mitte Europas'.

Question 26Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Where did the Bundesversammlung of the Deutscher Bund meet, and which state held the permanent presidency?

  1. Frankfurt am Main, with Austria in the chair Correct answer.
  2. Wien, with Prussia in the chair
  3. Berlin, with Prussia in the chair
  4. Regensburg, with Bayern in the chair

Explanation

The Bundesversammlung, colloquially the Bundestag, sat in Frankfurt am Main from 1816 and was permanently presided over by Austria. It was a congress of instructed envoys, not a parliament of elected deputies.

Question 27Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

German nationalists before 1848 distinguished between Kulturnation and Staatsnation. What does Kulturnation mean in this context?

  1. A nation defined by shared language, literature and customs even without a common state Correct answer.
  2. A nation defined solely by the borders and institutions of an existing state
  3. A nation whose identity rests on a single established church
  4. A nation constituted by a written constitution and equal citizenship

Explanation

The Fachlehrplan explicitly requires students to distinguish 'Vorstellungen von einer Kulturnation im Unterschied zur Staatsnation'. Kulturnation designates a community bound by language, literature, history and customs - the sense in which German writers could speak of a German nation while Germany remained politically fragmented.

Question 28Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Wartburgfest of 1817, held near Eisenach, was organised chiefly by which group?

  1. Burschenschaften - nationally minded student fraternities Correct answer.
  2. The Bundesversammlung of the Deutscher Bund
  3. Prussian army officers demanding a general staff reform
  4. Catholic clergy protesting against the Säkularisation

Explanation

The Wartburgfest was organised in October 1817 by the Jena Burschenschaft and drew students from across the Deutscher Bund. They demanded national unity, freedom of press and opinion and the removal of internal tariffs, and staged a symbolic burning of books they viewed as reactionary.

Question 29Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Karlsbader Beschlüsse of 20 September 1819 responded to the national-liberal movement by

  1. banning the Burschenschaften, imposing press censorship and installing state supervision of universities Correct answer.
  2. granting a constitution to every member state of the Deutscher Bund
  3. creating a customs union to satisfy liberal economic demands
  4. convening an elected national assembly in Frankfurt

Explanation

Adopted by the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after the murder of the writer August von Kotzebue, the Karlsbader Beschlüsse prohibited the Burschenschaften, subjected publications to censorship, placed university teaching under government supervisors and set up an investigating commission in Mainz against 'demagogic' activity.

Question 30Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Hambacher Fest of May 1832 differed from the Wartburgfest of 1817 above all because it

  1. was a mass political demonstration of citizens that openly sympathised with the French Julirevolution of 1830 Correct answer.
  2. was organised by the Bundesversammlung as an official state celebration
  3. explicitly rejected any contact with France and celebrated the Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig
  4. demanded the restoration of the Heiliges Römisches Reich under a Habsburg emperor

Explanation

The Hambacher Fest, held at Schloss Hambach in the Pfalz from 27 May 1832, was the largest gathering of the Vormärz and drew a broad public rather than students alone. Its speakers welcomed the French Julirevolution of 1830 and called for national unity, popular sovereignty and civil liberties.

Question 31Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Frankfurter Nationalversammlung opened in the Paulskirche on 18 May 1848. Which description of its composition became a standard label?

  1. A 'Professorenparlament' dominated by lawyers, officials and academics Correct answer.
  2. A workers' assembly elected by trade unions
  3. A chamber of princes appointed by the member states of the Deutscher Bund
  4. A purely Prussian body convened by Friedrich Wilhelm IV

Explanation

Roughly 585 deputies assembled on 18 May 1848; because so many were jurists, civil servants and professors, contemporaries and historians speak of a 'Professorenparlament' or 'Honoratiorenparlament'. The liberal Heinrich von Gagern was elected its president.

Question 32Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Paulskirchenverfassung of 28 March 1849 resolved the 'nationale Frage' over the extent of the future state in which way?

  1. It adopted the kleindeutsch solution: a German state excluding Austria, headed by the Prussian king as Kaiser Correct answer.
  2. It adopted the großdeutsch solution, incorporating all lands of the Habsburgermonarchie
  3. It left the question open and deferred it to a later plebiscite
  4. It proposed a republic with a president elected for four years

Explanation

After long debate between großdeutsch and kleindeutsch camps, the constitution passed on 28 March 1849 established a monarchical federal state excluding Austria, with an 'Erbkaiser'; the assembly elected Friedrich Wilhelm IV von Preußen as German Kaiser on the same day. The constitution also contained an extensive catalogue of Grundrechte.

