The Cold War

In this module you will learn:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

FOUR causes of the Cold War [BARE].

NINE events which caused the Cold War.
FOUR decisions made at the Yalta Conference.
TWO decisions and THREE disagreements at the Potsdam conference.
The salami tactics that brought Communists to power in Eastern Europe
FIVE causes [CABAN] and FOUR results [CENA] of the Berlin crisis, 19489.
FIVE Berlin Airlift Facts.
FOUR causes of the Korean War [CJD-Kim].
FIVE phases of the Korean War, 195053.
FOUR ways Khrushchev brought a thaw in the Cold War.
THREE ways peaceful co-existence worsened the Cold War.
EIGHT countries in the Warsaw Pact.
FIVE crises after 1955.
FIVE causes, the events and FOUR results of the Hungarian uprising
THREE reasons tension grew after 1957.
The events and FOUR results of the U2 crisis.
THREE causes, the events and FOUR results of the Berlin Wall
THREE causes, the events and FOUR results of the Cuban Missiles Crisis.

You might do the following written work:

A paragraph on What was the Cold War?

An essay: Were the Yalta and Potsdam conferences different?
A spidergram of the factors bringing Communists to power in eastern Europe, 194548.
An essay: Why had the superpowers become suspicious of each other by March 1946,
when Churchill made his Fulton speech?
Notes on events: Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan.
Written notes on the causes of the Berlin Blockade.
A written description of the Berlin Crisis, Jan 194812 May 1949.
A spidergram of why the Berlin blockade failed.
Written notes on the causes of the Korean War.
An essay on the events of the Korean War.
Notes on how Khrushchev brought a thaw in the Cold War, and how he made it worse.
An essay: Did superpower relations improve after 1953?
Notes on the Polish Riots of 1956.
A mini-essay: Why was there a revolution in Hungary in 1956?
Notes on the events and results of the Hungarian Revolution.
A mini-essay: The events which led to the Berlin Wall 195861.
Notes on the results of the Berlin Wall.
A mini-essay: Why was there a Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Notes on the events and results of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Have you read:

N deMarco and R Radway, The Twentieth Century, pages 184191.

T Rea and J Wright, International Relations, chapter 7.

Christopher Culpin, Making History, pages 185192.

JF Aylett, The Cold War and After, pages 217.
James Mason, Modern World History to GCSE, pages 5677.
Tony Howarth, Twentieth Century History, pages 235244.

New Words
Allies: countries
working together.

From Hot War to Cold War

During the Second World War, Britain and the USA
were allies of the Soviet Union, fighting together
against Germany. After the war, they became
enemies.

Communists: believe
that industry should be
state-owned.
Soviet Union: the
Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics
the USSR i.e.
communist Russia.
Dictator: a ruler who
has total power.
Stalin
Capitalists: believe
that property and
industry should be
privately owned.
Democracy: where
the people can elect
their own government.

After Hiroshima, and particularly after 1949 when

Russia developed the atomic bomb, politicians realised
that another hot war would kill all humankind war
would be MAD (mutually assured destruction).
So they stopped short of war the cold war.
They didnt declare war. But they did everything to
oppose each other short of war.
It was called the cold war. It lasted until 1989.

Truman
Churchill

Tasks

1. Write a paragraph to
explain the meaning of
the term Cold War.

Causes of the Cold War

1 Beliefs
The Soviet Union was a Communist country, ruled
by a dictator, who cared little about human rights.
The USA was a capitalist democracy which valued
freedom.
2

Aims
Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a
buffer of friendly states to protect the USSR from
being invaded again.
Britain and the USA wanted to protect democracy,
and help Germany to recover. They were worried
that large areas of eastern Europe were falling under
Soviet control.
Resentment about History
The Soviet Union could not forget that in 1918
Britain and the USA had tried to destroy the Russian
Revolution. Stalin also thought that they had not
given him enough help in the Second World War.
Britain and the USA could not forget that Stalin had
signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Germany in 1939.
Events
Neither side trusted each other. Every action they
took (see Source B) made them hate each other more.

Who Caused the Cold War?

Russian historians blamed Churchill (the British Prime
Minister) and Truman (the American president, 1945
1953). They said Truman and Churchill wanted to
destroy the USSR, which was just defending itself.
At first, western writers blamed the Soviet Union.
They said Stalin was trying to build up a Soviet empire.
Later, however, some western historians blamed the
USA. They said Truman had not understood how much
Russia had suffered in the Second World War.
Nowadays, historians think BOTH sides were to
blame that there were hatreds on both sides.

Source A
It is useless to try to discover who made the
first move to break the alliance. It is
impossible to trace the first broken promise.
Written by the historian Isaac Deutscher, Stalin (1969).

Source B:
Events which
caused the Cold
War
Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)
Potsdam Conference (Jul 1945)
Salami tactics (194548)
Fulton Speech (Mar 1946)
Greece (Feb 1947)
Truman Doctrine (Mar 1947)
Marshall Plan (Jun 1947)
Cominform (Oct 1947)
Czechoslovakia (Feb 1948)

Tasks

2. Write a paragraph to
explain the meaning of
the term Cold War.
3. Copy, then learn the
five causes and nine
events which caused
the Cold War, so that
you know them off by
heart.
4. For each of the five
causes, explain how it
might have caused
relations between the
USA and the USSR to
become tense.
5. Working in twos, one
pupil plays the part of a
Russian historian, the
other a western writer of
the 1950s.
Talk about causes 14,

the Russian historian

arguing that the Cold
War was Americas
fault, and the western
writer saying that it was
Russias.

