Class 10 Social Science · Chapter 2

Samacheer Class 10 Social Science - The World between Two World Wars

23 textbook Q&A23 verifiedFree Content

Chapter-wise textbook exercise answers for The World between Two World Wars with validation-aware solutions.

Answers marked verified were checked during generation against the chapter context and source question text.

The World between Two World Wars — key concepts & quick answers

What is meant by the inter-war period?
It is the period between 1919 and 1939 — the years between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War.
What was the Great Depression?
It was a severe worldwide economic crisis that began in 1929 with the collapse of the US stock market, leading to mass unemployment and a sharp fall in trade and production.
What is Fascism?
Fascism is an authoritarian, intensely nationalist ideology that glorifies the state and a single leader and is opposed to democracy and communism. It rose in Italy under Benito Mussolini.
What is Nazism?
Nazism was the extreme nationalist and racist ideology of Adolf Hitler's party in Germany, which set up a dictatorship and persecuted Jews and other groups.
What was the New Deal?
It was the programme of economic reforms and public works introduced by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the country recover from the Great Depression.
Sections in this chapter
Exercise 15Activity 2Match the Following 1Answer briefly 4Answer in detail 1
📝 Don't just read — test yourselfFree flashcards + scored self-test · no sign-in
Your Progress - Chapter 20% complete
1Exercise15 questions
Q.1The founder of the Social Democratic Party was .v
Solution

The Social Democratic Workers' Party in Germany (which became the SPD) was founded in 1869 by Wilhelm Liebknecht and August Bebel.

Answer:

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was a significant political force in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its founding members and key figures in its early development included prominent socialists like Wilhelm Liebknecht and August Bebel, who were instrumental in organizing the party and advocating for workers' rights and a socialist transformation of society.

Q.1With whom of the following was the Lateran Treaty signed by Italy?v
Solution

The Lateran Treaty (1929) was signed between the Kingdom of Italy (Prime Minister Mussolini) and the Holy See, represented by Pope Pius XI (Cardinal Gasparri signed for the Pope).

Answer:

The Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929 between the Italian government, led by Benito Mussolini, and the Holy See, represented by Pope Pius XI. By this agreement Italy formally recognised the Vatican City as a small independent state under the sovereignty of the Pope, and the Pope in turn recognised the Kingdom of Italy with Rome as its capital. The treaty finally settled the long-standing dispute between the Italian state and the Papacy that was known as the 'Roman Question', and it improved relations between the Fascist government and the Catholic Church.

Q.III-1i) During World War I the primary task of Italy was to keep the Austrians occupied on the Southern Front ii) The first huge market crash in the US occurred on 24 October 1929. iii) The ban on African National Congress was lifted in 1966. Choose the correct statement: a) i) and ii) are correct b) iii) is correct c) ii) and iii) are correct d) i), ii) and iii) are correctv
  1. a. i) and ii) are correct
  2. b. iii) is correct
  3. c. ii) and iii) are correct
  4. d. i), ii) and iii) are correct
Solution

i) Italy fought on the Southern Front against Austria-Hungary during WWI — correct. ii) The US Stock Market crash began with Black Thursday on 24 October 1929 — correct. iii) The ANC ban was imposed in 1960 and lifted in 1990, not 1966 — incorrect. Hence option (a).

Answer:

a

Q.2The Nazi Party's propaganda was led byv
  1. a. Joseph Goebbels
  2. b. Adolf Hitler
  3. c. Heinrich Himmler
  4. d. Hermann Göring
Solution

Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi Minister of Propaganda and headed the party/state propaganda machinery.

Answer:

a

Q.2With whose conquest did the Mexican civilization collapse?v
Solution

The Aztec (Mexican) civilization collapsed following the Spanish conquest led by Hernán Cortés (conquest completed in 1521), and Mexico became part of the Spanish Empire.

Answer:

The Mexican (Aztec) civilization collapsed as a result of the Spanish conquest led by Hernán Cortés in the early sixteenth century, between 1519 and 1521. Cortés, with only a small force of Spanish soldiers, made use of superior weapons, horses and firearms, and allied himself with local peoples who resented Aztec rule. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, fell in 1521. In addition, European diseases such as smallpox, to which the native people had no immunity, killed enormous numbers and further weakened resistance, leading to the destruction of the Aztec empire and Spanish control over Mexico.

Q.3The Vietnam Nationalist Party was formed in .v
Solution

The Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng) was founded in 1927 (notably by leaders such as Nguyễn Thái Học).

Answer:

The Vietnam Nationalist Party, known as the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDĐ), was a significant revolutionary political organization in Vietnam. It was formed in 1927 with the aim of achieving Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule through nationalist and republican ideals. The party played a role in various uprisings and political movements during the period leading up to and following World War II.