Question 33Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which pair of events best captures the failure of the 1848/49 Nationalstaatsbildung and the subsequent Reaktionspolitik?

  1. Friedrich Wilhelm IV rejects the imperial crown on 3 April 1849, and Prussia abandons the Erfurter Union in the Olmützer Punktation of 29 November 1850 Correct answer.
  2. The Karlsbader Beschlüsse of 1819 and the founding of the Deutscher Zollverein in 1834
  3. The Wiener Kongressakte of 1815 and the Hambacher Fest of 1832
  4. The Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg of 1864 and the Norddeutscher Bund of 1867

Explanation

On 3 April 1849 the Prussian king refused a crown offered by an elected assembly rather than by fellow princes, destroying the constitution's chances. Prussia's own alternative, the Erfurter Union, then collapsed when Austria and Russia forced Prussia to back down in the Olmützer Punktation of 29 November 1850 - attacked in Prussia as the 'Schande von Olmütz' - restoring the Deutscher Bund under Austrian leadership and sharpening the preußisch-österreichischer Dualismus.

Question 34Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Deutscher Zollverein came into force on 1 January 1834. What was its central economic effect?

  1. It abolished internal tariffs between member states and created a single German market area Correct answer.
  2. It fixed a single currency for all states of the Deutscher Bund
  3. It nationalised the railways of the member states
  4. It imposed a common income tax across the member states

Explanation

On Prussian initiative, 18 states of the Deutscher Bund removed customs barriers among themselves from 1 January 1834, producing for the first time a comprehensive unified German economic area with a common external tariff law on the Prussian model.

Question 35Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which set of branches does the Sachsen-Anhalt Fachlehrplan name as the Führungssektoren of the German industrielle Revolution?

  1. Steinkohlenbergbau, Eisen- und Stahlindustrie, Maschinenbau and Eisenbahnwesen Correct answer.
  2. Textilindustrie, Papierherstellung, Glasindustrie and Buchdruck
  3. Großchemie, Elektrotechnik, Automobilbau and Luftfahrt
  4. Landwirtschaft, Forstwirtschaft, Fischerei and Bergbau auf Salz

Explanation

The Fachlehrplan lists Steinkohlenbergbau, Eisen- und Stahlindustrie, Maschinenbau and Eisenbahnwesen as the leading sectors of the German breakthrough after the 1840s, with strong Rückkopplungseffekte inside and outside those sectors and considerable state support.

Question 36Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

In economic-history terminology used in the Fachlehrplan, the 'Take-off' of German industrialisation refers to

  1. the phase from the mid-1840s when investment ratios rose sharply and leading sectors generated self-sustaining growth Correct answer.
  2. the moment the first German steam engine was imported from Britain
  3. the export surplus achieved by the Deutsches Reich after 1900
  4. the collapse of the Wiener Börse and the ensuing deflation

Explanation

The 'Take-off' concept, associated with Walt W. Rostow's stage model, denotes the phase in which the net investment ratio rises above roughly ten per cent and a few dynamic Führungssektoren pull the wider economy into sustained growth. In Germany this is dated from the mid-1840s, driven above all by railway construction and heavy industry.

Question 37Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which sequence correctly orders the three Einigungskriege?

  1. Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg 1864, Deutscher Krieg 1866, Deutsch-Französischer Krieg 1870/71 Correct answer.
  2. Deutscher Krieg 1866, Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg 1864, Deutsch-Französischer Krieg 1870/71
  3. Deutsch-Französischer Krieg 1866, Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg 1870, Deutscher Krieg 1871
  4. Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg 1870, Deutscher Krieg 1864, Deutsch-Französischer Krieg 1866

Explanation

Prussia and Austria first fought Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein in 1864, then turned on each other in the Deutscher Krieg of 1866, which Prussia decided at Königgrätz on 3 July 1866, and finally defeated France in 1870/71, the war during which the Deutsches Reich was proclaimed.

Question 38Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

What was the immediate constitutional consequence of Prussia's victory over Austria in 1866?

  1. The Deutscher Bund was dissolved and Prussia formed the Norddeutscher Bund in 1867 Correct answer.
  2. Austria was annexed by Prussia and lost its independent statehood
  3. The Paulskirchenverfassung of 1849 was put into force
  4. The Deutscher Zollverein was dissolved

Explanation

After Königgrätz the Deutscher Bund of 1815 came to an end and Prussia organised the states north of the Main into the Norddeutscher Bund, whose constitution took effect in 1867. Austria was excluded from German affairs - the kleindeutsch outcome achieved by force rather than by parliament.

