Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 | Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0)

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91

120 questions
9 subtopics
Paper 2
Paper 2

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941–91 is examined in Paper 2, Period study and British depth study.

It covers early tension between East and West, the development of the Cold War, the Cold War intensifies, increased tension between East and West, cold War crises, 1958–70, reaction to crisis, 1958–70, Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970s, the end of détente and the ‘Second Cold War’ and the collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, 1985-91.

Sample questions from Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Early tension between East and West

What was settled at Potsdam about taking reparations from Germany?

Show the answer
Each occupying power would take reparations from its own zone, with the Soviet Union also receiving a share of industrial equipment from the western zones.
The development of the Cold War

Why did Stalin condemn the Marshall Plan as dollar imperialism?

Show the answer
He argued the aid was a way of buying influence, since countries taking it would open their economies to the USA and fall under its control.
The Cold War intensifies

What was the Warsaw Pact, and what prompted its creation in 1955?

Show the answer
A military alliance of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites, set up after West Germany was allowed to rearm and join NATO.
Increased tension between East and West

Whom did Castro overthrow when he took power in Cuba in 1959?

Show the answer
Fulgencio Batista, a dictator whose government had been supported by the USA.
Cold War crises, 1958–70

What did American photographs taken over Cuba in October 1962 reveal?

Show the answer
Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction, close enough to strike most American cities within minutes.
Reaction to crisis, 1958–70

Which leader appeared to have won the confrontation over Cuba, and why is that judgement disputed?

Show the answer
Kennedy was seen as the winner because the missiles came out, but Khrushchev had secured Cuba against invasion and quietly won the removal of the missiles in Turkey.
Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970s

How did the Apollo–Soyuz mission of 1975 illustrate the new mood?

Show the answer
An American and a Soviet spacecraft docked in orbit and their crews shook hands, turning the space race into a public display of co-operation.
The end of détente and the ‘Second Cold War’

Which Olympic Games did each superpower stay away from?

Show the answer
The USA led a boycott of the Moscow games in 1980, and the Soviet Union retaliated by boycotting Los Angeles in 1984.

The 9 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Early tension between East and West	The Grand Alliance, the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the arguments over Poland and reparations, communist and capitalist beliefs, Stalin's aims, Truman's attitude, the iron curtain, Hiroshima, the Long Telegram and Novikov's warning, satellite states and how Stalin brought Eastern Europe under communist rule.	16
The development of the Cold War	Truman's promise to Congress, containment, the Marshall Plan and Stalin's response, Cominform, Yugoslavia and Comecon, NATO and its pledge, Berlin's position, the Deutsche Mark, the blockade and airlift, and the two German states of 1949.	16
The Cold War intensifies	The Soviet atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, the Warsaw Pact, Khrushchev's attack on Stalin, Nagy's reforms and his break with the Pact, the invasion of November 1956, the western response and the UN veto.	10
Increased tension between East and West	The refugee flow from East Berlin, Khrushchev's ultimatum, the Geneva, Camp David, Paris and Vienna summits, Castro's takeover, Soviet aid to Cuba, the Bay of Pigs and its results, Dubček and the Prague Spring.	19
Cold War crises, 1958–70	The sealing of Berlin in August 1961, Checkpoint Charlie, the missile sites in Cuba, Kennedy's options and the blockade, the most dangerous day, the settlement, the Brezhnev Doctrine and the occupation of Czechoslovakia.	10
Reaction to crisis, 1958–70	Kennedy's acceptance of the Berlin barrier, his 1963 visit, who won over Cuba and Khrushchev's fall, the hotline, the test ban, outer space and non-proliferation treaties, and the reaction to the invasion of Czechoslovakia.	17
Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970s	What détente meant and why both sides wanted it, Nixon in Moscow, Apollo–Soyuz, the 1972 arms limitation deal and its gaps, the Helsinki Accords and their human rights clause, and the failed 1979 agreement.	10
The end of détente and the ‘Second Cold War’	Afghanistan and the American response, the Carter Doctrine, the Olympic boycotts, Reagan's evil empire and military build-up, the Strategic Defence Initiative, Gorbachev's aims, the 1987 missile treaty and the trust between the leaders.	11
The collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, 1985-91	New thinking, perestroika and glasnost, the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine, Solidarity in Poland, the opening of the Berlin crossings, German reunification, and the end of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.	11

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 is 120 of the 2,881 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.