Cold War Revision Guide

Shimon Levison
 Contents

The Origins of the Cold War and early tensions between East and West P2-3

The development of the Cold War P3-7

 The Berlin Blockade and consequences

 The formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact
 Events in Hungary

Cold War crises 1958- 1970 P7-10

 The Berlin Crisis 1958-1963

 The Bay of Pigs Invasion
 The Cuban Missile Crisis
 Events in Czechoslovakia

The end of the Cold War – Détente P10-11

 Détente
 SALT 1
 The Helsinki Agreement

The end of détente P11

 The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

 The Olympic boycotts

The Second Cold War P12

Gorbachev’s new thinking P12

The collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe P12-14

 The fall of the Berlin Wall

 The INF Treaty
 The collapse of the Soviet Bloc and end of communism
 The end of the Warsaw Pact

Berlin as a flashpoint P14-16

Arms Treaties P16

Timeline P17-20

Exam questions P21-23

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 Section 1: The origins of the Cold War, 1941-1958

Early tensions between East and West

Write a narrative account analysing the key events of the Tehran Conference 1943 (8
marks)

 The most important feature of the Tehran Conference was that it showed that there
were tensions between the so called allies of the USA, the USSR and the British. It
was attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill.
 It showed that the alliance was a marriage of convenience. There were underlying
tensions because of the conflict between communism and capitalism
 The most important decision that was taken was to open up a Second Front in
France to take the pressure off the Russians fighting the Germans in the east which
became D Day, but Stalin was convinced that the USA was deliberately delaying this
so as to weaken the USSR.

Write a narrative account analysing the key events of the Yalta Conference 1945 (8 marks)

 The most important feature of the Yalta conference was that it was held just before
the war ended to decide about the future of Europe and Germany.
 The key decision taken was that Germany was to be zoned up into four and that the
same would be done to Berlin. There would be an occupational zone for the USA,
France, Britain and the USSR. This was decided by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill.
 It was agreed that there would be a Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe
and a Western Sphere of influence in Western Europe.
 The Nazi leaders would be put on trial at Nuremburg, and there would be a policy of
Denazification in all of the zones. This meant that the Nazi party would be banned.
 Stalin promised that free elections would be held in the countries of Eastern Europe
that they controlled such as Poland and Hungary.
 There would be a western and Soviet sphere of influence in Europe.

Additional/ Consequences

 The leaders agreed that they would demand an unconditional surrender from
Germany.
 There was disagreement over reparations from Germany.
 There were agreements about changing the boundaries of Poland.
 There was agreement about the setting up of the United Nations.

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Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Potsdam Conference 1945? (8
marks)

 This conference confirmed the decision about Germany and Berlin, but it also
showed that the Cold war was developing.
 Truman had replaced Roosevelt and he took a stronger anti-communist line that was
known as the Iron Fist approach.
 Truman was angry about the fact that Stalin had broken his promise about free
elections in Eastern Europe and was forcing the countries of Eastern Europe such as
Poland, Hungary and Romania to go communist.
 Truman refused to let the Russians have the secret of the atomic bomb which he was
about to use against Japan, although the Russians agreed to declare war on Japan to
finish off the Second World War.

Key point/ Consequences: The conferences at Yalta and Potsdam showed that there were
major tensions between the USA and the USA. The underlying cause was the ideological
conflict between communism and capitalism and the fact that both sides thought the other
was trying to take over the world. This became clear at Yalta and Potsdam.

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Iron Curtain Speech (8 marks)

 The Iron Curtain speech was made by Churchill on a visit to the USA and even though
he was no longer Prime Minster it got a great deal of publicity.
 The speech was important because it pointed out that the USSR had forced the
countries of Eastern Europe to become communist and compared it to putting up an
Iron Curtain because people in Eastern Europe could not move or travel to Western
Europe.
 The speech was regarded as being aggressive by the USSR which now felt there
might be an attack on them, at a time when they were vulnerable because they did
not have the A bomb.

The development of the Cold War

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of The Truman Doctrine 1947 (8
marks)

 The most important feature of the Truman Doctrine was that it outlined the policy of
Containment, in which the USA said it was prepared to go to war in order to prevent
the spread of communism into Western Europe and countries such as Britain and
France.
 The Truman Doctrine accepted that communism had been established in Eastern
Europe and there would be no attempt to remove it.
 The Truman Doctrine was triggered by events in Greece and Turkey where there
seemed to be a danger of a communist takeover, which the US intervened in to stop.

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  The Truman Doctrine showed that there would be no return to isolationism by the
USA.

