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World History Topics (Paper 2, choose 2 of 12) practice questions.

471 exam-style questions on World History Topics (Paper 2, choose 2 of 12) with answers and explanations. Six real samples below — the full set is free with an account.

Syllabus

Topics covered

Key terms

Definitions you need

the Cold War policy of 'containment
Containment, associated with the ideas of US diplomat George Kennan, was the strategy of preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders through political, economic and military means, rather than directly rolling it back.
propaganda (as a method of maintaining power)
Information, often biased or misleading, spread systematically to shape public opinion and promote a political cause or leader.
single-party state
A state in which one political party holds a monopoly on legitimate political power, banning or suppressing rival parties and controlling government, often alongside the media, courts and security forces.
total war
A war in which a state mobilises all its resources, economy, population and industry, toward the war effort, and in which the distinction between military and civilian targets often breaks down.
sphere of influence
A region over which a great power exercises significant political, economic or military dominance, expecting states within it to align with its interests, even without formal annexation.
demesne' as used in medieval manorial economy
The demesne was the portion of a manor's land kept by the lord for his own direct use and profit, rather than being leased to tenant peasants. It was typically worked by the labour services (corvée) of the manor's serfs and villeins.
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Sample questions

The Enabling Act, passed in March 1933, allowed Hitler to:

  • Pass laws without the Reichstag's approval
  • Dissolve the League of Nations
  • Nationalise all German industry immediately
  • Personally command the Reichswehr in wartime

Answer: Pass laws without the Reichstag's approval

The Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz) of 23 March 1933 gave Hitler's cabinet the power to pass laws without Reichstag approval for four years, effectively establishing the legal basis for dictatorship.

Stalin's first Five-Year Plan (1928–1932) prioritised:

  • Heavy industry and farm collectivisation
  • Consumer goods and light industry
  • Free-market reforms and private enterprise
  • Demilitarisation and reduced state spending

Answer: Heavy industry and farm collectivisation

The first Five-Year Plan emphasised heavy industry (coal, steel, iron, machinery) and the forced collectivisation of agriculture. This ended the NEP and aimed to transform the USSR into an industrial power.

The Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) is most associated with:

  • Communes and backyard steel-making
  • Rapid privatisation of farmland
  • Opening China to Western investment
  • A ban on all industrial production

Answer: Communes and backyard steel-making

The Great Leap Forward tried to accelerate industrial and agricultural output through communes and backyard steel production. Poor planning and false reporting produced the Great Chinese Famine (roughly 1959–1961), killing tens of millions.

Which of the following was a key method Castro used to consolidate power in Cuba after 1959?

  • Nationalising industry and creating the CDRs
  • Restoring free multi-party elections
  • Returning US-owned businesses to their owners
  • Abolishing the state education system

Answer: Nationalising industry and creating the CDRs

Castro nationalised industry (including US-owned firms) and created neighbourhood Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDRs) in 1960 to monitor the population, alongside literacy and healthcare campaigns to build support.

The 1929 Lateran Treaty (Lateran Pacts) between Mussolini's Italy and the papacy:

  • Made Vatican City a sovereign state
  • Abolished the Catholic Church in Italy
  • Created a communist government in Rome
  • Gave Italy control of the League of Nations

Answer: Made Vatican City a sovereign state

The Lateran Pacts of 1929 settled the long-standing 'Roman Question', recognising the Vatican as an independent state and Catholicism as Italy's state religion. This gained Mussolini valuable support from the Church.

The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategy to:

  • Defeat France fast, then turn east to Russia
  • Invade Britain across the Channel first
  • Avoid war on any front
  • Attack the United States before it could mobilise

Answer: Defeat France fast, then turn east to Russia

The Schlieffen Plan aimed to avoid a prolonged two-front war by rapidly defeating France through Belgium before Russia fully mobilised. Its failure at the Battle of the Marne (September 1914) led to trench warfare.

That was 6 of 471 World History Topics (Paper 2, choose 2 of 12) questions.

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471 World History Topics (Paper 2, choose 2 of 12) questions — free with an account. Spaced repetition, streaks and full exam simulations included.

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