Monday 27 June 2016 Morning

Transcription

1 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Monday 27 June 2016 Morning LEVEL 2 AWARD THINKING AND REASONING SKILLS B902/01/RB Unit 2 Thinking and Reasoning Skills Case Study * * RESOURCE BOOKLET (CLEAN COPY) Duration: 1 hour INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES This is a clean copy of the Resource Booklet which you should already have seen. You should refer to it when answering the examination questions which are printed in a separate booklet. You may not take your previous copy of the Resource Booklet into the examination. You may not take notes into the examination. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES CONTENTS OF THE RESOURCE BOOKLET Document 1 Background information Document 2 A photograph published in a British newspaper in January 1915, as part of its coverage of the truce Document 3 Letters published in British newspapers in January 1915 Document 4 Material from Royal Mail s website Document 5 A graph showing the numbers of British soldiers killed leading up to and over the Christmas period 1914 Document 6 The truth about the Christmas Day football match. An article written by a history professor at the University of St Andrews Document 7 Adapted extracts from a 2014 article published in The Telegraph Document 8 A 2014 article published in The Independent newspaper Document 9 A selection of comments made on a social networking site in December 2014 This document consists of 16 pages. Any blank pages are indicated. INSTRUCTION TO EXAMS OFFICER / INVIGILATOR Do not send this Resource Booklet for marking; it should be retained in the centre or recycled. Please contact OCR Copyright should you wish to reuse this document. [D/502/0968] DC (LK/SG) /1 OCR is an exempt Charity Turn over

2 2 DOCUMENT 1 Background information In 2014, the centenary of the beginning of the First World War, Sainsbury s released their Christmas TV advertisement depicting a truce in the trenches in December The truce, according to the Sainsbury s ad, saw British and German troops cease fighting in an extraordinary spell of festive goodwill, not only laying down their weapons, but shaking hands, exchanging gifts and playing football with each other in no man s land. The launch of a special Christmas advertisement has become a regular event for big supermarket brands, such as Sainsbury s and Tesco. The 2014 Sainsbury s advertisement was controversial for a number of reasons, including the question of whether it is appropriate to commercialise an event from such a tragic period in world history, and its questionable historical accuracy. Historical records vary in their accounts of what actually happened in the trenches on December 25 th 1914, although it is clear that there was an unsuccessful attempt to declare a formal truce, and whatever did happen that day was not in accordance with official orders on either side. Historians refer to a live and let live attitude that seems to have existed among trench soldiers at times during the First World War, although it is not known exactly how this relates to the events on Christmas Day What has become known as the Christmas truce of 1914 has been the inspiration for several other creative productions, including the video for Paul McCartney s Pipes of Peace in 1983 and the lyrics for the song All Together Now by The Farm. It has also featured in films and TV programmes based on the First World War.

3 3 DOCUMENT 2 A photograph published in a British newspaper in January 1915, as part of its coverage of the truce Turn over

4 4 DOCUMENT 3 Letters published in British newspapers in January 1915 A letter written by an English soldier (Liverpool Daily Post) A CHRISTMAS TRUCE An unofficial truce on Christmas day is described by an English soldier, who writes: I will tell you about a thing that I couldn t imagine happening till it did. We have actually met the Germans half-way between our trenches and exchanged cigarettes, buttons, &c.! On Christmas Eve we were shouting across to each other, A merry Christmas, &c, and they shouted, Don t shoot till New Year s Day and all that. On Christmas morning it was a bit foggy, and, as there was no shooting, we got out at the back and had a game of rounders. Getting tired of this, we got out at the front and started wandering over to the Germans. When the mist cleared a bit we saw that the Germans were doing the same thing of course, unarmed. We got so close that five of us and five of them met and had a talk. They nearly all talked English. After dinner nearly all our boys went out, and we found the Germans had also turned up in force. The result was a huge mixed crowd of men swopping buttons, cigarettes, &c. The letter, which is published in the London Evening News, concludes: Then some German officers came up and actually took our photos, all sitting on the ground. Wouldn t have missed the experience of yesterday for the most gorgeous Christmas dinner in England.

