Course map

Covers Core content Option B (the twentieth century: international relations since 1919, all six key questions) and Depth study B (Germany, 1918 to 1945). Option A and the other depth studies are not covered.

Exam skills: describe, explain, judge and use sources

Paper 1 Section A · Paper 1 Section B · Paper 2 · Paper 4

How 0470 is assessed: question types, sources and the depth study
Papers 1, 2 and 4
- Answer each Paper 1 part as it is marked: describe, explain two reasons, then weigh both sides and judge how far
- Read sources for their message, purpose and reliability, and compare them
- Test a statement against several sources, for and against
- Plan a Paper 4 account and a discussion of importance, or a coursework piece
Lesson Practice

Core content Option B: international relations since 1919

Paper 1 Section A · Paper 2

Paper 2 prescribed topics, 2026 to 2028

2026 June: Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?
2026 November: How effectively did the United States contain the spread of communism?
2027 June: How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe, 1948 to c.1989?
2027 November: Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?
2028 June: How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?
2028 November: Who was to blame for the Cold War?

Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?
Option B key question 1
- Explain the aims of Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George, and why none got everything
- Describe the terms of the Treaty
- Explain its impact on Germany to the end of 1923, and judge whether it could be justified at the time
Lesson Practice
To what extent was the League of Nations a success?
Option B key question 2
- Describe the League's structure, aims and membership, and explain its weaknesses
- Judge its peacekeeping in the 1920s (Vilna, Aaland, Corfu, Bulgaria) and its humanitarian work
- Explain how the Depression, Manchuria and Abyssinia undermined it in the 1930s
Lesson Practice
How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?
Option B key question 3
- Explain Hitler's aims and his steps from rearmament and the Rhineland to Anschluss and Munich
- Judge whether appeasement was justified, and the importance of the Nazi-Soviet Pact
- Explain why Britain and France declared war in September 1939
Lesson Practice
Who was to blame for the Cold War?
Option B key question 4
- Explain why the wartime alliance broke down at and after the 1945 conferences
- Explain Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe to 1948 and American reactions
- Explain the Berlin Blockade, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and judge who was more to blame
Lesson Practice
How effectively did the United States contain the spread of communism?
Option B key question 5
- Explain American reactions in Korea, 1950 to 1953, and the UN's role
- Explain the Cuban Revolution, the Missile Crisis and its aftermath
- Explain American involvement in Vietnam, its tactics and the reasons for withdrawal, and judge containment's success
Lesson Practice
How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe, 1948 to c.1989?
Option B key question 6
- Compare opposition and Soviet reactions in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968
- Explain why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, and the significance of Solidarity
- Judge how far Gorbachev was responsible for the collapse of Soviet control
Lesson Practice

Depth study B: Germany, 1918 to 1945

Paper 1 Section B · Paper 4

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
Depth study B key question 1
- Explain the Revolution of 1918, the constitution and the Republic's early weaknesses
- Explain the threats of 1919 to 1923: risings, hyperinflation and the Ruhr
- Judge the Stresemann recovery and the achievements of the Weimar period
Lesson Practice
Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?
Depth study B key question 2
- Explain Nazi ideas and methods in the 1920s and why the party had little success before 1930
- Explain how the Depression helped the Nazis and how Hitler became Chancellor
- Explain how Hitler consolidated power in 1933 and 1934
Lesson Practice
How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933 to 1945?
Depth study B key question 3(a)
- Explain terror, propaganda and the control of culture and the media
- Explain the persecution of Jewish people and other groups, and judge the extent of opposition
- Judge whether Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state
Lesson Practice
What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?
Depth study B key question 3(b)
- Explain Nazi policies towards young people, women and the family, and how people reacted
- Judge whether most people benefited from Nazi economic policy
- Explain how the war changed life in Germany
Lesson Practice