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Marshall Plan 1947 (8
marks)
 This was a follow up to the Truman Doctrine and was an attempt to ensure that
communism did not spread into Western Europe, but doing it economically.
 The idea was to give financial aid to Western Europe to make those countries rich
enough to not want to turn to communism.
 The aid was given on condition that the economy would be run on capitalist lines.
Marshall Aid was offered to Eastern Europe but the Americans knew it would be
turned down since the condition was that there had to be a capitalist economy. Not
surprisingly Stalin did refuse it.

Consequence: Taken together the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan showed that the
USA was determined to stop any further spread of communism in Europe. This increased
tension between the USA and the USSR

What were the key features of Cominform and Comecon?

 The most important feature of Comecon and Cominform was that they were both
ways in which the USSR controlled the Eastern Bloc (also known as the satellite
states or the Soviet Bloc) with countries such as Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia
etc.
 Cominform was a method of controlling the Soviet Bloc countries politically by
making sure that all policies were passed through Cominform which was dominated
by the USSR.. Cominform was set up in 1947 and dissolved in 1956 by Khrushchev as
part of Destalinisation.
 Comecon was set up in 1949 to be the equivalent of Marshall Aid for the Soviet Bloc
countries but in reality it took money away from these countries and gave it to the
USSR.
 Comecon enabled the USSR to control the economies of these countries and to
ensure Soviet control of the Eastern Bloc.

Write a narrative account analysing the key features the Berlin Blockade of 1948 (8 marks)

 The most important feature of the Berlin Blockade was that it was a flashpoint in the
Cold War and could have led to a hot war.
 The Berlin Wall was triggered by the USA’s decision to introduce a new currency in
the western zones of Berlin (Trizonia) but the real reason was that Stalin wanted to

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 test whether the USA really meant what it had said about preventing the spread of
communism.
 Stalin wanted to see if he could force the USA to let him have the whole of Berlin
despite what was agreed at Yalta.
 Stalin ordered a blockade of all land routes into the western zones of Berlin including
canal, road and rail.
 The US and British response was the Berlin Airlift in which supplies were flown in to
keep the western zones supplied. This lasted a year until the USSR called off the
blockade. If a single plane had been shot down it could have led to a hot war.

The formation of East and West Germany

 After the Berlin Blockade it was clear that the division of Germany would continue
 Three days after the end of the blockade, the USA, Britain and France allowed their
zones to come together to form the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).
West Germans were allowed to elect their own parliament which was called the
Bundestag and in September 1949, the first democratically elected chancellor,
Konrad Adenauer took office.
 Stalin responded by creating the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in
October 1949. Only the communist countries recognised it as a nation.

Why did relations between the USA and USSR change between 1949 and 1953?

 The main reason why relations worsened in these years is the continued underlying
ideological conflict between communism and capitalism, but there were particular
issues that increased tension, including the USSR testing their A bomb, the
formation of NATO, China turning communist and the formal division of Germany
into two countries.
 Although the Berlin Blockade was called off tension had been increased and the USA
now set up a defence organisation called NATO. NATO was designed to ensure that
all members would defend each other if there was an attack by the USA. NATO was
dominated by the USA but included all the countries of Western Europe as well as
Canada and Turkey. The USSR regarded NATO as a threat. All member countries of
NATO contributed troops under a unified command.
 Tension was also increased when the USSR tested their own A bomb which they had
obtained using their spy network. Both countries now had the power to destroy the
other and were nuclear powers.
 Tension increased even more when the Korean War broke out between communist
North Korea capitalist South Korea in 1950, but was reduced in 1953 with the death
of Stalin and the end of the Korean War.

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Soviet control over Hungary between 1945 and 1955

 The most important feature of Soviet control of Hungary was that Hungary was
forced to become a communist country and to become a one party state in which
there was no free speech or democracy.
 There was secret political police force and many political prisoners.
 One in four of the population was an informer so people lived in fear.
 The economy was controlled by Comecon and political control was in the hands of
Cominform.
 Students at school were forced to learn Russian and to study communist theory
which they were told was the truth.

Why was the Warsaw Pact set up in 1955?

 The main purpose of the Warsaw Pact was to increase Soviet control over the
eastern bloc by coordinating armed forces in a defence pact designed to counter
NATO
 The majority of the forces were Russian
 The Warsaw Pact was formed partly in response to the US decision to allow
rearmament in West Germany

Why was there an uprising in Hungary in 1956?