5 A letter written by Private Edward Duncan (Aberdeen Journal) 5 Private Edward Duncan, E Company, 6th Battalion Gordon Highlanders (T.F.), son of Mr George Duncan, builder, Ardlui, Inverurie, writing home to his mother on the 28th December, in the course of a long and interesting letter, says: We spent Christmas Day in the trenches, and it was one long to be remembered for a reason that you can hardly credit. We had a day off with the Germans, and had fun along with them in chasing a hare, and giving as well as receiving souvenirs. It seemed to be a mutual truce along our part of the line. Certainly, it was not official. The first that we knew about it was a few Germans putting their heads up above the trenches, and some of the boys saying that they were out to bury their dead. A few of the enemy soon appeared clear of the trenches, and before you could say Jack Robertson, they all came out and over the trenches without their rifles. Our boys were soon swarming up to meet them, and hand shaking ensued. We were not allowed to go near their trenches, so we carried their dead half across, and they carried our dead the same distance. Soon a hare made its appearance between our trenches, and all joined in the chase. Not a man could refrain from laughing at the sight, as the Germans mixed with us in the scramble. Spontaneous laughter re-echoed all around, and the hare got clean away, so there was no trouble over who was to have the soup. A good few of them could speak English, and one of them was once a Sunday School teacher in Blackpool. He said that they got bulletins issued to them every day, and they were told of a great German victory in Poland, and that they were to get 160 guns, which had been captured from the Russians, up to help them. They had been waiting patiently, but no guns had come their way, so they are now fearing it was a bulletin of falsehoods. They are all fed-up, and wishing it was over. Some of them were exceedingly smart looking chaps, and gave our boys cigs and chocolate, as well as drinks of gin. They said that if we did not fire, they would not, and the agreement was carried out. The day after Christmas, they cried across if we would play them at a game of football, but as no football was forthcoming, there was no match. The first night we were in the trenches they were crying across to us and singing Christmas carols, and taking spasmodic turns of shouting, Are we downhearted? No! Turn over

6 A letter written by Lieutenant C H Brewer (Gloucester Journal) 6 Lieutenant C. H. Brewer writes from the trenches: Just a line to let you know how I spent one of the most remarkable Christmas Days it would be possible to have. I can t say I wouldn t have missed it for worlds, for I would have given anything to have spent it amongst you all at Gloucester... We came into the trenches again on Christmas Eve. It was a lovely night, frosty and a clear half-moon. When we got here we found there was a telegraph fixed up between here and headquarters, and as there was no one to work it, I worked it for about a couple of hours. We all stayed up till after 12 and wished each other A merry Christmas and a better one next year. The Germans were singing and playing mouth organs hard all Christmas Eve. Just opposite us they have got a Christmas tree stuck up on the parapet. Early on Christmas morning they shouted across to us A merry Christmas! and asked if some of us would go half-way and meet them. We did, and it was the most extraordinary sight I have ever seen to see English and German soldiers shaking hands and exchanging cigars and cigarettes between the trenches. One of them gave me a cigar, but I did not smoke it as I was rather suspicious of them at the time. Not a shot was fired all day, and everybody walked about on top of the trenches. The same happened yesterday, but to-day we have kept in our trenches, although no shots have been exchanged. They said they would not fire on us till we fired on them, but we are keeping a very careful look out. They were most of them a miserable-looking lot, and some looked awful. They had a sickly yellowish-green colour in their cheeks which made them look as if they had lived underground for some time. Higher up the line you would scarcely believe it but they were kicking a football about between the trenches. But perhaps the funniest sight was when a hare was started between the lines, to see English and German soldiers running after this hare as if their lives depended on it; but in spite of all this, you can bet your boots we were keeping a very sharp look out.

7 7 DOCUMENT 4 Material from Royal Mail s website Not only is Royal Mail a postal delivery service, it also sells stamps, collectibles and gifts. Royal Mail commemorated the centenary of the First World War by selling a series of stamps, memorials and artwork. They also published extracts from letters sent by soldiers about the Christmas truce Below is an extract from their website: On 25 December 1914, soldiers who had been at war for months climbed out of their trenches and exchanged cigars and souvenirs. They also took the opportunity to talk with one another and, some claim, even to play a football match. 100 years later, letters from the Western Front help to bring to life the remarkable Christmas truce between German and British soldiers. An extraordinary sight I think I have seen one of the most extraordinary sights today that anyone has ever seen, writes Captain A D Chater of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, in a letter to his mother from his freezing dug-out on Christmas Day About 10 o clock this morning I was peeping over the parapet when I saw a German, waving his arms, and presently two of them got out of their trenches and came towards ours. We were just going to fire on them when we saw they had no rifles. So one of our men went out to meet them and in about two minutes the ground between the two lines of trenches was swarming with men and officers of both sides, shaking hands and wishing each other a happy Christmas. Exchanging cigarettes and autographs The opportunity for both sides to bury their dead lying between the lines, or simply to go for long walks in the open without being shot at, gave Captain Chater and his comrades a moment s respite from a devastating conflict. In his letter, he describes another meeting in no man s land that further illustrates the unexpected good humour between enemy forces: We had another parley with the Germans in the middle. We exchanged cigarettes and autographs, and some more people took photos. I don t know how long it will go on for I believe it was supposed to stop yesterday, but we can hear no firing going on along the front today except a little distant shelling. We are, at any rate, having another truce on New Year s Day, as the Germans want to see how the photos come out! Captain Chater s letter paints a vivid picture of goodwill in the middle of a war in which there is so much bitterness and ill feeling. It also reminds us that the conflict was not personal between the men on opposing sides. The Germans in this part of the line are sportsmen if they are nothing else, he writes, underlining the sense of uneasy trust that inspired the Christmas truce. Unofficial truces between opposing forces occurred at other times during the First World War but never on the scale of that first Christmas truce. Turn over

