Cambridge A Level History 9489 — 2025 Oct/Nov Paper 4 · Variant 1

1 Assess how popular Mussolini’s policies were with the Italian people in the years 1925 to 1941. [30]

Mark scheme: Question Answer Marks 1 Assess how popular Mussolini’s policies were with the Italian people in 30 the years 1925 to 1941. Discussion that supports the idea of popularity might identify areas and examples of popularity – for example through the scale and impact of Mussolini’s propaganda and cult of personality. There could also be discussion of fascist interventions in society such as the Dopolavoro. There is an argument the regime’s foreign policy success, such as Abyssinia, brought an increase in national pride and there was also an attempt to harness sporting success to achieve similar outcomes. There could also be the inclusion of examples of support of élite groups in Italian society. Accommodations made with the Catholic Church through the Concordat could be argued to have removed an area of potential dissent. Responses could further examine the extent to which policies towards young people such as fascist control of education and the provision of activities through the ONB achieved support. Consideration of unpopularity might be partly based upon the need for and use of repression and terror. Examples such as OVRA, secret police and internal exile could be provided in support. There might also be some consideration given to examples of opposition to the regime. Responses might point towards the unpopularity of individual policies such as anti- semitism and the failure to radically change women’s roles. There could also be analysis of the extent to which indoctrination through propaganda worked (including education). Further examples could include the continuation of opposition within Catholic Church, for instance the continued existence of Catholic Action, and the apparent tendency of many Italians to simply acquiesce with regime rather than actively support it. Analysis might conclude the patterns and levels of support shifted and that a broader consensus in favour of it existed up to the 1930s, before falling thereafter. There may be comment on how unpopular Italian involvement in World War Two was and how rapidly support for fascism disappeared after Mussolini’s death.

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2 ‘Stalin’s economic policies brought few benefits to the workers and peasants in the Soviet Union.’ Discuss this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 2 ‘Stalin’s economic policies brought few benefits to the workers and 30 peasants in the Soviet Union.’ Discuss this view. Arguments which agree with the statement could include living and working conditions. Industrial workers faced challenging working conditions, such as long hours; harsh discipline as absenteeism and poor punctuality meant dismissal and eviction; damaging machinery or leaving a job without permission was a criminal offence; strikes were made illegal; internal passports and labour books recorded employment, skills and disciplinary records. Living conditions in urban centres were also often very difficult. Overcrowding, lack of privacy and poor sanitation were commonplace. The rapid growth of towns and cities meant that the infrastructure was insufficient to maintain decent living standards. Food shortages and rationing were typical and consumer goods were scarce due to the focus on heavy industry in the Five Year Plans. Peasants struggled to adapt to the different demands of urban life – there was a great deal of dislocation and instability – the ‘quicksand society.’ In the countryside, Stalin’s collectivisation policies were highly unpopular and led to opposition. Worst affected were the wealthier peasants, the kulaks, who faced elimination as a class. Obstruction to the move towards collective farming saw a drop in output and, combined with forced requisitioning to feed the cities, led to famine in 1932-3, particularly in Ukraine. Many peasants were forced off the land and into urban areas in search of work, as a result of mechanisation. Counter-arguments which highlight benefits could focus on how industrialisation raised real wages for skilled workers because of demand and wage differentials meant that committed workers could prosper. There were opportunities for technical education and training to enable promotion. The Stakhanovite movement also provided benefits for the hard-working and indicated that some workers took pride in their efforts. Some workers enjoyed better working conditions and facilities such as canteens and shops. It can also be argued that provision of consumer goods and food improved during the ‘three good years’ of 1935-37. Responses might also consider improved access to and provision of education, health, societies and leisure activities and also to greater opportunities in the workplace for women, although the limitations of these could also be used to argue for the statement. Peasants could now rely on a regular wage and were still able to farm private plots of land in order to sell excess production at market. They benefitted from improved machinery and advice on fertilisation techniques. Education and health improvements applied in rural areas too.