 The main reason for the uprising was that the people of Hungary wanted more
freedom and a better standard of living
 They were angry about the political prisoners and the secret police spying on them
 The hard line leader Rakosi was hated and the people wanted to be led by Nagy who
took over from Rakosi at the beginning of 1956
 The Hungarians were encouraged by the fact that Khrushchev had criticised Stalin in
a speech, giving the impression he might not insist on keeping control of Hungary.
He started the process of DeStalinisation, and there was talk of a ‘thaw’ in the Cold
War
 Some Hungarians had the impression that the USA would support them if they rose
up, especially with the propaganda from Radio Free Europe

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Hungarian Uprising (8 marks)

 The most important feature was that it was a failed attempt by Hungary to break
away from the Soviet Bloc
 The crushing of the Hungarian Uprising increased tension in the Cold War

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  The uprising was led by Imre Nagy and was symbolised by the smashing of a statue
of Stalin in Budapest
 Nagy released political prisoners, and even said that Hungary would leave the
Warsaw Pact
 The USA did not get involved because Hungary was in the Soviet Bloc
 Nagy was replaced by the hard-line Kadar and full Soviet control returned
 Thousands of Hungarians were either killed or emigrated

Why did Soviet troops invade Hungary in 1956?

 The main reason was that the Russians wanted to make sure that Hungary stayed in
the Soviet Bloc
 They feared that if one country was allowed to break away the others would follow,
such as Poland, Czechoslovakia etc.
 Khrushchev wanted to remove Nagy and replace him with a hard-liner.
 The excuse was that the people who led the uprising were fascists and that the
Russians were saving the Hungarian people

Cold War crises 1958 – 1970

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Berlin crisis 1958 to 1963 (8
marks)

 The most important feature was that in these years Berlin was once again a
flashpoint in the Cold War because of the refugee problem and the fact that so
many people were crossing over from East to West Berlin in the hope of a better
standard of living and more freedom. 2.5 million had left by 1961.
 Because many of the people who left East Berlin were skilled workers such as
engineers this became known as the Brain Drain. Khrushchev called West Berlin ‘a
fishbone in my throat’. He wanted to put pressure on the USA to give up West
Berlin.
 There were two conferences to deal with the problem but both were a failure. The
Paris Conference 1960 between Eisenhower and Khrushchev failed when
Khrushchev walked out after U2 spy plane was shot down over Russia and
Eisenhower refused to apologise. A year later the Vienna summit between
Khrushchev and Kennedy also broke down. This helped Khrushchev to decide to
order the building of the Berlin Wall, who was also under pressure from the East
German communist leader Ulbricht

Consequences of the Berlin crises 1958-1963

 In 1961 the Communists built the Berlin Wall to prevent the migration from east to
west, and to stop the brain drain.

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  The Wall went up overnight and cut off the two parts of the city and sometimes even
going through peoples back gardens. Immediately some people tried to escape
across to West Berlin and there were many attempts after this.
 The Berlin Wall was a huge symbol of the Cold War, and a great propaganda victory
for the USA who could say that the only way to keep the people communist was to
build a wall around them.
 In1963 Kennedy took advantage of the wall for propaganda when he visited Berlin
and made a speech in which he said: Ich Bin Ein Berliner’.

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 (8
marks)

 The main feature of the Bay of Pigs was that it was an attempt to overthrow Castro
who had become leader of Cuba in 1959 when he had overthrown the US puppet
Batista.
 The USA had boycotted Cuba economically to try to overthrow Castro but now
attempted a secretly organised invasion
 The invasion was organised by the CIA using anti-Castro Cuban exiles
 The invasion was a disaster and easily defeated, and was a humiliation for Kennedy
and the USA
 The event made relations between Cuba and the USSR stronger and paved the way
for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 (8
marks)

 The most important feature of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that it brought he world
close to a full scale nuclear war. Khrushchev had place IRBMs on Cuba putting all of
the main US cities within range. When the USA found them through use of a U2 spy
plane Kennedy ordered their removal and threatened to take action if this was not
done.
 Khrushchev refused and argued that the US had missiles in Turkey which were an
equal threat to the USSR and now the US would know what it felt like. Furthermore
he said that he would put additional missiles on Cuba.
 In response to this Kennedy drew a quarantine zone (naval blockade) around Cuba
and threatened to n blow up any ship that entered the zone. Khrushchev ordered
the Soviet ship to turn back at the last minute.
 The situation was still dangerous because the soviet missiles were still on Cuba.
There were ‘Hawks’ in Kennedy’s advice team who wanted the USA to invade Cuba
which could have led to all-out war.

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  The conflict was resolved after the Thirteen Days when Khrushchev agreed to
remove the weapons on a promise that there would be no US invasion, and later the
USA took its missiles out of Turkey.

The consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis

 Kennedy appeared to have been the victor and gained a propaganda advantage. Two
years later Khrushchev was overthrown.
 The crisis was so shocking that a year later in 1963 a telephone hot line was set up
between the Kremlin and the White House so that the leaders could be in touch
before crisis could develop.
 There was also the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which banned testing above the ground
in the atmosphere. This had environmental advantages but mainly showed that the
superpowers were willing to come to an agreement.
 The Cuban Missile Crisis had showed that the two sides wanted to avoid an all-out
hot war.