Q.3Who made Peru as part of their dominions?v
Solution

Peru became part of the Spanish Empire after the conquest of the Inca Empire by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the 16th century.

Answer:

Peru was made part of their dominions by the Spanish, through the conquest led by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. Pizarro and his small band of conquistadors took advantage of a civil war within the Inca empire, captured and later executed the Inca ruler Atahualpa, and seized the Inca capital. Peru then became the centre of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, and its rich silver mines, especially at Potosí, made it one of the most valuable parts of Spain's American empire for many centuries.

Q.4The Secret State Police in Nazi Germany was known as .v
Solution

The secret state police of Nazi Germany was the Gestapo, short for Geheime Staatspolizei.

Answer:

In Nazi Germany, the secret state police force was known as the Gestapo, which is an abbreviation for Geheime Staatspolizei. This organization was one of the most feared instruments of the Nazi regime, responsible for identifying and suppressing any opposition to the party's rule. The Gestapo operated outside the normal legal framework, using brutal methods including surveillance, arrest, torture, and execution to maintain Nazi control and enforce their ideology.

Q.5The Union of South Africa came into being in May .v
Solution

The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, uniting four British colonies into a self-governing dominion of the British Empire.

Answer:

The Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion within the British Empire, was officially established on May 31, 1910. This significant political event unified four separate British colonies – the Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony – into a single state, marking a new chapter in the country's history and consolidating British power in the region.

Q.III-5Which part of the world disliked dollar imperialism?v
  1. a. Europe
  2. b. Latin America
  3. c. India
  4. d. China
Solution

Latin America resented 'dollar imperialism' — the economic and political domination by the United States through investment, loans and corporate influence.

Answer:

b

Q.I-4Which President of the USA pursued the "Good Neighbour" policy towards Latin America? a) Franklin D. Roosevelt b) Truman c) Woodrow Wilson d) Eisenhowerv
  1. a. Franklin D. Roosevelt
  2. b. Truman
  3. c. Woodrow Wilson
  4. d. Eisenhower
Solution

President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the "Good Neighbour" policy in the 1930s, under which the USA pledged non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin American countries. Hence option (a).

Answer:

a

Q.6The ANC leader Nelson Mandela was put behind the bars for yearsv
Solution

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years (1962–1990) before his release and subsequent role in ending apartheid.

Answer:

The iconic anti-apartheid revolutionary and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned for a total of 27 years. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison in 1962 for leaving the country illegally and inciting strikes. Later, in 1964, he received a life sentence for charges of sabotage and other crimes at the Rivonia Trial. He spent most of his incarceration on Robben Island, becoming a potent symbol of the struggle against apartheid.

Q.7Boers were also known as .v
Solution

The Boers were Dutch-descended settlers in South Africa; they are also referred to as Afrikaners.

Answer:

The Boers, who were descendants of the Dutch settlers in Southern Africa, are also known by the name Afrikaners. They established their own republics in the 19th century, leading to conflicts with the British colonial powers. The term Afrikaner became more prominent as a distinct cultural and linguistic identity evolved from the Boer population over time.

Q.Assertion-Reason 2Assertion: The Berlin Colonial Conference of 1884-85 had resolved that Africa should be divided into spheres of influence of various colonial powers. Reason: The war between the British and Boers in South Africa, however, was in defiance of this resolution.v
  1. a. Both A and R are right
  2. b. A is right but R is not the right reason
  3. c. Both A and R are wrong
  4. d. A is wrong and R has no relevance to A
Solution

Assertion is correct: the 1884–85 Berlin Conference regulated European colonization and trade in Africa dividing spheres of influence. Reason is not a correct explanation: the Boer War was a conflict between the British Empire and the Boer republics (Transvaal, Orange Free State) over control of territory and resources within southern Africa; it was not a defiance of the principle established at the Berlin Conference (both Boers and British were European actors), so R does not correctly explain A.

Answer:

b

Q.VI-2Attempt a narrative account of how the process of decolonization happened in India during the inter-war period (1919-39).v
Answer:

Decolonization in the inter-war years involved mass politics and constitutional change: 1) Post-World War I discontent and the Rowlatt Acts (1919) and Jallianwala Bagh massacre fuelled nationalist anger; 2) Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22) under Gandhi mobilised masses against British rule; 3) Formation and growth of Congress as a mass party and entry of new social groups into politics; 4) Simon Commission (1927) and subsequent protests highlighted demand for self-rule; 5) Civil Disobedience Movement and Salt March (1930) further expanded participation and pressure; 6) Government of India Act (1935) granted provincial autonomy and expanded electorate — a limited constitutional concession; 7) Rise of different political currents (Muslim League, revolutionary groups, leftist movements) shaped the national struggle; 8) Economic distress during the Depression also weakened colonial legitimacy. Together these factors progressively eroded British control and prepared the ground for full independence after WWII.

