1. Who was to blame for the Cold War?

Edexcel GCSEHistory A – Unit 1 The Era of the Cold War 1943-1991

You will have 6 questions to answer.

Question 1 compulsory (2) 3 minutesQuestion 2 compulsory (4) 6 minutesQuestion 3 compulsory (6) 9 minutesQuestion 4 either 4a) or 4b) (8) 12 minutesQuestion 5 answer three of the four factors given (15) 23 minutesQuestion 6 compulsory (13+3 spag) 20 minutes

The exam will be 1hr 15 minutes long. The paper is out of 50 marks + 3 for Spelling punctuation and Grammar. That means you should be spending a minute and a half a mark. Write down how long you should spend on each question above

Q1: Study source A – Give two reasons from Source A which … (2).

1 Mark for each relevant point/reason identified

Q2: Outline two ……… (4)

1 Mark for each relevant point+ 1 mark for additional detail

Q3: Study sources B and C – How useful are sources B and C as evidence of ……..(10)

Say why source B and C is useful based on the content of the sources

Say why the sources are not useful based on their nature/origin and purpose. Make sure you explain why this makes them less reliable and why you would not trust them. Rather than just pointing out they are unreliable

Make sure you also use your own knowledge

Q4: Describe the key features of….(6)

Identify three points and make sure you have backed it up with supporting detail (turning it into a developed statement). One key feature of …….. was that……………. This was when ………..

Q5: Explain the importance of three (4 options given) of the following (15)

Each factor will be worth 5 marks.

Explain the importance of the event and back yourself up with supporting detail.

…….. Was an important event because………… (5)Q6: Essay question (13 mark +3 for spelling punctuation and grammar)

You will be asked why something has happened

You must identify a number of different reasons that caused this event to happen. You must then explain the role played by each of these factors.

Top marks will be awarded to students who prioritise the causes (minimum 3 factors) or sees links between them and reaches a conclusion

Please note the exam board will provide you with two factors, but the top historians must explore at least one of their own factors

WWIIBy 1945 the Allies - USA, USSR,UK etc were beating Hitler’sarmy. It was just a case of whenthey would win and Germanysurrender.

What is the Cold War?The Cold War was the period from the end of the Second World War to 1991 when tension developed between the Soviet Union (USSR) and its allies and the United States (USA) and its allies. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and United States never actually fought each other – hence the term Cold War – but they supported opposite sides in other wars, such as Vietnam. This was not a military war, but instead a war of words and propaganda.

WEST v EAST

Titles and ranks have been dropped. Everybody is

called comrade.

Women are equal to men.

The workers have been told to take control of their

factories and to run them by

committees.

The peasants have been told to share

out the land between

themselves.

The STATE (government) has

taken control of the banks.

All newspapers, except Communist ones, are banned.

No political parties are allowed, except

the Communist Party

People who were powerful and rich

before the Revolution are now known as ‘former

people’. The wealth of ‘former people’ has been

confiscated by the state. ‘Former people’ cannot

work so they have been forced to sell their belongings to

pay for food.

Houses have been taken from their rich owners and shared among the workers. One owner of a palace now lives in his bathroom!

Ideologies

Capitalism CommunismOne political party

Multiple parties

Work for the state.Own businesses and make a

profit.vs

Make products we need.Make as many products.

Strict censorship.Freedom of speech.

Fairness and equality.Freedom and opportunity.

The Origins of the Cold WarThe Soviet Union at war:

•Britain and America put aside their concerns about the Soviet Union during the Second World War and began to help them to fight the Germans as they realised that supporting an eastern front in the war would benefit them hugely.But…. During the war the Soviet people suffered terribly, 26,000,000 died altogether. This made Stalin determined that this should never happen again.The Allies had delayed invading France until 1944.

February 1945 It was clear by February 1945 that it was only a matter of time before Germany was defeated, so Stalin, Churchill and American President Roosevelt met to settle how Europe was to be organised after the war •The first thing to

be agreed was that the Soviet Union would enter the war in the East against Japan once victory against Germany was settled.

•The next was that Germany was occupied by the victorious Allied Powers – it was split into four zones, each occupied by one of the four main Allied countries

Berlin – the capital of Germany – was also divided into four zones as it was in

the Soviet zone.

Yalta: February 1945

•It was then agreed that Nazi war criminals would be hunted down and punished.

Yalta: February 1945•Countries freed from the Nazis would have free elections

Yalta: February 1945

•A new United Nations organisation was to be set up to keep the peace after the war – all three agreed to join

Yalta: February 1945

•It was agreed that Eastern Europe would become a ‘Soviet sphere of influence’

Yalta: February 1945

•There was however disagreement over Poland. Stalin wanted the Soviet border to move westwards into Poland...

