# History Grade 12 P2 NSC June 2023 Question Paper (English) > Grade 12 History Paper 2 question paper from the NSC June Exam 2023 (English), 9 pages. Read online or get the free PDF download, memo linked when available. - Page: https://www.hlayiso.com/library/history-p2-may-june-2023-eng/1ff3dcdc-c9b1-4101-a05b-623b1d3ead76 - Updated: 2026-09-27 - Subject: History - Grade: Grade 12 - Document type: Question paper - Year: 2023 - Exam period: NSC June Exam - Paper: 2 - Curriculum: CAPS - Pages: 9 Breadcrumbs: [Home](https://www.hlayiso.com/) › [Library](https://www.hlayiso.com/library) › [Grade 12](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12) › [History](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12/history) › [History Grade 12 P2 NSC June 2023 Question Paper (English)](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/history-p2-may-june-2023-eng/1ff3dcdc-c9b1-4101-a05b-623b1d3ead76) ## About this document History · Grade 12 · NSC June Exam · 2023. Question paper, 9 pages. Read online or download the PDF. Read it free online on the page above; download the PDF from there. ## Document text Text extracted from the PDF. Layout, diagrams and tables may not survive extraction. ### Page 1 Downloaded from hlayiso.com SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS/ NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS HISTORY P2 2023 MARKS: 150 TIME: 3 hours This question paper consists of 9 pages and an addendum of 14 pages. Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 2 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 2 DBE/2023 SC/NSC INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION 1. This question paper consists of SECTION A and SECTION B based on the prescribed content framework in the CAPS document. SECTION A: SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS QUESTION 1: CIVIL RESISTANCE, 1970s TO 1980s: THE CRISIS OF APARTHEID IN THE 1980s QUESTION 2: THE COMING OF DEMOCRACY TO SOUTH AFRICA AND COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PAST QUESTION 3: THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND A NEW WORLD ORDER, 1989 TO THE PRESENT SECTION B: ESSAY QUESTIONS QUESTION 4: CIVIL RESISTANCE, 1970s TO 1980s: SOUTH AFRICA QUESTION 5: THE COMING OF DEMOCRACY TO SOUTH AFRICA AND COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PAST QUESTION 6: THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND A NEW WORLD ORDER 2. SECTION A consists of THREE source-based questions. Source material that is required to answer these questions can be found in the ADDENDUM. 3. SECTION B consists of THREE essay questions. 4. Answer THREE questions as follows: 4.1 At least ONE must be a source-based question and at least ONE must be an essay question. 4.2 The THIRD question can be either a source-based question or an essay question. 5. You are advised to spend ONE hour per question. 6. When answering questions, candidates should apply their knowledge, skills and insight. 7. You will be disadvantaged by merely rewriting the sources as answers. 8. Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper. 9. Write neatly and legibly. Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 3 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 3 DBE/2023 SC/NSC SECTION A: SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS Answer at least ONE question, but not more than TWO questions, in this SECTION. Source material to be used to answer these questions is contained in the ADDENDUM. QUESTION 1: HOW DID THE MASS DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (MDM) REACT TO PW BOTHA'S 'REFORMS' IN THE 1980s? Study Sources 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D and answer the questions that follow. 1.1 Refer to Source 1A. 1.1.1 Why, according to the source, was the MDM formed in 1988? (1 x 1) (1) 1.1.2 Identify THREE organisations in the source that were part of the MDM. (3 x 1) (3) 1.1.3 Explain why the MDM operated as an unstructured front in the fight against apartheid. (1 x 2) (2) 1.1.4 Define the term defiance campaign in your own words. (1 x 2) (2) 1.1.5 Why did the MDM decide to organise a worker stay-away against the tricameral elections due to take place on 6 September 1989? (1 x 2) (2) 1.2 Read Source 1B. 1.2.1 State TWO reasons why the nearly month-old campaign of civil disobedience and defiance by South African blacks lost some of its momentum by August 1989. (2 x 1) (2) 1.2.2 Explain