| S7 History |
Last
update -
17 May 2023 |
Official European
School History S7 Syllabus:
English,
French,
German |
 |
|
World History 1945-50 |
|
Key Questions |
Lessons |
Additional materials and external links |
| So... what
is history after all? or 'reality no longer is what it was when
it was; it cannot be reconstructed’ |
This first unit of
study is available as a website
and a downloadable work
booklet and PowerPoint.
S7 4hour summary
syllabus (PDF). |
Selected
extract about the problem of memory from Milan Kundera's
Ignorance.
Extract from EH Carr's
What is History? on the subjectivity of Stresemann's
archive.
Extract from Keith Jenkins's post-modern classic
Rethinking History.
History
as art and science - J Bronowski -
video |
|
What was the impact of WWII on Europe? |
Video on the
war in Eastern Europe.
Notes from the film. Video - World
at War - The classic series from the 1970s
Video - World War II Behind Closed Doors
Essay on the events of WWII in Europe. |
Video on
World War II. See my IB
website
for an extended version of the essay.
Walsh
GCSE Modern World History
Chapter 10 279-316 provides an informative well illustrated
overview from a British perspective. |
| What were
the main events in world history 1945-50 |
Timeline of essential information. |
Quiz
on the details of the timeline. |
| What were
the earliest origins of the Cold War? |
Edited
extract from
Steve Phillips,
The Cold War.
|
The UK National Archive has an excellent
website that includes a fascinating look at documents from
the period
before 1939 and during
WWII. See the wonderful
John D Clare for clear link-rich explanations of all
features of the early Cold War.
 |
People's Century
video
which examines the Cold War 1945-61. A good introductory
overview. |
|
|
What were the decisions and resulting tensions of
Yalta and Potsdam? |
Summary
tables of Yalta and Potsdam. Walsh
GCSE Modern World History
318-323
Video on the conference
at Potsdam. |
|
|
What were the three main sources of tension
between the USA and the USSR in the post-war period? |
Cold War 1945-47
PowerPoint.
Geoffrey Roberts on why the Cold war began between 1945-47.
Edited
PDF and original
article. |
Walsh
GCSE Modern World History
318-323 |
| Why was
the Marshall Plan so significant? |
Questions based on an edited extract from Tony Judt's
Postwar |
The
unedited version of the Judt extract. Detailed
presentation
on the Marshall Plan.
|
|
Source of tension 1: How did the Soviet Union gain control of central
and eastern Europe? |
Learn the details of the geography and timing of the takeover.
Annotated map. Complete this
table based on this
extract from the IB course companion about Poland and
Czechoslovakia. Summarise the concerns
of Western governments in a letter to President Truman.
Activity from Walsh p.330
GCSE Modern World History
Extra
information
from James Mason
Modern World history to GCSE
|
Walsh
GCSE Modern World History
322-30
Video on the
'salami tactics' takeover of central and eastern Europe.
L'Aveu
a 1970 French-Italian film directed by Costa Gavras and stars
Yves Montand. It is based on the true story of the Czechoslovak
communist Artur London, a defendant in the Slánský trial. |
| Source of
tension 2: What was the 'German problem' and why was it so
central to the early stages of the Cold War? |
Complete the three sets
of activities in this
article about Germany 1945-53.
Extra info -
Worksheet James Mason
Modern World history to GCSE
Short
video as seen in the lesson.
|
Walsh
GCSE Modern World History
318-323. Films about the
Nuremberg Trials. Denazification images from the outstanding
GHDI website.
President Truman library
activity on the Berlin Airlift. Old British
newsreel about the Airlift.
|
|
Source of tension 3: How was Europe reconstructed
after the war and what were the origins of the European Union? |
PowerPoint
introduction to the origins of the European Union.
Why did French attitudes to Germany change?
(extract
with questions from Tony Judt's
Postwar)
Why did American attitudes towards Germany
change? (article
with questions)
Textbook
extract on the origins of the EU with source based questions
to be answered. Tony Judt extract on the
origins of the EU and
why Britain didn't join. |
More detailed
extract from Tony Judt's
Postwar on the Origins of the EU.
Tony Judt on Postwar
Benelux
The
European Virtual School project on the history of the EU.
The Morgenthau plan from
Wikipedia and Roosevelt's archived responses are
here. |
| End of
Unit Test - 10th November 2011 Factual
knowledge and document paper. |
Revision quiz |
|
| A Third
Europe: in addition to the satellite states of the USSR and the western
states constructing the EEC what other situations exist 1945-57? |
Paired
research activity and presentation on one of the European
states not in the USSR sphere of influence or the original EU
six. All groups are expected to complete a one page
fact sheet. |
My website
has relevant sections on
Spain
and the UK.
Other relevant countries include Greece, Yugoslavia, Nordic
countries, Austria, Portugal. Tony Judt
on postwar
Austria. |
|
Who was responsible for the start of the Cold
War? |
PowerPoint from lesson.
Reading from
Steve Philips Cold war on the historiography of the Cold
War.
Lecture and
additional materials on the historiography and an essay by
Bradley Lightbody. Documentary film
making activity. |
John D Clare on the historiographical debate. See my
student's
documentary films on the origins of the Cold War on the
University of East Anglia website.
Student
Documentaries from 2011
Student
Documentaries from 2012 |
 |
