AQA A-level History · 1L

The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991

50 exam-style questions with answers for 1L The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991 in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two features of the 1871 constitution. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: a federal state of 25 states dominated by Prussia (1); the Kaiser appointed the Chancellor (1); the Reichstag was elected by universal male suffrage (1); the Bundesrat represented the states (1).
Question 2 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Kulturkampf? [1 mark]
Answer:
Bismarck’s campaign in the 1870s against the Catholic Church and the Centre Party.
Question 3 · Spec 1L, Part one
What were the Anti-Socialist Laws (1878)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Laws banning socialist meetings, organisations and newspapers, though the SPD could still stand for election.
Question 4 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two of Bismarck’s social insurance laws. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: sickness insurance (1883) (1); accident insurance (1884) (1); old age and disability pensions (1889) (1).
Question 5 · Spec 1L, Part one
Why did Bismarck resign in 1890? [1 mark]
Answer:
He clashed with the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, over policy and power.
Question 6 · Spec 1L, Part one
Define the term ‘personal rule’ under Wilhelm II. [1 mark]
Answer:
Wilhelm’s attempt to govern directly through his chancellors and court rather than through Parliament.
Question 7 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Daily Telegraph Affair (1908)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A tactless interview by the Kaiser that caused a political crisis and criticism in the Reichstag.
Question 8 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Zabern Affair (1913)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Military abuses in Alsace led the Reichstag to pass a vote of no confidence, which the government ignored.
Question 9 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two features of German industrial growth before 1914. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: coal and steel output overtook Britain’s (1); new chemical and electrical industries (1); cartels (1); railways (1).
Question 10 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the ‘Silent Dictatorship’? [1 mark]
Answer:
The control of Germany by Hindenburg and Ludendorff from 1916 to 1918.
Question 11 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Weimar constitution’s Article 48? [1 mark]
Answer:
It allowed the President to rule by decree in an emergency.
Question 12 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two weaknesses of the Weimar constitution. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: proportional representation led to unstable coalitions (1); Article 48 (1); the army and judges were unreformed (1).
Question 13 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Stab in the Back myth? [1 mark]
Answer:
The claim that the army had not been defeated in 1918 but betrayed by politicians at home.
Question 14 · Spec 1L, Part one
What did Stresemann achieve? [2 marks]
Answer:
He ended hyperinflation with the Rentenmark (1); he restored Germany’s international position through Locarno (1925) and League membership (1926) (1).
Question 15 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the role of the Junkers? [1 mark]
Answer:
Prussian landowning aristocrats who dominated the army, civil service and politics.
Question 16 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two parties in the Kaiserreich and their supporters. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Centre Party (Catholics) (1); SPD (workers) (1); National Liberals (middle class) (1); Conservatives (Junkers) (1).
Question 17 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Navy League? [1 mark]
Answer:
A pressure group founded in 1898 supporting naval expansion.
Question 18 · Spec 1L, Part one
Explain why the SPD grew before 1914. [2 marks]
Answer:
Industrial workers grew in number (1); it became the largest party in the Reichstag in 1912 (1).
Question 19 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Spartacist Rising (1919)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A communist uprising in Berlin, crushed by the Freikorps.
Question 20 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Kapp Putsch (1920)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A right-wing coup in Berlin defeated by a general strike.
Question 21 · Spec 1L, Part one
What happened in 1923? [2 marks]
Answer:
The French occupied the Ruhr and hyperinflation peaked (1); Hitler’s Munich Putsch failed (1).
Question 22 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Dawes Plan (1924)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It reduced annual reparations and provided US loans.
Question 23 · Spec 1L, Part one
What was the Young Plan (1929)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It reduced total reparations and extended the payment period.
Question 24 · Spec 1L, Part one
State two features of Weimar culture. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Bauhaus design (1); expressionist cinema (1); cabaret (1); new freedoms for women (1).
Question 25 · Spec 1L, Part two
How did Brüning govern (1930–1932)? [1 mark]
Answer:
By presidential decree under Article 48, with deflationary policies.
Question 26 · Spec 1L, Part two
When did Hitler become Chancellor? [1 mark]
Answer:
30 January 1933.
Question 27 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was Gleichschaltung? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Nazi ‘coordination’ of all institutions and organisations under Nazi control.
Question 28 · Spec 1L, Part two
Define the term ‘Volksgemeinschaft’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The Nazi ideal of a racially pure people’s community united behind the Führer.
Question 29 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Four Year Plan (1936)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Göring’s plan to prepare the economy for war through autarky and rearmament.
Question 30 · Spec 1L, Part two
What were the four occupation zones after 1945? [1 mark]
Answer:
Areas controlled by the USA, USSR, Britain and France.
Question 31 · Spec 1L, Part two
When were the FRG and GDR founded? [1 mark]
Answer:
1949.
Question 32 · Spec 1L, Part two
State two features of the Basic Law (1949). [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: a federal system (1); a strong chancellor and the constructive vote of no confidence (1); a 5% threshold for Bundestag seats (1); a constitutional court (1).
Question 33 · Spec 1L, Part two
Who was Konrad Adenauer? [1 mark]
Answer:
The first Chancellor of West Germany (1949–1963), leader of the CDU.
Question 34 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the ‘economic miracle’ (Wirtschaftswunder)? [1 mark]
Answer:
West Germany’s rapid post-war economic growth, linked to Ludwig Erhard’s social market economy.
Question 35 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Grand Coalition (1966–1969)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD led by Kiesinger.
Question 36 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was Ostpolitik? [1 mark]
Answer:
Willy Brandt’s policy of improving relations with East Germany and Eastern Europe.
Question 37 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Red Army Faction? [1 mark]
Answer:
A left-wing terrorist group (the Baader-Meinhof gang) that carried out attacks in the 1970s.
Question 38 · Spec 1L, Part two
Who were the Greens? [1 mark]
Answer:
An environmental and anti-nuclear party that entered the Bundestag in 1983.
Question 39 · Spec 1L, Part two
When did the Berlin Wall fall? [1 mark]
Answer:
9 November 1989.
Question 40 · Spec 1L, Part two
When was Germany reunified? [1 mark]
Answer:
3 October 1990, under Helmut Kohl.
Question 41 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Enabling Act (1933)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It gave Hitler the power to make laws without the Reichstag.
Question 42 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Night of the Long Knives (1934)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Hitler’s purge of the SA leadership, including Röhm.
Question 43 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the July Plot (1944)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An army officers’ attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb.
Question 44 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was denazification? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Allied programme to remove Nazis from public life after 1945.
Question 45 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Berlin Blockade (1948–1949)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet closure of land routes to West Berlin, defeated by the Airlift.
Question 46 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the Spiegel Affair (1962)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A scandal over a raid on Der Spiegel magazine, which damaged Adenauer’s government.
Question 47 · Spec 1L, Part two
Who was Helmut Schmidt? [1 mark]
Answer:
SPD Chancellor from 1974 to 1982.
Question 48 · Spec 1L, Part two
Who was Helmut Kohl? [1 mark]
Answer:
CDU Chancellor from 1982 to 1998, who led reunification.
Question 49 · Spec 1L, Part two
What were the student protests of 1968? [1 mark]
Answer:
Demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the Grand Coalition’s emergency laws and the Nazi past.
Question 50 · Spec 1L, Part two
What was the German Autumn (1977)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A wave of Red Army Faction kidnappings and murders.

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