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3 Assess how far increasing support for the Nazi Party in the years 1929 to 1932 was the result of skilful propaganda. [30]

Mark scheme: 3 Assess how far increasing support for the Nazi party in the years 1929 30 to 1932 was the result of skilful propaganda. This question requires assessment of the reasons for the growth in support for the Nazi party in these years, rather than asking how Hitler came to power. When assessing the use of propaganda, responses should focus on methods employed up to 1932 only. Examples of the control of the media and culture exerted once they had gained power are not relevant. There should be discussion of Goebbels’ role and the use of a centralised party programme of propaganda. Hitler’s energetic public speaking performances are an obvious example and there could also be some attention paid to the use of modern technology, most notably aircraft in the 1932 Führer Over Germany campaign during the presedential election. Events such as rallies and marches also drew attention to the Nazis. Some responses might refer to the Nazi newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter. There are opportunities to discuss the use of posters featuring simple slogans such ‘work and bread.’ Attracting support of wealthy industrialists helped pay for such campaigns and responses might demonstrate how different factors interact. The popularity of the Nazi message with different sectors of German society was partly due to their ability to tailor their approach. The Nazis promised to restore hope, a national community and to bring an end to the economic problems caused by the Depression. They were able to provide scapegoats for Germany’s weakness, most notably Jews and the so-called November Criminals. Other explanations should point towards the impact of the Depression and particularly mass unemployment. Those who remained in work saw hours and pay cut. There were bank failures and deflation. The inability of Weimar coalitions to deal with these challenges led to many questioning the worth of the democratic system and increased support for alternatives. The fear of communism could also be used here, as some of Germany’s upper and middle classes transferred allegiance to the Nazis as a bulwark against a socialist revolution. The use of the SA to combat the Communists’ Red Fighting League further highlighted the impotence of the authorities. There are further opportunities here for analysis to demonstrate the linkage of different factors. Responses might conclude that the economic problems drew attention to the weakness of the political system and gave the Nazis an opportunity which they were able to exploit, partly through propaganda.

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4 ‘Recovery from the Great Depression in Britain was the result of government economic policies.’ Discuss this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 4 ‘Recovery from the Great Depression in Britain was the result of 30 government economic policies.’ Discuss this view. There could be some discussion of the extent of the challenges faced by Great Britain from 1929. Responses might consider the responses of the Labour administration 1929–31 and the National Government which succeeded it, as examples. There might also be consideration of alternative explanations, as balance. Macdonald and his Chancellor Snowden were unwilling to shift from economic orthodoxy and to follow more radical ideas which would be associated with Keynes and were championed from within the Labour Party by the likes of Mosley. Macdonald referred to the ‘economic blizzard’ and his government was fatally split over cuts to government spending, suggested in the May Report, particularly a 10% reduction in unemployment benefit in 1931. The government remained determined to remain on the Gold Standard, which was argued to be hampering British export industries due to the high value of the pound. However, the National Government was prepared to take this step, following the shock of the Invergordon Mutiny in 1931. The subsequent 25% fall in the value of the pound made British industry more competitive. It also led to a cut in interest rates, which gave businesses some breathing space and led to the era of ‘cheap money.’ One of the factors behind Britain’s recovery from the mid-1930s was the housing boom which created employment in construction and was made possible due to more affordable mortgages. The government’s home building programme might also be considered. The introduction of tariffs in the 1930s could also be argued to have helped economic recovery. Counterarguments might examine the failure of the National Government to mitigate the effects of unemployment in the worst affected areas, which persisted throughout the 1930s. Some discussion of the Special Areas Act and its impact is possible. It could be argued that the more significant factor in leading to recovery was the need to rearm in the face of the rise of Hitler in Germany in the 1930s, which helped to stimulate the declining, traditional heavy industries. There might also be consideration of the extent to which the world economy was recovering, helping the British economy. Furthermore, the extent to which the British economy had recovered may also be assessed, given the continued levels of unemployment in areas dominated by Britain’s traditional industries.

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5 ‘A defeat for the Republican Party rather than a victory for Truman and his policies.’ Assess this view of the presidential election of 1948. [30]

Mark scheme: 5 ‘A defeat for the Republican party rather than a victory for Truman and 30 his policies.’ Assess this view of the presidential election of 1948. Opinion polls showed lack of support for Truman personally and the Fair Deal and so interpretations have tended to explain the result by the lacklustre campaigns of the Republicans. The alternative view is to see Truman as an energetic campaigner with an appeal to middle America and with policies which maintained some of the gains of the New Deal while jettisoning the association with waste and left-wing ideology. Arguments that the election was a result of positive achievements by Truman may point to the Fair Deal and the continuation of the so-called New Deal coalition. He was the first president to address the NAACP, and he did desegregate the armed forces. There was also admiration for his stance over the Berlin Airlift. He campaigned in very state and his image of an energetic, plain speaking political leader who had held his own in international negotiations may have been more popular than the opinion polls suggested. However, the alternative explanation is that the Republicans did not offer a strong enough alternative. Dewey’s campaign lacked energy and the sort of popular appeal that was shown in the ‘Give ‘em Hell, Harry’ slogan. Dewey was convinced that he had lost in 1944 because of an over-partisan approach. Thus, his campaigning style was bland. The splits in the Democrats seemed to be likely to secure victory without much effort. He shared views about federal intervention and internationalism with Truman so there was not the ideological gap that more conservative Republicans offered. He rejected advice to be more critical and incisive but, in the end, he lost because of a narrow defeat in three critical states – Ohio, Illinois and California where he ‘lost the farm vote’. He had been an effective and reforming governor of New York and had a high reputation as a public servant but lacked personal appeal and could not offer a clear enough alternative to affect a major swing even with the Democrats disunited.