Did you
know?

The Big Three during the War

During the War, Britain and the USA were allies of
the Soviet Union, but the only thing that united them
was their hatred of Germany.
In 1945, the Big Three held two conferences at
Yalta (February) and Potsdam (July) to try to sort
out how they would organise the world after the war.
It was at these conferences that the tensions between
the two sides became obvious.

Churchill was so
worried about Soviet
domination of eastern
Europe that he tried to
get the British armies
to advance faster. In
1944, he dropped
British paratroopers
behind enemy lines at
Arnhem but they
were cut off and
defeated by the
Germans.
This story was told in
the film, A Bridge Too
Far.

Source A
The arrows show the Allied
armies advancing into
Germany in 1945 the British
and Americans from the west,
the Russians from the east.
Notice the large areas of
eastern Europe which fell
under the control of Russia.

Yalta (Feb 1945)

On the surface, the Yalta conference seemed successful.
The Allies agreed:
1. Russia would join the United Nations.
2. divide Germany into four zones, which Britain, France,
the USA and the USSR would occupy after the war.
3. bring Nazi war-criminals to trial.
4. set up a Polish Provisional Government of National Unity
'pledged to the holding of free and unfettered elections as
soon as possible'.
5. help the freed peoples of Europe set up democratic and
self-governing countries by helping them to (a) maintain
law and order; (b) carry out emergency relief measures;
(c) set up governments; and (d) hold elections (this was
called the 'Declaration of Liberated Europe').
6. set up a commission to look into reparations.

Source B

But, behind the scenes, tension was growing. After the

conference, Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that The
Soviet union has become a danger to the free world.

A British cartoon of 1945.

Churchill, Roosevelt (USA) and
Stalin are shown as doctors,
working together to heal the
world. Look at the faces of the
Big Three; what do you notice?

Tasks

Tasks

1. Source B shows the Big Three smiling. Does this prove

that Britain, Russia and America were friends?
2. Write two reports of the Yalta Conference: one for the

1. Describe the events

and decisions of the
Yalta and Potsdam

British newspapers, the other for the British government.

Conferences. Were
they different?

2. Using page 5,
especially Sources D
and E, explain why
Potsdam was less
successful than Yalta.

Source D

Source C

The Russians only

understand one
language - how
many armies have
you got? Im tired
of babying the
Soviets.
President Truman, writing in
January 1946

Source E

What is surprising
about the fact that
the Soviet Union,
worried about its
future safety,
wants
governments
friendly to it in
Finland, Poland
and Romania?
Stalin, writing in March 1946

The thief labelled Russia is caught

stealing a bag labelled territorial
grabs.
Its alright hes with me, Stalin
assures Roosevelt, who meekly
answers: Oh, OK.

Potsdam (July
1945)
At Potsdam, the Allies decided the post-war peace
Potsdam was the Versailles of World War II
America had a new president, Truman, who was
determined to get tough with the Russians. Also, when
he went to the Conference, Truman had just learned that
America had tested the first atomic bomb. It gave the
Americans a huge military advantage over everyone
else. Moreover, in March 1945, Stalin had invited the
non-Communist Polish leaders to meet him, and arrested
them.
So, at Potsdam, the arguments came out into the open.
The Conference agreed the following Protocols:
1. to set up the four zones of occupation in Germany.
The government and laws and education shall be
controlled to eliminate Nazi and militarist doctrines and
to make possible the development of democratic ideas.
2. to bring Nazi war-criminals to trial.
3. to recognize the Polish Provisional Government of
National Unity and hold 'free and unfettered elections as
soon as possible'.
4. Russia was allowed to take reparations from the Soviet
Zone, and also 10% of the industrial equipment of the
western zones as reparations. America and Britain
could take reparations from their zones if they wished.

But in fact the Allies had disagreed openly about:

1. the details of how to divide Germany.
2. the size of reparations Germany ought to pay.
3. Russian policy in eastern Europe.
A map of how Germany was
divided into zones.

Source D

In this marriage of convenience, the thought

that a divorce was inevitable had been in the
mind of each partner from the beginning.
Written by the historian Isaac Deutscher, Stalin (1969).

Tasks
A map of how Berlin was
divided into zones.

3. Looking at the information on this spread, when do YOU

think the Cold War started? Read Source F; when did

Deutscher think it started?

Salami tactics: the Soviet take-over of eastern Europe

New Words
sinister: frightening, in an evil way.
totalitarian: where the government
has total power over the people.
imperialistic: wanting to build an
empire. Communists used it as an
abuse-word to describe the western
powers.

During 194647, Stalin made sure that

Communist governments came to
power in all the countries of eastern
Europe (the countries which the Soviet
Union had conquered in 1945).
The Communist description of this
process was slicing salami
gradually getting rid of all opposition,
bit-by-bit (see Source A). In this way,
Russia gained control of:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

g.

Albania (1945) the Communists took power

after the war without opposition
Bulgaria (1945) a left-wing coalition gained
power in 1945; the Communists then executed
the leaders of all the other parties.
Poland (1947) a coalition government took
power in 1945, but the Communists forced the
non-Communist leaders into exile.
Hungary (1947) see Source A.
Romania (19451947) a left-wing coalition
was elected in 1945; the Communists
gradually took over control.
Czechoslovakia (194548) a left-wing
coalition was elected in 1945. In 1948, the
Communists banned all other parties and killed
their leaders.
East Germany (1949) the Russian turned
their zone of Germany into the German
Democratic republic in 1949.

Tasks
1.

