OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study: a complete overview

OCR A-Level History Unit 2 is the non-British period study. Like the other units it is option-based, so your school chooses the period you study. This overview ties together the popular options and the two-part essay the paper demands. Each section has a matching dot-point page.

How Unit 2 works

Unit 2 lasts one hour for 30 marks and is worth 15 per cent of the A-level. You answer a single two-part question chosen from two. Part (a) (about 10 marks) assesses the significance of one named factor; part (b) (about 20 marks) requires a wider analytical judgement. Both parts test AO1 only, with no source or interpretation element.

Russia 1894 to 1941

This option studies the transformation of Russia from Tsarist autocracy to Stalin's dictatorship. Nicholas II's regime survived the 1905 revolution but collapsed in 1917 under the strain of war. The Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 and held it through the Civil War. Stalin then rose to dominance and transformed the country through collectivisation, the Five Year Plans and the Great Terror, at catastrophic human cost.

Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919 to 1963

This option traces Germany from the fragile Weimar democracy through Nazi dictatorship to the stable Federal Republic. Weimar survived early crises but was fatally weakened by the Depression; Hitler came to power in 1933 through economic crisis and elite intrigue; the Nazi dictatorship ruled through terror, propaganda and consent; and after 1945 the Federal Republic achieved stability and prosperity under Adenauer.

How Unit 2 is examined

• Part (a) (AO1). Assess the significance of one named factor, set in proportion against others, with a verdict on its weight.
• Part (b) (AO1). Build a ranked, analytical argument on the wider question and reach a substantiated judgement.