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GCSE English Literature · key term
A public trial staged to demonstrate an accused person’s supposed guilt and strengthen the ruling authority, rather than establish the truth fairly.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 2
A staged public trial intended to demonstrate the power and supposed righteousness of a regime, rather than establish guilt fairly.
Revise: ContextThe Moscow show trials of 1936–38 targeted leading former Bolsheviks. Confessions to alleged conspiracies helped present repression as a necessary defence of the revolution rather than an attack on its own people.
Use precise contextual links: the executions recall Stalin’s purges and show trials; the timber agreement recalls the 1939 Nazi–Soviet pact; Frederick’s attack recalls the German invasion of 1941.
Integrate context into the point it explains: the puppies connect to Stalin’s loyal supporters and secret police; the executions connect to the Moscow Show Trials.
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A public trial staged to demonstrate an accused person’s guilt and support the government’s political message, rather than establish the truth fairly.
Paper 1
A public trial staged to demonstrate an accused person’s guilt and reinforce the government’s authority rather than deliver impartial justice.
Revise: ContextThe Moscow show trials of 1936–38 publicly presented prominent former Bolsheviks as criminals. Confessions and accusations helped make repression appear justified; the wider terror also involved mass arrests and torture.
A public trial arranged to demonstrate the government’s power and establish an intended verdict, rather than fairly determine guilt.
A public trial staged to demonstrate the authorities’ version of events and intimidate opponents, rather than impartially establish guilt.
A staged trial intended to demonstrate the supposed guilt of accused people and strengthen the authority of those in power.
Paper 1
A staged trial designed to demonstrate the supposed guilt of an accused person and promote the government’s political message.
Revise: ContextShow trials presented accusations and confessions as proof that the government’s enemies were guilty.
A public trial arranged to demonstrate the authorities’ power and confirm an accusation rather than establish guilt fairly.