10

Read Source A, and make a spidergram

Source A
Hungary was invaded by the
Russians, and in 1945 the allies
agreed that Russian troops
should stay there. Stalin
allowed elections, and the noncommunists won a big majority.
However, some communists
were elected, led by a proRussian called Rakosi.
Rakosi now started
demanding that groups which
opposed him should be banned.
If not, he hinted, the Russians
would take over the country.
Then he got control of the
police, and started to arrest his
opponents. He set up a sinister
and brutal secret police unit,
the AVH. Soon Rakosi had
complete control over Hungary.
Rakosis work was typical of
what was happening all over
eastern Europe.
The historian Jon Nichol, writing in 1990

Source B

2.

showing all the factors that helped

Communists take power in the countries of
eastern Europe.
Explain how the case of Hungary on Source
A illustrates salami tactics.

Churchills Fulton
Speech
On 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill
gave a speech at Fulton in America.
He said a shadow had fallen on
eastern Europe, which was now cut off
from the free world by an iron
curtain. Behind that line, he said, the
people of eastern Europe were subject
to Soviet influence . . . totalitarian
control [and] police governments.

Russia saw it as protecting herself from future attack.

The West saw it as empire-building.

Source C

Mr Churchill has called for a

war on the USSR.
Stalin, writing in the Russian newspaper Pravda on
13 March 1946.

Source D

. . . the Cold War set in. Churchill

had given his famous speech in
Fulton urging the imperialistic
forces of the world to fight the
Soviet Union. Our relations with
England, France and the USA were
ruined.
Nikita Khrushchev, writing in 1971. In 1946 he
was a member of the Soviet government.

Source E
A British cartoon of 1946. In fact, the iron curtain
was a 2,000-kilometre line of barbed wire, look-out
posts and road blocks.

11

Tasks
1.
2.

Read Sources C and D. Explain why

Churchills speech was a turning point in the
history of the Cold War.
Did Churchill cause the Cold War?

Essay!
[use this essay frame to write the following essay, using pages 26]

Why had the Superpowers become suspicious of each other by

March 1946, when Churchill made his important speech at
Fulton?
They became suspicious of each other because they had different beliefs. The USA.
. . . . . . . . . The USSR . . . . . . . . . . This caused suspicion because . . . . . . . . . .
History made the USA and the USSR suspicious of each other. The Soviet
Union . . . . . . . . . . The USA . . . . . . . . . . This caused suspicion
because . . . . . . . . . .
Both the USA and the USSR had very different aims. The USA . . . . . . . . . . The
USSR, however, . . . . . . . . . . This caused suspicion because . . . . . . . . . .
Finally, because neither side trusted each other, events made them hate each other
more.
The Yalta Conference (Feb 1945) caused problems because . . . . . . . . . .
The Potsdam Conference (Jul 1945) . . . . . . . . . .
Also, salami tactics (194548) caused suspicion because . . . . . . . . . .

12

New Words
doctrine: a belief.
Congress: the American parliament.
Czechoslovakia
aggressor: someone who starts a
quarrel.
Containment: holding something in
stopping the USSR growing.

Source A

Every nation must choose

between different ways of life . .
. We must help free peoples to
work out their own destiny in
their own way.
President Truman, speaking in March 1947.

Source B

This American duty is just a

smokescreen for a plan of
expansion . . . They try to take
control of Greece by shouting
about totalitarianism

Opinion:
Churchills speech did not start the Cold War, but he
was the first person to stop pretending to be friends
with Russia. Thus, his Fulton speech was the start
of the Cold War; after it, America and Russia got
into a number of conflicts.

Greece
By 1946, Greece and Czechoslovakia
were the only countries in eastern
Europe that werent Communist. Even
in Greece, the government, which was
being supported by British soldiers, was
having to fight a civil war against the
Communists.
In February 1947, the British told
Truman they could no longer afford to
keep their soldiers in Greece. President
Truman stepped in. The USA paid for
the British soldiers in Greece.

The Truman Doctrine

In the 1930s, Americans had kept out of
Europes business.
Now, in March 1947, Truman told
Americans that it was Americas DUTY
to interfere (Source A). His policy
towards the Soviet Union was one of
containment he did not try to
destroy the USSR, but he wanted to
stop it growing any more. This was
called the Truman Doctrine.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia, March 1947.

13

Source C

This Russian cartoon

shows the Greek
government being
helped by America.

14

The Marshall Plan

In June 1947, the American general
George Marshall went to Europe. He
said every country in Europe was so
poor that it was in danger of turning
Communist! Europe was a breeding
ground of hate. He said that America
should give $17 billion of aid to get
Europes economy going.

Cominform

Source D

The ruling gang of American

imperialists has taken the path
of open expansion, of enslaving
weakened capitalist countries. It
has hatched new war plans
against the Soviet Union.
Imitating Hitler, the new
aggressors are using blackmail.
GM Malenkov, a Soviet politician, speaking in 1947.

The Soviet Union hated Marshall aid

(see Sources D and E). Stalin forbade
Communist countries to ask for money.
Instead, in October 1947, he set up
Cominform. Every Communist party in
Europe joined. It allowed Stalin control
of the Communists in Europe.

Czechoslovakia
At first, the American Congress did
not want to give the money for
Marshall Aid. But then, in February
1948, the Communists took power in
Czechoslovakia.
Congress was scared, and voted
for Marshall Aid on 31 March 1948.

Source E
Communists in Germany oppose Marshall Aid.

