Year 12 Modern History study notes and practice questions

For Year 11 and 12 students sitting the HSC, VCE, QCE, SACE, WACE and more. Each unit has short study notes, flashcards and practice questions, and the app builds timed practice exams from the whole course.

• Core: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946The rise of dictatorships; World War II; The Holocaust; Consequences and accountability
• National study: Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941Consolidating Bolshevik power 1917–1924; The struggle for power 1924–1929; Economic transformation; Terror, society and culture
• National study: Germany 1918–1939The Weimar Republic 1918–1923; Recovery, collapse and the Nazi rise to power; The Nazi state and society; Foreign policy to 1939
• Peace and conflict: Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979Origins in decolonisation and the Cold War; The war in Vietnam; Australia and Vietnam; Endings and the wider conflict
• Change in the modern world: Civil rights in the USA 1945–1968Segregation and early challenges; The courts and the first mass protests; Direct action and federal legislation; Black Power and legacy

4 multiple choice and 2 written questions. Try each one before you open the answer. Written answers show the model answer and what a full-marks response needs.

1. Question 1. Core: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946Multiple choice

   Germany invaded Poland on…

   1. A22 June 1941
   2. B7 December 1941
   3. C8 May 1945
   4. D1 September 1939
   Show answer

   D. 1 September 1939

2. Question 2. National study: Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941Multiple choice

   The Bolshevik secret police founded in 1917 was the…

   1. AGestapo
   2. BOVRA
   3. CCheka
   4. DOkhrana
   Show answer

   C. Cheka

3. Question 3. National study: Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941: terror, society and culture2 marks

   Outline TWO features of the Great Terror.

   Show model answer and marking criteria

   Model answer. Leading old Bolsheviks such as Zinoviev and Bukharin were tried in public show trials and forced to confess to invented crimes. The NKVD carried out mass arrests, often by quota, with about 680,000 executions in 1937–38.

   A full-marks answer:

   • One valid feature, such as show trials of old Bolsheviks
   • A second valid feature, such as mass arrests by quota, executions, the Gulag or the purge of the army
4. Question 4. National study: Germany 1918–1939Multiple choice

   The Weimar constitution’s emergency powers clause was…

   1. AArticle 231
   2. BArticle 1
   3. CArticle 48
   4. DArticle 10
   Show answer

   C. Article 48

5. Question 5. National study: Germany 1918–1939: The Nazi state and society2 marks

   Outline TWO methods the Nazis used to control German society.

   Show model answer and marking criteria

   Model answer. The Nazis used terror through the SS, Gestapo and concentration camps to crush opposition. They also used propaganda, controlling press, radio and film under Goebbels to win loyalty.

   A full-marks answer:

   • One valid method, such as terror through the SS, Gestapo and camps
   • A second valid method, such as propaganda, youth organisations or Gleichschaltung
6. Question 6. Peace and conflict: Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979Multiple choice

   The battle that ended French rule in Indochina was…

   1. AHue
   2. BKhe Sanh
   3. CDien Bien Phu
   4. DLong Tan
   Show answer

   C. Dien Bien Phu

A few of the 84 Year 12 Modern History flashcards. In the app they use spaced repetition: rate each card Again, Hard, Good or Easy and it comes back just before you would forget it.

• DictatorshipRule by a single leader or party with unrestricted power.
• War CommunismThe 1918–21 Bolshevik policy of nationalising industry and forcibly requisitioning grain during the Civil War.
• Weimar RepublicThe democratic German republic established in 1919, named after the town where its constitution was written.
• Cold WarThe rivalry between the USA and the USSR (and their allies) from about 1947 to 1991, fought through ideology, arms races and proxy wars.

Modern History rewards precise evidence and a clear judgement. Learn the key dates, names and figures for each topic, state your argument in the first sentence of an extended response and support it paragraph by paragraph. For sources, weigh origin, purpose and perspective before you judge usefulness or reliability.

Press Study for me and the app builds a 15 to 20 minute session from the cards that are due, the mistakes that are due and questions on your weakest topics. Practice questions come in three levels, and anything you get wrong comes back 1, 3 and 7 days later until you get it right. When an exam is close, sit a timed practice exam with AI marking.

Your state, your exam

Modern History goes by different names around Australia. In the app the course shows under your state’s name: NSW, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, ACT, NT: Modern History; VIC: Modern History / History: Revolutions.

When you set up Year 12, you pick your state (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, ACT or NT) and your subjects. The AI then pitches explanations and marking at your certificate’s level. Courses differ between states, so compare the units above with your course outline, and turn your class notes into extra decks for anything that’s different.

Modern History in Year 11

Year 11 Modern History study notes and practice questions.

More Year 12 courses

Year 12 Maths Advanced, Year 12 Maths Standard, Year 12 English, Year 12 Biology, Year 12 Chemistry, Year 12 Business Studies, Year 12 Legal Studies, Year 12 PDHPE. All Year 11–12 subjects.