Q.VI-3Describe the rise and growth of nationalist politics in South Africa.v
Solution

Validation: Question text is clear and complete; no OCR corrections required.

Key points (concise, exam-ready):
1. Background and causes
- Union of South Africa (1910) consolidated white rule; political power lay with whites and British institutions.
- Increasing racial segregation, discriminatory laws and economic displacement (industrialisation, land dispossession) created grievances among Africans and Indians.
- Afrikaner resentment of British dominance after the Anglo-Boer Wars fuelled Afrikaner nationalism.

2. Organisational emergence
- Afrikaner nationalism: The National Party (formed 1914) mobilised Afrikaner farmers and urban workers around language, culture and anti-British sentiment.
- African nationalism: The South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later African National Congress (ANC) founded in 1912 to campaign for rights, petition the state and coordinate resistance. Leaders included John Dube, Pixley ka Isaka Seme.
- Indian politics: Indian communities organised (e.g., Natal Indian Congress) to resist discriminatory measures; Gandhi’s earlier activism in South Africa inspired methods of protest.

3. Catalysts and major laws
- 1913 Natives Land Act restricted African land ownership and accelerated rural dispossession, strengthening African political mobilisation.
- Economic hardships (post-WWI recession, Depression) increased labour unrest and urban protests.

4. Methods and expansion
- Early strategies: petitions, delegations, legal challenges.
- Growing use of mass mobilisation: strikes, passive resistance, boycotts and coordinated campaigns by trade unions and political organisations in the 1920s–30s.
- Cross-community cooperation and creation of broader coalitions at various times, though significant racial divisions persisted.

5. Outcomes and significance
- Strengthening and institutionalisation of nationalist parties and movements across communities.
- Hardening of racial politics: white Afrikaner nationalism led to more exclusionary policies; African and Indian struggles laid groundwork for later anti-apartheid movements.

Summary sentence: Nationalist politics in South Africa grew from grievances over dispossession, discrimination and economic change, organised through parties and movements (Afrikaner, African, Indian), employing petitions and mass protest and ultimately transforming South African political life in the interwar period.

Answer:

Nationalist politics in South Africa developed among several communities reacting to racial discrimination and economic exploitation. Among the white Afrikaners (Boers), nationalism grew out of resentment against British rule after the Anglo-Boer War, leading to the formation of the National Party, which later enforced apartheid. Among black Africans, the African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 to oppose segregation and demand political rights. Indians in South Africa, led for a time by Mahatma Gandhi, organised satyagraha against discriminatory laws. These movements were driven by segregationist policies, loss of land, restrictions on movement and denial of voting rights, and together they laid the foundation of the long struggle against apartheid.

2Activity2 questions
Q.VII-1Each student may be asked to write an assignment on how each sector and each section of population in the USA came to be affected by the Stock Market Crash in 1929.v
Solution

This is an activity prompt asking students to prepare an assignment on the social and economic impacts of the 1929 crash across different sectors and social groups in the USA. No fixed answer required.

Answer:

Activity / assignment — no single answer

Q.VII-2A group project work on Vietnam War is desirable. An album or pictures, portraying the air attacks of the US on Vietnam and the brave resistance put up by the Vietnamese may be prepared.v
Solution

This is an activity prompt encouraging a group project (album/pictures) on the Vietnam War showing US air attacks and Vietnamese resistance. No fixed answer; students should prepare the suggested materials.

Answer:

Activity / project suggestion — no single answer

3Match the Following1 questions
Q.IV-1Match the Following: 1. Transvaal - 2. Hindenburg - 3. Third Reich - 4. Matteotti - (Relationships shown on page) 1. Transvaal - President of Germany 2. Hindenburg - Hitler 3. Third Reich - Italy 4. Matteotti - goldv
Solution

Corrected matching (OCR on the right-hand list is garbled). 1. Transvaal — known for gold (goldfields). 2. Hindenburg — Paul von Hindenburg, President of Germany. 3. Third Reich — term used for Hitler's Germany (Hitler). 4. Matteotti — Giacomo Matteotti, an Italian socialist politician who was assassinated by Fascists (so linked with Italy).

#Correct match
1gold
2President of Germany
3Hitler
4Italy (Matteotti was an Italian politician)
4Answer briefly4 questions
Q.V-1What do you know of the White Terror in Indo-China?v
Solution

The 'White Terror' in Indochina refers to periods of severe repression carried out by colonial or anti-communist regimes (notably French colonial authorities and allied forces) against nationalist and communist activists — involving arrests, executions and suppression of uprisings, intended to crush independence movements.