Tasks
1. Using the dates in bold, make notes, in
chronological order, on the events from
February 1947 to 31 March 1948.
2. Read Source A. Talk about the events
in your list as though you were an
American.
3. Now read Sources BE. Describe the
same events as though you were a
Russian Communist
4. Did the Truman Doctrine cause the
Cold War?
5. What was the first event of the Cold
War?

Source F
A British cartoon shows Truman and Stalin as two
taxi-drivers trying to get customers.

15

6. Work out an argument that the creation

of Cominform was the first event of the
Cold War.

The Berlin Blockade, 194849

The USSR had already disagreed with Britain and the
USA at Potsdam (July 1945, see page 5) about what
should be done with Germany. Germany had been split
into four zones. Berlin, in Russias zone, was also split
into four zones.

What caused it?

1. Cold War
was just getting started (e.g. Czechoslovakia,
March 1948)
2. Aims
Stalin wanted to destroy Germany Britain and the
USA wanted to rebuild Germany.
3. Bizonia
The Russians were taking German machinery back
to the USSR. In January 1948, Britain and the USA
joined their two zones together to try to get German
industry going. They called the new zone Bi-zonia
(two zones).
4. American Aid
Congress voted for Marshall Aid on 31 March
1948. Immediately, the Russians started stopping
and searching all road and rail traffic into Berlin.
5. New Currency
On 1 June, America and France announced that
they wanted to create the new country of West
Germany; and on 23 June they introduced a new
currency into Bizonia and western Berlin. The
next day the Russians stopped all road and rail
traffic into Berlin Stalin was trying to force the
USA out of Berlin.

Source A

[The Americans had introduced a new currency into Berlin.]

Old money flooded into the Soviet Zone. Some

restrictions were placed on links between
Berlin and western zones, but the Soviet side
was ready to supply food to all Berlin.
Yet every day 380 American planes flew
16

New Words
Blockade: a siege.
Bizonia
Currency: money.

into Berlin. It was simply a propaganda move

intended to make the cold war worse.
From a Russian history book.

17

Source B:
Airlift Facts
1. The blockade lasted 318
days (11 months).
2. In the winter of 194849
Berliners lived on dried
potatoes, powdered eggs and
cans of meat. They had 4
hours of electricity a day.
3. 275,000 flights carried in
1 million tons of supplies. A
plane landed every 3 mins.
4. On 16 April 1949, 1400
flights brought in 13,000 tons
of supplies in one day Berlin
only needed 6,000 tons a day
to survive.
5. The USA stationed B-29
bombers (which could carry
an atomic bomb) in Britain.

What happened?
The American Army wanted to fight its way into Berlin
that would have caused a war. Instead, Truman decided
to supply Berlin by air (see Source B)
The situation was bad at first, but things got better as
the blockade went on. On 12 May 1949, Stalin re-opened
the borders.

What were the Results?

1.

Cold War got worse

It almost started an all-out war.

2.

East and West Germany

Germany split up. In May 1949, America, Britain
and France united their zones into the Federal
Republic of Germany (West Germany). In October
1949, Stalin set up the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) .

3.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

In 1949, the western Allies set up NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation) as a defensive alliance
against Russia. NATO countries surrounded Russia;
in 1955, the Soviet Union set up the Warsaw Pact
an alliance of Communist states.

4. Arms Race
After Berlin, the USA and the USSR realised that
they were in a competition for world domination.
They began to build up their armies and weapons.

Tasks
3. Copy the five causes of the Berlin Crisis.
4. The Berlin blockade and airlift was one of the first
episodes of the Cold War. Write an essay to describe
what happened.
Start the story in Jan 1948, and finish it on 12 May 1949.
5. Working as a whole class, draw a spidergram to show all
the reasons why the Berlin blockade failed.

18

The Korean War, 195053

The Korean War was the time when the Cold War
became a global conflict.

What caused it?

President Truman was interested in the Far East:
Cold War: Truman realised the USA was in a
competition for world domination with the USSR.
Europe was not the only place where Communists
were coming to power. In the Far East, too, they were
getting powerful China turned Communist in 1949.
Japan: Truman was worried that, in the end, the
Communists would capture Japan.
Domino theory: Truman believed that, if one country
fell to Communism, then other would follow, like a
line of dominoes.
Stalin, also, was involved in the Far East:
Kim II Sung visited Stalin. In 1949, he persuaded
Stalin that he could conquer South Korea. Stalin
was worried that America would get involved, but
he gave his agreement. Kim II Sung also went to
see Mao Tse Tung, the leader of China, to get his
agreement.
In 1950, Syngman Rhee boasted that he was going to
attack North Korea. It was a good enough excuse the
North Koreans invaded South Korea.
This started the Korean War.
The war had FIVE phases.

Did you
know?
In 1945, Korea was
freed from the
Japanese. The
country was split in
half at the 38th
parallel.
North Korea
(led by Kim II
Sung) was
Communist.
South Korea
(led by Syngman
Rhee) was
capitalist.
The two countries hated each
other.

Source B

Asia is where the

communist
conspirators have
decided to make
their play for
global conquest. If
we lose this war,
the fall of Europe
is inevitable.
There is no choice
but victory.
The US General MacArthur,
speaking in 1950.

New Words
global: whole world
th

38 parallel: a line of
latitude on the map.

19

Kim II Sung
Syngman Rhee
Mao Tse Tung

20

The Events of the War, 195053

June 1950

The North Koreans attacked.

They were very successful.
They captured most of South Korea.

July 1950

II

The Americans were alarmed (see Source B).

They persuaded the United Nations to
support South Korea.
The American Army, led by General
MacArthur, went to Korea, drove back
the North Koreans and recaptured South
Korea. It invaded North Korea.

