GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)

MEMORANDUM
Paper 2
2 hours
Marks: 100
E-classroom: IEB Style Examination

SECTION A: DISCURSIVE ESSAY

5 YEAR PLANS

1) Collectivisation

- Food production organised and planned by the state.

- Peasants farms merged into government controlled collective farms.
- State provided health care and schooling.
- Kulaks (rich farmers from NEP) were not happy - burned crops and killed livestock —> Stalin had them
deported or shot.
- Food was removed by force - millions starved. This was used to make people comply.

2) Industrialisation

- Used modern machinery and productions methods.

- Built new industrial towns.
- Built new roads, railways and canals.
- Adult literacy classes introduced.
- HOWEVER - quality of goods poor as lack of skilled workers, productivity low, forced labour, dangerous
working conditions.

3) Effect of policies on the Soviet people

- Life was strictly controlled.

- Could be sent to the gulags (work camps) for small crimes - being late for work, telling a joke about
Communist Party…
- Government propaganda used - taught in schools, youth organisations.
- Children/youth were encouraged to report people who were not loyal to the Communist Party.
- Food was rationed and working hours increased.
- Shortage of homes and clothing.
- Improvements were made by the second 5 Year Plan.
- Good health services and education.
- Sport and fitness were encouraged.
DESPITE ALL OF THE HARDSHIP, BY STALIN’S DEATH IN 1953 THE USSR WAS ONE OF THE WORLD’S INDUSTRIAL
POWERS.

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OR

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GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM
QUESTION 1B - Capitalism in the USA 1900 – 1940
THEME: THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN THE USA

The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government
mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.

Do you agree with this statement? Describe the causes and consequences of the Great Depression in the United
States of America in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Causes of the Great Depression:

Prior to the Great Depression there was a Capitalist Boom. The government in power at this time was the Republican
Party (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover).

Their philosophy towards governing the economy was laissez-faire:

- There should be little government interference.

- Custom duties on imported goods so that people would buy.
- There should be no/dramatically reduced taxes so people could buy and invest more.
- Trade unions should be banned so that people could not demand higher wages.

This led to:

1. An uneven distribution of wealth

- Millions lived in poverty.

- Demand for items began to drop —> factories decreased production —> workers lost their jobs.

2. Problems in agriculture

- Huge demand for goods during WW1 (World War One) (from other countries).

Farmers continued to produce more and more food due to technological advances like the tractor. As production
grew farm prices dropped. Farmers boosted production even further. Prices plummeted. Farmers began to default
on their loans and the banks foreclosed. To make matters worse the central part of the nation was hit with a terrible
drought.

3. Problems in trade

- Tariff policy for imported goods stopped free flow of trade between USA and the world.

4. Unsound business practices

- People could get credit too easily —> too much money owed.
- No proper controls over who banks lent money to.
- No protection for people who put money in the bank or bought shares.
- People were encouraged to ‘buy now and pay later’. The economy was largely unregulated.

5. The stock exchange

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GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM
- People were borrowing money to buy shares. They hoped to sell them at a profit later.
- This made share prices more expensive than they were actually worth.

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QUESTION 1C; Ideas of Race in the late 19th and 20th centuries
THEME: NAZI GERMANY

“…the discovery of the Jewish virus is one of the greatest revolutions that has taken place in the world. The battle in
which we are engaged today is of the same sort as the battle waged, during the last century, by Pasteur and Koch.
How many diseases have their origin in the Jewish virus! ...We shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jew.”

-Adolf Hitler

Examine the steps taken by the Nazis against the Jewish populations of Europe and explain whether the above quote
adequately explains why they took such action.

The student should not just state the steps taken but assess whether or not the quote adequately explains why they
took these steps. It can be argued that it does not present the full story, but rather one of the ideological thoughts
present at the time.

Historians are divided on why this solution was put into practice. Some believe it was always Hitler’s intention: In
1922 he told journalist Josef Hell, “Once I really am in power, my first and foremost task will be the annihilation of
the Jews.” However, for a brief period the Nazi leaders focused on a mass deportation strategy.

The Final Solution:

- From 1938: Jews were denied the right to own property, denied the right to vote, isolated, forced to carry
identification papers.
- By October 1941, Jews had to wear a Star of David to define their status.

Forced Emigration
- mass deportation of Jews from Germany was planned

Ghettos
- located on railway junctions to allow for control and later deportation
- disease spread easily
- mass starvation

Einsatzgruppen
- “mobile killing units”
- sought to kill anyone who protested or otherwise threatened the regime (racial or political enemies)
- prime focus was on the Jews
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 GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM
- took Jews to the woods and stripped, shot, and buried them.

Concentration Camps
- Became Death camps over time
- Between April 1942 and November 1944, two million Jews were gassed to death.

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Total for Section A: 70

SECTION B: EXTENDED WRITING

Answer ONE question from this section. Your extended writing should be approximately 350 – 400 words in length.
You should use your own knowledge as well as the source as a stimulus to answer the question.