Czechoslovakia 1968 - 1969

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the Prague Spring (8 marks)

 The main reason for the uprising was anger at the hard-line communist rule of
Novotny and a desire for more freedom and democracy, and to be free from Russian
control.
 The uprising was led by the new leader Alexander Dubcek who promised Socialism
with a human face, and began to make liberalising reforms that came to be known
as the Prague Spring.
 The Czech people were also inspired by the hippie movement in the USA and many
of those who took part were students.
 The most important feature of the Prague Spring was that it involved liberalising
reforms such as a free press and freedom of speech, and a move away from hard line
communism
 The reforms were led by Dubcek who talked of socialism with a human face
 It was seen as a threat by the USSR
 It was seen as a great improvement by western countries and the USA in particular
 Dubcek said he did not want to leave the Warsaw Pact, probably in an attempt to
stop the USSR from invading

Why did Warsaw Pact tanks invade in 1968?

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  The USSR ordered the invasion because Brezhnev thought that if Czechoslovakia got
away with it other Soviet Bloc countries would follow
 Dubcek was seen as being too dangerous, and Brezhnev announced the Brezhnev
Doctrine which said that the USSR had the right to intervene in any Eastern Bloc
country to maintain communism

What was the international response to the invasion?

 The USA gave verbal support but not military help, because it happened in the Soviet
Bloc, and the USA did not want to risk a war
 The western European countries also condemned the invasion but did not take any
direct action
 Brezhnev went on to announce the Brezhnev Doctrine

The end of the Cold War - The Détente Years

What was meant by détente?

 Détente referred to better relations that developed in the Cold War particularly in
the 1970s.
 Bothe sides wanted to reduce tensions so that they could save money being spent
on the arms race
 The Soviets wanted to spend money on the domestic economy and provide more
consumer goods, while the USA wanted to cut arms spending because they had lost
so much money on the Vietnam War

What were the key features of détente?

 The most important feature of detente was the desire to have better relations, to
reduce arms race spending and to reach trade agreements
 The most important achievements of detente were the signing of SALT 1 (1972) and
the Helsinki Agreement of 1975 in which the USSR signed up to respecting human
rights
 Detente lasted through to 1979 but was ended by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,
which started the second Cold War

What was SALT 1?

 There would no increase in ICBM or short range missiles

 It was negotiated by Nixon and Brezhnev
 It was key part of detente, showing cooperation and a desire to save money, and to
reduce the danger of nuclear war

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  There was to be monitoring to ensure the countries complied, and would be allowed
to use satellites to check

What was the Helsinki Agreement?

 The most important feature of the Helsinki Agreement was that it symbolised
détente and the attempt to reduce tension in the Cold War
 It was important because the USSR signed up to respecting human rights, and
allowed Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel
 It increased trade between the USSR and the USA, and sharing of scientific
information, and to arrange a space link up
 A key feature was that the human rights sections were broken by the USSR but when
the President Carter complained Brezhnev told them to mind their own business

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979

 The most important feature of the invasion was that it ended the period of detente
and started the Second Cold War
 It was seen as an aggressive act by the USA even though the real reason was to stop
Islamic fundamentalism spreading into Afghanistan then to Russia itself
 It led to the Carter Doctrine which talked about taking further action to stop the
spread of communism in the Middle East, including the boycott of the Moscow
Olympics in 1980
 It went badly for the USSR who could not deal with guerrilla tactics of the Mujahidin
guerrillas
 The Afghanistan campaign weakened the Soviet economy

The end of détente

What were the key features of the Olympic boycotts of 1980 and 1984?

 The 1980 boycott was called for by President Carter as a way of putting pressure on
the USSR and to get a withdrawal from Afghanistan. It was intended to make the
Moscow Olympics less successful, and to reduce the amount of money the Russians
got from people visiting from other countries, especially the Americans. This
damaged the Russian economy.
 Carter wanted other non-communist countries to join the boycott, but they did not.
The UK did not follow the US boycott.
 The 1984 boycott of the Los Angeles was a Russian retaliation in which they could
take revenge. It showed how bad relations were between the USSR and the USA. The
boycott also involved the other Soviet Bloc countries such as Poland and Hungary.
The communist countries held their rival Freedom Games

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  The Olympic boycotts were a key part of the Second Cold War that began with the
invasion of Afghanistan
 The boycotts were an example of the use of sport as a weapon in the Cold War

Ronald Reagan and the Second Cold War

What were the key features of the Star Wars Programme of 1983?