October 1950

III

Now the Chinese were alarmed.

They attacked MacArthur, and drove the
Americans back.
They recaptured North Korea, and advanced
into South Korea.

February 1951

IV

The Americans landed more troops.

They drove the Chinese back (the Chinese
lost 200,000 men).

March 1951 1953

MacArthur reached the 38th parallel in March

1951.
Truman told MacArthur to stop.
MacArthur was sacked when he publicly
criticised Trumans order.
In 1953, Eisenhower became American
president. He made peace.

Tasks
1.
2.
3.

Look at Source B. Why was Korea so important for the

Americans?
Write notes on the causes of the Korean War.
Write an essay to describe the main events of the Korean
War, 195053.

21

Revision Questions
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/75

22

Who was Prime Minister of Britain in 1945?

Who was president of the USA in February 1945?
Who became president of the USA in 1945?
Who was leader of Russia in 1945?
What is a cold war?
List FOUR causes of the Cold War?
What do Communists believe?
The USA is a capitalist democracy. What do these words mean?
Name TWO historical complaints that Stalin had against Britain and the USA.
What could Britain and the USA not forgive Stalin for (from 1939)?
Give TWO things that Stalin wanted from the peace.
What worried Britain and the USA about Stalins plans?
When did Russia develop the atomic bomb?
List NINE events leading up to the Cold War, Feb 1945 to Mar 1948.
Give FOUR things agreed at Yalta.
Explain TWO reasons why the Potsdam Conference was less successful than Yalta.
Name THREE things that the Big Three disagreed about at Potsdam.
What were salami tactics?
Was is totalitarianism?
Was does the word imperialistic mean?
What was Churchills Fulton speech (5 March 1946) about?
Why did Britain keep soldiers in Greece after the Second World War had finished?
What happened when the British could no longer afford to keep soldiers in Greece?
What did the Truman Doctrine say?
Why did Marshall propose the Marshall Plan?
How much aid did the Marshall Plan want to send to Europe?
Which country turned Communist in March 1948?
What rival to Marshall Aid did Stalin set up in 1947?
Give FIVE causes of the Berlin blockade.
How long did the blockade last?
How did the US and Britain supply the Berliners?
List FOUR results of the blockade.
What rival alliance to NATO did the USSR set up in 1955?
Why was the Korean War important in the history of the Cold War?
Name the ruler of North Korea in 1950.
Name the ruler of South Korea in 1950.
List THREE reasons why Truman was interested in the Far East.
When did China turn Communist?
Whose agreement to invade South Korea did Kim II Sung seek?
What excuse did Kim II Sung have for attacking South Korea?
Who was winning the war at its start in June 1950?
Who led the UN forced which landed in July 1950?
Why did the Chinese enter the war?
How many Chinese soldiers died in the war?
Why was MacArthur sacked?

23

Q
Imagine a class with a really tough and nasty teacher.
After a while, that teacher leaves, and a more gentle,
reasonable teacher takes over. Will behaviour in the
class get better, or worse?

Stalin died in 1953. He was hated all over eastern

Europe. When they heard he was dead, people in
East Berlin rioted.
After a short struggle for power, Khrushchev
became the new ruler in Russia.

Khrushchev
At first, the western powers hoped that Khrushchev
would be the start of a thaw in the Cold War.
1.

Khrushchev often met western leaders at summit

meetings.
2.. Stalin had made all Communist countries do what
he wanted and he had fallen out with President
Tito of Yugoslavia. But in 1955 Khrushchev went
to Yugoslavia, telling Tito that there are different
roads to communism. Western leaders thought he
would no longer insist that all communist countries
take orders from Russia.
3. In a speech in 1956, Khrushchev attacked Stalin,
saying that Stalin was a murderer and a tyrant.
Khrushchev began to de-stalinise Russia.
Political prisoners were set free and Beria (Stalins
Chief of Secret Police) was executed.
4. Khrushchev said that he wanted peaceful
co-existence with the West. Western leaders
hoped this meant the end of the Cold War.

New Words
summit: meeting of
the major world
powers.
destalinisation:
dismantling Stalins
tyranny.
Co-existence: living
together.
capitalism: western
system of a free
economy.
economic aid: money
given to a country to
help build up its
economy.

Did you
know?
Even though he was a
poorly-educated
peasant, Khrushchev
had insight and a
good turn of phrase.
He once said that
Communism and
capitalism would only
agree when shrimps
learned to whistle.

Source C
Source A

You do not like Communism. We do not like

capitalism. There is only one way out
peaceful co-existence.
Khrushchev speaking on a visit to Britain in 1956.

Source B
We may argue. The main thing is to argue
without using weapons.
Khrushchev speaking in 1959.

24

This Russian cartoon shows

Khrushchev destroying the
Cold War.

Peaceful Co-existence
If the rulers of the West hoped that there would be an end
to the Cold War, they were disappointed.
1.

De-stalinisation did not mean a change back to

capitalism, or freedom from Russia. When
communist countries went too far in their reforms,
Khrushchev sent in the Red Army to stop them.

2.

By peaceful co-existence, Khrushchev really

meant peaceful competition. He started to
build up Russian power:
He visited countries like Afghanistan and Burma
and gave them economic aid if they would
support Russia.
Russia began the space race with the America. In
1957 Russia launched Sputnik the first satellite.
In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut to
orbit the earth.
Russia began an arms race with America. In
1953, Russia got the hydrogen bomb.
Khrushchev set up the Warsaw Pact a military
alliance of Communist countries to rival NATO.

a)

b)

c)
d)

3.
a)

b)

c)

Faced by this, America became just as aggressive:

In America, Senator McCarty led a witch-hunt for
Communists in America (e.g. Charlie Chaplin
was accused of being a Communist.)
America had an arms race with Russia. In
1955, NATO agreed to a West German Army of
million men (this led to the formation of the
Warsaw Pact).
The Americans used U2 planes to spy on Russia.

