History A level
1917 ~ 1941 Past Paper Responses.
Nativia
2020 ~ 2021
Essay Feedback and key things to be aware
of when writing:
1
, 1. Introduction, tackle the question straight on... do not give a backstory it isn’t necessary.
2. Do not spend time on things which you do not profit on.
3. Mention that the Nazi party was really small with on 2% of ths votes before the depression. Why did they only
get 2% before the depression and got more after
4. Link the failure of the Weimar with the depression.
5. The Nazis needed more publicity and propaganda
6. Hyper inflation was in 1923 before the Great depression, therefore this wasn't such an important factor!
Hyperinflation stopped in 1923 because Shlinserman took loans from America (doors plan) and paid back
reparations. After this they got a new currency called. Hyperinflation was not seen after the great depression!!
The main problem was unemployment!!!!!!!!!
7. Always link back to the question logically
8. Try and split things into sections (historical, political, social, economical,
9. You HAVE to make a choice and a logical argument as to which factor is relatively most important. Saying they
are all equally important will never give you the highest grade. Historians have to make judgments even when
they are not 100% sure about it. It is similar to a judge in a criminal trial. He or she has to decide if this person
is innocent or guilty on the balance of the evidence. No judge can get away with saying someone is both guilty
and innocent at the same time or say they are equally guilty and equally innocent. That wouldn’t make sense
and it is the same in history.
10. To get even higher marks you need to deepen your knowledge and understanding and use even more evidence
to support your answer.
Key words:
1. demagogic
The Role of the CHEKA
Assess the role of the Cheka in securing Bolshevik control over Russia. [30]
2
, The Bolshevik party took control after the Russian revolution in 1923, it was a communist party established by
Lenin who became ruler in 1927. Because the revolution in 1917 was done to replace the Tsar with a more democratic
rule many disliked the Bolshevik party as it was seen as a ruthless party with no regard for the people. The people began
to criticize the Bolshevik party, even more, when the CHEKA was formed due to the demands of the civil war as well as
to ensure peoples absolute loyalty to the cause and to prevent counter-revolutionary activity. The CHEKA was led by
Felix Dzerzhinsky, a ruthless cut-throat man whose loyalty to Lenin was incredible and therefore, he did anything to
ensure Bolshevik control. However, the CHEKA was not the only thing which secured the Bolshevik control, there were
other factors such as the red armies advantage in the Civil war and the economic policy of war communism established
in 1918.
The CHEKA was vital to Lenin in establishing control. This was mainly because they followed his every
command, one example can be seen with the Kulaks who were peasants that refused to sell their grain to the
government for such low prices. Lenin ordered the CHEKA to abuse the peasants until compliant and in August 1918
the peasants sold their grain and the peasants were labeled anti-revolutionary and constantly ridiculed. Grain was vitle
to Bolshevik success during thr time because of the civil war, the red army needed food and if the Bolshevik party could
have the monopoly on grain they could starve the competition. Another example of the CHEKA securing Bolshevik
control can be seen with the Red Terror. This terror was initiated by three events, the first one being the assasination of
the German ambassitor to Russia who was close to Lenin, the second one was an assasination attempt againts Lenin
and the last was the murder of the head of the Petrograd CHEKA by a member of a rival anti-revolutionary
organisation. In response to this the CHEKA committed many atrocities:
First, in response to the assasination of the German Ambassitor 350 socialist were executed as well as this, 512
people were shot by the secret police due to the assassination attempt on lenin. In total, an estimated 100,000 to
500,000 people were killed during the red terror. After this, historians believe that the peasants' compliance and loyalty
to the Bolshevik party became more apparent due to the use of fear tactics and fear of speech.
Although the CHEKA was important in maintaining Bolshevik control there were other factors to consider
such as war communism and the red army’s advantages in the civil war. War communism was introduced by Lenin in
1918 and historians see it as a highly successful political policy even though it was an economic policy to begin with.
Therefore, war communism was more about establishing control than about the economy of the country. War
communism was introduced by Lenin to combat the economic problems brought on by the civil war in Russia which
included lack of resources such as grain and weapons as well as hyperinflation.
