World History : Restructuring after the World Wars

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Restructuring After The World Wars

What was NOT one of the major consequences of the Marshall Plan?

Possible Answers:

Quicker economic recovery for Western Europe compared to the Warsaw Pact nations.

Revolts in Warsaw Pact nations such as Czechoslovakia.

Stronger diplomatic ties between Western Europe and the United States.

Creation of the Molotov Plan, the Soviet Union's attempt to give aid to Warsaw Pact nations.

Correct answer:

Revolts in Warsaw Pact nations such as Czechoslovakia.

Explanation:

Although Czechoslovakia did have a famous revolt known as the Prague Spring, it did not occur until 1968, much after the Marshall Plan was implemented. 

Example Question #2 : Restructuring After The World Wars

Which of these was NOT a provision of the Treaty of Versailles?

Possible Answers:

Germany had to demilitarize the Rhineland

The Weimar Republic of Germany was established

Germany had to pay reparations for war damages

Limitations were put on the German airforce, navy and army

Correct answer:

The Weimar Republic of Germany was established

Explanation:

The Weimar Republic was formed about a year before the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. However, Germany was forced to shrink their military, pay reparations for war damages to France, England and other countries, and Germany could not have a military presence in the Rhineland.

Example Question #3 : Restructuring After The World Wars

Which of these countries was NOT formed by the Treaty of Versailles?

Possible Answers:

Ukraine

Lithuania

Poland

Latvia

Correct answer:

Ukraine

Explanation:

All of the above countries were formed after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 except for Ukraine. Ukraine was founded in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when it officially became an independent, sovereign state. 

Example Question #3 : Restructuring After The World Wars

Why did the United States opt out of the League of Nations despite it being the vision of US president Woodrow Wilson?

Possible Answers:

Wilson later changed his mind about the League of Nations, seeing it as a frivolous organization

The United States could not afford membership dues because of World War I spending

The United States did not want to be associated with "inferior" nations such as Japan, The Soviet Union, and the Ottoman Empire

A growing American sentiment of isolationism led to anything that would have the United States involved in European troubles

Correct answer:

A growing American sentiment of isolationism led to anything that would have the United States involved in European troubles

Explanation:

After World War I, the US became very isolationist, seeing European entanglements as the reason for why it had to fight in the war in the first place. Additionally, the political climate was very cold during this period as Wilson had intense rivalries with Republican politicians such as Henry Cabot Lodge.

Example Question #4 : Restructuring After The World Wars

Which of the following sets of European countries were created through international agreements in the postwar world?

Possible Answers:

Finland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland

Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria

Finland, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia

Albania, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania

Romania, Austria, Slovakia, Poland

Correct answer:

Finland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland

Explanation:

The Treaty of Versailles and subsequent agreements recognized the creation of nine new countries from the remains of the Austrian, Russian, and German Empires: Finland, Lithuania, Lativia, and Estonia from Russia; Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, and Hungary from the former Austrian Empire; and, Poland, which included parts of the pre-war German, Austrian, and Russian Empires. Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania existed before WWI, while Slovakia was created by the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

Example Question #5 : Restructuring After The World Wars

What was the Balfour Declaration?

Possible Answers:

The Balfour Declaration was a statement by American Senator James Balfour that offered his services as a peace negotiator between Germany and the Allies in 1916

The Balfour Declaration was a statement issued in 1918 by the British General Sir James Balfour that the Allies would only end the war after an unconditional surrender from Germany

The Balfour Declaration was a statement issued by the British Foreign Secretary James Balfour in 1917 that asserted the British Government's support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine at some future date

The Balfour Declaration was a statement by the Canadian Prime Minister James Balfour that confirmed Canada's alliance with the British at the beginning of the war

The Balfour Declaration was a 1917 statement by the British Prime Minister James Balfour that confirmed British support for the establishment of a state that would unite the Arabic peoples of the Ottoman Empire after the war

Correct answer:

