Sample answers from the Half Yearly Q-Paper

Q1.(c) To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles a sensible treaty in the circumstances of the time? [8] Explain your answer. (June 2003)
Or, (c) How far could the Treaty be justified at the time? Explain your answer.


Level 1 Unsupported assertions [1]

e.g. ‘At the time it was the best that could be achieved.’

Level 2 Identifies justification [2–3]

e.g. ‘The Treaty of Versailles could have been harsher.’

‘The T of V failed to encompass the Fourteen Points.’

‘The T of V was acceptable to people in Britain and France.’

‘They blamed the wrong people.’

‘Germany had to be punished.’

Level 3 Explains agreement OR disagreement [3–5]

Level 4 Explains agreement AND disagreement [5–7]

e.g. ‘Many think a reasonable job was done as the problems faced were very complex with

strong demands for the Treaty to be even harsher against Germany as Germany had forced

a much harder peace on Russia under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.’

‘In the Armistice, the Germans agreed to reductions in their armed forces, losses of territory

and the principal of reparations. They should not have been surprised when these were

included in the peace treaty.’

‘Many at the time though it was about right. A more generous treaty would not have been

acceptable to the people of Britain and France who wanted compensation for loss of lives

and damage.’

‘The treaties left Germany very bitter and determined to get revenge. Germany could not

defend themselves and were open to political unrest.’

‘The Treaty punished the ordinary German people rather than those responsible. Would it

have been better to keep Germany relatively happy with the rise of Communism in Russia?’

‘It was wrong to put the sole blame on Germany as other countries had followed aggressive

imperialism including Britain and France.’

Level 5 Explains with evaluation of ‘how far’ [7–8]

Q2. (a) Describe the work of the Agencies of the League of Nations. [5]


Level 1 General answer [1–2]

e.g. ‘Identifies Agencies, e.g. the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Mandates

Commission, the Minorities Commission, the Refugees Committee, the Slavery Commission,

the Health Committee.’

Level 2 Describes the work [2–5]

e.g. ‘The Mandates Commission made sure that Britain and France acted in the interests of

the people of that territory, not their own interests.’

‘The Refugees Committee helped to return refugees to their original homes after the end of

the war.’

‘The Slavery Commission worked to abolish slavery around the world.’

‘The Health Committee attempted to deal with the problem of dangerous diseases and to

educate people about health and sanitation.’

‘The ILO met once a year. Its aim was to improve working conditions throughout the world

trying to get member countries to adopt its suggestions.’


Q3.(c) How far did the structural weaknesses of the League of Nations prevent it from being
successful in the 1920s? Explain your answer. [8]
(Or, why was the structure of the League a weakness?)

Level 1 General Answer [1]

e.g. ‘It was too idealistic.’

Level 2 Identifies why [2–4]

e.g. ‘Not all nations were members.’

‘It had to rely on collective security.’

‘It was dominated by Britain and France.’

‘It was too slow to take action.’

‘Decisions had to be unanimous.’

Level 3 Explains why [4–7]

e.g. ‘Not all nations were members of the League. The USA never joined and this deprived

the League of the support of the most powerful nation in the world.’

‘The defeated nations, like Germany, were not members at first. Other nations, such as

Japan, left when they got into disputes with the League.’

‘The League had no armed forces of its own. It relied on collective security. Too often this

meant nations looking to the League to take action when they weren’t willing to act

themselves.’

‘The League was dominated by Britain and France but they never agreed on how powerful it

should be or how it should operate.’

‘The League was too slow to take action. All decisions, in the Assembly and Council, had to

be taken unanimously.’

‘The League was too idealistic. It was unrealistic to expect nations to obey the League

without giving it the power to enforce its will.’

‘All member states had equal voting rights. All decisions in Assembly and Council had to be

unanimous. This was fine when members agreed with each other, but not when they

disagreed.’

Q4.a) In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles weaken Germany’s armed forces? [5]


Level 1 General answer 1–2

e.g. ‘Germany’s armed forces were greatly reduced.’

‘It reduced the army/navy.’

Level 2 Describes terms 2–5

e.g. ‘The army was limited to 100,000 men. (1) There was to be no conscription. (1)

‘Germany was not allowed tanks, submarines or military aircraft.’ (One mark for 1; two

marks for all three)

‘The navy could only have six battleships (1) and was limited to 15,000 men.’ (1)

(No credit for Rhineland.)

Q5. Why did Clemenceau demand that a harsh peace be imposed on Germany? [7]


Level 1 General answer 1

e.g. ‘To weaken Germany.’

Level 2 Identifies why 2–4

e.g. ‘To pay for all the damage Germany had caused.’

‘To prevent future German attacks on France.’

‘To gain revenge (for all the French suffering).’

‘France lost many soldiers.’

Level 3 Explains why 4–7

e.g. ‘France had suffered enormous damage to its land, industry and people. Clemenceau

was under intense pressure from his people to make Germany pay for the suffering they had

endured both in 1870 and the Great War.’

‘Ever since 1870 France had felt threatened by its increasingly powerful neighbour,

Germany. Clemenceau saw the treaty as an opportunity to cripple Germany by breaking it

up into small, weak states so it could not attack France again.’

‘France had borrowed huge sums of money to fight the war and was faced with enormous

debt. Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay this debt.’