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6 ‘The growth of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s was mostly the result of the work of women’s organisations.’ Evaluate this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 6 ‘The growth of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s was mostly the result of 30 the work of women’s organisations.’ Evaluate this view. What is sometimes called second wave feminism could be seen to have been inspired by Civil Rights actions and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited gender discrimination. Women had played an important role in Civil Rights campaigns but did not always see fellow campaigners as anxious about women’s rights. This linked with another element – the role of individual campaigners like Casey Haden and Mary King and an appreciation of the importance of organisations as in the creation of NOW. Also significant was the growth of a distinct feminist ideology and the role of Betty Friedan and the highly influential Feminine Mystique which challenged post war assumptions about the role of women and unusually for a polemical work became a best seller. The campaign for an Equal Rights Amendment offered a distinct goal for feminism and the disappointment that after passing congress it failed to be ratified could be seen as a driving force. Other factors to consider could be the social changes resulting from the Pill, first approved in 1960 and being used by six million women within five years. That some states made this illegal was a spur to radicalism while control of family size was a way forward for many women to diversify activities and take up feminist causes. The publicity given to radical actions such as the 1968 protests against the Miss America beauty pageant may have raised awareness, but a more important long-term development was the growth of women’s education in the period. In terms of impact, answers could assess the relative importance of self-awareness and the extent of organisation – with 14,000 women attending the National Women’s Conference in 1977 and 35 states ratifying the EAR after a national campaign. Time in 1975 saw women arriving like a new immigrant wave in, as police, in the judiciary, in the armed forces, in traditional male occupations, in journalism and in higher roles in business. It saw an erosion of traditional attitudes and a new relationship between the sexes and above all a new confidence. Whether this was a direct result of women’s organisations or of other social factors such as more education, relative prosperity, broader interest in civil rights and equality, new technology, better communications or more urbanisation might be debated.

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7 ‘The Iran–Contra Affair was deeply damaging to Reagan and the Republican Party.’ Discuss this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 7 ‘The Iran–Contra Affair was deeply damaging for Reagan and the 30 Republicans.’ Discuss this view The deal by which weapons were delivered to Iran via Israel in return for the release of hostages and the payments diverted to right wing rebels in Nicaragua should have been one of the greatest scandals of the Reagan era and had the potential to destroy Reagan’s reputation. It ran contrary to congressional legislation and also to the Reagan doctrine. It raised issues of Reagan’s integrity if he sanctioned the deal or his competence if his underlings had proceeded without his knowledge. It raised issues of presidential power and the transparency of foreign policy and relations with both Iran and Israel and also of US claims to be a leader of the free world. It seemed once again that as with Watergate officials had got out of control. As hostage taking continued, the actions had no long-term effects on relations with Iran However despite being hounded by the Tower commission from 1987 and trials of Colonel North and the head of the Security Commission surprisingly little results. Only one person was actually imprisoned. Reagan left office with a very high personal and political reputation and Bush without much opposition pardoned most of those concerned. So, the significance could either be the issued raised, or why there was so little short or long-term impact in electoral terms or on the power and conduct of the president.

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Section C: International history, 1945–92