July 1945Development 1:Stalin’s armies were occupying most of Eastern Europe.

July 1945Development 2:America had a new President

Development 3:America had tested an atomic bomb

• By 1948, the USSR had gained control of much of Eastern Europe

• Winston Churchill said that an ‘Iron Curtain’ had fallen across Europe

•The Soviets took control through Rigged elections and force

Why was it important for the USSR to control Eastern Europe?

They had sacrificed many lives in the war. They wanted to make

sure that sacrifice was not wasted on helping create a

Europe that was hostile to the USSR.

Stalin strongly believed that the

Soviets were most responsible for

stopping the Nazis (80% of Nazi

soldiers died on the Eastern Front).

They deserved to create the best Europe for the

Soviet Union. After all, it was the Soviet

Army that had liberated Eastern Europe from the

Nazis.

They wanted to create a buffer zone to protect the USSR.

Why did Stalin build the Iron Curtain? He wanted to set up a buffer zone of countries in eastern Europe to protect the USSR against another invasion by Germany. Between 1945 and 1948 all the countries which had been occupied by the Red Army at the end of the war were brought under Soviet control. In Czechoslovakia the leaders were simply murdered. He did not trust the west, Britain and the USA, because they had invaded Russia in 1919 and had delayed the invasion of France until 1944. He was trying to prevent western influence reaching the east and refugees leaving the east for western Europe. The Iron Curtain collapsed in 1989 and 1990, when the countries off the east threw off Soviet control, but for forty-five years it dominated Europe and divided Germany

How had the USSR gained control of Europe by 1948?

• The USA responded with the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. They were worried more countries would become communist. This offered them financial security.

•The Soviets reacted with their own financial aid package for the East: Comecon

• 1947: communists threaten Greece and Turkey• President Truman makes a

speech stating that the US would help any nation threatened by communism• ‘Containment’ of communism

becomes known as The Truman Doctrine

The already huge influence of the Soviet Union in

Eastern Europe after WW2

• US announces $400 million of aid to Greece and Turkey

• US also installs ballistic missile sites on Turkish border with the USSR

• While the Truman Doctrine did not actually mention the Soviet Union, it was obvious that it was intended as a warning to Stalin that Truman was not going to let him get away with any more attempts to take control of Europe. Truman had said that he was going to ‘get tough with Russia’, this was one example of his policy. How do you think American missiles on the

Soviet border made Stalin feel?

• The Marshall Plan was a financial plan designed to help Europe recover from WW2 quickly and stay out of Soviet hands.

• The Marshall Plan would control how Marshall Aid would be spent. Individual countries would not be able to decide for themselves

• This would mean that the USA would be able to influence the countries of the east and undermine communism. This was what Truman had hoped would happen. A stamp commemorating the Marshall Plan

• $15 billion fund was set up – not just for Western Europe, but for East too• Stalin denounced it,

fearing the US was trying to spread its influence through industry and trade

Stalin: not a happy bunny

“This is economic imperialis

m!”

•16 nations asked for aid from the Marshall Plan – often in the form of goods, such as machinery and fertilisers

The stamp which was put onto all European aid sent under the Marshall

Plan

• Industrial production in Western Europe increased by 25% between 1948 and 1950• By 1952, most

Western European economies were recovering

Map showing the amount of Marshall Plan aid given to selected countries. Who was given the most? Why do you think this might be

significant?

• Created in 1947, the Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) was created to spread communism around the world and protect communist countries from US aggression• Stalin order the expulsion of

communist Yugoslavia because it’s leader wouldn’t do as Stalin wished• Its creation caused further

tension between the superpowers The leader of communist Yugoslavia, Tito who Stalin expelled

after a series of disagreements

• Some Soviet satellite states applied for Marshall Plan aid – infuriating Stalin

• The USSR introduced a counter-plan called the Molotov Plan which would offer aid to these countries instead

• It became known as Comecon• But Comecon was only a pale shadow

of the economic institutions of the West. The Soviet Union lacked the financial strength of the USA and the attempt to set up a communist rival led to bankruptcy and ruin. Comecon was a major drain on the resources of the Soviet Union and helped to bring about its economic downfall in the 1980s. The Molotov Plan was named after

the Soviet Foreign Minister who proposed it

• The post-war economy of the whole of Germany was in ruins

A British cartoon of 1949. The caption that went with it was: “If we don’t let him work, who’s going to keep him?” What do you think the message of the cartoon is?

