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GCSE History · key term
A public trial with a predetermined outcome, used to portray the accused as guilty and justify the regime’s actions.
Used by AQA and Edexcel
Paper 1
Revise: Stalin the DictatorHigh-profile opponents appeared in show trials. These were not impartial investigations: the outcome was predetermined, and defendants were tortured or threatened into confessing, sometimes in the hope of protecting their families. Public confessions made repression appear justified by presenting Stalin’s opponents as dangerous conspirators.
Paper 3
A staged public trial in which the verdict is decided in advance, used to discredit defendants and promote the government’s version of events.
Revise: Use of TerrorA show trial was a staged public trial with a predetermined outcome. It created the appearance of a legal process while denying defendants a genuine opportunity to establish their innocence. High-profile opponents were made to confess to crimes such as sabotage or plotting against the government.
Keep chronology clear: Kirov’s murder was in 1934; the Great Terror and major show trials followed in 1936–1938.
Assess show trials as both a means of removing prominent rivals and a public justification for terror. They were only one part of the wider purges.
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