8 8 DOCUMENT 5 A graph showing the numbers of British soldiers killed leading up to and over the Christmas period 1914 Number of deaths Dec 19-Dec 20-Dec 21-Dec 22-Dec 23-Dec 24-Dec 25-Dec Day-by-day deaths on the Western Front British army only Location 26-Dec 27-Dec Belgium Key 28-Dec France 29-Dec 30-Dec 31-Dec 01-Jan 02-Jan 03-Jan 04-Jan 05-Jan

9 9 DOCUMENT 6 The truth about the Christmas Day football match. An article written by a history professor at the University of St Andrews The Germans provided the beer and singing, while officers from both sides struggled to prevent the troops from fraternising The Christmas truce, with its famous football match, is one event from the Great War that almost everyone knows about. Our remembrance has been stimulated by the extra attention paid to the war during this centenary year and by the remarkably accurate Sainsbury s advert. My own research for a new book has revealed a slightly different account from the one that is commonly told; one that gives more credit to the Germans as initiators. The truce was, first and foremost, an act of rebellion against authority. In the trenches, though peace on earth seemed a ridiculous fantasy, impromptu ceasefires had been occurring as early as December 18. The British High Command, alarmed that the holiday might inspire goodwill, issued a stern order against fraternisation. Officers were warned that yuletide benevolence might destroy the offensive spirit in all ranks. Christmas, in other words, was to be a time for killing. The Germans, however, were stubbornly festive. In an effort to bolster morale, truckloads of Christmas trees were sent to the Kaiser s forces. All along the line, Germans were acting in bizarrely peaceful fashion. Guns fell silent. Candles and lanterns taunted British snipers. Late on Christmas Eve, Germans singing Stille Nacht echoed across no man s land. The British, initially perplexed, soon joined in. Then came shouted messages in English from the German trenches. Tomorrow is Christmas; if you don t fight, we won t. Dawn usually brought a chorus of rifle and artillery fire. On Christmas Day, however, an eerie quiet persisted, as if the war itself had evaporated. As the sun rose, the Germans called to the British to meet them in no man s land. The latter at first suspected a devious plan for yuletide slaughter, but suspicion soon gave way to trust. It was one of the most curious Christmas Days we are ever likely to see, wrote Captain CI Stockwell of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Intent on obeying orders, he tried desperately to ignore German good cheer. But then, around midday, his sergeant reported that Germans were standing on their parapet, unarmed and in full view. Permission to shoot them, sir? the sergeant asked. Stockwell was troubled: The Germans were shouting, Don t shoot. We don t want to fight today. We will send you some beer. My men were getting a bit excited. In an attempt to assert control, Stockwell shouted that he wanted a chat with his German opposite number. An officer emerged and walked across no man s land. Stockwell met him halfway. He told the German that he was not allowed to fraternise and warned that his men might open fire at any moment. The German responded: My orders are the same as yours, but could we not have a truce from shooting today? We don t want to shoot, do you? After much discussion, the two agreed not to fight until the following morning. As Stockwell turned toward his trench, the German called out: You had better take the beer. We have lots. In response, Stockwell gave the German a plum pudding. For the rest of the day, not a shot was fired. All along the line, Christmas Day was shaped by the willingness to disobey orders. Granted, in some places killing continued, but in many places, delightful chaos reigned. Fraternisation led inevitably to football. Men who could not otherwise communicate shared a common language in the game. After a short while somebody punted across a football, one subaltern recalled. The ball landed amongst the Germans and they immediately kicked it back at our men it was a melee. It wasn t a question of 10-a-side, it was a question of 70 Germans against 50 Englishmen. That scenario was repeated all along the line. The locations of these matches remain obscure, in part because few soldiers subsequently admitted taking part. Turn over