The Berlin Blockade

• The Americans introduced the Marshall Plan and West Germany (and West Berlin) benefitted: East Germany (and East Berlin) didn’t

• Britain, America and France combined their sectors of Germany – This became know as Trizonia (West Germany). The West also unified their three sections of Berlin. It became known as West Berlin

• West Germany introduced a new currency – the Deutschmark.• West Berlin was a temptation to East Berliners. In the west the Marshall

Plan was beginning to make life much better. Already East Berliners and East Germans were trying to escape to the west.

• Stalin blockaded road and rail links from West Germany into West Berlin on 24 June 1948. This stopped supplies such as food getting through. Stalin even cut off electricity!

• He thought the American troops stationed in Berlin would just give up on the Berliners as they faced starvation leaving Stalin in control of the whole of Berlin

• This meant that the two million people living in West Berlin would find themselves under Soviet control

What are your options if you are Truman?

Advantages? Disadvantages? Rating out of 10

Pull out

Smash through the blockade

Stay and starve

Fly in air supplies

Call on other countries to help

• The Americans and British couldn’t react with force as it could start another war

• But they couldn’t back down either as it would encourage Stalin to make other demands in Europe.

• They believed “If West Berlin falls, West Germany will be next”.

• In 1948 the USSR blockaded West Berlin

•The West responded by flying in supplies through air corridors from West Germany

• The Americans and British decided to send supplies through the air corridors from their West German airbases

• 5000 tons of food a day required

• B-29 bombers in Britain meant that USSR in range of nuclear missiles

• Stalin would now be seen as the aggressor if he shot planes down

• For nearly a year approximately 275,000 trips were made, delivering over two million tonnes of supplies to West Berliners

• 79 pilots were killed

• Stalin called off the blockade on 12 May 1949

• Allied resolve to stand up to Stalin strengthened

• West Germany formally united, anti-Communist leader elected

• North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) formed in April 1949

• Stalin counters NATO with the Warsaw Pact

Who was more to blame for the start of the Cold War?

What was the Arms Race? The Arms Race was a race between the superpowers to build bigger and more destructive weapons. It began in the 1940s, when the Soviet Union tried to construct an atomic bomb to balance the bomb that the USA had developed in 1945. It continued until the 1980s. 1945 - US atomic bomb1949 - Soviet atomic bomb1952 - US hydrogen bomb1953 - Soviet hydrogen bomb1957 - First Soviet ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

1966 - Soviet ABMs Anti-Ballistic Missiles1968 - US ABMs and MIRVs Multiple Independently Targeted

Re-entry Missiles1979 - Soviet SS-20s and US Cruise Missiles1983 - SDI, Star Wars Strategic Defence Initiative

Nuclear Warheads

The USA believed that in the late 1950s the Soviets had more ICBMs than they did. The USA was terrified about a ‘missile gap’.

It didn’t exist, but under President Kennedy (1960–62), US defence expenditure rose from $45 billion to $52 billion, and a range of new battlefield nuclear weapons were developed.

The launch of the first satellite in 1957 by the USSR was also a massive concern for the USA – they were behind in the race for space!

The Nature of the Cold War • Joseph Stalin died in 1953 and he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. He believed in Co-existence. Rather than try to destroy the West, the Soviet Union should accept that it had a right to exist.• Khrushchev did not intend, however, to weaken the ties between the Soviet Union and the other countries of eastern Europe. He set up the Warsaw Pact in 1955.• He was not going to take a more lenient attitude to West Germany. In 1958 he began a campaign to force the Allies out of West Berlin.•But Khrushchev wanted to prove that the Soviet System was better. He wanted to compete with the USA throughout the world. How did Khrushchev compete with the West? •He poured money into sport in the Soviet Union to try to win as many Olympic gold medals as possible.•He put the first satellite, Sputnik, into space in 1957 and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.•He offered foreign aid to the new countries in Asia and Africa.•He began to build more and more weapons, creating a military arms race.•He travelled the world meeting world leaders and grabbing the headlines wherever he went. 

Why did relations between the USA and the Soviet Union grow worse in the late 1950s and the early 1960s? By the late 1950s many people win the USA were getting worried. Khrushchev was getting much more attention than President Eisenhower. This was one of the reasons for the election of John Kennedy. Between 1955 and 1961 there were a series of setbacks for the USA. Khrushchev seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted.

HUNGARY1956

Who was Hungary led by up to 1956?RAKOSI: A HARD-LINE COMMUNIST

What was life like for hungarians under soviet rule?

Every aspect of life was controlled: media, theatre, art, music etc.

The secret police terrorised and tortured their opponents.

No freedom of speech.