The Balfour Declaration was a statement issued by the British Foreign Secretary James Balfour in 1917 that asserted the British Government's support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine at some future date

Explanation:

The Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917 by the British Foreign Secretary asserting British support for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, which had been part of the Ottoman Empire. This declaration was an attempt by the British to weaken the support of German and Austrian Jews for their governments' pursuit of the war. This proposal contradicted a promise made to the Sharif of Mecca (via the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence of 1915) that the British would support the creation of an Arab state (that included the territory of Palestine) if the Arab population of the Ottoman Empire would revolt against that state. In fact, both promises contradicted a secret plan agreed between Britain and France in 1916 (the Sykes-Picot Agreement) to split and occupy the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire after the war.

Example Question #5 : Restructuring After The World Wars

After World War II, Germany was split into four different zones of Allied occupation. 

Which Allied country controlled the largest area in Berlin, which ultimately led to Cold War conflict and the "Berlin Airlift"?

Possible Answers:

United Kingdom

United States

France

Spain

Soviet Union

Correct answer:

Soviet Union

Explanation:

After World War II, the Cold War between the communist USSR and the rest of the western, capitalist nations erupted in Berlin. Berlin was located in Soviet controlled East Germany, but was also partitioned into four sections controlled by France, the UK, the US, and the USSR. Between June 1948 and May 1949, the Soviet Union blockaded access to the Western, non-Soviet portions of Berlin in the hopes of the entire city eventually coming under their sphere of influence. In response, the capitalist allies conducted over 200,000 flights, dropping food and other necessities into the blockaded areas of western Berlin. This was successful in maintaining West Berlin free from the communist block, but also led to the erection of the Berlin Wall in the 1960s.  

Example Question #6 : Restructuring After The World Wars

What July 1944 conference established the International Monetary Fund, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as part of a new international monetary system? 

Possible Answers:

Casablanca Conference

Dumbarton Oaks Conference

Potsdam Conference

Bretton Woods Conference

Yalta Conference

Correct answer:

Bretton Woods Conference

Explanation:

The Bretton Woods System was the first fully negotiated international system that governed monetary policy amongst different countries. It required each participating nation to adopt a monetary system, and maintain an exchange rate that was pegged to the value of gold and thus indirectly the value of the U.S. dollar. This free convertibility of currency allowed for increased free trade between Allied nations after WWII. This allowed for investment and aid in rebuilding Germany and Japan, as well as the subsequent boom in international trade after the war. It was ultimately ended in 1971 "Nixon Shock", after the U.S. decided to no longer tie the value of the dollar to gold and also no longer guaranteed the convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold - essentially making the dollar a fiat currency. 

Example Question #7 : Restructuring After The World Wars

After World War II, what action did the United States take to help rebuild Europe?

Possible Answers:

It withdrew all capital from Europe, letting the economies of Europe's nations reestablish themselves

The United States did nothing to rebuild Europe

It passed the Marshall Plan

It established colonies in mainland Europe

It established the Warsaw Pact

Correct answer:

It passed the Marshall Plan

Explanation:

Shortly after the end of World War II, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union quickly flared. In order to swiftly build a sphere of influence in Western Europe and prevent the Soviets from expanding their own, the United States passed the Marshall Plan. A massive influx of capital, the Marshall Plan went a long way to rebuilding both the economy and infrastructure of Europe's war-torn nations. 

Example Question #8 : Restructuring After The World Wars

What was the Soviet Union's immediate response to NATO?

Possible Answers:

The destruction of the Berlin Wall

The Warsaw Pact

The Marshall Plan

The demotion and subsequent exile of Joseph Stalin

The creation of the KGB

Correct answer:

The Warsaw Pact

Explanation:

The Soviet Union was threatened by the creation of NATO, so they made their own.  Established in 1955, the Warsaw Pact made for military and economic cooperation between its member nations. However, while ostensibly created as a counterbalance to NATO and the United States, the two organizations never had a direct confrontation. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

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