10 10 In truth, there was never any danger that goodwill would endure. Everyone accepted that the moment of compassion was just that a moment. At 8:30 on Boxing Day morning, Stockwell fired three shots in the air, then hoisted a flag with Merry Christmas on it. The German captain appeared on the parapet, bowed and fired two shots in reply. The War was on again, wrote Stockwell. The guns resumed their murderous cacophony; slaughter resumed. The footballs were put away. By spontaneously playing football on Christmas Day, these men gave notice that something precious, noble and decent still survived amidst the carnage. At that moment, they were neither British nor Germans, but lovers of a game. Whether imagined or not, that match was an assertion of civility on a landscape of hatred and waste. Gerard DeGroot is an American professor of history at the University of St Andrews. His book, Back in Blighty: The British at Home in World War I, is published by Vintage.

11 11 DOCUMENT 7 Adapted extracts from a 2014 article published in The Telegraph Sainsbury s 1914 Christmas truce ad exploits memory of Great War Sainsbury s is mired in its own form of 21st century commercial trench warfare with the German supermarket Aldi. But by dramatising the 1914 First World War truce between the Tommy and Boche soldiers to sell us more mince pies and turkey this Christmas, it has gone too far. True, the company s latest festive commercial is a beautifully shot piece. It could almost be a Hollywood remake of the classic film All Quiet on the Western Front, except that the important message of war being the most pointless waste of young life is entirely washed into the background of history by the ad s real purpose, which is to make Sainsbury s money. Of course, Sainsbury s isn t the first company to commercialise the horror of war to sell a product. Many television advertisements have featured scenes from battlefields, or military imagery, to market to a particular audience. The supermarket argues that the advert, which shows a British soldier handing his hungry German counterpart a bar of chocolate while their comrades play football in no man s land, is intended to reflect the theme of sharing at Christmas and act as a tribute to the spirit of humanity displayed in the unofficial truce. Profits from the sale of the chocolate bar featured in the ad will even go to the Royal British Legion, but why did Sainsbury s not choose simply to make an anonymous donation directly from the profits at the tills to veterans organisations? Sainsbury s has chosen the wrong moment, 100 years after the first shots were fired in the Great War, to exploit the memory of this bitter conflict in such a blatantly commercial fashion. Although the truce between the opposing sides did happen during the winter of 1914, it was frowned upon by the military leadership of both nations. It s actually disputed whether the football match ever took place. By constructing an artificially sentimental plot of hands reaching out across the trenches at Christmas, Sainsbury s has distorted history in the tradition of Hollywood blockbusters, such as Titanic and Braveheart, in order to provoke an emotive response to buy. Although many will applaud the company for placing remembrance at the centre of its Christmas campaign, did the supermarket really need to airbrush and exploit our history to boost festive earnings? Turn over

12 12 DOCUMENT 8 A 2014 article published in The Independent newspaper Sainsbury s Christmas advert 2014: Nothing says Merry Xmas folks! like trench warfare First, there was a penguin. Then came a pair of rather naff giggling fairies perched precariously on a roof, sprinkling CGI d sparkles over a rubber turkey. Now, the latest in the seemingly endless line of festive adverts designed to pull at both our heart and purse strings, comes Sainsbury s offering: Christmas is for Sharing. Theirs is a soft-focused retelling of the December 25th 1914 truce between British and German soldiers on the Western Front, because nothing says Merry Xmas folks! like trench warfare. Initial responses to the three-minute film appeared to be overwhelmingly positive. Twitter was full of gushy messages: The Sainsbury s Christmas ad is the best Christmas advert I ve seen so far!! ; The Sainsbury s advert is beautiful. Once again I m left in tears!. Finally, so it seemed, we had been given the Christmas ad we had always wanted. It was beautifully shot, with no shoehorned product placement (aside from a single chocolate bar, the proceeds from which will all be donated to the British Legion) and a story which was sensitively depicting a more-orless historically accurate moment of genuine human kindness. The true Christmas message was back on our screens. In the year of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, and with the Tower of London poppies still in the process of being dismantled, the whole thing was perfectly timed to tap into a collective feeling of remembrance. It was hard not to be moved. But then came the creeping realisation that maybe, just maybe, there was something not quite right here. The perfect timing was just too perfect. It felt a little, well, emotionally manipulative. Of course we were moved, because it s an incredibly poignant story but harnessing this historical moment in order to sell some Brussels sprouts seems pretty crass and cynical, to say the least. Not only that, but a short three-minute clip does rather gloss over the actual horrors of the trenches. This is war for the Instagram generation. Two incredibly attractive, chiselled young men, without a spot of mud or a smear of blood in sight, merrily frolic together in the sunshine, before swapping Sainsbury s own brand chocolates (yours for just one pound: in stores now). Let s ignore the fact that in a matter of hours they will be trying to kill each other again, and that they may very well succeed. And let s not talk about how in the later years of the war artillery bombardments were ordered on Christmas Eve to make sure that such fraternisation never happened again. These facts do slightly muddy all the festive cheer. So, then, isn t this just a case of forced sentimentality and rampant commercialism? Is this a supermarket literally trying to cash in on war? It is starting to appear as if everything is fair game now in the annual battle to get consumers close to tears, in the hope that this will persuade them to buy more mince pies. Are we now 87 years away from a stirring Christmas tale set in the Twin Towers? There is undoubtedly something slightly uncomfortable about the advert, however good the intentions of the company behind it, and there is no doubt the debate will continue to rage until Boxing Day. But looking at the fierce spats it has caused to break out all over the internet, I am reminded of only one thing: the festive season is truly here. Because Christmas isn t really about sharing, it s about falling out with everyone you ve ever known over something as utterly silly and superficial as a TV ad.

