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Topic 6 of 8 · Form 4

The Cold War

Ideological differences; wartime conferences (Yalta and Potsdam, 1945); Soviet control of Eastern Europe; Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (1946); the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947); the Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948–49); NATO (1949).

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Origins (1945–49)

Ideological differences; wartime conferences (Yalta and Potsdam, 1945); Soviet control of Eastern Europe; Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (1946); the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947); the Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948–49); NATO (1949).

Containment

  • Korean War (1950–53): North invaded South; UN forces led by the USA; armistice at the 38th parallel.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): Soviet missiles in Cuba; US blockade (quarantine); missiles removed; US missiles later withdrawn from Turkey; hotline set up.
  • Vietnam War: US involvement and withdrawal.

Soviet control of Eastern Europe

Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968); the Berlin Wall (1961–89).

End of the Cold War

Gorbachev's reforms, the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the collapse of the USSR (1991).

Exam tip: Evaluate responsibility for the Cold War from both US and Soviet perspectives.

Check yourself

  1. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan?
  2. How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
  3. When did the Berlin Wall fall?
Show answers
  1. To provide economic aid to rebuild Europe and stop the spread of communism.
  2. The USSR removed missiles from Cuba; the USA promised not to invade Cuba and later removed missiles from Turkey.
  3. 1989.
Next topicDepth study: Germany, 1918–45

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