THE KES IGCSE HISTORY GUIDE
IGCSE HISTORY AT KING EDWARD’S
THE COURSE IN BRIEF
The Causes of World War Two
The Rise to Power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis
IGCSE History provides a fascinating and varied introduction to many of the major historical, political and economic issues and events that have helped to shape the world in which we live today and, in terms of the skills required and the chronological starting point, is designed to flow on naturally from the 3rd Year work on the First World War. History at IGCSE goes far beyond simply learning facts and dates. Rather, it requires judgement and analysis of why important events took place, and why they should be seen as significant, together with a willingness to discuss and dispute different explanations and interpretations. History is not for those who dislike debate and argument; it is very much for those who enjoy the analysis of intriguing and important people and events, and the challenge of cut and thrust conversation. It provides not only interest but also huge enjoyment to those who study it. We take the IGCSE “Modern World History” course which covers a variety of topics from the twentieth century. IGCSE History has two main factual units, for which a grasp of wide knowledge is needed. The first centres on Germany from 1918-1945. This includes an analysis of the impact of the First World War on Germany and an in-depth study of Nazi Germany, covering both the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the reality of Nazi rule in Germany from 1933-1945; the Nazi Police State, the social policies of the Nazis, Germany and the Second World War and, chillingly, finishing with the Holocaust. The department runs a popular trip to Berlin for the Fifth Year IGCSE historians in the spring term half term break every year in an effort to bring the nature of Nazism more alive. The course continues with the study of international relations throughout the twentieth century. This involves investigation of the causes of World War Two, with a particular focus on Nazi foreign policy, and the study of the Cold War from 1945 onwards, under the title of “Superpower Relations”, covering such absorbing topics as the nuclear arms race, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
Nazi rule in Germany
The German Experience in World War Two
The Cold War o
The Korean War
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The Cuban Missile Crisis
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The Vietnam War
There is no Controlled Assessment unit for IGCSE History and the question format ranges from short answers to more developed pieces of writing. That said, the days when History involved nothing more than writing essays several pages long and reading through enormous piles of information are now long gone. Anybody who has coped effectively with the writing and reading requirements of 3rd Year History lessons at King Edward’s will find no difficulty in moving on to IGCSE History. Taking History at IGCSE level is a useful, but not essential, preparation for the Sixth Form course. With a more general eye to the future, History is a well-respected IGCSE, developing as it does skills of analysis, organisation and written and oral communication and one with a reputation for genuine academic rigour.
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The End of World War One
The death toll and destruction of World War One created a burning desire for revenge on the part of many of the victors and brought about the collapse of the German Empire. Europe needed to be rebuilt physically, diplomatically and psychologically.
The Peace Treaties of 1919-1920
For six months in 1919 Paris became the centre of world affairs as the “Big Three” of Britain, France and the USA argued and fought over the terms of the treaty that would bring the war formally to an end. The resultant Treaty of Versailles horrified the Germans with its apparent harshness and unfairness and created a burning desire for revenge. Did a second world war emerge out of the flawed efforts to end the first? The Rise to Power of Adolf Hitler and the causes of World War Two
An extraordinary question; how could a man like Hitler, burning for revenge over Germany’s perceived humiliation at Versailles and filled with racial hatred, become the leader of a cultured, welleducated and sophisticated modern European state? Why was Hitler able to dismantle the Versailles Treaty and why by September 1939 did Britain feel it had no choice but to declare war on Germany? Why wasn’t Hitler stopped earlier? Could he have been stopped?
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Nazi Rule in Germany
In what ways and how successfully did the Nazis control Germany from 1933 to 1945. Was it a question of simple brutality and repression or was Hitler a popular figure for many?
The Events of World War Two
What was the experience of war for the German people; how did early victory and later defeat affect them? What was the aim and effect of British and American bombing? How and why did the Holocaust happen?
The Early Cold War
The USA and Russia were allies throughout World War Two. By 1955 the world was divided into two “Cold War” camps with both sides armed to the teeth with conventional and atomic weapons? How could this spectacularly dangerous state of affairs have come about?
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The Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962 American spy planes discovered that the Russians had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba; within twenty minutes of launch the estimate was that over 100 million Americans would be dead. President Kennedy said that the missiles must be removed. The Russians refused. How close did the world come to a fullscale nuclear exchange in the next 13 days?
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War cost the USA over $150 billion dollars in the 1960s and 1970s (the equivalent of about $1 trillion today) and yet lost. How could the world’s most powerful and technologically advanced military machine, backed up by the world’s strongest economy, be defeated by guerilla fighters in the jungles of SouthEast Asia? This is a defeat that resonates in American politics and society to this day.
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The Department Berlin Trip 
The Department runs a trip to Berlin for IGCSE historians every February. The highlights are visits to the Reichstag, the Hitler Bunker, the 1936 Olympic Stadium, the Holocaust Memorial and the Berlin Wall.
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