Question 39Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Where and when was Wilhelm I proclaimed Deutscher Kaiser?

  1. In the Spiegelsaal of Versailles on 18 January 1871 Correct answer.
  2. In the Berliner Stadtschloss on 18 January 1871
  3. In the Frankfurter Paulskirche on 28 March 1849
  4. In the Wiener Hofburg on 2 September 1870

Explanation

The proclamation took place on 18 January 1871 in the Spiegelsaal of the Schloss Versailles, during the Deutsch-Französischer Krieg. Around 1,400 people attended; Bismarck read out the proclamation and the Großherzog von Baden led the cheers for the new Kaiser. The date deliberately recalled the Prussian royal coronation of 1701.

Question 40Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Gründerkrise that followed the boom of the early 1870s was triggered by which event?

  1. The Wiener Börsenkrach of 9 May 1873 Correct answer.
  2. The French reparations payments of 1871
  3. The Reichsgründung of 18 January 1871
  4. The introduction of protective tariffs in 1879

Explanation

The speculative Gründerboom, fed by French reparations and the new unified market, collapsed with the crash on the Wiener Börse on 9 May 1873, the so-called 'Schwarzer Freitag'. Much German capital was invested in Vienna, so the crisis spread at once to railways, construction, heavy industry and machine building.

Question 41Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Bismarck's Sozialistengesetz of 21 October 1878 was justified politically by which immediate pretext?

  1. Two failed assassination attempts on Kaiser Wilhelm I in May and June 1878 Correct answer.
  2. A general strike in the Ruhr coalfields
  3. The founding of the SPD at the Erfurter Parteitag
  4. The publication of the Kommunistisches Manifest

Explanation

Bismarck used two failed attempts on Wilhelm I's life in May and June 1878 to push the law through, although no involvement of the Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei could be demonstrated. The law banned socialist organisations, newspapers, associations and trade unions and remained in force until 1890.

Question 42Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which sequence gives Bismarck's three social insurance laws in the correct order?

  1. Krankenversicherung 1883, Unfallversicherung 1884, Invaliditäts- und Altersversicherung 1889 Correct answer.
  2. Unfallversicherung 1883, Krankenversicherung 1884, Arbeitslosenversicherung 1889
  3. Altersversicherung 1883, Unfallversicherung 1885, Krankenversicherung 1890
  4. Arbeitslosenversicherung 1883, Krankenversicherung 1886, Pflegeversicherung 1889

Explanation

The Gesetz betreffend die Krankenversicherung der Arbeiter dates from 15 June 1883, the Unfallversicherungsgesetz from 6 July 1884, and the Gesetz betreffend die Invaliditäts- und Altersversicherung from 22 June 1889. This is the classic staatliche Sozialpolitik answer to the soziale Frage listed in the Fachlehrplan.

Question 43Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Under the Krankenversicherungsgesetz of 1883, how were contributions divided between workers and employers?

  1. Workers paid two thirds and employers one third Correct answer.
  2. Employers paid the whole contribution
  3. Workers paid the whole contribution
  4. Workers and employers each paid one half

Explanation

The 1883 health insurance law required workers to pay two thirds of the contribution and employers one third. It provided sick pay for up to 26 weeks, medical treatment and medicines, maternity support and a death benefit. Accident insurance from 1884 was by contrast financed entirely by employers, reflecting their liability for workplace accidents.

Question 44Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Fachlehrplan lists several contemporary approaches to the soziale Frage. Which option names them correctly?

  1. Patriarchalische Fürsorge by employers, kirchliche Sozialarbeit, staatliche Sozialpolitik and the demands of the Arbeiterbewegung Correct answer.
  2. Emigration schemes, colonial settlement, guild restoration and monastic charity alone
  3. Compulsory arbitration courts, minimum-wage laws and a national health service
  4. Land redistribution, tax exemption for workers and free university education

Explanation

The Fachlehrplan names 'patriarchalische Fürsorge, kirchliche Sozialarbeit, staatliche Sozialpolitik, Forderungen der Arbeiterbewegung' as the four strands of response to the soziale Frage. Company welfare schemes such as those of Krupp, Catholic and Protestant social work, Bismarck's insurance laws and union and party demands were competing answers to the same problem.