 The most important feature of the Star Wars programme was that it increased
tension in the Cold War.
 The Star Wars programme was the name given to the Strategic Defence Initiative
announced by Ronald Reagan
 The aim was to provide a missile shield for the USA to deflect any Soviet nuclear
attack.
 This was seen as a major threat by the USSR since it by passed the concept of MAD –
mutually assured destruction. In other words if it worked it would make it possible
for the USA to bomb the USSR without fear of retaliation

Gorbachev’s new thinking

The most important change came as a result of the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev became
leader of the USSR in 1985 and began to reform the USSR with his policies of Perestroika
and Glasnost

 Gorbachev was seen as a different kind of Russian leader. Margaret Thatcher called
him a ‘man we can do business with’ and Ronald Reagan agreed
 Reagan and Thatcher developed a trusting relationship and held a number of summit
conference, and the 1986 Reykjavik conference was followed in 1987 by the
Washington conference in which the INF Treaty was signed
 The INF (intermediate forces treaty) treaty marked the beginning of the end of the
Cold War and arranged for a reduction in nuclear weapons with monitoring for
compliance. This was the first treaty to actually arrange for a reduction in arms
 After this Gorbachev ended the Brezhnev Doctrine and began to pull out of
Afghanistan

The collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe

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Write a narrative account analysing the key features of the fall of the Berlin Wall (8 marks)

 There was a buildup of people power in 1989 with people protesting on the streets
about having to live under communism and to deal with the Berlin Wall.
 There was a feeling that things were going to change now that Gorbachev was in
charge of Russia and had shown that he was very different from previous leaders.
Gorbymania spread through the peoples of eastern Europe
 In November Gorbachev made it clear that he would not intervene if the Berlin Wall
came down and the crowds began to knock the wall down without any action being
taken by the East German guards, and people rushed through into West Berlin.
 This marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War, and triggered the collapse of
Communism in Eastern Europe.
 A year later Germany was officially reunited.

How and why did the Soviet Bloc collapse in 1989?

 Gorbachev had shown that he was a very different type of Russian leader. He
realised that Russian power had been reduced
 He began withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan, and ended the Brezhnev
Doctrine.
 He sent out the message that he was not prepared to force the Eastern Bloc
countries to stay communist.
 Without Russian backing the communist governments in these countries would be
much less powerful.
 The trigger to end Communism in Eastern Europe was the fall of the Berlin Wall. All
over Eastern Europe people realised that they might be able to get rid of communist
rule.
 Thousands of people began demonstrating in the capital cities of the communist
countries demanding a change of government, and one by one the communist
governments resigned.
 The demonstrations and protests became known as People Power.
 This process was generally peaceful as seen in the Velvet Revolution in
Czechoslovakia but there was violence in Romania.

What was the INF Treaty?

 The most important feature was that it marked the beginning of the end of the Cold
War
 It was officially known as the Intermediate Forces Treaty
 It showed the trust that had been built up between Reagan and Gorbachev
 It was the first arms treaty between the USA and USSR that actually cut weapons
 The negotiations took place in Reykjavik in 1986, but was signed in Washington in
1987
 The treaty arranged for reduction in both nuclear and conventional arms

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  There was to be monitoring of the treaty by both sides to make sure the arms were
actually being destroyed
 The treaty was followed by the START talks to end the arms race completely

Why did the Warsaw Pact end in 1991?

 The end of the Warsaw Pact resulted from the collapse of communism in Eastern
Europe, so that ever since 1989 the Warsaw Pact was really dead
 The Cold War had ended so there was no need to have a defence organisation
against NATO
 The Warsaw Pact collapsed because communism ended in the USSR and the USSR
itself was broken up.
 The actual decision to end the Warsaw Pact in 1991 was a formality

Write a narrative account analysing the key features of people power in 1989 (8 marks)

 The most important feature of people power was that it helped to overthrow the
communist governments of Eastern Europe and lead to their collapse in 1989
following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
 People power involved hundreds of thousands of people coming out onto the streets
in the cities of Eastern Europe, calling for a change in government
 These demonstrations involved people protesting about having to live under a
communist dictatorships
 People Power showed the communist governments how much they were hated, and
they could no longer rely on the USSR to keep them in power
 The best example of people power came with the Velvet Revolution in
Czechoslovakia, but in Romania there was violence when Ceausescu refused to hand
over power

The collapse of communism in Russia, the end of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact

 By 1990 the eastern bloc had broken up but the USSR was still officially communist.
The Warsaw Pact was officially ended in July 1991.
 In August 1991 there was an attempt by hardline communists in Moscow to restore
full communism but it failed, mainly as a result of resistance led by Boris Yeltsin
 In December Gorbachev announced the end of the USSR and resigned, and many
former Soviet republics became independent such as Ukraine and Georgia.