QUESTION 2A: Communism in Russia 1900 - 1940

THEME: LENIN’S DEATH

The period after Lenin’s death:

Before Lenin died in 1924, he wrote about his fears of a struggle for control of the Party after his death. Discuss this
statement critically using the topics listed below:

(a) Lenin’s death marked the beginning of a period of struggle for leadership between the leading Bolsheviks, at the
end of which Stalin emerged as the undisputed and unchallenged dictator. Divisions in the party over the future
of the Revolution enabled Stalin to position himself in a place of power, providing him with opportunities to rid
the party of his opponents from the left and the right.

(b) What different views were there?

LEFT RIGHT
Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky. Bukharin (an economist).
Wanted a world revolution “Internationalism” = Felt that the USSR needed time to consolidate
spread of communism. after all the changes that had been
implemented.
Wanted to abandon the NEP. Said that Russia should not abandon the NEP yet.

(c) How did Stalin come to power? What type of ruler was he?

- From 1924 - 1927 he sided with the Right.

- He placed his supporters in key positions.
- 1927 - Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky were accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
- They are expelled from the party, Trotsky flees the country and is later killed.
- Stalin then attacked the views of the Right.
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GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM
- By 1928 he was the only leader of the USSR.
- Known as Stalinism.
- He developed a cult of personality = seen as a great and wise leader, had giant statues of himself built, declared
himself responsible for all Soviet achievements.
- Used terror to control the population and any opposition to his rule.
- Placed emphasis on industrialisation - was heavily government controlled.
- Censorship of the media, no contact with foreign influences, propaganda.
- His views were based on what Lenin had created but Stalin had far more personal control.

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QUESTION 2B:- Capitalism in the USA 1900 - 1940

THEME: THE NEW DEAL

An assessment of the New Deal:

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. It was the
longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Analyse the impact that the New Deal had on
rectifying this depression by answering the following questions:

(a) Did the New Deal weaken or strengthen capitalism in the USA?

(Open to debate)

• The government had to abandon its uncontrolled, laissez-faire approach.

• It challenged previous thinking on what ‘capitalism’ was/meant.

Many socialist-like elements:

• Government intervened in the economy.
• There was large scale government spending to provide employment.
• The government set minimum wages, maximum working hours and introduced trade unions.
• Provided welfare for unemployed, old and sick people

BUT - This also maintained democracy at a time when many countries were being taken over by totalitarian regimes.
So, was it a necessary compromise with socialism?

(b) Discuss the outcomes of the New Deal.

• It restored the economy.

• It strengthened people’s confidence in democracy.
• There were long term benefits (e.g. the building of dams and schools).
• The government accepted responsibility for the welfare of its citizens.
• The New Deal strengthened the position of the president and increased the government’s power.

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GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM
• Not everyone benefitted: tenant farmers, sharecroppers, migrant workers, African Americans, Native
Americans and women.

(c) Did any other factors help alleviate the depression?

World War Two (WW2) solved unemployment - the USA made arms and ammunition for the allies. The World Bank
and International Monetary Fund were established after WW2 - this helped to prevent unemployment.
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OR
QUESTION 2C: Ideas of Race in the late 19th and 20th centuries

THEME: ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA AND THE STOLEN GENERATION

Why did Australia create a racial state?

Explain why and how a racial state was established in Australia by answering the following questions:

(a) What do the terms Eugenics and Social Darwinism mean? To what extent did these ideas play a role in the
Australian Aboriginal and Immigration policies implemented during this era?

Eugenics – the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of
desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it
fell into disfavour only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis.

Social Darwinism - the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural
selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and
others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and
racism and to discourage intervention and reform.

To a large extent - European settlers saw the breakdown of Aboriginal society (unemployment, dependence on
alcohol, refusal to settle in one place) as inferiority – an example of racial decay or suicide.

(b) Who was the Stolen Generation? How were they treated? Why were these policies known as
assimilation policies?

• More than 100 000 children.

• Removed from parents between 1910 and 1970.
• Children were told that their parents didn't want them.
• Children were of mixed descent.
• Separated from mothers at age 5/6.
• Sent to live with white Christian families, missionaries or lived in orphanages.
• No contact allowed with family.
• Were to be assimilated into Australian society.
• Trained to be domestics and farm workers.
• Promoted by two government officials: Cecil Cook and Auber Neville.
• Children removed from mothers and only allowed to marry white Australians.
• Wanted to “breed out colour”.
• Children were strictly disciplined and some suffered sexual abuse.
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GRADE 11 HISTORY FINAL EXAMINATION (IEB)
MEMORANDUM

(c) What effect have these policies had on the people of Australia?

- People lost their families and spent many years searching for them, often to no avail.
- The decline and near extinction of the Aborigines.

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Total for Section B: 30

GRAND TOTAL: 100

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