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DSE History | The Second World War Lesson-Prep Guide (Tutor Edition) | Appeasement and Turning Points
Students can recall the years but answer “because Hitler was evil” when asked why appeasement failed. This lesson separates the causes into layers: institutions, misjudgement and national interest.
Objectives — Students can: (1) explain the failure of appeasement on three levels; (2) sequence the 1939-1945 turning points and state the effect of each; (3) compare the Versailles system with the post-war United Nations.
01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)
If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.
| Skill | Quick check | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Versailles | Three limits placed on Germany | Arms, territory, reparations |
| Collective security | Why the League of Nations was weak | No army, great powers absent |
| Timeline | What happened in 1938 | The Munich Agreement |
02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)
| Time | Stage | Tutor does | Student does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-10 min | Background | Versailles legacy, Depression, dictators | Students list three causes |
| 10-24 min | Appeasement | Logic and collapse of Munich | Three levels of cause |
| 24-38 min | Turning points | Stalingrad, Midway, Normandy | Place 2,193 days on a line |
| 38-50 min | Scale | Total war, civilian deaths, the Holocaust | Compute the share of population |
| 50-56 min | Post-war | Yalta, United Nations, veto | Compare the two settlements |
| 56-60 min | Exit check | Three questions marked on the spot | Independent work |
03 Teaching script (read it out)
Scene 1: Appeasement: not naivety, but separate calculations
The Munich Agreement of 1938 handed the Sudetenland to Germany; Britain and France believed it was the last territorial demand.
Three levels: (1) the memory of 1914-18 made another war unthinkable to publics; (2) many judged German grievances partly legitimate and Soviet communism the greater threat; (3) the League had no army and the United States stayed out, so collective security had no enforcement.
Result: Germany took the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, invaded Poland on 1 September, and Britain and France declared war.
Three levels: (1) the memory of 1914-18 made another war unthinkable to publics; (2) many judged German grievances partly legitimate and Soviet communism the greater threat; (3) the League had no army and the United States stayed out, so collective security had no enforcement.
Result: Germany took the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, invaded Poland on 1 September, and Britain and France declared war.
Ask the student: would firmness in 1938 have prevented the war? Demand reasons, not a verdict.
Scene 2: Turning points: one per theatre, each with a before and after
The war ran from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945, 2,193 days.
Eastern Front: Stalingrad, 1942-43, the German Sixth Army surrendered and the initiative passed to the Soviet Union.
Pacific: Midway, 1942, four Japanese carriers sank and naval superiority passed to the United States.
Western Front: the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944 opened the second front. Only together do they make a turning point.
Eastern Front: Stalingrad, 1942-43, the German Sixth Army surrendered and the initiative passed to the Soviet Union.
Pacific: Midway, 1942, four Japanese carriers sank and naval superiority passed to the United States.
Western Front: the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944 opened the second front. Only together do they make a turning point.
Warn: a turning point needs “before” and “after”; a date alone earns nothing.
Scene 3: After the war: from punishment to institutions
Deaths are estimated at 70 to 85 million against a world population of about 2.3 billion, roughly 3.0% to 3.7%. For the first time civilian deaths outnumbered military ones, because total mobilisation and strategic bombing erased the line between front and home.
The Yalta conference of 1945 divided spheres of influence; the United Nations was founded with a veto for five permanent members, designed to keep the great powers inside the system, the opposite of the League requirement of unanimity.
The cost: the veto paralysed the UN on great-power conflict throughout the Cold War.
The Yalta conference of 1945 divided spheres of influence; the United Nations was founded with a veto for five permanent members, designed to keep the great powers inside the system, the opposite of the League requirement of unanimity.
The cost: the veto paralysed the UN on great-power conflict throughout the Cold War.
Ask the student: in what sense was the UN stronger than the League (enforcement powers, great powers inside).
04 Question types and worked steps
| Type | Example | Steps | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Causation | Failure of appeasement | Social, judgement, institutional | One line and one example each |
| Chronology | Order the turning points | Sequence plus effect | One per theatre |
| Data | Share of population killed | Deaths over world population times 100 | about 3.0% to 3.7% |
| Comparison | Versailles versus the UN | Punishment versus institution | The veto is the key difference |
Sanity check (teach this): Death tolls must be written as approximate ranges, never precise figures, and the denominator is the world population of the time, about 2.3 billion, not today’s. The war lasted 2,193 days from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945; 15 August 1945 is the announcement of surrender, not the end.
05 Independent practice (3 questions)
| Question | Answer | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Days from 1939-09-01 to 1945-09-02 | 2,193 | Subtract dates, do not count by hand |
| Institutional reason appeasement failed | The League had no army and the US was absent | Institution, not judgement |
| Share of 2.3 billion represented by 70 million deaths | about 3.0% | Denominator is world population |
06 Common mistakes and what to say
| Mistake | Student writes | Say this |
|---|---|---|
| Only blaming Hitler | No mention of British and French judgement | “Explain why they believed it at the time.” |
| Ending the war on 15 August | Says it ended in August 1945 | “That was the announcement; the instrument was signed on 2 September.” |
| Turning point without effect | Names Midway and stops | “Before: Japan held the initiative. After: the US did.” |
| One-sided comparison | Only mentions the veto | “Set it against the League rule of unanimity.” |
07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)
- Secondary History chapter index (includes this chapter) — Independent practice questions 1 to 3 on this page
- DSE lesson-prep overview and course map — All subject chapters
08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)
| Question | Answer | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Length of the war in days | 2,193 | Three correct means move on to the Cold War |
| Three levels behind appeasement | Social, judgement, institutional | One wrong means re-teach the layers |
| Key difference between the League and the UN | The veto keeps great powers inside | Two wrong means replay act three |
09 Tutor FAQ
Must students memorise every battle date?
Only the outbreak, the three turning points and the end; the rest needs order, not dates.
Should the Holocaust be a separate chapter?
Cover it within the scale of the war, stressing institutional persecution and the legal response after 1945.
Why does Yalta matter?
It fixed spheres of influence in Europe and the shape of the UN, drawing the line the Cold War followed.
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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.