3
, Although these economical problems were not solved there were political benefits which mainly entailed
Bolshevik victory in the civil war. This was because the policy led to mass starvation and the spread of disease among
peasants who became too weak to fight against the Bolshevik party. As well as this, the policy introduced rationing
where resources were only given to favoured people such as the Bolshiviks and the red army which helped the party win
the civil war. War communism also stopped workers from controlling the factories as many began to exploit their
leadership and give themselves pay rises and fewer working hours. The CHEKA played a large role in war communism,
as they enforced all laws and requests from lenin and without them there would have been uprisings and the red army
would not have won as grain and weaponry would not be given to them.
Along with war communism the red army had a great advantage in the civil war against the White army. The
main advantage was the great military leadership of Trotsky who introduced two controversial policies: the use of
officers from the old Tsarist Army due to the red army’s lack of military professionals. Trotsky was able to control the
officers through the CHEKA by threatening the officers family thus forcing loyalty. Trotsky also imposed mass
conscription leading to the Red Army growing to an estimated five million men by the end of 1920. The Red Army also
used more propaganda as they made around 3,000 posters, they also had better geographical position in the major
cities which had communication systems and railway lines. They also had more supplies and resources because of war
communism which provided them with food and weaponry.
To conclude, the CHEKA along with war communism and the red army’s advantages worked together in
securing Bolshevik rule. Although, war communism provided the red army with their advantages and it could be argued
that without the CHEKA, war communism would never be fulfilled and peasants and biosuesies would rise up as they
would have the power to do so. The CHEKA did play a huge role in supporting the Bolshevik party as they established
the mass terror which forced the Russians to be compliant and follow all the policies included in war communism.
Therefore, it was the CHEKA who ensured Bolshevik power - they provided the grain and weaponry to the red army,
they forced the peasants to be loyal to the party and used mass terror to stop any and all revolutionary activity. Without
the CHEKA neither war communism nor the Red Army would have succeeded and the Bolshevik power wouldn't be
ensured.
4
1917 ~ 1941 Past Paper Responses.
Nativia
2020 ~ 2021
Essay Feedback and key things to be aware
of when writing:
1
, 1. Introduction, tackle the question straight on... do not give a backstory it isn’t necessary.
2. Do not spend time on things which you do not profit on.
3. Mention that the Nazi party was really small with on 2% of ths votes before the depression. Why did they only
get 2% before the depression and got more after
4. Link the failure of the Weimar with the depression.
5. The Nazis needed more publicity and propaganda
6. Hyper inflation was in 1923 before the Great depression, therefore this wasn't such an important factor!
Hyperinflation stopped in 1923 because Shlinserman took loans from America (doors plan) and paid back
reparations. After this they got a new currency called. Hyperinflation was not seen after the great depression!!
The main problem was unemployment!!!!!!!!!
7. Always link back to the question logically
8. Try and split things into sections (historical, political, social, economical,
9. You HAVE to make a choice and a logical argument as to which factor is relatively most important. Saying they
are all equally important will never give you the highest grade. Historians have to make judgments even when
they are not 100% sure about it. It is similar to a judge in a criminal trial. He or she has to decide if this person
is innocent or guilty on the balance of the evidence. No judge can get away with saying someone is both guilty
and innocent at the same time or say they are equally guilty and equally innocent. That wouldn’t make sense
and it is the same in history.
10. To get even higher marks you need to deepen your knowledge and understanding and use even more evidence
to support your answer.
Key words:
1. demagogic
The Role of the CHEKA
Assess the role of the Cheka in securing Bolshevik control over Russia. [30]
2
, The Bolshevik party took control after the Russian revolution in 1923, it was a communist party established by
Lenin who became ruler in 1927. Because the revolution in 1917 was done to replace the Tsar with a more democratic
rule many disliked the Bolshevik party as it was seen as a ruthless party with no regard for the people. The people began
to criticize the Bolshevik party, even more, when the CHEKA was formed due to the demands of the civil war as well as
to ensure peoples absolute loyalty to the cause and to prevent counter-revolutionary activity. The CHEKA was led by
Felix Dzerzhinsky, a ruthless cut-throat man whose loyalty to Lenin was incredible and therefore, he did anything to
ensure Bolshevik control. However, the CHEKA was not the only thing which secured the Bolshevik control, there were
other factors such as the red armies advantage in the Civil war and the economic policy of war communism established
in 1918.