Berlin as a flashpoint

You will need to know three different periods in which Berlin was a focus for the Cold War

 The Berlin Blockade and Airlift 1948 to 1949

 The developing crisis over Berlin and the impact of the Berlin Wall 1957 to 1963
 The key features of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

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Berlin Blockade and Airlift

 Berlin had been divided into four zones at the same time as the whole of Germany
had been zoned up. This meant that the three western zones of Berlin were inside
the Russian zone of Germany. Stalin really wanted the western zones of Berlin to be
handed to him so that the USSR had control of the whole of Berlin.
 In 1948 Stalin tried to pressurise the west into giving up their part of Berlin by
ordering the Berlin Blockade. He did this partly to test the Truman Doctrine and
partly in reply to the introduction of a new currency in the western zones.
 Road, rail and canal connections were cut off so that West Berliners faced starvation,
but the USA and Britain responded with the Berlin Airlift in which supplies were
flown in by plane. This showed the determination of the USA to stand up to Stalin
and to get involved in Europe.
 The Berlin Blockade and Airlift provided a flashpoint in the Cold War and could have
led to a Third World War if any of the planes had been shot down. The airlift lasted
for a year until Stalin backed down and called off the blockade, but tension between
the USSR and the USA had increased.

Berlin crisis 1957 to 1963

 In these years Berlin was once again a flashpoint in the Cold War because of the
refugee problem and the fact that so many people were crossing over from East to
West Berlin in the hope of a better standard of living and more freedom. 2.5 million
had left by 1961.
 Because many of the people who left East Berlin were skilled workers such as
engineers this became known as the Brain Drain. Khrushchev called West Berlin ‘a
fishbone in my throat’. He wanted to put pressure on the USA to give up West Berlin.
 There were two conferences to deal with the problem but both were a failure. The
Paris conference between Eisenhower and Khrushchev failed when Khrushchev
walked out after U2 spy plane was shot down over Russia and Eisenhower refused to
apologise. A year later the Vienna conference between Khrushchev and Kennedy
also broke down. This helped Khrushchev to decide to order the building of the
Berlin Wall.
 Therefore in 1961 the Communists built the Berlin Wall to prevent the migration
from east to west, and to stop the brain drain.
 The Wall went up overnight and cut off the two parts of the city and sometimes even
going through peoples back gardens. Immediately some people tried to escape
across to West Berlin and there were many attempts after this.
 The Berlin Wall was a huge symbol of the Cold War, and a great propaganda a victory
for the USA who could say that the only way to keep the people communist was to
build a wall around them.

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  In1963 Kennedy took advantage of the wall for propaganda when he visited Berlin
and made a speech in which he said: Ich Bin Ein Berliner’.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

 The Berlin Wall came down in 1989 mainly because of the policies of the Soviet
leader Gorbachev who had made it clear that he was not going to use force to keep
the Soviet Bloc in place, and because there was increasing pressure from protests
and demonstrations inside East Germany for the wall to be destroyed. This was
known as People Power.
 Gorbachev knew that after the Afghanistan disaster Russia was too weak to carry on
dominating Eastern Europe and he declared that the Brezhnev Doctrine was over.
 The wall came down in November 1989 and symbolised the end of the Cold War.
 The fall of the Berlin Wall triggered the collapse of Communism in all of the Soviet
Bloc countries, mainly through People Power. In Czechoslovakia this became known
as the Velvet Revolution.
 In almost all of the satellite countries the fall of communism was peaceful but there
was violence in Romania.
 There was now no need for the Warsaw Pact and this ended in 1991 when
communism ended in Russia itself, the USSR was broken up into different states.

Arms Treaties during the Cold War: attempts to limit the arms race

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963

Agreement not to test nuclear weapons over ground. This would help stop radiation in the
atmosphere. It was signed after the Cuban Missile Crisis and was a way of reducing tension.

SALT 1 1972

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. Negotiated by Nixon and Brezhnev as part of détente.
Both sides agreed to put a limit on nuclear weapons and to allow for this to be monitored.

SALT 2 1979

Negotiated by Carter and Brezhnev as part of détente but was never signed because of the
invasion of Afghanistan. Aimed at controlling the increase in nuclear and conventional
weapons.

1987 INF Treaty (Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty)

Actual arms reduction rather than just control for the first time. Negotiated by Reagan and
Gorbachev, and showed that the Cold War was coming to an end.

START Talks 1991

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Strategic Arms Reduction Talks: final arms reduction agreement to mark the end of the Cold
War

International Relations – The Cold War 1943 - 1991

1943: Tehran Conference - Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt – Allied leaders agree on how to fight Hitler
and open up a second front

1944: 1944 Churchill and Stalin agree on the amount of control they will have in liberated countries in
Europe – percentages deal.