Mark scheme: 8 Assess how successfully the US managed its relations with the USSR 30 1950–63. The US was locked into a view that the USSR was expansionist and needed to be contained. In 1950 the Korean War confirmed the threat of Communism, and the Eisenhower administrations continued the post war policy of moral conflict. They rejected any view that the US should withdraw from European affairs, pursued an arms race and held to the policy of Containment. This resulted in a continuation of a costly hostility with the USSR on one hand which could be seen as mismanagement. However, the Eisenhower policy could also be seen as flexible after the death of Stalin. While the US grew its nuclear arsenal it was prepared to negotiate. As early as 1953 Eisenhower offered goodwill and cooperation and there was a face-to-face meeting at Geneva in 1955 where an Open Skies proposal was made. Though rejected by the USSR it was an indication of the desire to establish better relations. The Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 was not met by armed conflict and a breaking off of relations and the US attitude to Suez reduced the chance of conflict over the Middle East. Eisenhower did not rush into a new arms race when there was US panic over the USSR’s launch of Sputnik. Negotiations continued about a nuclear test ban and arms reductions and Eisenhower broke new ground by inviting Khrushchev to the USA. The U2 incident has been seen as a major failure in US-USSR soviet relations and indicative of conflicting objectives. Eisenhower had been personally unhappy about the U2 missions but nevertheless they had been conducted and the shooting down of the reconnaissance plane strained relations and Khrushchev was able to claim that the launching of Powers’ aircraft had sabotaged the proposed Paris summit and stormed out. Kennedy inherited uneven relations but the policy towards Cuba can be criticised as making matters worse. The management of the crisis can be defended as leading to better communications and a resumption of negotiations about Test Ban but the US was forced to make concessions about missiles in Turkey. Overall, the avoidance of war and a willingness to maintain contact with the USSR might be seen as successful, but the heavy defence costs, the recurrent crises, the failure to prevent growing Soviet influence outside Europe and an enforcement of control in Eastern Europe might seem to be less successful. A balanced response might incorporate these or any other valid arguments.

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9 ‘Soviet suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary had limited impact on US–Soviet relations.’ Assess this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 9 ‘Soviet suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary had limited impact 30 on US–Soviet relations.’ Assess this view. Responses are likely to consider the limited impact of Soviet suppression of the uprising in the short term; the move towards peaceful coexistence was only halted temporarily and the USA took no action. However, to reach a clear judgement they might weigh up that in the long term it ensured that Cold War rivalry remained as the Soviets grew more confident and the USA more determined to contain communism. In 1955, there was hope of a Cold War thaw. Khrushchev agreed to negotiate an end to the post-war occupation of Austria and allow a neutral country to be created. He also made his ‘Secret Speech’ on 24 February 1956 denouncing Stalin and spoke of ‘peaceful co-existence’. However, in June 1956, protests began in Hungary. Imre Nagy declared Hungarian neutrality on 1 November and unsuccessfully appealed to the UN for support. On 4 November the USSR invaded Hungary and quelled the rebellion. Eisenhower had promised to reduce Soviet dominance over Eastern Europe, but his ‘New Look’ foreign policy left him without any options other than nuclear war to combat Soviet aggression. He faced criticism as his policy to rollback communism did not materialise; he was not prepared to risk nuclear war to achieve it. The USA was more concerned with the Anglo-French invasion of Suez and Eisenhower was campaigning for re-election. The inaction of the USA gave the USSR confidence that they could deal with the satellite states without pressure from the West. Liberation for the satellites was a long-term US aspiration. Attempts at peaceful co-existence resumed in the late 1950s; the USA and USSR began a cultural exchange programme and in 1959, Khrushchev visited the USA meeting Eisenhower at Camp David. Both Eisenhower and Dulles realised that a dialogue was needed with the USSR because of the increased nuclear threat. The possibility of Mutually Assured Destruction made peaceful coexistence more attractive. However, it could also be argued that the impact was more far-reaching. It may not have destroyed peaceful co-existence, but it showed how fragile it was. The arms race continued. In 1957 the Soviets launched their first intercontinental ballistic missile creating US fears of a missile gap between the USSR and the USA and began the space race with the launch of Sputnik 1, the first satellite. US suspicion of the Soviets increased. Khrushchev was prepared to deviate from peaceful coexistence to retain communist control; he had become emboldened by events but underestimated the USA. This was evident during the second Berlin crisis. On 10 November 1958, he announced that within six months he would place all of Berlin under Soviet control and that there would be war if the West resisted. The West stood firm and he eventually backed down but in 1961 he ordered the building of the Berlin Wall causing further tension which was to be followed by the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 when he had to back down to avert nuclear war.

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10 ‘The Korean War was caused by Stalin’s ambition to strengthen Soviet influence in Asia.’ Assess this view. [30]

