The development of the Cold War (1948-1956)

Question 1

What was the Berlin blockade and airlift?

Answer 1

The first major crisis of the Cold War. Stalin tried to blockade Germany by closing all road and rail connections from Berlin to West Germany, in the hope of forcing the Western Allies out of the city. The Allies responded by airlifting supplies into the city.

Question 2

When was the Berlin blockade and airlift?

Answer 2

June 1948 - May 1949.

Question 3

What were the 5 causes of the Berlin blockade and airlift?

Answer 3

1. There was a differing of opinion between Trizonia and the USSR as to what to do with Germany. Trizonia wanted Germany to recover; they could not afford to continue feeding its people and they felt that punishing Germany would not help future peace. However, the USSR didn’t want to rebuild Germany and Stalin was suspicious about why the USA and Britain did.
2. Stalin wanted to prevent the establishment of a separate state in Western Germany. He wanted to cut Western Germany off from its capital so that the new government, based in Berlin, could not control its territory in Western Germany. Stalin wanted to prove that a divided Germany couldn’t work in practice.
3. Many Eastern Germans were leaving to West Germany because in West Germany there was recovery and prosperity whereas in East Germany there was only poverty and hunger. West Germany seemed like a far more attractive place to live.
4. Stalin thought that the Allies were building up West Germany in order to attack him.
5. Trizonia were making decisions about Germany without consulting Stalin.

Question 4

What were the 7 key features of the Berlin blockade and airlift?

Answer 4

1. Stalin had been concerned with developments in 1948 and wanted to remove the West from their sectors of Berlin and therefore blocked road, rail, river and canal links, in the hope of forcing the Western Allies out of the city.
2. At the time, it seemed like there was a high chance of war.
3. Trizonia were left with a choice of either withdrawing from Berlin, but this would be humiliating and might encourage Stalin to think he could invade West Germany, or lifting supplies into West Berlin by air. They had the planes, but there was a high risk of them being shot down.
4. The Allies chose to airlift supplies.
5. The airlift lasted until the following spring of 1949.
6. It reached its peak on April 16th to April 17th when 1,398 flights landed nearly 13,000 tonnes of supplies in 24 hours.
7. During the airlift, West Berliners were supplied with all the resources they needed.
   The airlift was a great success.

Question 5

What were the 7 effects of the Berlin blockade and airlift?

Answer 5

1. By May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade.
2. It was a victory for the West.
3. Relations with the USSR hit rock bottom.
4. Cooperation in Germany in the future was very unlikely.
5. The country remained divided.
6. Trizonia became the Federal Republic of Germany.
7. The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic.

Question 6

What was NATO?

Answer 6

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was set up in 1949 after the Berlin Blockade when relations between the West and the East deteriorated. The USA, Britain, France and nine other countries formed NATO. They agreed that if any of them came under attack, all members of NATO would come to their defence.

Question 7

When was NATO created?

Answer 7

April 1949.

Question 8

For what 2 reasons was NATO created?

Answer 8

1. The Berlin Blockade raised the possibility of war in Europe.
2. The members wanted to ‘keep the USA in, and the USSR out’.

Question 9

What were the 4 effects of NATO?

Answer 9

1. Its creation marked a significant development in the Cold War. It created a military alliance with the specific aim of defending the West against Communism.
2. The USA was now formally committed to the defence of Western Europe.
3. Stalin didn’t see it as a defensive alliance, but as a direct threat to the USSR.
4. The USA was now able to build air bases in Western Europe where planes armed with nuclear weapons could be stationed ready for use against the Soviet Union.

Question 10

What was the nuclear arms race?

Answer 10

The arms race included both a continuing commitment to maintaining a large army, navy and air force and the development of nuclear weapons.

Question 11

What important events happened during the nuclear arms race?

Answer 11

1945 – The USA became the first country to develop and use a nuclear bomb.
1949 – The USSR successfully tested an atomic bomb.
1952 – The USA detonated its first hydrogen bomb.
1953 – The USSR tested its own hydrogen bomb.

Question 12

What were the 2 effects of the nuclear arms race?

Answer 12

1. It prevented a war in Europe.
2. The Soviet leaders would never order an invasion into Western Germany, although they had 3 million troops and could easily capture the country, as they feared an American nuclear retaliation.

Question 13

What was the Warsaw Pact?

Answer 13

The Pact was created by the USSR and formed in response to West Germany joining NATO. It was called the Eastern European Mutual Assistance Treaty and each country agreed that an attack on one was an attack on all. Military exercises were held in each country on a rotating basis and the overall head of forces was a Soviet commander.

Question 14

When was the Warsaw Pact created?

Answer 14

In 1955.

Question 15

Why was the Warsaw Pact created?

Answer 15

In response to NATO.

Question 16

What were the 7 impacts of Soviet rule on Hungary?