1945: February, Yalta Conference – Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt meet to discuss the implications for
the end of WWII

1945: July, Potsdam Conference – Stalin, Attlee and Truman experience a difficult conference with a
breakdown of trust

1945: August, During the Potsdam conference USA drops 2 atomic bombs on Japan

1946: Churchill makes his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech

1946: George Kennan, the US official in Moscow sends his Long Telegram to Truman warning him of
Soviet determination to expand

1947: The Truman Doctrine begins - USA intervene in Greece to support monarchy against communists.
Containmnent policy

1947: Marshall Plan – US economic aid for Europe – within 6 years 17$billion had been used to rebuild
Europe

1947: Cominform – the communist information Bureau is set up to enable the Soviets to coordinate
Communist parties across Europe

1948: The Western powers announce plans to create a West German state and introduce a new currency

1948: Berlin Blockade – Stalin blocks off access to West Berlin in an attempt to force the USA to leave

1948: Berlin Airlift is a massive operation by the USA to supply to people of West Berlin – at times planes
landed every 90 seconds

1949: Stalin ends the blockade– major propaganda victory for Truman who has stood up to the Soviets

1949: The Allies joined their zones in Germany and create West Germany, Stalin is quick to do the same
with Eastern Germany

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1949: NATO created – to prevent Soviet expansion and continue the USA’s policy of containment in
Europe. China turns communist.

1949: Comecon founded – used by Soviets to control eastern European economies. Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance.

1949: Soviets test their own A bomb – arms race develops

1950-53: The Korean War increases cold war tension as USA fights the communist North Koreans

1953: Stalin dies – Khrushchev becomes the new leader

1955: Soviets set up the Warsaw Pact to counter NATO

1956: Khrushchev criticizes Stalin and starts ‘DeStalinisation’. It seemed that the superpowers could
exist peacefully. (Until Hungary)

1956: October - Hungarian uprising – Rakosi is replaced by Nagy who makes sweeping changes

1956: November – The world stands by as the uprising is crushed by the Soviets and the leaders included
Nagy are executed

1957: Sputnik lunched into space, giving USSR a propaganda advantage

1959: Cuba becomes communist under Castro following the overthrow of USA puppet leader Batista

1961: USA’s failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs – a disastrous attempt by US trained Cuban exiles
at overthrowing Castro

1961 Vienna Summit between Kennedy and Khrushchev

1961: Khrushchev closes the borders around West Berlin which within days becomes a concrete wall –
the Berlin Wall’

1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis. 13 days in October that almost exculpates to nuclear war, ends in a
victory for USA

1963: After nuclear war is averted the superpowers enter a period of Detente – a relaxation of tensions

1963: JFK visits Berlin in a show of support and is seen by over 1.5 million people – a big propaganda
exercise

1963: Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed

1963: Telephone hotline set up Washington – Moscow

1964: Khrushchev is replaced by Brezhnev

1964: USA officially declare war in Vietnam

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1968: Dubcek introduces a series of liberal reforms ‘Socialism with a Human face’

1968: Fearing the Czech ideas may spread in August Warsaw Pact troops enter Czechoslovakia and arrest
leaders -

1968: The invasion redefined communism as a one-party system and declared that all countries stay in
the Warsaw Pact – called the Brezhnev Doctrine

1972: SALT 1 Talks in Helsinki and Vienna – attempt to limit the arms race, Key agreement on ABM

1974: Detente continues: Nixon visits Moscow agreements to relax tensions with an aim to eventually
end the arms race

1975: 3 USA astronauts and 2 Soviet Cosmonauts meet link up in space in a symbolic gesture of good
relations

1975: Helsinki Agreement. USA and Soviets agree over human rights, co-operation & security in
attempts to keep detente going

1979: Final agreements over SALT II but the Treaty was never ratified

1979: Soviets invade Afghanistan with 85000 troops to stop the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism –
detente is dead

1979: Carter Doctrine sees Carter states US will use force to protect their interests

1980: USA protest Soviets invasion with boycott of Moscow Olympics supported by 61 other countries
who hold the Liberty Bell Games

1981: Reagan becomes President and takes a hard-line approach to the Soviets dramatically increasing
defence spending

1982: Reagan calls the Soviets an ‘Evil Empire’ in a speech

1982: Strategic Arms Reduction Talks begin (START) resuming strategic-arms negotiations with the Soviet
Union

1983: Soviets delegation walks out on START Talks

1984: Soviets and their allies boycott the LA games, sighting security fears and hold the ‘Friendship
Games’

1983: Reagan announces the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) known as ‘Star Wars’ which unsettles the
MAD theory of security

1985: New leader much younger leader Gorbachev makes major changes including to policies of
Glasnost and Perestroika

