AQA A-level HISTORY 7042/2K Component 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Version: 1.0 Final IB/M/Jun23/E4 7042/2K A-level HISTORY/QUESTION PAPER & MARKING SCHEME/ [MERGED] Mark scheme June 2023

AQA A-level HISTORY 7042/2K Component 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Version: 1.0 Final IB/M/Jun23/E4 7042/2K A-level HISTORY Component 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Friday 9 June 2023 Afternoon Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7042/2K. • Answer three questions. In Section A answer Question 01. In Section B answer two questions. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 80. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice • You are advised to spend about: – 1 hour on Question 01 from Section A – 45 minutes on each of the two questions answered from Section B. 2 IB/M/Jun23/7042/2K Section A Answer Question 01. Source A From a memo sent to members of the Polish Government by Polish Foreign Minister, Jozef Beck, 23 August 1939. Today’s announcements about the intended Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact prove conclusively that the Soviet government has been playing a double game for a long time, seeking to break our negotiations with Paris and London. We cannot be blamed for what is happening. In view of the significance of today’s events, I believe that the only answer is closer cooperation between England, France and Poland. The Germans will certainly encounter difficulties in negotiations with the Soviets. The Nazi-Soviet Pact surely implies there will be a collapse of Hitler’s ideology and of the Anti-Comintern Pact. Under these conditions, much depends on the decisive attitude of governments and the press in England, France and Poland. If necessary, I agree to publish the final phase of our negotiations with Moscow. These clearly show the dishonesty of the Soviet Union. I will also manage the attitude of our press and public opinion towards this aggressive Nazi-Soviet Pact. 5 10 Source B From a radio broadcast by William Joyce, 23 June 1941. Joyce, a former member of the British Union of Fascists, broadcast to the UK from Hamburg throughout the war. When, on 23 August 1939, Adolf Hitler made a pact of friendship with Joseph Stalin, some of you may have wondered if Hitler had betrayed western civilisation by siding with the Communists. Yesterday in his proclamation of Operation Barbarossa, the Führer was able to speak openly for the first time about the Nazi-Soviet Pact. He said that it was with a heavy heart that he sent his Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, to Moscow that summer. However, he felt Britain left him no other choice but to take action as Britain had worked extremely hard throughout the summer of 1939 to build up a coalition of forces against the Third Reich. Hitler was compelled in self-defence to conclude a pact of immediate friendship with the Soviet Union, in which the signatories agreed not to attack each other and defined spheres of interest in Eastern Europe, ensuring Germany’s borders were secure. 5 10 3 IB/M/Jun23/7042/2K Turn over ► Source C From the memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, 1971. Khrushchev was the secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee in 1939 and was with Stalin when the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed. I believe the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 was historically inevitable, given the circumstances of the time, and that in the final analysis it was profitable for the Soviet Union. It was a gamble: if we hadn’t made that move, our war against Germany would have started earlier, much to our disadvantage. It was very hard for us – as Communists, as anti-Fascists – to accept the idea of joining forces with Germany. For their part, the Germans too were using the treaty as a manoeuvre to win time. Their idea was to divide and conquer the nations which had united against Germany in the First World War and which might unite against Germany again. Hitler wanted to deal with his adversaries one at a time. Hitler was convinced that Germany had been defeated in the First World War because Germany tried to fight on two fronts at once. The pact Hitler signed with us was his way of trying to limit the coming war to one front. 5 10 0 1 With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the Nazi-Soviet Pact. [30 marks] Turn over for Section B 4 IB/M/Jun23/7042/2K Section B Answer two questions. 0 2 To what extent was the growth of rival alliance systems, in the years 1902 to 1911, provoked by German foreign policy? [25 marks] 0 3 ‘In the years 1911 to 1914, it was the actions of Austria-Hungary that were responsible for the outbreak of war in Europe.’ Assess the validity of this view. [25 marks] 0 4 ‘In the years 1923 to 1928, attempts at disarmament and conciliation in international relations were a failure.’ Assess the validity of this view. [25 marks] END OF QUESTIONS Copyright information For confidentiality purposes, all acknowledgements of third-party copyright material are published in a separate booklet. This booklet is published after each live examination series and is available for free download from Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team. Copyright © 2023 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. *236A7042/2K* A-level HISTORY 7042/2K Component 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Mark scheme June 2023 Version: 1.0 Final *236A7042/2K/MS* MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/2K – JUNE 2023 2 Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are required to refer these to the Lead Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. Further copies of this mark scheme are available from Copyright information AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Copyright © 2023 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/2K – JUNE 2023 3 Level of response marking instructions Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level. Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme. Step 1 Determine a level Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With practice and familiarity, you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the lower levels of the mark scheme. When assigning a level, you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within the level, ie if the response is predominantly Level 3 with a small amount of Level 4 material it would be placed in Level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the Level 4 content. Step 2 Determine a mark Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. There will be an answer in the standardising materials which will correspond with each level of the mark scheme. This answer will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer with the example to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example. You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate. Indicative content in the mark scheme is provided as a guide for examiners. It is not intended to be exhaustive and you must credit other valid points. Students do not have to cover all of the points mentioned in the Indicative content to reach the highest level of the mark scheme. An answer which contains nothing of relevance to the question must be awarded no marks. MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/2K – JUNE 2023 4 Section A 0 1 With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the Nazi-Soviet Pact. [30 marks] Target: AO2 Analyse and evaluate appropriate source material, primary and/or contemporary to the period, within the historical context. Generic Mark Scheme L5: Shows a very good understanding of all three sources in relation to both content and provenance and combines this with a strong awareness of the historical context to present a balanced argument on their value for the particular purpose given in the question. The answer will convey a substantiated judgement. The response demonstrates a very good understanding of context. 