Answer 16

1. In 1949, Cominform imposed an oppressive regime on Hungary.
2. The Soviet Union established an oppressive regime and set up a Communist government, banning all other Parties.
3. Control was established by means of a strict police, army and Soviet officials in the government.
4. Hungarian land was redistributed to other Eastern European countries.
5. Hungarian oil, coal and wheat was shipped to Russia while Hungarian citizens were deprived of food.
6. Russian officials controlled the government, the police and the army.
7. Cominform began a reign of terror, executing popular political leaders and their supporters.

Question 17

Who was Matyas Rakosi?

Answer 17

Matyas Rakosi was appointed as Hungary’s dictator. He was dictator from 1949 to 1956 and described himself as Stalin’s ‘best pupil’, but the people of Hungary nicknamed him the ‘bald butcher’. He imprisoned 387,000 and was responsible for more than 2,000 deaths during his oppressive regime.

Question 18

What happened in Hungary after Stalin’s death?

Answer 18

The process of de-Stalinisation and optimism was felt in Hungary.

Question 19

When did Stalin die?

Answer 19

In 1953.

Question 20

What kind of reign had Stalin imposed?

Answer 20

A very oppressive one.

Question 21

How many deaths is it thought that Stalin was responsible for?

Answer 21

Roughly 20 million.

Question 22

After Stalin’s death, who became leader?

Answer 22

Nikita Khrushchev, who had a more liberal approach.

Question 23

What did Nikita Khrushchev’s Secret Speech promise?

Answer 23

An end to Stalinism throughout the entire Soviet sphere of influence.

Question 24

When did Nikita Khrushchev give his Secret Speech?

Answer 24

In 1956.

Question 25

What did Nikita Khrushchev’s Secret Speech lead to?

Answer 25

Protests in Hungary, causing Khrushchev to agree to the appointment of a more liberal leader, Imre Nagy.

Question 26

What 4 reforms did Imre Nagy propose?

Answer 26

1. Hungary should leave the Warsaw Pact and become neutral.
2. Communism in Hungary should end.
3. Hungary should become a Western style democracy with free elections.
4. Hungary should ask the UN for protection from Russia.

Question 27

What were the effects of Nagy’s reforms?

Answer 27

They ended Hungary’s alliance with the USSR.

Question 28

What were Khrushchev’s 2 responses to Nagy’s reforms?

Answer 28

1. Khrushchev believed that the reforms were unacceptable and that if Hungary was allowed to do this, other satellite states would follow suit as there was discontent with Communism all over Eastern Europe.
2. Khrushchev decided to crush the government in Hungary.

Question 29

What were the 7 causes of the Hungarian uprising?

Answer 29

1. Hungary had been treated as a defeated country after WW2.
2. The USSR had established a Communist government there with Matyas Rakosi as leader.
3. The Hungarians hated Rakosi and his secret police because they were brutal and imprisoned and killed thousands.
4. There were protests over the falling standard of living and increased poverty, which were blamed on Soviet policies.
5. The Hungarians disliked the Communist agricultural policies and the withdrawal of basic human freedoms.
6. They disliked having to pay for Soviet troops being stationed in Hungary.
7. The biggest insult of all was the use of the Russian language in their own country.

Question 30

What were the 11 key features of the Hungarian uprising?

Answer 30

1. The protests following Nikita Khrushchev’s Secret Speech got worse.
2. Stalin’s statue was pulled down and dragged through the streets.
3. Rakosi was forced to resign and Soviet tanks moved in.
4. Imre Nagy became Prime Minister and the Soviet troops withdrew.
5. Nagy wanted reform.
6. When he called for the right to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, Khrushchev became alarmed.
7. If Communism ended in Hungary, there would be a gap in the Iron Curtain.
8. Soviet troops and 1,000 tanks moved in to crush the uprising. They thought that if Hungary left the Warsaw Pact it might encourage other members and destroy the Soviet alliance system.
9. Nagy appealed to the West for help but none came.
10. Two weeks of fighting followed but the Hungarians lost.
11. Nagy was captured and killed.

Question 31

What were the 6 effects of the Hungarian uprising?

Answer 31

1. Roughly 20,000 Hungarians, mostly civilians, were killed along with 700 Soviet troops.
2. Over 200,000 Hungarian refugees fled Hungary and settled in the West.
3. The uprising highlighted the limitations of Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful coexistence.
4. There was no active support from the West. This was because the Allies were preoccupied with the Suez Crisis. However, America also wanted to avoid war with the USSR at all costs. This showed other radicals in Eastern Europe that America’s commitment to liberating Europe from Communism did not extend to offering military support. This discouraged others to follow Hungary’s example.
5. A new pro-Soviet government was set up under Janos Kadar. He re-established Communism control of Hungary and negotiated the withdrawal of Soviet troops once the crisis was over.
6. Other satellite states in Eastern Europe did not dare to challenge Soviet authority after the events in Hungary.

Question 32

What was the Suez Crisis?

Answer 32

A war fought by Britain, France and Israel against Egypt in October 1956. It followed the decision by the Egyptian president, President Nasser, to nationalise the Suez Canal. Both the USA and the USSR objected to the attack on Egypt and forced Britain, France and Israel to withdraw.