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 1986: Summit meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik. Tentative agreements to reduce
nuclear arsenals but USA’s SDI blocks agreements

1987: Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty signed – reducing nuclear weapon and including strict
verification procedures

1989: Conventional Armed Forces Treaty signed – continuing the good relations and reducing tanks,
missiles + aircraft

1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall triggers collapse of the Eastern Bloc

1989: In Malta Bush and Gorbachev announce that the cold war is over

1990-91: START 1 Treaty is signed calling for huge nuclear weapons reductions

1990: Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel peace prize after peacefully allowing satellite states to break
away from the Soviet Union

1991: USSR breaks up and Yeltsin becomes Russian leader

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Question 1: Explain two consequences of… (8 marks)

 The question wants you to explain the results of something. What difference did it
make? Use phrases such as ‘as a result’ or ‘the effect of this was.’

Explain two consequences of the decisions made by the Grand alliance at the Yalta
Conference in February 1945 (8 marks)

At the Yalta Conference the Big Three decided what would happen to Germany after the
war. As a result of the conference, Germany was divided into four zones, controlled by
Britain, the USA, the Soviet Union and France. Each country had the right to govern its sector
as it saw fit. However, Stalin believed that in the end he had been given the poorest sector
and resented the allies for taking the wealthier sectors. So this led to an increase in tension.

Yalta also led to an increase in suspicion between Stalin and the allies. This suspicion was as
a result of the failure to agree on how Poland should be governed. There was general
agreement that there would be free elections in Eastern Europe. Stalin used this to ensure
communist control. He wanted communist governments to ensure that he could use
countries in eastern Europe as a buffer zone. Britain and the USA saw this as Stalin going
against his promise. This increased tension and worsened relations.

Question 2: Write a narrative account analysing the key events/ features of… (8 marks)

 The question wants you to explain how one event leads to another in a logical and
structured way
 You are given two points to help structure your answer
 You must use additional own knowledge
 You need to put events in chronological order

Write a narrative account analysing the key events leading to the break up of the Warsaw
Pact in the years 1985-1991. You may use the following in your answer

 Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union

 The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

You must also use information of your own (8 marks)

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The break-up of the Warsaw Pact started when Gorbachev came to power in the USSR.
Although he did not intend to end Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, Gorbachev decided
that the USSR could not continue to spend huge sums on the arms race and foreign policy.
Due to this, in 1985 he announced that the Soviet Union was abandoning the Brezhnev
Doctrine.

As a result, members of the Warsaw Pact realised they could now introduce reforms in their
countries, without fear of being invaded by Warsaw Pact forces like Hungary and
Czechoslovakia were many years earlier. So when in September 1989, East Germans started
travelling to West Germany through Hungary and Austria little was done to stop them. The
countries of Eastern and Western Europe were becoming more connected. In the same
month, the communist government in Poland was replaced after being defeated in free
elections. In October, communist government came to an end in Hungary. Moscow made no
attempt to prevent the Polish elections or get rid of the new non-communist leaders in either
country. Since the Warsaw Pact existed mainly to protect its communist members from the
West, the reasons for its existence were fading away.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 made it even clearer that East and West were not divided
any more. Its fall was symbolic and encouraged further challenges to communist rule.
Communist regimes in Czechoslovakia and Romania were also toppled shortly afterwards.
By the summer of 1990 all the old communist governments of the satellite states were
replaced by new governments that had been democratically elected. With most countries of
Eastern Europe now being led by non-communist governments there was no need for the
Warsaw Pact. As a result, it was dissolved in July 1991.

Question 3: Explain two of the following… (16 marks)

 You need to explain the importance of events and how they developed
 You need to pick 2 out of the 3 events to write about
 What did the event affect or lead to?
 Be clear about reasons why the event was important

Explain two of the following: (16 marks)

 The importance of the Truman Doctrine for international relations after the Second
World War
 The importance of the building of the Berlin Wall for the development of the Cold
War
 The importance of the Olympic boycotts for relations between the USA and the
Soviet Union

By the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, détente was coming to an end. As a result
of the invasion, the Americans issued the Carter Doctrine and looked for ways to show their

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disapproval of the Soviet Union. Boycotting the Moscow Olympics provided an excellent
opportunity.

This angered the Soviet Union because it was hoping to use the Olympics as propaganda to
show how successful communism was and how good Warsaw Pact athletes were. The
American boycott was important because it marked the end of détente and showed that the
period of cooperation was over. The USA still considered itself to be the leader of the
democratic world, ready to resist attempts to spread communism.

Equally, the boycott angered the Soviet Union which retaliated by leading the Warsaw Pact
countries in a boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. This showed the world was still
divided in two camps, East and West.

The Olympic boycotts showed that détente had come to an end and increased tension
between the USA and the Soviet Union.

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