As a result, the period 19551963 was the time of

GREATEST tension in the Cold War.

Task

Make notes on the ways

Khrushchev seemed to
improve the Cold War.

Source D
EIGHT Countries in the
Warsaw Pact:
USSR
Albania
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
East Germany
Hungary
Poland
Romania.

Source E
Crises after 1955:
1956
Poland
1956
Hungary
1960
U2 crisis
1961
The Berlin Wall
1962
Cuban Missile
Crisis

Did you
know?
Khrushchev was NOT
a gentle easy-going
man; he had been
Stalins right-hand
man
Stalin had used him
to run the terror
purges after World
War II.
Khrushchev loved
to argue. This often
caused tension
between leaders.

Task

Make notes on the ways

Khrushchev made the
Cold War worse.

25

In 1956, Khrushchev faced crises in two countries

which were destalinising.

Poland
In Poland, a number of political prisoners were set
free. At the same time, a bad harvest led to unrest.
Railway workers led a protest of people calling for
Cheap Bread and Higher Wages. When the police
shot some of the marchers, there was a riot.
Government officials were killed. Mr Gomulka,
(who had been in prison) took power.
Khrushchev sent Russian troops into Poland to put
down the rebels. But he left Gomulka in power
Gomulka continued the process of destalinisation, but
he kept Poland loyal to Russia and the Warsaw Pact.

New Words
patriotic: loving your
country.
censorship: where
the government
controls what the
newspapers/ radio
etc. say.
telex: an early form of
fax, connecting
typewriters down a
telephone line.

Task
Hungary Causes
The basic cause of the Hungarian revolution was that the
Hungarians hated Russian communism:
1.

Poverty
Hungarians were poor, yet much of the food and
industrial goods they produced was sent to Russia.

2.

Russian Control
The Hungarians were very patriotic, and they hated
Russian control which included censorship, the
vicious secret police (AVH) and Russian control of
what the schools taught.

3.

Catholic Church
The Hungarians were religious, but the Communist
Party had banned religion, and put the leader of the
Catholic Church in prison.

4.

Help from the West

Hungarians thought that the United Nations or the

26

Make notes on the The

Polish riots of 1956.

new US president, Eisenhower, would help them.

5.

Destalinisation
When the Communist Party tried to destalinise
Hungary, things got out of control. The Hungarian
leader Rakosi asked for permission to arrest 400
trouble-makers, but Khrushchev would not let him.

Hungary Events
On 23 October, there were riots of students, workers and
soldiers. They smashed up the statue of Stalin, and
attacked the AVH and Russian soldiers.
On 24 October, Imre Nagy took over as Prime Minister.
He asked Khrushchev to take out the Russian troops.
On 28 October, Khrushchev agreed, and the Russian
army pulled out of Budapest.
29 October 3 November: The new Hungarian
government introduced democracy, freedom of speech,
and freedom of religion (the leader of the Catholic
Church was freed from prison). He also announced that
Hungary was going to leave the Warsaw Pact.
4 November: At dawn, 1000 Russian tanks rolled into
Budapest. By 8.10 am they had destroyed the
Hungarian army and captured Hungarian Radio its last
words broadcast were Help! Help! Help!
Hungarian people even children fought them with
machine guns. 27,000 people were killed.
Khrushchev put in Janos Kadar, a supporter of
Russia, as Prime Minister.

Source C

We are quiet, not afraid. Send the news to

the world and say it should condemn the
Russians. The fighting is very close now and
we havent enough guns. What is the United
Nations doing? Give us a little help. We will
hold out to our last drop of blood. The tanks
are firing now. . .
The last message a telex from a newspaper journalist from Hungary.

Hungary Results
1.

200,000 Hungarian refugees fled into Austria.

Task
Prepare a 15-minute
essay: Why was there a
revolution in Hungary in
1956.

Source A
There were FIVE reasons
why Khrushchev acted
harshly in Hungary:
Nagys decision to leave
the Warsaw Pact was the
last straw Russia was
determined to keep its
buffer of states.
China asked Russia to
act to stop Communism
being damaged.
Nagy had obviously lost
control; Hungary was not
destalinising it was
turning capitalist.
Hard-liners in Russia
forced Khrushchev to act.
Khrushchev though,
correctly, that the West
would not help Hungary.

Source B
TWO reasons why the West
did not help Hungary:
Britain and France were
involved in the Suez crisis
in Egypt.
Eisenhower did not think
Hungary worth a world
war.
When the UN suggested
an investigation, Russia
used its veto to stop it.

Did you
know?
What made the
Hungarian revolution

27

2.
3.
4.

Russia stayed in control behind the Iron Curtain no

other country tried to get rid of Russia troops until
Czechoslovakia in 1968.
People in the West were horrified many British
Communists left the Communist Party.
The West realised it could do nothing about the Iron
Curtain countries but this made Western leaders
more determined to contain communism.

so heart-rending was
the desperate
bravery of the rebels.
One journalist found a
little girl of 12, dead,
armed with a
machine gun.

Tasks
1. Copy out sources A
and B and the section:
Hungary Results.
2. Prepare a 15-minute
essay: The events of the
Hungarian Revolution.

