World History MCQs
World History Multiple Choice Quiz Questions (MCQs) on Ancient World History, Medieval World History and Modern World History for various UPSC, PCS and other Competitive Examinations.
21. The “Massacre of Kondomari” happened as part of which event?
[A] World War I
[B] Dissolution of the Soviet Union
[C] Fall of the Berlin Wall
[D] World War II
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [World War II]
Notes:
The Massacre of Kondomari was an execution of male civilians from the village of Kondomari in Crete, Greece, by an ad hoc firing squad consisting of German paratroopers on 2 June 1941 during World War II. The shooting was the first of a series of reprisals in Crete. It was orchestrated by Generaloberst Kurt Student, in retaliation for the participation of Cretans in the Battle of Crete which had ended with the surrender of the island two days earlier. The massacre was photographed by Franz-Peter Weixler, a German army war propaganda correspondent, whose negatives were discovered 39 years later in the Federal German archives by a Greek journalist.
22. The “Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, 1943” was a joint effort of Hungary and Italy, as part of World War II, against which country?
[A] Germany
[B] Soviet Union
[C] France
[D] United Kingdom
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Soviet Union]
Notes:
The “Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, 1943” was a joint effort of Hungary and Italy, as part of World War II, against the Soviet Union. The Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive was an offensive of the Voronezh Front on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Hungarian 2nd Army and partially Italian 8th Army as part of the Voronezh–Kharkov Offensive. The offensive is better known as part of Operation Little Saturn.
23. Which following year corresponds to the first stage of the Iraq War?
[A] 2001
[B] 2002
[C] 2003
[D] 2004
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [2003]
Notes:
2003 corresponds to the first stage of the Iraq War. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq.
24. Which of the following, were the two cities of Japan, faced attacks of nuclear bomb in 1945?
[A] Tokyo and Osaka
[B] Osaka and Hiroshima
[C] Hiroshima and Tokyo
[D] Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
Notes:
Hiroshima and Nagasaki the two cities of japan faced attacks of nuclear bomb in 1945.
25. Which of the following individuals can be counted among the socialist thinkers?
- Friedrich Engels
- Robert Owen
- Louis Blanc
- Immanuel Kant
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 and 2
[B] Only 1 and 3
[C] Only 1, 2, and 3
[D] All of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 1, 2, and 3]
Notes:
By the mid-nineteenth century in Europe, socialism was a well-known body of ideas that attracted widespread attention. Socialists were against private property, and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time. Socialists had different visions of the future. Some believed in the idea of cooperatives. Robert Owen (1771-1858), a leading English manufacturer, sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA). In France, for instance, Louis Blanc (1813-1882) wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) added other ideas to this body of arguments. Immanuel Kant was a German enlightenment thinker of the previous century.
26. Consider the following statements with respect to the forest management in India in colonial period:
- Deitrich Brandis was the first Inspector General of Forests in India.
- A so-called concept of ‘scientific forestry’ was introduced in India during the colonial period.
Which of the above is / are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 and 2
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Both 1 and 2]
Notes:
The British needed forests in order to build ships and railways. The British were worried that the use of forests by local people and the reckless felling of trees by traders would destroy forests. So, they decided to invite a German expert, Dietrich Brandis, for advice, and made him the first Inspector General of Forests in India. So, statement 1 is correct. Dietrich Brandis set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864 and helped formulate the Indian Forest Act of 1865. The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up at Dehradun in 1906. The system they taught here was called ‘scientific forestry’.In scientific forestry, natural forests which had lots of different types of trees were cut down. In their place, one type of tree was planted in straight rows. Forest officials surveyed the forests, estimated the area under different types of trees, and made working plans for forest management. They planned how much of the plantation area to cut every year. The area cut was then to be replanted so that it was ready to be cut again in some years. So, statement 2 is correct.
27. Consider the following statements with respect to the ‘New Deal’:
- It was meant to tackle the Great Depression in USA.
- It was proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Which of the above is / are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 and 2
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Both 1 and 2]
Notes:
The Great Depression, which had its origin in USA, affected the whole world. It was basically a deep economic recession that chipped away a significant portion of GDP of the European states and USA. But, in USA, some of the worst effects of the economic recession began to be remedied after 1933. This happened during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was first elected in 1932 and won three subsequent elections. The programme of reform which he started is known as the ‘New Deal’. A large program of welfare was initiated which alleviated the misery of many sections of the population. The New Deal was inspired from the Keynesian economic model, in which expansionary fiscal and monetary policies were used to spur the demand in the economy. This increased demand could boost production and employment. So, both the statements are correct.
28. Consider the following statements with respect to the League of Nations:
- The League had an assembly, a council and a secretariat.
- Germany was admitted to the league after the ‘Locarno’ conference.
Which of the above is / are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 and 2
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Both 1 and 2]
Notes:
The League of Nations was created after the Paris Peace Conference to maintain peace as well as promote security and friendly relations between nations. The League had an assembly, a Council and a Secretariat. In the assembly, all the member-countries were represented and each country had one vote. The council had initially 9 members out of whom five- Britain, France, Italy, Japan and USA- were to be permanent and four non-permanent members. So, the statement 1 is correct. The US did not join the League of Nations and her place on the council was taken by Germany when she was admitted in 1926. Germany’s admission came after a conference held in Locarno, Switzerland. So, the statement 2 is correct.
29. Which of the following areas was divided along the 38th parallel during the cold war?’
[A] Vietnam
[B] Korea
[C] Japan
[D] Germany
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Korea]
Notes:
After the Japanese occupation of Korea ended as a result of the defeat of Japan, Korea had been divided into two occupation zones- the northern zone under the Soviet Union and the southern zone under the USA. The division was along the 38th parallel. Both these powers set up friendly regimes within their occupation zones in the North and South Korea respectively. The Korean War could also not change this boundary. So, the correct answer is option ‘b’.
30. The ideas of the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ and ‘Natural Selection’ emerged from the writings of which of the following?
[A] Charles Darwin
[B] Charles Fourier
[C] Voltaire
[D] Emmanuel Kant
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Charles Darwin]
Notes:
In the 1850s, Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, presented a theory to explain organic evolution by natural selection. In a nutshell, his proposition implied that the species mutated randomly. Among these mutations, successful once survived and continued to live and reproduce. This idea was called the ‘Survival of the Fittest.’ According to Darwin, nature selects the successful variations which are allowed to propagate. This was term as a process of ‘natural selection.’ So, option ‘a’ is the correct answer.