25–30 L4: Shows a good understanding of all three sources in relation to both content and provenance and combines this with an awareness of the historical context to provide a balanced argument on their value for the particular purpose given in the question. Judgements may, however, be partial or limited in substantiation. The response demonstrates a good understanding of context. 19–24 L3: Shows some understanding of all three sources in relation to both content and provenance together with some awareness of the historical context. There may, however, be some imbalance in the degree of breadth and depth of comment offered on all three sources and the analysis may not be fully convincing. The answer will make some attempt to consider the value of the sources for the particular purpose given in the question. The response demonstrates an understanding of context. 13–18 L2: The answer will be partial. It may, for example, provide some comment on the value of the sources for the particular purpose given in the question but only address one or two of the sources, or focus exclusively on content (or provenance), or it may consider all three sources but fail to address the value of the sources for the particular purpose given in the question. The response demonstrates some understanding of context. 7–12 L1: The answer will offer some comment on the value of at least one source in relation to the purpose given in the question but the response will be limited and may be partially inaccurate. Comments are likely to be unsupported, vague or generalist. The response demonstrates limited understanding of context. 1–6 Nothing worthy of credit. 0 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/2K – JUNE 2023 5 Indicative content Note: This content is not prescriptive and students are not obliged to refer to the material contained in this mark scheme. Any legitimate answer will be assessed on its merits according to the generic levels scheme. Students must deploy knowledge of the historical context to show an understanding of the relationship between the sources and the issues raised in the question, when assessing the significance of provenance, the arguments deployed in the sources and the tone and emphasis of the sources. Descriptive answers which fail to do this should be awarded no more than Level 2 at best. Answers should address both the value and the limitations of the sources for the particular question and purpose given. Source A: in assessing the value of this source, students may refer to the following: Provenance, tone and emphasis • as Polish foreign minister, who has spent most of the 1930s trying to make deals/alliances with the rest of Europe, Beck’s position within the Polish Government gives valuable insight into what the Poles thought about the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact • Beck’s memo is sent on the day of the Nazi-Soviet Pact which is valuable as it demonstrates his instant reaction to the Pact which threatened the existence of Poland • being a memo to the Polish Government – Beck’s purpose is to express to the Government his anger and his plans of how to react to the Pact • the type of the source is valuable to an historian as it shows Polish naivety and a sense of inevitability of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Also, the fact that Beck’s tone is defensive and angry that the Soviets have ‘played’ Poland is valuable as it shows Poland’s vulnerable situation. Content and argument • Beck’s argument that the Soviets have been playing a ‘double game’ is valuable because in early August the Soviets had tried to make an agreement with Britain and France. The London negotiations would have seen an Anglo-German alliance so Beck is valuable here in his suggestion that Stalin had proposed a Nazi-Soviet Pact in order to stop an Anglo-Polish pact. However, Beck’s stance is slightly limited because throughout 1939, Beck had tried to negotiate with multiple powers and it was his decision against Soviet troops in Poland that led to Stalin pursuing the Nazi-Soviet Pact • Beck’s threat to publish the Moscow negotiations is valuable because Poland had at that point been trying to get a deal with the Soviets. By doing this, Beck was trying to ‘intimidate’ Stalin with a threat but it would fall on deaf ears as Stalin was happy with the outcome of the Pact • Beck argues that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was completely against the ideology of Adolf Hitler as the Soviets were the antithesis of Nazism. The context could be that Hitler had signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan in 1936 • Beck’s suggestion that consolidation with allies is top priority is valuable because of the vulnerable situation Poland found itself in with two huge powers having agreed to share Poland between them. The British-Polish Act was confirmed on 25 August – confirms the Poles’ change in attitude towards Britain after the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed. MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/2K – JUNE 2023 6 Source B: in assessing the value of this source, students may refer to the following: Provenance, tone and emphasis • as a Fascist, Joyce’s tone is apologist – he is defending Hitler’s actions siding with the Communist, Soviet Union to British people – Britain had a chance to join with the Nazis against Stalin and they didn’t take it • the broadcast is the day after Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa so Joyce knows the Pact has been broken and now Hitler is forgiven for the ‘betrayal of western civilisation’ giving the source value as a live commentary of events • as a member of the BUF who fled Britain, Joyce would have an anti-British stance excusing German actions – many of his radio reports were ‘digs’ at Britain so could be classed as limited • the emphasis of Joyce is valuable to an historian as it shows the Nazi stance on the USSR and their disbelief that the Western powers are against Germany and not the Soviets. Content and argument • Joyce argues that Britain forced Hitler into the Pact by their ‘aggressive’ stance in the late 1930s, eg the agreement with France to defend Poland if attacked and the Anti-Comintern Pact. This is limited as it is an over exaggeration as Hitler had been aggressive