After 1957, tension grew between Russia and America:

1. Russias Sputnik satellite (1957) and space orbit
(1961) gave them a psychological advantage.
Many Americans believed America was in danger.
2. In 1959, the Communist Fidel Castro took power
in Cuba, right next to America. In 1960, he
made a trade agreement with Russia.
3. China was very aggressive. When Khrushchev
made a visit to America in 1959, they accused him
of going soft; this made Khrushchev demand that
America withdraw from West Berlin
A summit was planned for May 1960 to discuss
Berlin and nuclear weapons.

The U2 crisis
On 5 May 1960 just 9 days before the summit Russia
shot down an American U2 spy-plane.
At first, the Americans tried to claim that it was a
weather-plane that had gone off-course. However, the
Russians put the pilot Gary Powers on trial for spying,
and the Americans admitted it was a spy-plane.
The summit met at Paris on 14 May 1960.
Khrushchev refused to take part in the talks unless
the Americans apologise and cancel all future spy-flights.
President Eisenhower agreed to cancel the spy-flights,
but would not apologise so Khrushchev went home.
The results were:
1. Paris summit ruined; Cold War continues.
2. Eisenhowers planned visit to Russia cancelled.
3. Khrushcev and the Russians grew in confidence.
4. Americans became angry with Eisenhower, who
they said was losing the Cold War. After the U2
28

Did you
know?
When Khrushchev
visited America in
1959, he was taken
round an Ideal Home
exhibition. At the
kitchen display, he
had a very public row
with American VicePresident Nixon about
which was better:
Communism or
capitalism.

incident, America became more aggressive.

They elected John F Kennedy, who promised to
be much tougher on communism.

Source A

Let every nation know that we shall pay any

price, bear and burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe, for the
survival and success of freedom. Now the
trumpet calls again . . . against the enemies
of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war.
Ask not what your country can do for you:
ask what you can do for your country.
Inaugural speech of President Kennedy, 1961.

The Berlin Wall Causes

1.

2.

a)
b)

3.

Growing tension
Kennedy tried to get tough on Communism.
He financed the forces fighting the Communists
in Vietnam and Laos, and in 1961 he helped an
invasion of Cuba (see page 8).
Refugees
East Germany was poor and under strict rule.
West Berlin was wealthy and free. Many East
Germans worked in West Berlin, and saw this.
By 1961, 3 million had fled to the west through
Berlin. As the Cold War tension grew, more left,
fearing that the border would be closed by August
1961, the flow was 1,800 a day.
This was an embarrassment to Russia, which
claimed that Communism was better.
Also, many who left were skilled workers.
Sabotage
The Russians claimed that the Americans used West
Berlin for spying and sabotage (see Source B).

The Berlin Wall

At the Vienna summit of June 1961, Khrushchev again
demanded that the Americans leave West Berlin.
Kennedys refused and on 25 July increased Americas
spending on weapons.
On 13 August, Khrushchev closed the border between
east and west Berlin and built a wall.

Tasks

1. Discuss with a friend

why the U2 incident came
at a very bad time for the
Americans.
2. Make notes on: The
story of the U2 crisis.

New Words
psychological: in the
mind.
Nuclear weapons:
atomic and
hydrogen bombs
and ICBMs intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
Sabotage: causing
damage

Source B
The Americans
use West Berlin as
a base for
recruiting spies,
sabotage and
starting riots.
The wall will keep
East Germany
safe.
The Russian explanation of
the Wall, 1961

Source C
There were FOUR results of
the Berlin Wall:
Berlin was split in two.
Hundreds of East
Berliners died trying to
cross it.
America complained, but
did not try to take it down
it was not worth a war.
Tension grew: both sides
started nuclear testing.
The West became more
anti-communist (Source D)

29

Source D

Some people say

we can work with
the Communists.
Let them come to
Berlin.
President Kennedy, 1961.

The Berlin Wall, 1961

Tasks

1. Prepare a 15-minute
essay: Describe the
events 19581961 which
led to the Berlin Wall.
2. Copy Source C.

30

The Cuban Missiles Crisis Causes

New Words

1.

nationalise: where
the government
takes over a
business/ industry.
naval blockade: to
not allow ships to
come or go from
Cuba.

2.

3.

Superpower Tension
All the tensions that had grown up between
Russias assertive peaceful competition and
Kennedys promise to be tough on Russia
including the space race, the arms race and nuclear
testing, American funding of anti-Communists in
Vietnam and Laos, the failed Vienna summit
(1961) and the Berlin Wall.
Fidel Castros Cuba
In 1959, the Communist Fidel Castro took power
in Cuba. This was very threatening to the USA
because it was right next to America. In 1960,
Castro made a trade agreement with Russia,
whereby Cuba sent sugar to Russia, in return for
oil, machines and money. This frightened the
Americans more, and in 1960 they stopped
trading with Cuba. In retaliation, Cuba
nationalised all American-owned companies
The Bay of Pigs.
In April 1961 the CIA encouraged, funded and
transported an attempt by anti-Castro Cuban exiles
to invade Cuba. It failed miserably, greatly
embarrassing Kennedy. In September 1961,
therefore, Castro asked for and Russia publicly
promised weapons to defend Cuba against
America.

On 14 October an American U2 spy-plane took

pictures of a nuclear missile base being built on Cuba.
Kennedys advisers told him he had 10 days before
Cuba could fire the missiles at targets in America.
Kennedy decided he had to act (see Source A).