13 13 DOCUMENT 9 A selection of comments made on a social networking site in December 2014 Flossie, Northampton I think the Sainsbury s ad is the best Christmas advert I ve ever seen even beating the Coca Cola lorry I can t believe that people have complained! What is there to take offence over? Whether or not it s totally factually accurate, we all know about a supposed football match in no-man s land at Christmas during the Great War. This is not belittling the atrocity of the war. We know it was horrendous that is why we wear poppies and remember in November every year. For the 100th anniversary something extra is needed. It is nice to be reminded about the goodness in humankind when we can overcome adversity and show peace to one another. Jack, Southport I think it s right that we commemorate the war with an advert that makes us think about the human side of what we read about in the history books, but enough is enough now. People have been wearing poppies every November since 1919, but we should draw a line under it after the centennial is over. November 2018 should be the last poppy day it s time to move on. Eugene, Blackpool Adverts like these make war less gruesome it becomes sanitised, romanticised, prettified. I used to be in the army, and the reality of war is very different. The ad was not made to honour soldiers but to make money. It seems as though anything is fair game to flog stuff. Thomas, Coventry Every complaint submitted by a Mr. J. Lewis haha. Seriously, though, people ought to know that it didn t happen the way it appears in the advert. Newspapers printed some letters sent home by soldiers who were in the trenches on Christmas Day The letters all tell a different version of what happened which could be because the newspapers made them up to sell papers and raise people s spirits. Nasima, Crewe 240 people complained about the advert, but Sainsbury s sold 5000 charity chocolate bars per hour over the Christmas period. Any advert that sells that many charity chocolate bars is a good thing, no matter how many people it offends! In fact, anything that raises money for charity is a good thing. This is a beautiful tribute to the heroes of the First World War so people should be praising Sainsbury s not complaining. Hassan, Tottenham What a wonderful advert! People who are complaining clearly think that we should all wear black and stay in mourning forever after the war, but to do that is totally impractical life goes on and we should remember the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives. Turn over

14 14 Harry, Belfast Although the advert is nice and makes you all warm and fluffy inside, it isn t very historically accurate so people are right to complain. It was actually quite common at that time in the First World War for the soldiers on the frontline to defy orders and take unofficial breaks from fighting each other historians call it live and let live. Truces occurred because of a mutual need to bury the dead before disease set in and to deal with trench conditions after heavy rainfall. Yuan, Liverpool Complaining about a supermarket ad because it gets the historical facts wrong is like complaining about them having a Santa s Grotto to attract children into their store, when he clearly doesn t exist. One word...ridiculous.

15 15 BLANK PAGE

16 16 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Copyright Information OCR is committed to seeking permission to reproduce all third-party content that it uses in its assessment materials. OCR has attempted to identify and contact all copyright holders whose work is used in this paper. To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced in the OCR Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download from our public website ( after the live examination series. If OCR has unwittingly failed to correctly acknowledge or clear any third-party content in this assessment material, OCR will be happy to correct its mistake at the earliest possible opportunity. For queries or further information please contact the Copyright Team, First Floor, 9 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1GE. OCR is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group; Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.