why MDM leaders of the defiance campaign decided to escalate their protests a week before the elections for Parliament in September 1989. (2 x 2) (4) 1.2.3 Comment on the implication of the march by Mary Burton and Dorothy Boesak for British intervention in South African matters. (1 x 2) (2) 1.2.4 Give TWO protest actions, named in the source, that could not materialise because of arrests or other restrictions on MDM activists. (2 x 1) (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 4 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 4 DBE/2023 SC/NSC 1.3 Study Source 1C. 1.3.1 Identify any TWO reasons in the source that best describe why the peace march can be regarded as a success. (2 x 1) (2) 1.3.2 What do you think influenced the apartheid government at the time, not to use violence to break up the peace march? (2 x 2) (4) 1.3.3 Explain the term emergency decrees in the context of the apartheid government's attempt to control anti-apartheid demonstrations. (1 x 2) (2) 1.3.4 Quote evidence from the source that shows the protestors imitated (copied) some actions of the US Civil Rights Movement. (1 x 2) (2) 1.4 Use Source 1D. 1.4.1 Why do you think this photograph was taken on 13 September 1989? (2 x 2) (4) 1.4.2 Explain the usefulness of this source to a historian studying the 13 September 1989 peace march. (2 x 2) (4) 1.5 Refer to Sources 1C and 1D. Explain how the evidence in Source 1D supports the information in Source 1C regarding the events that unfolded during the peace march organised by the MDM on 13 September 1989. (2 x 2) (4) 1.6 Using the information in the relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a paragraph of about EIGHT lines (about 80 words) explaining how the MDM reacted to PW Botha's 'reforms' in the 1980s. (8) [50] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 5 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 5 DBE/2023 SC/NSC QUESTION 2: WAS THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TRC) SUCCESSFUL IN ATTAINING ITS AIMS WITH ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU AS ITS CHAIRPERSON? Study Sources 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D and answer the questions that follow. 2.1 Refer to Source 2A. 2.1.1 What, according to the source, was the purpose of the TRC when it was set up in 1996? (1 x 2) (2) 2.1.2 Identify THREE areas recorded by the Commission where horrendous atrocities (horrific killings) were committed against political activists. (3 x 1) (3) 2.1.3 Comment on the meaning of the statement, 'the decision to end apartheid and bring the ANC to power was aimed at staving off mass revolution by South Africa's workers and youth'. (1 x 2) (2) 2.1.4 Explain why you think the TRC played an important contributory role in avoiding a bloodbath in South Africa. (2 x 2) (4) 2.2 Read Source 2B. 2.2.1 What messages are conveyed by this cartoon regarding the evidence in the final TRC report? (2 x 2) (4) 2.2.2 Explain the implication of the phrase 'SO DID WE' by the security forces regarding their contribution to the TRC report. (1 x 2) (2) 2.3 Consult Source 2C. 2.3.1 What, according to the source, did the failure of several pre-1998 trials mean for some former security forces? (1 x 2) (2) 2.3.2 Define the concept perpetrators in the context of the TRC. (1 x 2) (2) 2.3.3 Explain why the TRC cannot be blamed for the failure of the National Director for Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to prosecute. (2 x 2) (4) 2.3.4 Identify THREE reasons in the source why the NDPP's progress in acting on the recommendation by the TRC was slowed down. (3 x 1) (3) 2.3.5 Comment on the limitations of this source for a researcher studying the success of the TRC. (2 x 2) (4) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 6 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 6 DBE/2023 SC/NSC 2.4 Refer to Sources 2B and 2C. Explain how the information in Source 2B supports the evidence in Source 2C regarding the weaknesses of the TRC report. (2 x 2) (4) 2.5 Study Source 2D. 2.5.1 How, according to the source, did social media describe Archbishop Tutu on hearing of his passing (death)? (1 x 2) (2) 2.5.2 Explain what is implied by Mbeki's statement, 'there might have been shortcomings in the design of the process', with reference to the TRC. (1 x 2) (2) 2.5.3 Using your own words define the concept reconciliation. (1 x 2) (2) 2.6 Using the information in the relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a paragraph of about EIGHT lines (about 80 words) explaining whether the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was successful in attaining its aims with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its chairperson. (8) [50] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 7 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 7 DBE/2023 SC/NSC QUESTION 3: WHAT CHALLENGES DID BRICS MEMBERS ENCOUNTER IN ADDRESSING PROBLEMS CREATED BY GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE 21st CENTURY? Study Sources 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D and answer the questions that follow. 