The Cold War

Question 1

What ideology did the USSR follow?

Answer 1

Communism

Question 2

What ideology did the USA follow?

Answer 2

Capitalism

Question 3

What was the Cold War?

Answer 3

A conflict between the USA and USSR.

Question 4

Why is the Cold War ‘cold’?

Answer 4

It never became a direct war between superpowers

Question 5

When was the Tehran Conference?

Answer 5

1943

Question 6

Who was at the Tehran Conference?

Answer 6

Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt

Question 7

What did leaders agree on at the Tehran Conference?

Answer 7

Agreed to open a second front in Western Europe

USSR would join the war against Japan after Germany’s defeat

United Nations discussed

Question 8

What points of tension were there at the Tehran Conference?

Answer 8

Stalin wanted control over Eastern Europe

Churchill and Roosevelt had different ideas on post-war borders

Question 9

When was the Yalta Conference?

Answer 9

1945

Question 10

Who was at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 10

Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill

Question 11

What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 11

Germany to be divided into 4 zones

Free elections in Eastern Europe

USSR to join war against Japan

UN to be formed

Question 12

What points of tension were there at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 12

Disagreements over Poland (Stalin wanted a pro-Communist government)

Trust was beginning to fade

Question 13

When was the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 13

1945

Question 14

Who was at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 14

Stalin
Truman
Attlee (Replaced Churchill half way through)

Question 15

What was agreed on at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 15

Confirmed division of Germany

Agreed on the war trials of Nazi leaders

Question 16

What points of tension were there at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 16

Truman was suspicious of Stalin

USSR wanted heavy reparations, US opposed

No agreement on the future of Eastern Europe

Atomic bomb tested by the USA without telling the USSR first

Question 17

Under what project was the American atomic bomb developed?

Answer 17

Manhattan Project

Question 18

Where were the first two atomic bombs dropped?

Answer 18

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Question 19

When were atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Answer 19

August 1945

Question 20

What were the consequences of the creation of the atomic bomb?

Answer 20

Mistrust between the USA and the USSR

The arms race began

Question 21

When was the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 21

1946

Question 22

What did Churchill say in the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 22

It described a divided Europe between the free West and the communist East

Question 23

What is the famous quote from the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 23

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descent across the continent’

Question 24

How did the Iron Curtain speech cause tension?

Answer 24

The speech publicly accused the USSR of oppression. He accused the West of wanting war

Question 25

When was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 25

1947

Question 26

What did the Marshall Plan do?

Answer 26

The USA gave $13 billion to European economics in the hope that they would not turn to a communist government.

Question 27

What were the consequences of the Marshall Plan?

Answer 27

$13bn given to Europe (mainly western) to rebuild The USSR rejected it and banned Eastern European countries from accepting it Stalin saw it as an attempt to buy influence in Europe

Question 28

When was the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 28

1948-9

Question 29

What was the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 29

The USSR blocked access to West Berlin in order to force the Allies out. The UK and USA responded with a huge airlift of supplies for 11 months with over 275,000 flights. The USSR lifted the blockade in May 1949

Question 30

How did the Berlin Airlift cause tension?

Answer 30

The first major crisis of the Cold War Around 275,000 flights delivered 2.3m tons of food, coal, and supplies Made the division of Germany permanent in 1949 - West: FRG, East: GDR Led to the creation of NATO in 1949 (a Western military alliance)

Question 31

When was the Korean War?

Answer 31

1950-53

Question 32

What was the Korean War?

Answer 32

War between North and South Korea Started in 1950 when the North invaded the South Around 3-4 million deaths Ended in a ceasefire in 1953 Korea still remains divided at the 38th parallel

Question 33

How did the Korean War cause tension?

Answer 33

First direct military conflict of the Cold War - a proxy war USA showed it would use military force to contain communism Increased suspicion and hostility - both superpowers started preparing for more indirect wars

Question 34

What were the consequences of the Korean War?

Answer 34

Death toll: Over 2m Korean civilians, 37,000 US soldiers, 400,000 Chinese troops, and around 200,000 North Koreans Border remained at the 38th parallel SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation) in 1954 by the USA and allies Reinforced Truman’s policy of containment

Question 35

When was the Berlin Wall built?

Answer 35

1961

Question 36

What was the Berlin Wall?

Answer 36

A concrete wall built by East Germany to stop people fleeing to West Berlin Over 3m people had left East Germany before it was built Covered 155 km Around 140-200 people were killed trying to cross it

Question 37

Why had the Berlin Wall been built?

Answer 37

Brain Drain: East Germans were fleeing to the West for better lives - about 3 million had fled between 1949-1961 Khrushchev wanted to stop this and challenge the US presence in Berlin

Question 38

What were the consequences of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 38

Stopped the ‘brain drain’ of skilled workers It became a powerful symbol of Cold War division - President Kennedy visited in 1963 and said ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ Around 140-200 people were killed trying to cross the wall It stopped East Germans fleeing but damaged their international image and reinforced the oppression of Soviet rule Tensions remained high, but direct military confrontation over Berlin was avoided

Question 39

What was the Arms Race?

Answer 39

A competition to build the most powerful weapons USA dropped atomic bombs in 1945 USSR tested its nuclear bomb in 1949 Led to the creation of: H-bombs, ICBMs, and Mutually Assured Destruction

Question 40

Why did the arms race cause tension?

Answer 40

Both sides feared nuclear war and distrusted the other’s intentions The threat of instant destruction meant diplomacy was often tense Increased global anxiety and military spending.

Question 41

What was the space race?

Answer 41

A race for supremacy in space exploration USSR launched Sputnik in 1957 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space in 1961 USA responded with Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969

Question 42

When did the USSR test its first nuclear bomb?

Answer 42

1949

Question 43

Who launched Sputnik in 1957?

Answer 43

USSR

Question 44

Who was the first man in space?

Answer 44

Yuri Gagarin

Question 45

Which country was the first to land on the moon?

Answer 45

USA

Question 46

How did the space race cause tensions?

Answer 46

Space technology was linked to military power (rockets = missiles) Each side saw space success as proof of technological superiority Created pressure to keep up and outperform the rival