History- EDEXCEL

• Buffer zone- An area of land between two countries designed to protect them from attack
• ICBM- Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles
• What did the Novikov telegram report?

  •  Believed the US wanted to use their strong military to dominate the world
  • Told Moscow that the Americans no longer wanted to cooperate with the Soviets
• When did the USSR develop the hydrogen bomb?

  1953
• Reparations- Payments in money or goods after a war from the losing country to the victors
• London Poles- A group of politicians who left Poland after the German invasion in 1939 and set up a government-in-exile first in Paris and then in London
• Doves- Those in the US administration who supported peaceful negotiation
• Détente- A period of peace between two groups that were previously at war, or hostile to each other.
• SLBM-Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
• Catalyst- Someone or something which speeds up or causes an event or reaction
• Evangelical- A Christian denomination which emphasises the importance of the Bible and the need for personal belief in Christ
• Elaborate on how ideological differences caused tension.

  • USA and Britain:Politics -Democracy: free elections with a choice of partiesSocial structure - Some people have more power than others because of family, background, wealth, education or achievementsEconomy - Capitalist: private ownership of property and businessRights - Individual freedoms guaranteed
  • Soviet Union:Politics - Single-party ruleSocial structure - Classless society where everyone is equalEconomy - Communist: state ownership of property and businessRights - The rights of all workers are more important than individual rights
• What does Comecon stand for?

  The council for mutual economic assistance
• Who were the members of Comecon?

  Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, East Germany and Albania
• What was the currency for Trizonia?

  Deutschmark
• When was GDR created?

  October 1949
• Explain the creation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

  In April 1949 the USA , Britain, France and 9 other Western countries formed NATO. This was a military alliance intended to protect Western countries from the communist threat. All members agreed that if one was attacked, the others would come to its aid. In response to the FRG joining NATO in May 1955, Stalin created the Warsaw Pact, the equivalent of NATO for eastern communist countries. This was now seen as a defining moment in the split of Europe into two blocs: the capitalist West and the communist East.
• When did the USA develop the atomic bomb?

  1945
• When did the USA develop the hydrogen bomb?


  1952
• When did the USA develop ICBMs?

  1957
• When did Dwight D. Eisenhower became the new president?

  January 1953
• Explain how the end of the Korean War was a reason for the reduction of tensions.

  The USA and the Soviet Union had supported different sides in the Korean war (1950-53). The end of the war contributed to a reduction in tensions.
• When did the Hungarian Uprising occur?

  1956
• What did Nagy announce on 1 November 1956?

  Hungary would be leaving the Warsaw Pact.
• What was the aim of Cominform?

  It was a political organisation that gave Stalin power to control the governments of his satellite states, they had to follow orders from Moscow.
• What did they do at the first Cominform meeting?

  Reject the Marshall plan
• Who was the new leader for USA when the Cold War intensified?

  Dwight Eisenhower
• Soviet union- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR. A union of republics ruled from Moscow, Russia
• Capitalism- The ideology that everyone should be free to own property and business and to make money.
• Democracy- A political system in which a nation's leaders are chosen in free elections.
• Colonialism- Economic, political and cultural control of another country
• Conventional weapons- Weapons which are not nuclear, chemical or biological
• MIRVS- Vehicle containing multiple missiles
• Mujahedeen- A group of Muslim guerilla fighters
• Rhetoric- Language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect
• Gerontocracy- A state, society or group governed by old people
• Name some causes of tensions between the East and West.

  1. Ideological differences

  2. Differences between leaders

  3. A new world order

  4. The Grand Alliance

  5. The Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences

  6. Developments in 1945-46
• Elaborate on how differences between leaders caused tension.

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA, 1933-45):Strongly believed in democracy but formed an alliance with the Soviet Union to protect the USA against Japan. Was not as tough as Churchill wanted him to beJoseph Stalin (Soviet Union, 1920s-1953):Strengthened one-party rule in the USSR and cut back on personal freedoms for Soviet citizens. Stalin was convinced the West wanted to destroy communism
  • Winston Churchill (Britain, 1940-45, 1951-55):
• Elaborate on how a new world order caused tension.

  After WW2, 'old powers' like Britain and France were less important. Two new 'superpowers', the Soviet Union and the USA had emerged. Their strong militaries and economies created rivalry between them.
• When was the Yalta conference and who was present?

  February 1945; Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin