International School History - European Schools - S7 4hr option
S7 History Last update - 17 May 2023 Official European School History S7 Syllabus: English, French, German
World History 1950-60
Key Questions Lessons Additional materials and external links
What has been the shape of Chinese History in the 20th century?

Why did the Communists win the Civil War?

 China 1900-49  and China Philosophy and Culture edited extracts from Michael Lynch and a note on the transcription and pronunciation of Chinese words.

Source based activity on four reasons why the CCP defeated the GMD.

Compare these extracts from Michael Lynch and Alan Lawrance
Video on China from the 1990s documentary series People's Century.
One Man's Revolution. 20 minute video covering China 1949-76.

Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor.

Extract from Jung Chang's Wild Swans.

How did the CC transform China in the period 1949-53? Worksheet from lesson China 1949-53.

 

 

 Extended version of the worksheet for more ambitious students.

See videos above and Mao - Hero or Villain?

Extract from Alan Lawrence, China Under Communism.
What were the main features of Maoism and the origins of Sino-Soviet rivalry? Worksheet and questions
Video - Cold War episode 15 China and accompanying website. This includes a transcript of the episode.
How did Mao consolidate his power between 1953 and 1958? Worksheet from the lesson People's Century documentary video on China.

Excellent BBC slideshow on art and propaganda of Communist China.
What were the causes and consequences of the Great Leap Forward? Worksheet from the lesson.

Video Mao - Hero or villain?
Video - Cold War episode 15 China and accompanying website. This includes a transcript of the episode.

People's Century documentary video on China.

What was the USA like in the 1950s?
Edited extract from  IB 20th Century World History Course Companion

How the US Political system works - fact sheet. What was the social impact of economic growth? Revision notes and questions from  James Mason Modern World history to GCSE

Video extract from BBC People's Century series on the US economy and social impact in the 1950s.

Rock and roll music activity
Video on the 1950s boom from the 1990s documentary series People's Century.
 

The award winning BBC documentary The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis episode 2 'The Engineering of Consent'.

Walsh GCSE Modern World History for the economy during the war see pp. 366-8 and in the 1950s p.372.

For American cultural history in the 1950s see these links. A good insight into 1950s mores is through these government information films.

History of 1950s cinema.
What was McCarthyism? Revision notes and questions from  James Mason Modern World history to GCSE

Walsh GCSE Modern World History p.373-5.

Video - Cold War episode 6 Reds and accompanying website. This includes a transcript of the episode.

Hollywood feature film of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck.
What was the situation of Black Americans in the 1950s? Walsh GCSE Modern World History 376-381


Episode 1 'Eyes on the Prize' documentary series. PBS website for the series
Wikipedia on Eyes on the Prize

 People's Century video overview on the Civil Rights movement.
 
Full People's Century video which examines the situation of Blacks in South Africa and the USA.

Three part BBC documentary video on the history of racism. Episode 3 is particularly relevant to racism in 20th century USA.

More on the murder of Emmet Till.

How effective were the methods used by civil rights campaigners in the 1950s? Focus task on civil rights campaign methods. Ben Walsh GCSE Modern World History 376.

Worksheet and activity based on James Mason Modern World history to GCSE

The groundbreaking 'Eyes on the Prize' documentary series.

PBS website for the series
Wikipedia on Eyes on the Prize

See Spartacus Education or Wikipedia for encyclopaedic information on any event or character in the Civil Rights movement.
How did the USSR maintain control of Central and Eastern Europe in the period 1953-1956? De-Stalinization (case-study Poland) and Hungary 1956 worksheet

Walsh GCSE Modern World History Walsh – 400-403

 Central and Eastern European States - 1953-1956 - further details, sources and videos on Poland and Czechoslovakia on this website.

Video about the Hungarian Uprising. The highly reliable Wikipedia, the BBC and John D Clare on the Hungarian Uprising,

Video - Cold War episode 7 After Stalin and accompanying website. This includes a transcript of the episode.
How did the European project develop between 1950 and 57? Worksheet outline.

Extract from Tony Judt's Postwar

Essay plan 'How integrated was Western Europe by 1957?'. Worksheet for handwritten or electronic completion. Suggested ideas for inclusion.
The outstanding European Navigator website is a comprehensive, multilingual history of the EU.
See also the European Virtual School project on the history of the EU.
How did the Cold War develop in the 1950s? A lecture overview - text or PowerPoint.

The arms race and space race worksheet.

 Video - Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove (Wikipedia)
 
Video - Cold War episodes 8 Sputnik  website.
What were the causes and consequences of the Korean War?

 

 Edited extracts and additional questions from Steve Phillips on the Korean War. Korean War maps.

Short BBC schools video on the Korean War.

How successful had Containment been? Essay plan.

 Outstanding BBC website on North Korea today - North Korea Secretive State.
 
Video - Cold War episode 5 Korea and accompanying website. This includes a transcript of the episode.
How was decolonisation achieved 1945-54? British India and French Indochina Edited extracts from Michael Lynch - Britain 1945-2007 and Steve Phillips Cold War.

A comparative decolonisation fact file (editable Word doc.)

People's Century Video on Indian independence.
Dramatic reconstruction of creation of India and Pakistan

Gandhi: hero or villain video
Sir Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (video)

 
 

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