The Cold War
(1949 – 1963)
 The Korean War.
 The Khrushchev Era.
 NATO & The Warsaw Pact.
 The Hungarian Uprising.
 The Nuclear Arms Race.
 The Space Race.
 The U2 Crisis.
 The Berlin Wall.
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The Cuban Missile Crisis.
GCSE Revision Notes
The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
The Korean War (1950 - 1953)
The Causes of the Korean War were:
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Korea had been occupied by Japan during the Second World War, but like in
Germany, it was divided between the US and Soviet Union after Japan’s
defeat.
North Korea became a Communist country allied to the Soviet Union under
the leadership of Kim Il Sung.
South Korea became a capitalist country allied to the US under the antiCommunist military government of Syngman Rhee.
In 1949 the whole of China except Taiwan became Communist under the
leadership of Chairman Mao.
The US feared that this was the start of the Domino Theory whereby when one
country became Communist other nearby countries would also become
Communist.
The US feared that its allies South Korea, Taiwan and Japan with the rest of
South East Asia could if left unchecked also be taken over by Communists.
The Soviet Union and China encouraged Kim Il Sung to launch an attack on
South Korea to spread Communism by providing North Korea with military
equipment.
The Soviet Union never involved itself directly in the war preferring instead to
give secret support to North Korea.
In June 1950 North Korea attacked South Korea and the Korean War began.
Events of the Korean War:
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North Korea was very successful at first and quickly captured most of South
Korea except for a small area of land the south east of the country called the
Pusan Pocket.
South Korea appealed to the United Nations (UN) for help the UN Security
Council declared North Korea to be the aggressor and promised to send help.
The Soviet Union, which had a seat on the Security Council, could have
vetoed (blocked) the vote but was boycotting it at the time in protest that it
admits China.
The US and 16 other countries (later joined by 32 countries) landed soldiers in
Korea to support the South Korean government.
The US General Douglas MacArthur, organised a successful surprise seaborne
landing at Inchon behind the North Korean frontline.
The North Koreans were forced to retreat and UN forces marched deep into
North Korea towards the Chinese border.
Communist China fearing for its own security joined the war on North Koreas
side sending 200,000 soldiers into the Korean Peninsular.
The UN forces were pushed back to the original border between North and
South Korea and stalemate followed until a ceasefire was agreed.
The consequences of the Korean War were:
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In one-tenth of the population was dead and the country remained divided.
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GCSE Revision Notes
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The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
The UN proved to be much stronger than its predecessor the League of
Nations.
China had shown that it had once again become a strong country to be
reckoned with.
The US following the Truman Doctrine to contain Communism showed that it
was prepared to go to war to prevent the further spread of Communism.
In 1954 the US set up the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO),
which was a military alliance like NATO, to protect the Far East from
Communism.
The Khrushchev Era
De-Stalinization:
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The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was a ruthless tyrant who had arrested,
tortured, imprisoned and killed tens of millions of his own people.
In 1953 Stalin died and was replaced by a new leader called Nikita
Khrushchev who was a committed Communist but wanted to end the terror of
the Stalin’s era.
In 1956 Khrushchev delivered a secret speech to the Communist Party leaders
in which he denounced the terror under Stalin’s rule.
Khrushchev introduced the policy of de-Stalinization that ended the mass
arrests, freed prisoners and gave ordinary people slightly more freedoms.
As part of de-Stalinization the millions of pictures and statues of Stalin
displayed across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were removed.
Khrushchev did not intend de-Stalinization to lead to any lessening of
Communist one-party rule or Soviet control of Eastern Europe.
Peaceful Co-Existence:
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Khrushchev wanted to replace Stalin’s policy of confrontation with the US to
peaceful co-existence which led to a “thaw” in relation between the US and
Soviet Union.
Though Khrushchev did not want confrontation with the West he still wanted
to prove the superiority of Communism over Capitalism.
Peaceful Co-Existence meant avoiding direct confrontation with the West but
competing with it in the areas of sport, the third world, science and
technology.
The Soviet Union set about proving the superiority of its system by
challenging the domination of the US in sport particularly at the Olympics.
The Soviet Union recognised newly independent Third World countries
offering them political, economic and military aid.
The Soviet Union continued to build up its nuclear weapons as part of the
nuclear arms race against the US.
The Soviet Union entered into a space race with the US with the aim of
demonstrating the superiority of Soviet science and technology.
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GCSE Revision Notes
The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
NATO & The Warsaw Pact
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO):
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In 1949 the US set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) with its
Western European allies.
It was a military alliance whose members agreed to go to war if anyone of
them was attacked by the Soviet Union.