3.1 Read Source 3A. 3.1.1 State ONE of the global objectives of sustainable development set forth by the international community. (1 x 2) (2) 3.1.2 Define the concept global climate change in your own words. (1 x 2) (2) 3.1.3 Identify any TWO aspects in the source according to which countries differ in addressing climate change challenges. (2 x 1) (2) 3.1.4 Explain the implication of the statement, 'The problem of climate change, however, cannot be solved by the efforts of any one country acting alone.' (2 x 2) (4) 3.2 Study Source 3B. 3.2.1 Give any TWO pieces of evidence in the source to show that BRICS countries have no common position on global climate change. (2 x 1) (2) 3.2.2 Comment on what the Indian Prime Minister, Modi, meant by 'climate change is a concern which needs to be tackled in a framework of cooperation, rather than coercion (force)'. (2 x 2) (4) 3.2.3 Explain the implication of the statement, 'In the end, all want to "free ride" and none wants to "pay the check" ', in the context of managing climate change. (2 x 2) (4) 3.3 Use Source 3C. 3.3.1 Identify TWO challenges stated by President Jinping regarding climate change that COP26 had to address. (2 x 1) (2) 3.3.2 Explain the concept multilateralism in the context of tackling global climate change. (1 x 2) (2) 3.3.3 According to President Jinping, which TWO documents provide the legal basis for international cooperation on climate change? (2 x 1) (2) 3.3.4 Quote any TWO ways, according to President Jinping, how the world must respond to climate change. (2 x 1) (2) 3.3.5 Comment on why a historian researching China's contribution to addressing global climate change during COP26, would find this source reliable. (2 x 2) (4) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 8 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 8 DBE/2023 SC/NSC 3.4 Refer to Source 3A and Source 3C. Explain how the evidence in Source 3A supports the information in Source 3C regarding the BRICS countries' position in challenging global climate change. (2 x 2) (4) 3.5 Consult Source 3D. 3.5.1 Explain the messages conveyed by this photograph regarding global climate change. (2 x 2) (4) 3.5.2 What do you think 'HOME', as captured in the photograph, refers to? (1 x 2) (2) 3.6 Using the information in the relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a paragraph of about EIGHT lines (about 80 words) explaining challenges that BRICS members encountered in addressing problems created by global climate change in the 21st century. (8) [50] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 9 Downloaded from hlayiso.com History/P2 9 DBE/2023 SC/NSC SECTION B: ESSAY QUESTIONS Answer at least ONE question, but not more than TWO questions, in this section. Your essay should be about THREE pages long. QUESTION 4: CIVIL RESISTANCE, 1970s TO 1980s: SOUTH AFRICA Black Consciousness started a movement that filled the political vacuum in the 1960s and continued to successfully challenge the apartheid government in the 1970s. Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your answer with relevant historical evidence. [50] QUESTION 5: THE COMING OF DEMOCRACY TO SOUTH AFRICA AND COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PAST Critically discuss why the negotiation process towards a democratic South Africa was not an easy process between 1990 and 1994. Use relevant evidence to support your line of argument. [50] QUESTION 6: THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND A NEW WORLD ORDER Explain to what extent Gorbachev's reforms were influential in affecting politics in South Africa in 1989 and in the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Use relevant historical evidence to support your response. 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