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Non-British Period Study (Unit 2)

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Germany move from the Weimar democracy through Nazi dictatorship to the Federal Republic between 1919 and 1963?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y221 Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919 to 1963): the establishment and crises of the Weimar Republic, the Stresemann recovery, and the strains that left democracy vulnerable by 1929.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to Germany from 1919 to 1963. Covers the establishment and early crises of the Weimar Republic, the Treaty of Versailles and hyperinflation, the Stresemann recovery, and the structural weaknesses that left democracy vulnerable to the Depression, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How and why did Russia change from Tsarist autocracy under Nicholas II to Stalin's dictatorship between 1894 and 1941?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y219 Russia 1894 to 1941): the rule of Nicholas II and the problems of Tsarism, the 1905 revolution and its aftermath, the impact of war and the road to revolution.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to Russia from 1894 to 1941. Covers the rule of Nicholas II and the problems of Tsarism, the 1905 revolution and the Dumas, Stolypin's reforms, and the strains of the First World War that led to 1917, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How did Stalin gain power and transform the Soviet Union through collectivisation, industrialisation and terror between 1928 and 1941?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y219 Russia 1894 to 1941): Stalin's rise to power after Lenin's death, collectivisation and the Five Year Plans, and the Great Terror and the consolidation of the Stalinist state.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to Stalin and the Soviet state from 1928 to 1941. Covers Stalin's rise to power after Lenin's death, collectivisation and the famine, the Five Year Plans and rapid industrialisation, and the Great Terror and show trials, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

Why did the Weimar Republic collapse and Hitler come to power between 1929 and 1933?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y221 Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919 to 1963): the impact of the Depression, the rise of Nazi support, the failure of presidential government, and Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to the collapse of Weimar and the rise of Hitler from 1929 to 1933. Covers the impact of the Depression, the growth of Nazi support, the failure of presidential government under Bruning, Papen and Schleicher, and the intrigue that made Hitler Chancellor, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How did Hitler consolidate power and control Germany as a dictatorship between 1933 and 1945?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y221 Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919 to 1963): the consolidation of Nazi power, the machinery of the dictatorship through terror, propaganda and Gleichschaltung, and the balance of consent and coercion.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to the Nazi dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. Covers the consolidation of power through the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act and the Night of the Long Knives, the machinery of control through terror, propaganda and Gleichschaltung, and the debate over consent and coercion, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

Why did the Provisional Government fall and the Bolsheviks seize power in 1917, and how did they hold it?

Unit 2 Option (e.g. Y219 Russia 1894 to 1941): the February Revolution and dual power, the failures of the Provisional Government, the October Revolution and the Bolshevik seizure of power, and the survival of the regime in the Civil War.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 non-British period study guide to the Russian revolutions of 1917. Covers the February Revolution and dual power, the failures of the Provisional Government, Lenin and the October Revolution, and how the Bolsheviks survived the Civil War through War Communism and Trotsky's Red Army, with the two-part essay skills the paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How do you answer the Unit 2 two-part essay, the shorter significance part and the longer analytical part?

Unit 2: the two-part question, managing the shorter part (a) on the significance of one factor and the longer part (b) on a wider analytical judgement, both testing AO1 under time pressure.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 2 guide to the two-part essay. Explains how to manage the shorter part (a) on the significance of one factor and the longer part (b) on a wider analytical judgement, how to time the answers, and the AO1 essay skills the non-British study rewards, with a worked example.
13 min answer →