Cold War Vocabulary

Question 1

laissez-faire

Answer 1

a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering

Question 2

Berlin Wall

Answer 2

The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Berlin in 1961. The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin. When it was knocked down this symbolized the end of the Cold War.

Question 3

Communist

Answer 3

country, ruled by a dictator, who cared little about human rights.

Question 4

Democracy

Answer 4

valued freedom.

Question 5

Truman Doctrine

Answer 5

the United States helped nations that were threatened by communism.

Question 6

Reparations

Answer 6

of friendly states to protect the USSR from being invaded again.

Question 7

Marshall Plan

Answer 7

his plan gave food and other aid to European countries to help them recover from the war.

Question 8

Containment

Answer 8

blocking the Soviets from spreading communism.

Question 9

Berlin Airlift

Answer 9

The Soviet Union made a bid for control of Berlin by blockading all land access to the city. From June 1948 to May 1949, U.S. and British planes airlift 1.5 million tons of supplies to the residents of West Berlin. After 200,000 flights, flying food and supplies into the city for 11 months. Finally, the Soviets lifted the blockade.

Question 10

Warsaw Pact

Answer 10

The Soviet Union announced that it had developed an atomic bomb. Three years later,
both superpowers had an even more deadly weapon—the hydrogen bomb. Soon both nations were involved in an arms race.

Question 11

NATO

Answer 11

NATO was a military alliance. Each nation promised to defend any other member that was attacked.

Question 12

Brinkmanship

Answer 12

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first human-made satellite.

Question 13

Sputnik

Answer 13

the world’s first human-made satellite.

Question 14

Arms Race

Answer 14

An arms race occurs when two or more nations compete in increases in military personnel and materiel

Question 15

Domino Theory’

Answer 15

the theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries

Question 16

Iron Curtain

Answer 16

Communist governments were in place in these lands: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia. This divided Europe between East and West. Winston Churchill called this symbolic division the “iron curtain.”

Question 17

Totalitarianism

Answer 17

Under Stalin, the Soviet Union took control of all aspects of both public and private life

Question 18

Capitalism

Answer 18

An economic system in which money is invested with the goal of making more money (profit)

Question 19

Space Race

Answer 19

The United States then began spending huge amounts of money to improve science education. This era of scientific competition was known as the Space Race.

Question 20

In 1949 the United States and European countries worked together to form an alliance for protection against Communist aggression called N.A.T.O. What does N.A.T.O stand for?

Answer 20

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Question 21

Who was the dictator that controlled the Soviet Union?

Answer 21

Joseph Stalin

Question 22

Which event signaled the end of the Cold War?

Answer 22

Berlin wall coming down

Question 23

A system where the government owns the factories and other natural resources AND controls the production of goods is known as _____________________.

Answer 23

Communimsm

Question 24

The Allied victory in World War II led to the emergence of TWO global superpowers. What were those TWO superpowers?

Answer 24

USA AND Soviet Union

Question 25

Type of government where the government owns everything and makes all the decisions.

Answer 25

Communism