Mark scheme: 10 ‘The Korean War was caused by Stalin’s ambition to strengthen Soviet 30 influence in Asia.’ Assess this view. Responses are likely to consider Stalin’s motives for agreeing to the North’s invasion of South Korea including those regarding the People’s Republic of China (PRC). They may also weigh up the USA’s reaction to the invasion which turned a civil war into a Cold War proxy war to make a clear judgement. By January 1950, Stalin had decided that a war in Asia would draw attention away from Eastern Europe, especially after the failure of the Berlin Blockade in 1948. He also wanted to preserve Soviet strategic interests in the Far East and to prevent US influence in the region. He was motivated by achieving a Cold war success and he wanted to use the Korean War as a useful card in his struggle against the USA. Uniting Korea under communist rule would be a victory. Stalin wanted to lower the risk of war in Europe because Europe was more strategically significant than Northeast Asia. Stalin’s main priority was the national interests of the Soviet Union. He took steps to ensure that any conflict in Asia would involve Chinese or North Korean military forces, not Soviet and he planned to use the Korean War as a means of obtaining the continued isolation of the PRC from the United States. He also feared that the PRC could challenge the USSR’s dominant position in the international Communist movement. He wanted to unify the Korean peninsula and to keep the PRC under Soviet influence; the Korean War seemed to be a means of achieving both. He believed the outbreak of the war placed the PRC’s military at the service of Soviet strategy. Stalin had to ensure that the PRC would actively support North Korea before he approved Kim’s invasion plans. However, the Potsdam Conference in 1945 had decided on the division of Korea along the 38th parallel with Soviet troops occupying the North and US troops in the South. It was Kim Il Sung who wanted to unite Korea under communist rule and he sought the support of Stalin. The trigger for the war was when Syngman Rhee boasted that he was going to attack the North This provided the excuse for the North Koreans to invade the Republic of Korea (ROK) on 25 June 1950. There was a belief that the USA would not become involved. In January 1950, the US Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, in his Defense Perimeter Speech, defined the American ‘defensive perimeter’ in the Pacific as a line running through Japan, the Ryukyus, and the Philippines. He was criticised for giving Pyongyang the belief that it could pursue forcible reunification, based on the belief that the USA had ruled out military intervention to defend South Korea. Only two weeks after Acheson’s speech, on 30 January1950, Stalin issued a general approval for Kim Il-sung to launch the attack on the South. However, Truman saw the Korean War as an opportunity to persuade the USA to accept the ‘NSC 68’ report’s recommendations of heavy increases in military funding to help contain the Soviets. The war was a chance to defend a non-communist government from invasion and to contain communism. The USA also requested that the UN use force against the North Koreans to stop the communist threat. It was concerned about the domino effect and that Japan would be the next to fall to communism affecting US trade; it wanted to pursue its containment policy.

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11 Evaluate how far the UN was responsible for its failure in Somalia. [30]

Mark scheme: 11 Evaluate how far the UN was responsible for its failure in Somalia. 30 Responses might consider that the UN was impeded by the conditions that it faced in Somalia but also weigh this up against the inadequate UN response to reach a clear judgement. It could be argued that the situation in Somalia itself meant that the UN faced difficulties from the outset. President Siyad Barre fell from power in January 1991; he had ruled through his own support network and caused factional power struggles. In November 1991, there was intense fighting in Mogadishu between the factions. Armed groups controlled parts of the country and bandits made the problem worse. In March 1992 a ceasefire had been agreed and UNOSOM I was authorised by Security Council Resolution 751 of 24 April 1992. It was dispatched to monitor the ceasefire and to protect the personnel involved in the humanitarian work. The collapse of the Somali government meant that the UN was unable to obtain consent to deploy troops as a result their mandate was limited and local warlords prevented them from moving much beyond the airport in Mogadishu. Lawlessness and lack of security prevented aid from being distributed. The resulting political chaos and the extensive physical destruction severely constrained the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Several of the Somali de facto authorities refused to agree to the deployment of UN troops to secure delivery of aid in areas of greatest need. UNOSOM troops in Mogadishu were fired upon and their vehicles and arms taken. Relief ships were prevented from docking, threatened and even shelled. The lives of their personnel attempting to distribute supplies to starving people were being put in danger. However, it could also be argued that because of its inadequacies the UN set itself up to fail. UNOSOM I was dispatched by the UN in April 1992 to protect UN personnel during their humanitarian operations. However, troops often refused to accept orders from UN commanders before checking with their own governments, causing delays. Resolution 751 called for the establishment of a peacekeeping force to provide security for humanitarian activities in Mogadishu which included the deployment of 50 unarmed military observers to monitor the ceasefire agreement in the city and agree in principle to the idea of a UN force to escort the delivery of humanitarian aid. By late October 1992, it was clear that the new plan was not working as intended; the UN peacekeeping contingent could not ensure delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Somalia. Following the ineffective UNOSOM I mission, Boutros-Ghali launched the United Nations Task Force (UNITAF) in December 1992. This was an American-led force of 30 000 troops from 23 countries authorised by Security Council Resolution to provide security for relief operations. UNITAF was largely successful in supplying humanitarian aid but in March 1993 they handed over to UNOSOM II which also proved to be a failure.

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