The CHEKA was vital to Lenin in establishing control. This was mainly because they followed his every
command, one example can be seen with the Kulaks who were peasants that refused to sell their grain to the
government for such low prices. Lenin ordered the CHEKA to abuse the peasants until compliant and in August 1918
the peasants sold their grain and the peasants were labeled anti-revolutionary and constantly ridiculed. Grain was vitle
to Bolshevik success during thr time because of the civil war, the red army needed food and if the Bolshevik party could
have the monopoly on grain they could starve the competition. Another example of the CHEKA securing Bolshevik
control can be seen with the Red Terror. This terror was initiated by three events, the first one being the assasination of
the German ambassitor to Russia who was close to Lenin, the second one was an assasination attempt againts Lenin
and the last was the murder of the head of the Petrograd CHEKA by a member of a rival anti-revolutionary
organisation. In response to this the CHEKA committed many atrocities:
First, in response to the assasination of the German Ambassitor 350 socialist were executed as well as this, 512
people were shot by the secret police due to the assassination attempt on lenin. In total, an estimated 100,000 to
500,000 people were killed during the red terror. After this, historians believe that the peasants' compliance and loyalty
to the Bolshevik party became more apparent due to the use of fear tactics and fear of speech.
Although the CHEKA was important in maintaining Bolshevik control there were other factors to consider
such as war communism and the red army’s advantages in the civil war. War communism was introduced by Lenin in
1918 and historians see it as a highly successful political policy even though it was an economic policy to begin with.
Therefore, war communism was more about establishing control than about the economy of the country. War
communism was introduced by Lenin to combat the economic problems brought on by the civil war in Russia which
included lack of resources such as grain and weapons as well as hyperinflation.
3
, Although these economical problems were not solved there were political benefits which mainly entailed
Bolshevik victory in the civil war. This was because the policy led to mass starvation and the spread of disease among
peasants who became too weak to fight against the Bolshevik party. As well as this, the policy introduced rationing
where resources were only given to favoured people such as the Bolshiviks and the red army which helped the party win
the civil war. War communism also stopped workers from controlling the factories as many began to exploit their
leadership and give themselves pay rises and fewer working hours. The CHEKA played a large role in war communism,
as they enforced all laws and requests from lenin and without them there would have been uprisings and the red army
would not have won as grain and weaponry would not be given to them.
Along with war communism the red army had a great advantage in the civil war against the White army. The
main advantage was the great military leadership of Trotsky who introduced two controversial policies: the use of
officers from the old Tsarist Army due to the red army’s lack of military professionals. Trotsky was able to control the
officers through the CHEKA by threatening the officers family thus forcing loyalty. Trotsky also imposed mass
conscription leading to the Red Army growing to an estimated five million men by the end of 1920. The Red Army also
used more propaganda as they made around 3,000 posters, they also had better geographical position in the major
cities which had communication systems and railway lines. They also had more supplies and resources because of war
communism which provided them with food and weaponry.
To conclude, the CHEKA along with war communism and the red army’s advantages worked together in
securing Bolshevik rule. Although, war communism provided the red army with their advantages and it could be argued
that without the CHEKA, war communism would never be fulfilled and peasants and biosuesies would rise up as they
would have the power to do so. The CHEKA did play a huge role in supporting the Bolshevik party as they established
the mass terror which forced the Russians to be compliant and follow all the policies included in war communism.
Therefore, it was the CHEKA who ensured Bolshevik power - they provided the grain and weaponry to the red army,
they forced the peasants to be loyal to the party and used mass terror to stop any and all revolutionary activity. Without
the CHEKA neither war communism nor the Red Army would have succeeded and the Bolshevik power wouldn't be
ensured.
4
