Notes & Resources
Course Orientation
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Diagnostic Assessment: Exam Readiness and Syllabus Skills
Understand the History 9489 papers, refresh the selected syllabus options and prepare for option-aware diagnostics and a focused learning plan. AS learners use Papers 1–2; full A Level learners also use Papers 3–4.
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STARTING OF HISTORY 9489 AS LEVEL | Quick overview of AS Level Syllabus
AS LEVEL OPTION 1 | European history: Modern Europe, 1750–1921
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Module 1: France, 1774–1814
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Module 2: The Industrial Revolution in Britain, 1750–1850
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Module 3: Liberalism and nationalism in Germany, 1815–71
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Module 4: The Russian Revolution, 1894–1921
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HISTORY 9489 (OPTION 1) AS LEVEL SYLLABUS COMPLETED: LET’S GET READY FOR THE EXAM PAPER 1 & 2
EXAM DONE! SUBMIT YOUR GRADE
AS LEVEL OPTION 2 | American history: The history of the USA, 1820–1941
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Module 1: The origins of the Civil War, 1820–61
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Module 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–77
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Module 3: The Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1870s to 1920
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Module 4: The Great Crash, the Great Depression and the New Deal policies, 1920–41
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HISTORY 9489 (OPTION 2) AS LEVEL SYLLABUS COMPLETED: LET’S GET READY FOR THE EXAM PAPER 1 & 2
EXAM DONE! SUBMIT YOUR GRADE
AS LEVEL OPTION 3 | International history, 1870–1945
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Module 1: Empire and the emergence of world powers, 1870–1919
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Module 2: The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920s
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Module 3: The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930s
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Module 4: China and Japan, 1912–45
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HISTORY 9489 (OPTION 3) AS LEVEL SYLLABUS COMPLETED: LET’S GET READY FOR THE EXAM PAPER 1 AND 2
EXAM DONE! SUBMIT YOUR GRADE
STARTING OF HISTORY 9489 A LEVEL | Quick overview of A Level Syllabus
TOPIC 1: The origins of the First World War
Candidates will study the following content and the differing interpretations that historians have produced,
with particular focus on the over-arching key question, ‘Who was to blame for the First World War?
Key approachesCandidates should explore the following issues
through the interpretations and approaches of
different historians:• How far was tension between the Great Powers
likely to lead to war?• How important were the decisions taken by key
individuals in leading to war?• How did Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles
shape the debate about responsibility for war?• How and why did the idea of ‘shared
responsibility’ arise?• How did the Second World War affect the
debate?• The Fischer thesis• The German reaction to Fischer• Challenges to Fischer• Modern interpretations exploring the
responsibility of nations other than Germany• Relative importance of long and short-term
factors• How the centenary of the First World War
affected the debate: the importance of
contingency over motive
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TOPIC 2: The Holocaust
Candidates will study the following content and the differing interpretations that historians have produced,
with a particular focus on the over-arching key question, ‘Why did the Holocaust occur?’
Key approachesCandidates should explore the following issues
through the interpretations and approaches of
different historians:• How far was the Holocaust a consequence of
racist ideas which existed before the Nazis?• The Intentionalist approach and the role of
Hitler: was the Holocaust planned in advance
by Hitler?• The Structuralist approach: how far did the
nature of the Nazi state determine how the
Holocaust developed?• The Functionalist approach: how far did
contingent factors such as war determine how
the Holocaust developed?• Synthesis interpretations which aim to reconcile
the Intentionalist and Functionalist viewpoints• Perpetrators: who carried out the Holocaust,
and why? Was murderous behaviour the
exception or were many involved? Why did
non-Germans participate in the killings?• Victims: How far did Jews resist the Holocaust,
and how can resistance be defined? Did
men and women experience the Holocaust
in different ways? Should definitions of the
Holocaust include victims other than Jews?• Bystanders: How did the USA and Britain
respond to the Holocaust at the time?
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TOPIC 3: The origins and development of the Cold War
Candidates will study the following content and the differing interpretations that historians have produced,
with a particular focus on the over-arching key question, ‘Who was to blame for the Cold War?’
ContentThis topic covers the following events and
developments in the evolution of the Cold War in
Europe, 1941–50• Tensions in the wartime alliance against the
Axis powers• Peace-making at the end of the Second World
War• Increasing tensions in a divided Europe• The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan• The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Key approaches
Candidates should explore the following issues
through the interpretations and approaches of
different historians:• How far were inherent tensions between East
and West bound to resurface in 1945?• How important were the personalities of the
leaders of the Great Powers in shaping the
Cold War?• How far were ideology, security and economics
the factors which created Cold War tensions?• The Traditional approach• The Revisionist approach• Post-Revisionist approaches• How have the perspectives on the Cold War
of Russian historians differed from those in the
West?• Reinterpretations of the Cold War in the light of
new archival sources• The emergence of the ‘New’ Cold War history
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STARTING OF HISTORY 9489 A LEVEL (PAPER 4) | Quick overview of PAPER 3 Syllabus
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DEPTH STUDY OPTION 1 | European history in the interwar years, 1919–41
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DEPTH STUDY OPTION 2 | The USA, 1944–92
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DEPTH STUDY OPTION 3 | International history, 1945–92
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HISTORY 9489 (PAPER 3) A LEVEL SYLLABUS COMPLETED: LET’S GET READY FOR THE EXAM PAPER 4