Source A
We will not
needlessly risk
world-wide
nuclear war in
which even victory
would be ashes in
our mouths but
neither will we
shrink from that
risk when it must
be faced . . . I call
upon Chairman
Khrushchev to
stop and
dismantle this
secret, reckless
and provocative
threat to world
peace.
Speech by President Kennedy
on American TV, 1962.
The danger of the missile
bases.

Task
31

The Cuban Missiles Crisis

16 Oct:
22 Oct:
23 Oct:

24 Oct:

26 Oct:
27 Oct:

28 Oct:
20 Nov:

Kennedy set up a Committee of the National

Security Council to advise him.
Kennedy announced that he was mounting a
naval blockade of Cuba.
Khrushchev accused America of piracy. He
warned that Russia would get ready a fitting
reply to the aggressor. 20 Russian ships
were heading for Cuba.
The first Russian ship reached the naval
blockade. It was an oil ship and was
allowed through. The other Russian ships
(carrying missiles) turned back. However,
Russia was still building the missile bases.
Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy, offering
to dismantle the sites if Kennedy would lift
the blockade and agree not to invade Cuba.
Before Kennedy could reply, Khrushchev
sent another letter, demanding that Kennedy
also dismantle American missile bases in
Turkey. On the same day, a U2 plane was
shot down over Cuba.
It looked as if war was about to happen.
Kennedy ignored the plane incident. He
also ignored Khrushchevs second letter he
wrote simply that would lift the blockade and
agree not to invade Cuba if Khrushchev
would dismantle the missile bases.
Khrushchev agreed. The crisis finished.
Russian bombers left Cuba, and Kennedy
lifted the naval blockade.

The results were:

1. Khrushchev lost prestige he had failed.
Particularly, China broke from Russia.
2. Kennedy gained prestige. He was seen as the men
who faced down the Russians.
3. Both sides had had a fright. They were more
careful in future. The two leaders set up a telephone
hotline to talk directly in a crisis.
In 1963, they agreed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Cuba was the start of the end of the Cold War.
4. Cuba remained a Communist dictatorship, but
America left it alone.

32

Prepare a 15-minute
essay: Why was there a
crisis about Cuba in
1962?

Source B
Kennedys Options:
1. Nuclear Strike? It
would cause a nuclear war.
2. Conventional attack?
There were Russian troops
in Cuba, and it would
probably lead to a war with
Russia.
3. Use the UN? Too slow.
4. Do nothing? The
missile bases were too
dangerous.
5. Blockade? This would
stop the missiles getting to
the missile bases, but it
was not a direct act of war.

Did you
know?
Kennedy did not publicly
agree to dismantle missile
bases in Turkey. But in a
secret telephone call, he told
Khrushchev that while he
couldnt agree to dismantle
Turkish bases in a tit-for-tat
agreement the USA did not
see any need for them and
that they would be dismantled
soon.

Tasks

1. Prepare a 15-minute
essay: Describe the
events of the Cuba Crisis
of 1962.
2. Copy The Results of
the Cuba Crisis.

Revision Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.

When did Stalin die? Who became the new leader of Russia
What were the meetings between the superpower leaders called?
What did Khrushchev tell Tito in 1955?
What did Khrushchev say about Stalin in 1956?
What was Khrushchevs policy called? What did he really mean by it?
What was de-stalinisation? Why was it dangerous for world peace?
How did Khrushchev build up support in countries like Afghanistan and Burma?
What was the first satellite and when was it launched?
Who was the first astronaut to orbit the earth, and when did he do it?
When did Russia get the hydrogen bomb?
What was the military alliance set up by Khrushchev, and what countries were in it?
Which American senator led a witch-hunt for communists in America?
What did NATO agree to in 1955 in West Germany?
How did America spy on Russia?
Name the FIVE crises after 1955.
Who led the Polish riots of 1956?
Which Polish Communist kept control of Poland?
List the FIVE reasons for the Hungarian uprising.
Who rioted in Hungary on 23 October 1956, and what did they do?
Who became the Prime Minister of Hungary?
What FOUR reforms did the rebels order?
What FIVE reasons led Russia to send in the tanks? Of these, which was most
important?
How many tanks invaded Budapest.
Why did Britain and France not help Hungary?
Who was the President of America in 1956? Why did he not help Hungary?
Why did the UN not help Hungary?
Who did Khrushchev put in charge of Hungary?
How many Hungarians fled to Austria?
What did Khrushchev demand from America in 1959?
With whom did Khrushchev argue about kitchens in 1959?
What crisis began on 5 May 1960.
Which summit meeting was ruined because of the crisis?
Who did the Americans elect as their President in 1961?
Which two places in the Far East did Kennedy finance anti-communist fighters?
How many refugees had fled to West Berlin by 1961? Why was this bad for Russia?
What did Khrushchev demand at the Vienna summit of June 1961?
What date did Khrushchev begin to build the Berlin Wall?
Why did Khrushchev say he built the wall?
When did Fidel Castro come to power in Cuba?
What did his 1960 trade agreement with Russia say?
What did Castro do to America companies in 1961 which angered America?

33

42. What was the name for the failed invasion of Cuba in 1961. Why was it an
embarrassment for Kennedy?
43. What did a U2 spy-plane discover on Cuba in October 1962?
44. What were Kennedys FIVE options, and which did he choose?
45. What did Khrushchev accuse America of?
46. What deal was done between Kennedy and Khrushchev?
47. What event during the crisis (27 Oct) almost caused a nuclear war?
48. What did the two leaders set up after the Missiles Crisis to prevent another such crisis?
49. What agreement began the thaw in 1963?

34