FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION-2026 FOR RECRUITMENT
TO POSTS IN BS-17 UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
EUROPEAN HISTORY
TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
(PART-I MCQs) : MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
(PART-I MCQs) MAXIMUM MARKS: 20
(PART-II) MAXIMUM MARKS: 80
NOTE: (i) First attempt PART-I (MCQs) on separate OMR Answer Sheet which shall be taken back after 30 minutes.
(ii) Overwriting/cutting of the options/answers will not be given credit.
(iii) There is no negative marking. All MCQs must be attempted.
PART-I (MCQs)(COMPULSORY)
Q1 (i) Select the best option/answer and fill in the appropriate Box on the OMR Answer Sheet.(20×1=20)
(ii) Answers given anywhere else, other than OMR Answer Sheet, will not be considered.
1 The treaty of Bucharest was imposed by Germany on?
(A) Algeria (B) Bulgaria (C) Romania (D) Italy
2 Which of the then great powers conceived The Project of Baghdad Railways for ease of administration and connectivity?
(A) Russia (B) Germany (C) USA (D) England
3 In the battle of Passchendale 1917 the British lost approximately
(A) Six Hundred Thousand (B) Five Thousand only (C) Three Hundred Thousand (D) Fifty Thousand
4 The Treaty of Versailles imposed many restrictions on Germany including reduction of its army strength to only?
(A) Six hundred thousand (B) One hundred thousand (C) Three hundred thousand (D) None of these
5 Under the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey was allowed to retain areas of?
(A) Smyrna and Constantinople (B) Constantinople and Armenia
(C) Smyrna and Armenia (D) None of these
6 During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the USA pursued their vested interests. Which of the following areas were major theatre of the Cold War?
(A) Africa because of its resources. (B) Latin America because of its location.
(C) East Asia because of its population. (D) Europe because of its industrial development and Germany
7 Which of the following hinderances delayed Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union?
(A) The need to help Mussolini in the Balkans and North Africa as well as immense logistical problems.
(B) Hitler’s desire to win a winter campaign in Russia and break the curse of Napoleon.
(C) The incompetence of the German General Staff and their lack of resources.
(D) The British aerial bombardment of Germany and the French resistance to Nazi rule.
8 The British Prime Minister Lloyd George was criticized or blamed for one of the following policies. Which policy measure was his major flaw?
(A) The British Prime Minister who led his country to victory in the First World War.
(B) The British Prime Minister who advocated a pro-Turkish policy.
(C) The British Prime Minister responsible for the appeasement of Germany.
(D) The British Prime Minister who was a lifelong enemy of Winston Churchill.
9 In 1904, the Entente Cordiale was signed between?
(A) England & France (B) England & Germany (C) England & Russia (D) England & Italy
10 The Italian dictator Mussolini used the term “MARE NOSTRUM” (our sea) for;
(A) Adriatic Sea (B) Black Sea (C) Dead Sea (D) Mediterranean Sea
11 Which of the following term defines “existentialism” in thematic sense?
(A) Material existence (B) Freedom in circumstances
(C) Non-materialism (D) Post modernism crisis
12 What event is traditionally considered the beginning of the French Revolution?
(A) The Reign of Terror (B) The execution of Louis XVI
(C) The Storming of the Bastille (D) The March on Versailles
13 The “Scramble for Africa” and the competition for colonies was a key feature of European:
(A) Industrialization (B) Imperialism (C) Nationalism (D) The Enlightenment
14 Otto von Bismarck’s policy of “blood and iron” referred to:
(A) The use of war and military power to achieve German unification. (B) Agricultural modernization.
(C) A social welfare program for workers. (D) An alliance system with France.
15 The immediate trigger for the outbreak of World War I in 1914 was:
(A) The German invasion of Poland. (B) The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
(C) The sinking of the Lusitania. (D) The Russian Bolshevik Revolution.
16 The policy of appeasement, most associated with British PM Neville Chamberlain, is best exemplified by:
(A) The invasion of Poland.
(B) The Munich Agreement (1938), which ceded part of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
(C) The signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
(D) The Battle of Britain.
17 The “Schlieffen Plan,” which helped shape the early phase of WWI, was designed by Germany to:
(A) Invade Russia first, then France. (B) Fight a prolonged defensive war on two fronts.
(C) Quickly defeat France in the west before turning to fight Russia in the east.
(D) Use naval power to blockade Great Britain.
18 Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin, after Lenin’s death, disagreed most fundamentally on:
(A) Whether to end the New Economic Policy (NEP).
(B) The concept of “Permanent Revolution” vs. “Socialism in One Country.”
(C) The need to collectivize agriculture. (D) The alliance with the Western powers against fascism.
19 The geopolitical strategy behind the U.S. Marshall Plan (1948) was primarily to:
(A) Punish Germany for starting WWII. (B) Rebuild the Soviet Union’s devastated economy.
(C) Promote economic recovery in Western Europe to prevent the spread of communism.
(D) Fund the development of nuclear weapons by NATO allies.
20 The 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Prague Spring were both:
(A) Attempts to achieve a more liberal or independent form of communism that were crushed by Warsaw Pact forces.
(B) Soviet-led military exercises.
(C) Successful nationalist movements that broke away from the Soviet bloc.
(D) Movements to join the European Economic Community.
PART-II
NOTE: (i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ONLY FOUR questions from PART-II by selecting TWO questions from EACH SECTION. All questions carry EQUAL marks.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the question will not be considered.
SECTION-A
Q No 2 How did Eighteenth century’s Rational ideas and the situation of Fear outlined the course of French Revolution in Europe? Discuss and analyze. (20)
Q No 3 The European Revolutions changed historical process in 1830’s and 1840’s. Would you be able to draw certain historical conclusions from early events or do you believe that they had short term impact over the socio-political environment of Europe? Support your stance with valid arguments. (20)
Q No 4 What was the continental system and why did Napoleon try to enforce it after 1806? Why did he fail? Explain with related examples. (20)
Q No 5 Why and how did Britain witnessed an economic revolution without any particular noticeable political upheaval in the 1800s? (20)
SECTION-B
Q No 6 Winston Churchill criticized the Policy of Appeasement “a total and unmitigated defeat”. What were major factors behind this policy? (20)
Q No 7 It is stated by the historians that that French hunt for security and England’s desire for peace were responsible for the rise of Hitler. Do you agree? If not, then come up with watertight argument to prove your point. (20)
Q No 8 How did the rise of the United States of America changed the outcome of major conflicts among the European Powers between 1914 and 1945? (20)
Answer Key Q1
1 (C) Romania, 2 (B) Germany, 3 (C) Three Hundred Thousand, 4 (B) One hundred thousand, 5 (A) Smyrna and Constantinople, 6 (D) Europe because of its industrial development and Germany, 7 (A) The need to help Mussolini in the Balkans and North Africa as well as immense logistical problems, 8 (B) The British Prime Minister who advocated a pro-Turkish policy, 9 (A) England & France, 10 (D) Mediterranean Sea, 11 (B) Freedom in circumstances, 12 (C) Storming of the Bastille, 13 (B) Imperialism, 14 (A) The use of war and military power to achieve German unification, 15 (B) The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, 16 (B) The Munich Agreement (1938), which ceded part of Czechoslovakia to Germany, 17 (C) Quickly defeat France in the west before turning to fight Russia in the east, 18 (B) The concept of “Permanent Revolution” vs. “Socialism in One Country,” 19 (C) Promote economic recovery in Western Europe to prevent the spread of communism, 20 (A) Attempts to achieve a more liberal or independent form of communism that were crushed by Warsaw Pact forces
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