Street signs, schools, shops were all Russian.

The Hungarians had to pay for troops to be present on the

streets which they didn't even want.

Education did not teach Hungarian history.

Hungarians had belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire so they were very proud people. This made it very difficult for them to

accept Soviet rule.

What was it that made the Hungarian's so ANGRY?

What was it that made the Hungarian's so ANGRY?

Low standard of living (food shortages)

Rigged elections: only 20% had

voted for a communist

government in 1945.

Workers became frustrated as they

watched the goods they

manufactured get sent to the USSR.

AFTER Stalin's death•Khrushchev’s Speech

• He denounced the policies of Stalin.

• It was known as the secret speech

• He gave the impression there would be

widespread reforms leading to destalinisation

Some of his ideas included:. Defence spending needed to be reducued. Nuclear war was unthinkable. Soviet economy needed be be improved & modernised. Eastern European countries should be allowed to make some of their own decisions. Stalin had gone too far with his purges. Coniform was unnecessary way of controlling Eastern European countries

Krushchey announced a policy of:Peaceful Co-existence. more dialogue with the West including a summit with the USA. met with Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia & apologised to him for Stalin's approach. wanted to 'deStalinise' Eastern Europe. establised the Warsaw Pact. became more friendly with China

Peaceful Co-existence - did relations improve?more dialogue with the West including a summit with the USAarms & space race made world more unsafeanti communist 'witch-hunts' in USA led by Seantor McCarthy. wanted to 'deStalinise' Eastern Europeled to attempted revolutions, harshly put down by USSR

AFTER Stalin's death

As living standards fell,

Rakosi’s government

became increasingly unpopular.

Rakosi was replaced with Imre Nagy.

Nagy gave freedom of press, encouraged open discussions on political and economic reform, talked about holding

free elections and withdrawing from the

Warsaw Pact.Rakosi led a hate

campaign against Nagy and blamed him for the economic problems in

Hungary. Rakosi became leader again and replaced Nagy in

1955.

Protests “Russians go

home!”

“Long live Nagy!”

Soviet tanks opened fire on protesters on 25th

October. But the Hungarians drive the

Soviets out of Hungary (temporarily)

What did Nagy do?Took leadership (again!)

Intends to abolish the one-party state

Will free political prisoners

Will leave the Warsaw Pact

Now he’s gone too far!

4th November 1956: The Soviets send in the red army… Why?Avoid losing other

satellite statesActing under China’s

advice

Western powers unlikely to get involved

due to Suez Crisis

Khrushchev had been deeply criticised for

criticising Stalin, his own position was

under threat.

There was bitter street fighting; 650 Soviet troops and 2,500 Hungarians were killed. The Hungarians reacted violently.

Kadar was appointed leader under communist control

Nagy and his associates were executed

Why were the Hungarians unhappy? •On 24th October Imre Nagy, a well known liberal, became prime minister of Hungary. Replacing the Bald butcher Rakosi. They were fed up with strict Soviet rule• Nagy set up a new government, which included non-communists, and then on 30th October announced free elections and, on 2nd November, Hungary’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact.•This led to fighting between Hungarian and Soviet troops. Khrushchev tried to deal with the situation by withdrawing the Soviet troops from Hungary

How did the Soviets react?

•In October 1956 fighting broke out in Budapest between Hungarians and Soviet troops. On 4 November Khrushchev ordered the Soviet army to invade Hungary and crush the uprising. There was bitter street fighting; 650 Soviet troops and 2,500 Hungarians were killed. The Hungarians reacted violently.

What were the results? •Nagy was arrested and later hanged. “A lesson to other leaders”•The West protested, but did not send military aid because they were afraid that military action would lead to war. Moreover, the West was involved with the Suez Crisis and its attention was diverted. •They did however send $20 million of food and medical aid and allowed 80,000 refugees move to America. 200,000 had already fled West. •Eisenhower praised the bravery of the Hungarians and urged them to keep fighting. •The UN condemned it but nothing more.• Netherlands, Spain and Sweden boycotted the 1956 Olympic games. •Other radicals in Eastern Europe were discouraged from revolting as they saw America would not help.•Khrushchev put Kadar in power and he reasserted Soviet Control. Hungarians accepted it

The U2 incident Relations between the Soviet Union and the USA were worsened by the U2 incident, when a US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The pilot Gary Powers was put on trial in Moscow. This came in the middle of a Summit Meeting in Paris. Khrushchev was able to use the incident to embarrass the USA and stormed out of the meeting  Khrushchev came to the conclusion that Kennedy could be pushed around. He decided that the time was right to cut West Berlin off from East Berlin

The Berlin Crisis: negotiations

What was Khrushchev’s ultimatum (November 1958)? All American troops to be pulled out of Berlin

Event/meeting

Which leaders were there? Summary (what happened? What was agreed? Outcomes?)

