SAT II World History : Causes and Effects of World War II

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II World History

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 : World War Ii

The Munich Agreement allowed Germany to annex a portion of which of the following areas?

Possible Answers:

Poland

The Netherlands

Czechoslovakia

Belgium

France

Correct answer:

Czechoslovakia

Explanation:

The Munich Agreement was signed by various major European powers in 1938. It allowed the Nazi government of Germany to annex territory (the Sudetenland) in Czechoslovakia. The European powers conceded this because they feared Hitler's aggressive ambitions and sought to placate him with the policy of appeasement.

Example Question #2 : World War Ii

Which of these individuals was not a head of state during the Second World War?

Possible Answers:

Douglas MacArthur

Harry Truman

Josef Stalin

Winston Churchill

Benito Mussolini

Correct answer:

Douglas MacArthur

Explanation:

Benito Mussolini was the ruler of fascist Italy; Winston Churchill the Prime Minister of imperial Britain; and Josef Stalin the leader of the communist USSR. Harry Truman became President of the United States in the waning months of the war following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Douglas MacArthur, however, was an American general who led a large number of forces in the Pacific theatre of the war.

Example Question #3 : World War Ii

Which of these was not a condition of the Atlantic Charter signed by Roosevelt and Churchill prior to America's entrance into the Second World War?

Possible Answers:

Freedom of the seas

Reduced trade restrictions

Nuclear nonproliferation

All of the other answer choices were conditions of the Atlantic Charter.

No territorial gains to be made by either power

Correct answer:

Nuclear nonproliferation

Explanation:

The Atlantic Charter was an agreement signed by the leaders of the United States and the United Kingdom in 1941 prior to America's entrance into the Second World War. The purpose of this charter was to establish the post-war goals of the Allied powers. Namely, it specified that neither power would seek to make territorial gains and that in the post-war era both powers would seek to promote economic prosperity, social equality, and national autonomy around the world. All of these answer choices were part of the charter except the disarmament of nuclear weapons. The atomic bomb was not invented for another few years.

Example Question #4 : World War Ii

Which of the following treaties ended World War One and provided much of the motivation for World War Two?

Possible Answers:

The Treaty of Alsace-Lorraine

The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Moscow

The Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Berlin

Correct answer:

The Treaty of Versailles

Explanation:

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War One, but it imposed a series of strict regulations on German recovery and encumbered the already-struggling German nation with an almost unpayable debt. This caused Germany to feel as if the terms were too harsh and to resent them, and contributed to the rise of Hitler and Nazism.

Example Question #5 : World War Ii

Which of these events was the last to occur?

Possible Answers:

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

The Battle of Midway

V-E Day

V-J Day

The Battle of Iwo Jima

Correct answer:

V-J Day

Explanation:

The various options given that were battles or attacks (Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor, and Midway) cannot possibly have occurred after the war was over, so they can be ruled out. V-E Day is the day when victory was secured for the allied forces in Europe. This came a couple of months before V-J Day—"Victory over Japan" Day. V-J Day was August 15th, 1945.

Example Question #6 : World War Ii

The Axis Powers were __________.

Possible Answers:

Japan, Germany, and the USSR

The USSR, Britain, and the United States

Germany, China, and Japan

Germany, Italy, and Japan

France, the USSR, and Britain

Correct answer:

Germany, Italy, and Japan

Explanation:

In World War Two, the Allied Powers were Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Opposing them were the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. 

Example Question #7 : World War Ii

The fascist Italian government of Benito Mussolini invaded which country in 1935?

Possible Answers:

Serbia

Algeria

Ethiopia

France

Greece

Correct answer:

Ethiopia

Explanation:

Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party came to power in the 1920s and promptly suspended several freedoms in the Italian state. In 1935 Italy invaded and occupied Ethiopia. The move was widely condemned by the League of Nations and helped further allign Italy with Nazi Germany against much of the rest of Europe.

Example Question #561 : Sat Subject Test In World History

Francisco Franco became the leader of which European country following a civil war in the 1930s?

Possible Answers:

Poland

Finland

Spain

Italy

Switzerland

Correct answer:

Spain

Explanation:

Fransisco Franco was a deeply conservative general in the burgeoning Spanish Republic of the 1930s. Franco was dismayed by the movement towards leftist poilitical thinking in Spain and, along with other generals, began the Spanish Civil War to overthrow the Republic. He was succesful (backed by the Italian and German governments) and became a fascist dictator in 1939. He would remain dictator until 1975, but famously kept Spain out of World War Two. 

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors