AP European History Sample Student Responses and Scoring

2018

AP European History

Sample Student Responses

and Scoring Commentary

Inside:

Short Answer Question 2

• Scoring Guideline

• Student Samples

• Scoring Commentary

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2018 SCORING GUIDELINES

Short Answer Question 2

Generic Scoring Guide

0–3 points

Score 3

Response accomplishes all three tasks set by the question.

Score 2

Response accomplishes two o

f the tasks set by the question.

Score 1

Response accomplishes one o

f the tasks set by the question.

Score 0

Response accomplishes none o

f the tasks set by the question.

Score NR

Is completely blank

Question-S

pecific Scoring Guide

• One point for describing a cause of the financial difficulties faced by Germany in the early 1920s or a

caus

e of the unwillingness of France and Britain to respond to German calls for aid

• One point for describing an effect of the financial difficulties faced by Germany in the early 1920s or an

effe

ct of the unwillingness of France and Britain to respond to German calls for aid

• One point for explaining the British cartoonist’s perspective on the financial situation of Germany in

the

1920s

Scoring Notes

“The international situation depicted in the cartoon” can be understood as the economic/financial distress

exp

erienced by Germany in the aftermath of the World War I or as the unwillingness of France and Britain to

respond to German calls for aid, or a combination of the two.

To meet the m

inimum requirement of “describe” in (a) and (b) responses, the response must offer an accurate

description of a cause or effect of the international situation. Although it is not necessary for an acceptable

response to offer an explicit, fully worked out explanation of how the cause or effect is connected to the

situation portrayed in the 1921 cartoon, responses must offer some basic analysis (i.e., “World War II” by itself

is not a sufficient explanation of an effect for part (b). For part (c) the response must do more than just quote

the image captions and must contain analysis that moves beyond description of the image.

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Short Answer Question 2 (continued)

Possible acceptable responses for part (a) (not exhaustive):

• Economic reparations demanded of Germany by the Versailles Treaty as a result of the Allied

d

eclaration of Germany’s “guilt” in World War I

• Political instability of the early Weimar Republic that made economic recovery more difficult

• Economic difficulties faced by post-war Britain and France that made them unwilling to help Germany

Additional note: A mere mention of “war guilt” or World War I in general is not enough to earn the point. The

s

tudent must connect the war to the broader international situation of post-World War I Europe.

Possible acceptable responses for part (b) (not exhaustive):

• Ongoing hostility and mistrust in European international relations contributing to the rise of

n

ationalism, Hitler and Nazism, and ultimately to the outbreak of the World War II

• Hyperinflation as the German government printed money to meet its reparations payments

• Rise of political extremism (Nazism, revolutionary communism) in Germany because of economic

d

istress and/or the continued hostility of other countries

• Political resentment in Germany over France and Britain’s unwillingness to help

• U.S. involvement in European economic and political affairs through the Dawes-Young Plan and the

p

rovision of loans to Germany after 1924

• Continued economic disruption in Germany

• Allied occupation of parts of Germany to secure reparation payments in goods rather than in inflated

G

erman currency

Additional notes: It is not enough for students simply to claim that World War II was an effect of the

i

nternational situation. They must explain how or why World War II was connected to Germany’s economic,

social, or political situation in the aftermath of World War I.

You may also see students reference antisemitism as an effect of the situation depicted in the cartoon, which

c

an work as long as the response explains that Nazis targeted Jews as scapegoats for the economic and

political crises of post-World War II Germany and the response doesn’t simply claim that the German

population as a whole blamed Jews for the post-World War I international situation in the early 1920s.

Possible acceptable responses for part (c) (not exhaustive):

In part (c), “cartoonist’s perspective” can be understood specifically as the cartoonist’s assumption that

G

ermany’s distress is faked or more generally as a hostile view of Germany held by the cartoonist. Acceptable

responses should make at least minimal acknowledgement of the chronological context of the cartoon (the

immediate aftermath of World War I). Some responses may demonstrate awareness that the cartoonist was

British, but a response can still achieve the point without directly acknowledging the cartoonist’s national

origin.

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Short Answer Question 2 (continued)

• The recent experience of war with Germany led British people like the cartoonist to be hostile to

Germany and suspicious of its motives in the postwar period.

• The cost of the war with Germany or the belief that Germany was the aggressor led the cartoonist to

condemn the German request for aid and/or portray it as a ruse.

Additional note: Many students are misinterpreting the cartoon by claiming that the cartoonist is sympathetic

to the Germans and that the British and French are refusing to help a drowning Germany with an easily

accessible lifebelt (i.e., “loans”). This is typically occurring because students are not closely reading the

captions of the cartoon, which indicate that the British and French are “taunting” the German and that he is

kneeling in the water, when he is capable of standing.

2A

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2B

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2C

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Short Answer Question 2

Overview

a) Describe one cause of th

e international situation depicted in the cartoon.

R

esponses were expected to demonstrate an understanding of the post-World War I Versailles Treaty settlement

an

d its economic and political impact on Germany, especially the assignment of guilt and the imposition of

reparations, which are addressed in the curriculum framework in Key Concept 4.1.II. C and Thematic Learning

Objective SP-7.

b) Explain one effect o

f the international situation depicted in the cartoon.

Responses were expected to demonstrate an understanding of how Germany’s post-World War I economic crisis

le

d to a variety of effects, including currency inflation, the Allied occupation of the Ruhr, U.S. intervention

through the Dawes Plan, or (more typically) the rise of Nazism as a result of popular disillusionment with the

Weimar government. These issues are addressed in the curriculum framework in Key Concept 4.2.

c) Explain the cartoonist’s perspective on the international situation depicted in the cartoon.

Responses were expected to demonstrate the skill of primary source analysis, particularly the analysis of visual

stimul

us material. More specifically, they were expected to show that students can assess intent and perspective

when interpreting primary documents. These skills are addressed in the curriculum framework.

Sample: 2A

Score: 3

Th

e response to part a) earned 1 point because it discusses the Treaty of Versailles and specifically focuses on

econ

omic reparations, their direct impact on the German economy, as well as Germany's response to limits

placed on its military.

The response to part b) earned 1 point because it develops a sophisticated discussion of the rise of nationalism

and Hitler in interwar Germany as a response to the Treaty of Versailles.

The response to part c) earned 1 point because it recognizes that the cartoonist is British and that this impacts

the c

artoonist's view Germany's requests for economic assistance are false. The analysis goes beyond just a

description of the cartoon.

Sample: 2B

Score: 2

The response to part a) earned 1 point because the response addresses the harsh economic consequences the

Tre

aty of Versailles imposed on Germany, even if the wording is vague.

The response to part b) earned 1 point because it develops an analysis of the rise of extreme political

ideol

ogies in Germany during the interwar period due to its post–World War I financial crisis and lack of

international support.

The response to part c) did not earn a point because the interpretation of the cartoon as sympathetic to

Ger

many is incorrect.

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EUROPEAN HISTORY

2018 SCORING COMMENTARY

Short Answer Question 2 (continued)

Sample: 2C

Score: 1

The response to part a) did not earn a point because it discusses World War I but does not analyze how this

context caused the international situation depicted in the cartoon. It is not enough to say that the Allies blamed

Germany for the war.

The response to part b) earned 1 point because it explains in detail how the Weimar government's post-war

wea

knesses led to the rise of Nazism.

The response to part c) did not earn a point because it is a misinterpretation of the cartoonist’s perspective,

wh

ich is not neutral.

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