The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : What major event took place on November 9, 1989?
Possible answers:
- The signing of the German reunification treaty
- The destruction of the Mostar bridge
- The fall of the Berlin Wall
- The abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II
Explanation: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended 28 years of separation between the two Germanys. The wall had been built in August 1961 by East Germany to stop the mass exodus of its population to the West. Its fall came less than a year before the official reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990.
Question 2 : The coup of 18 Brumaire, which took place on 9 November 1799, put an end to which French political regime?
Possible answers:
- The Reign of Terror
- The National Convention
- The Restoration
- The Directory
Explanation: The Directory, established in 1795, was a five-member government often criticized for its corruption and inefficiency. The coup of 18 Brumaire brought Bonaparte to power as First Consul, inaugurating the period of the Consulate, which lasted until 1804 and the establishment of the Empire.
Question 3 : Kristallnacht, which took place on the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, is described as a pogrom. What does this term mean?
Possible answers:
- A military coup
- Organized violence against a minority
- A popular revolt against the government
- A retaliatory bombing
Explanation: The word "pogrom" comes from Russian and literally means "devastation" or "destruction". It refers to organized collective violence against an ethnic or religious minority, often Jews in Eastern Europe. Kristallnacht got its name from the shattered windows of Jewish shops, and was a precursor signal to the Holocaust.
Question 4 : Which famous French poet died on November 9, 1918, two days before the Armistice?
Possible answers:
- Paul Verlaine
- Arthur Rimbaud
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Stéphane Mallarmé
Explanation: Guillaume Apollinaire, whose real name was Guglielmo de Kostrowitzky, died of the Spanish flu on November 9, 1918, weakened by a head wound he received in 1916 during the First World War. He is the author of major collections such as "Alcools" (1913) and "Calligrammes" (1918), the latter published a few months before his death.
Question 5 : Jean Monnet, born on 9 November 1888, is best known for what historical role?
Possible answers:
- Founder of the French 5th Republic
- One of the founding fathers of post-war Europe
- First Secretary-General of the UN
- Creator of the Marshall Plan
Explanation: Jean Monnet is considered one of the architects of European integration. He was the driving force behind the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, which led to the creation of the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community). He also chaired the Action Committee for the United States of Europe from 1955 to 1975.
Question 6 : In 1923, Adolf Hitler attempted a putsch in Munich that failed. What is this event commonly called?
Possible answers:
- The Chancellery Putsch
- The Beer Hall Putsch
- The Reichstag Putsch
- The Nuremberg coup
Explanation: The Beer Hall Putsch (Bürgerbräukeller-Putsch) was an attempted coup inspired by Mussolini's March on Rome in 1922. Hitler was arrested, tried, and sentenced to five years in prison, of which he served only nine months. It was during this imprisonment that he dictated "Mein Kampf" to Rudolf Hess.
Question 7 : Which space mission carried out the first flight of the Saturn V rocket on November 9, 1967?
Possible answers:
- The Apollo 1 mission
- The Apollo 11 mission
- The Apollo 4 mission
- The Gemini 7 mission
Explanation: Apollo 4 was an uncrewed test flight designed to test the power of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket ever built at the time. Standing 111 meters tall and weighing nearly 3,000 tons at liftoff, it was subsequently used for all the crewed lunar missions of the Apollo program, including Apollo 11 in July 1969.
Question 8 : On November 9, 1970, Charles de Gaulle passed away. What had been his main role before becoming president of the 5th Republic?
Possible answers:
- Minister of War under the 3rd Republic
- Leader of the French Resistance from London
- President of the Council under the 4th Republic
- Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe
Explanation: De Gaulle was first the leader of Free France from London starting on June 18, 1940, before becoming president of the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946. He returned to power in 1958 to found the 5th Republic and was its first president until 1969, the year he resigned after a referendum failed.
Question 9 : The actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, born on November 9, 1914, is recognized for co-developing a technology that laid the groundwork for which modern communications?
Possible answers:
- Color television
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Satellite phones
- Sound cinema
Explanation: Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil patented in 1942 a frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system, originally designed to make radio-controlled torpedoes difficult to detect. This principle is today the foundation of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Lamarr received no financial compensation during her lifetime for this invention.
Question 10 : Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, who died on November 9, 2004, is world-famous for which crime novel series?
Possible answers:
- The Wallander saga
- The Millennium trilogy
- The Maigret series
- The Kurt Wallander investigations
Explanation: Stieg Larsson is the author of the Millennium trilogy, whose first volume "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was published posthumously in 2005. He died of a heart attack at just 50 years old without seeing the worldwide success of his work. The series was adapted for film in Sweden and then by Hollywood, and has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide.
