Virginia SOL World History II (WHII) Module 6: a complete overview of the interwar period, World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, decolonization, and the contemporary world
A deep-dive guide to Module 6 of the Virginia World History II (WHII) SOL: the interwar period and totalitarianism, World War II and the Holocaust, the Cold War, decolonization, the end of the Cold War, and the contemporary world, with the cause-and-effect skills the SOL rewards.
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What Module 6 actually demands
Module 6 completes the WHII course, drawing on WHII.14 to WHII.16. You need the interwar period and the rise of totalitarian dictators, World War II and the Holocaust, the Cold War, decolonization, the end of the Cold War, and the contemporary world of globalization and global challenges. The dominant skill is cause and effect across the twentieth century to the present, tracing how one crisis led to the next, from the Treaty of Versailles to the world wars, to the Cold War, to today.
This guide ties together the matching dot-point pages, each with its own practice questions: the interwar period and totalitarianism, World War II and the Holocaust, the Cold War, decolonization and independence movements, the end of the Cold War, and the contemporary world.
The interwar period and totalitarianism
The interwar period (1919 to 1939) was unstable: World War I and the harsh Treaty of Versailles bred resentment, and the Great Depression caused mass unemployment and despair. Desperate people turned to totalitarian dictators promising order and national pride: Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Stalin (Soviet Union), and the militarists (Japan).
World War II and the Holocaust
World War II (1939 to 1945) was caused by totalitarian aggression and the failure of appeasement. Turning points included Stalingrad, D-Day, and Midway. The war ended with the defeat of Germany and, after the atomic bombs, Japan. It included the Holocaust, the Nazi genocide of about six million Jews and millions of others.
The Cold War
The Cold War (about 1945 to 1991) was the rivalry between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union. It was "cold" because they never fought directly, competing through NATO and the Warsaw Pact, a nuclear arms race, the space race, and proxy wars (Korea, Vietnam). The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest brush with nuclear war.
Decolonization
After World War II, weakened empires and rising nationalism brought a wave of decolonization across Asia and Africa. India gained independence under Gandhi's nonviolent resistance (1947), and apartheid ended in South Africa under Mandela. Decolonization also brought conflict from contested borders and Cold War rivalries.
The end of the Cold War and the contemporary world
The Cold War ended around 1989 to 1991: the Soviet economy failed, Gorbachev's reforms loosened control, the Berlin Wall fell (1989), and the Soviet Union broke apart (1991), leaving the United States the sole superpower. The contemporary world is defined by globalization, advances in technology, international organizations (the UN, the EU), and global challenges: terrorism, human rights, and the environment.
Check your knowledge
A mix of recall and application questions covering Module 6. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.
- Define a totalitarian government and name two interwar dictators. (2 marks)
- Explain how the Great Depression contributed to the rise of dictators. (2 marks)
- Define appeasement and explain why it failed. (2 marks)
- Name two turning points of World War II. (2 marks)
- Explain what the Holocaust was. (2 marks)
- Explain why the Cold War is called "cold". (2 marks)
- Name the two Cold War alliances and one Cold War crisis or proxy war. (2 marks)
- Explain how Gandhi led India to independence, and identify what Mandela is known for. (2 marks)
- Define globalization and name two global challenges of the contemporary world. (2 marks)