Question 45Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Which pair of firms best illustrates the new Leitbranchen of the German Hochindustrialisierung after the Gründerkrise?

  1. BASF in the chemical industry and the Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft, later AEG, in electrical engineering Correct answer.
  2. The Deutscher Zollverein and the Preußische Seehandlung
  3. The Hanseatic trading houses and the Fuggers
  4. The Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Deutsche Bundesbahn

Explanation

The Fachlehrplan names Großchemie, Elektrotechnik and Maschinenbau as the new leading branches after the Gründerkrise. BASF was founded in Ludwigshafen in 1865 and became a world leader in synthetic dyestuffs, while Emil Rathenau founded the Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft in 1883, from which AEG emerged; by 1914 Siemens or AEG supplied around half of the world's electrical machines and installations.

Question 46Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Urbanisierung in the Kaiserreich is best defined as

  1. the rapid growth of cities as people migrated from rural areas to industrial centres, transforming housing, work and everyday life Correct answer.
  2. the transfer of factories from cities into the countryside to reduce costs
  3. the planned resettlement of urban populations into agricultural colonies
  4. the administrative merger of small states into larger provinces

Explanation

Urbanisierung denotes the explosive growth of industrial cities fed by Binnenwanderung from the countryside. The Fachlehrplan pairs it with 'zunehmende Mobilität, Differenzierungsprozesse innerhalb bestehender sozialer Schichten' and the housing problems, such as Mietskasernen, that followed.

Question 47Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

The Kulturkampf of the 1870s was a conflict between the Prussian and Reich governments and which force?

  1. The Catholic Church and its political representation in the Zentrumspartei Correct answer.
  2. The Lutheran state churches of northern Germany
  3. The organised trade-union movement
  4. The Jewish communities of the Reich

Explanation

From 1871 Bismarck sought to curb Catholic influence, which he saw voiced through the Zentrumspartei. Measures included the Kanzelparagraph inserted into the criminal code on 10 December 1871, the ban on the Jesuit order in 1872, state supervision of schools and the Maigesetze of 1873 on clergy training. The conflict was wound down from 1878/1880.

Question 48Revolutions, industrialization and nineteenth-century German society

Bismarck left office as Reichskanzler in March 1890. Which combination of circumstances explains the timing?

  1. Conflict with the young Kaiser Wilhelm II over policy and authority, coinciding with the Reichstag's refusal to renew the Sozialistengesetz Correct answer.
  2. His defeat in a direct election for the chancellorship
  3. A vote of no confidence passed by the Reichstag under the Reichsverfassung
  4. His resignation immediately after the death of Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1888

Explanation

Wilhelm II, on the throne since 1888, wanted his own course, particularly in social and labour policy, and clashed with Bismarck over the chancellor's control of ministers. At the same time the Reichstag declined in January 1890 to prolong the Sozialistengesetz, which duly lapsed. Bismarck was dismissed in March 1890.

Question 49Weimar democracy, postwar reckoning and public memory

Article 48 of the Weimarer Reichsverfassung became a structural weakness of the republic because it allowed the Reichspräsident to

  1. issue Notverordnungen and suspend basic rights, enabling government without a parliamentary majority Correct answer.
  2. dissolve the Reichsgericht and appoint new judges at will
  3. declare war without the consent of any other institution
  4. extend his own term of office indefinitely

Explanation

Article 48 permitted the Reichspräsident to take emergency measures and temporarily suspend certain Grundrechte. From 1930 onwards Präsidialkabinette governed principally by Notverordnung, hollowing out the Reichstag long before 1933 - the 'Machtverlust des Reichstages' that the Fachlehrplan names as a cause of the crisis of Weimar democracy.

Question 50Weimar democracy, postwar reckoning and public memory

Reichskanzler Heinrich Brüning's response to the Weltwirtschaftskrise is usually described as

  1. a Deflationspolitik of tax rises, cuts to social spending and reduced public-sector pay Correct answer.
  2. a programme of deficit-financed public works and job creation
  3. an immediate devaluation of the Reichsmark to boost exports
  4. the nationalisation of heavy industry and the banks

Explanation

Brüning, chancellor from March 1930, pursued a deflationary course: raising direct and indirect taxes, cutting welfare spending and reducing public-sector wages in order to balance the budget. It deepened unemployment and social misery and helped radicalise the electorate, earning him the label 'Hungerkanzler'.