The Geneva Summit (May 1959)

Representatives of the both sides

Don’t solve the crisis- they decide to meet again

Camp David (September 1959)

Eisenhower and Khrushchev

Khrushchev ends his ultimatum and to hold another conference

The Paris Summit (May 1960)

Eisenhower and Khrushchev

U2 Spy plane incident- breaks the trust between both sides. Esienhower won’t apologise

The Vienna Conference (January 1961)

KhrushchevAnd Kennedy

Agree to have another conference. Neither side wanted to back down. Khrushchev saw Kennedy as inexperienced and weak. Kennedy stood up to Khrushchev. Issues another 6 month ultimatum

Explain why did negotiations break down at the Vienna Conference?

13th August 1961: the Berlin Wall is built

The Berlin Wall was built in August 1961. It was intended to cut the Soviet sector of Berlin (often called East Berlin) off from the western sectors (West Berlin).

Why did Khrushchev order the building of the Berlin Wall? •It had always been possible for Berliners to travel from one part of the city to another. Many worked in one sector and lived in another. It was easy for them to see what life was like on the other side. Consequently hundreds of thousands of people had escaped from East to West, since the end of the Blockade in May 1949. On average the number ranged between 20-25,000 each month. •Most defectors were well educated; engineers, teachers, doctors, lecturers. They were just the sort of people that the Communist Bloc could not afford to lose as it tried to modernise its industry and agriculture. •In November 1958 Khrushchev demanded that the three western powers should leave West Berlin. The West refused and called for talks on the reunification of East and West Germany (in fact at the Rome Olympics in 1960 there was a united German team, but nothing more). Khrushchev refused to discuss unification and in April 1960 threatened another blockade. •In September 1960 East Germany forced West Berliners who wanted to travel to East Berlin to obtain a police pass. This was the first time that any restriction had been placed on travel between the four sectors in Berlin. •In August 1961 Khrushchev believed that he could get away with building the Wall because John F Kennedy, the US president had been made to look foolish over the Bay of Pigs invasion.

What was the Berlin Wall?

Built in 1961 Separated West Berlin from East Germany

Separated Communism from Capitalism

A wall to prevent East Germans fleeing to West

Berlin.

A famous symbol of the Cold War

How did the Berlin Wall affect the people of Germany?

If you tried to cross you would be shot

The wall cut off roads and buildings

Stopped the flow of refugees as West Berliners were allowed in but East Berliners were not allowed out

Families were divided

People lost their jobs

What was life like in the East? Why did defectors try to leave? • Defectors left because life in the east was dominated by the Communist Party. In East Germany the party exercised greater control than in any other East European state. • East Germany was the only Communist country that had, in effect, been created from scratch. It was the model, which the other countries were expected to follow. • As in all other communist states, no other political parties were permitted and elections involved a selection from a list of candidates supplied by the communists.• The Communist Party also controlled the media, which meant that there was no legal means of finding out about what was happening in the world on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Newspapers and the radio and television could only report the official version of the news.• People were subject to the secret police, in the Soviet Union, the KGB. Such organisations operated outside the law and there was little that an ordinary citizen could do about their actions.• Freedom of expression was restricted, and although Khrushchev relaxed some of the controls that Stalin had put into place and reduced the powers of the Secret Police, he did not allow complete freedom. Criticism of the Communist Party and the Soviet way of life was not allowed.• Consumer goods were limited and often of poor quality. Sales of foreign goods were restricted. Foreign travel was difficult and currency sales were strictly controlled in an effort to obtain foreign exchange.

What were the benefits of life in the East? All citizens of the countries of eastern Europe had a job. In the USSR, according to the government, the last unemployed person found a job in 1932. This had been during the First Five Year Plan.

Prices were controlled at a low level. Rent, electricity, gas and telephone charges were minimal by western standards.  Public transport was very cheap and very reliable. But these advantages were outweighed by the possibility of greater freedom as well as much higher earnings and a much higher standard of living in the West.  The Wall remained in place until 1989 and more than 300 people were killed trying to cross it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/berlin-wall-escape-stories_n_6090602.html

How did Kennedy react?  He went to Berlin and made a speech to hundreds of thousands of West Berliners. In it he said, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’. This was meant to show that he was sharing their difficulties, but it actually meant ‘I am a doughnut’. ‘Berliner’ was a slang term for a doughnut.