Answer:

The 'White Terror' refers to the harsh wave of repression carried out by the French colonial authorities in Indo-China (modern Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) against nationalists and communists. After uprisings such as the Yen Bai mutiny of 1930 and the peasant revolts that followed, the French responded with brutal force. They arrested, imprisoned, tortured and executed large numbers of suspected revolutionaries, bombed villages, and crushed the early communist and nationalist organisations. The repression was intended to destroy the growing independence movement. Instead, it deepened anti-colonial feeling and strengthened the determination of Vietnamese nationalists, helping leaders like Ho Chi Minh build support for the later struggle for independence.

Q.V-2What was the result of Mussolini's march on Rome?v
Solution

The March on Rome (October 1922) intimidated the Italian monarchy; King Victor Emmanuel III refused to declare martial law and instead invited Benito Mussolini to form a government. Mussolini became Prime Minister and gradually dismantled democratic institutions, establishing a Fascist dictatorship.

Answer:

The March on Rome in October 1922 was a mass demonstration by Mussolini's Fascist 'Blackshirts', who threatened to seize power by force. Faced with this pressure and unwilling to risk a civil conflict, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to declare a state of emergency and instead invited Mussolini to form a government. As a result, Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy without an actual armed takeover. Once in office, he gradually dismantled democratic institutions, suppressed opposition parties, controlled the press and concentrated power in his own hands. Within a few years Italy had become a one-party Fascist dictatorship, with Mussolini ruling as 'Il Duce', the leader.

Q.V-3How did the Great Depression impact Indian agriculture?v
Solution

Validation: Corrected phrasing from OCR: "How did Great Depression impact on the Indian agriculture?" → "How did the Great Depression impact Indian agriculture?".

Concise points (exam-ready):
- Price collapse: World prices for cash crops (e.g., cotton, jute, wheat) fell drastically, cutting export earnings.
- Income decline and indebtedness: Peasants’ incomes fell; many could not repay loans and fell into debt.
- Land distress and tenancy problems: Distress sales, evictions and increased landlessness among smallholders and tenants.
- Reduced cultivation and rural unemployment: Farmers reduced cropping; rural artisans and agricultural labourers lost livelihoods.
- Migration and political effects: Some migration to towns for work; agrarian distress fuelled peasant movements and increased support for nationalist politics and rural protests.

One-line summary: The Depression devastated Indian agriculture by collapsing prices and incomes, increasing debt and dispossession, and intensifying rural unrest.

Answer:

The Great Depression of the 1930s had a severe impact on Indian agriculture. World prices for agricultural goods such as wheat, cotton and jute collapsed, so the prices Indian farmers received for their produce fell sharply, often by half. The colonial government, however, did not reduce land revenue and taxes in the same proportion, so peasants still had to pay the same amounts out of much smaller incomes. Many farmers fell deeply into debt, were forced to sell their gold, ornaments and land, and some lost their holdings to moneylenders. Rural distress increased greatly, and this hardship fuelled discontent that strengthened the nationalist movement, including the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Q.V-4Define 'Dollar Imperialism.'v
Solution

Validation: Fixed OCR punctuation for clarity; original meaning intact.

Definition (concise, exam-ready):
- Dollar Imperialism refers to a form of economic domination where a powerful state (notably the United States in the interwar period) uses capital (dollars), investments, loans, multinational companies and trade influence to control or strongly influence the economies and policies of weaker countries.
- Example: US investments and corporate control in parts of Latin America and influence over reparations and loans in Europe during the interwar years.

One-line summary: It is economic/financial hegemony used as a substitute for traditional territorial imperialism.

Answer:

'Dollar Imperialism' refers to the policy by which the United States used its economic and financial power, rather than direct military conquest, to dominate other countries, particularly in Latin America. Through large investments, loans, and control over banks, markets and corporations, the USA gained influence over the economies of weaker nations. When these countries became financially dependent on American capital, they also came under American political influence, often having to follow policies favourable to US interests. This approach was sometimes backed by the threat of military intervention to protect American investments. In this way the United States built an informal empire based on money and economic control instead of formal colonies.

5Answer in detail1 questions
Q.VI-1Trace the circumstances that led to the rise of Hitler in Germany.v
Answer:

Key factors that led to Hitler's rise: 1) Treaty of Versailles (1919) created resentment through harsh terms and reparations; 2) Economic instability and hyperinflation (early 1920s) weakened faith in Weimar Republic; 3) Great Depression (1929) caused mass unemployment and social distress, increasing support for extremist parties; 4) Fear of communism among elites led conservatives to back right-wing forces; 5) Nazi organisation, propaganda (Goebbels), and paramilitary SA mobilised mass support; 6) Political manoeuvring: Nazis became largest party in Reichstag; conservative elites persuaded President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor (January 1933); 7) Reichstag Fire (1933) and the Enabling Act eliminated political opposition and gave Hitler dictatorial powers, consolidating the Nazi regime.