Its members included the US, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Holland,
Italy, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and
West Germany.
The Warsaw Pact (1955):
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The Soviet Union had already established both Comecon and Cominform in
1947 to solidify its control over its Communist Eastern European allies.
In 1955 West Germany joined NATO, which greatly alarmed the Soviet
Union’s fears about revived militarily strong Germany.
The Soviet Union responded by getting its Eastern European allies to agree to
sign the Warsaw Pact.
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance, like NATO, whose members agreed
to go to war if the US attacked anyone of them.
All the Eastern European countries joined except Yugoslavia that had been
expelled from Cominform because its leader Marshall Tito would not obey the
Soviet Union.
The Hungarian Uprising (1956)
The Causes of the Hungarian Uprising were:
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Hungry was a Communist Eastern European country allied to the Soviet
Union.
Its people had been inspired by Stalin’s death and Khrushchev’s deStalinization policy to hope for greater freedom from Soviet control.
The people of Hungry wanted greater political freedom, capitalist reforms,
access to the west and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungry.
The Soviet Union had given some concessions to Poland after it people had
earlier revolted which raised Hungarians hopes that they could do the same.
Protests and demonstrations led to the election of Imre Nagy as Prime Minister
and Soviet troops temporarily withdrew from Hungry.
The new government promised democratic elections, allowed a free media,
invited non-Communists to join the government and demanded to leave the
Warsaw Pact.
The Consequences of the Hungarian Uprising:
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Khrushchev had no meant his de-Stalinization policy to lead to the Eastern
European countries to get greater freedom from the Soviet Union.
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GCSE Revision Notes
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The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
The Soviet Union believed that maintain the Warsaw Pact and control of
Eastern Europe was vital for the Soviet Unions national security.
The Soviet Union feared that if Hungry were allowed to become free of
Communism and Soviet control then other countries in the Warsaw Pact
would demand the same.
In November 1956 Soviet troops invaded Hungry killing 30,000 Hungarians
and forcing 200,000 to flee to the West.
Imre Naggy was executed and replaced with Janos Kadar a more hard line
Prime Minster who was loyal to Communism and the Soviet Union.
The crushing of the Hungarian Uprising ended the “thaw” in relations between
the Soviet Union and the US with renewed Cold War tension.
The Nuclear Arms Race (1945 - 1963)
The Threat of Nuclear Weapons:
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The invention of the atom bomb changed modern warfare and threatened
humanity with extinction in the event of thermal nuclear war between the US
and Soviet Union.
The US was the first country to develop the atom bomb and used it twice
against Japan on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the Second
World War.
The US was the first country to develop the hydrogen bomb (H-Bomb), which
was a larger and even more devastating bomb than the atom bomb.
The Soviet Union developed the atom bomb in 1949 and the hydrogen bomb
in 1952, which radically heightened Cold War tensions.
An arms race developed between the US and Soviet Union to build more
devastating bombs and better ways of delivering them than the other side.
Both sides developed Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s) that could
reach and destroy any target on Earth.
The idea of nuclear deterrent developed whereby in the event of nuclear attack
a country would respond with devastating nuclear counter-attack (MAD).
The threat of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) deterred both the US and
Soviet Union from directly going to war with each other during the cold war.
Arguably the possession of massive nuclear arsenals by both sides during the
Cold War helped to keep the peace by keeping both sides in check.
Calls for Nuclear Disarmament:
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The threat of a nuclear holocaust led to peace campaigners across the world to
call for nuclear disarmament.
During this Cold War period (1949 – 1963) all attempts at nuclear
disarmament and arms control to slow down the nuclear arms race failed.
From 1946 to 1962 over 800 international disarmament meetings failed to
reach any agreement though the agreement came the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The problem was both sides distrusted and feared the other side too much
about keeping their word and disarm in the event of an agreement.
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GCSE Revision Notes
The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
The Space Race (1957 - 1963)
The Space Race:
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The Soviet Union started the space race and had a lead over the US until the
US beat the Soviet Union by landing the first man on the moon in 1969.
The Soviet Union developed the world first satellite, called Sputnik, which
they successfully put into orbit in 1957 and in 1961 put the first man into
space.
The launch of Sputnik shocked the US because Khrushchev used it to argue
the superiority of Communism over Capitalism in developing science and
technology.
The launch of Sputnik that was put into orbit by a Ballistic Missile showed the
advance capability of Soviet Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s).
Therefore there was a link between the Space Race and development of
Ballistic Missiles that made it an important part of Cold War rivalry.
The U2 Crisis (1960)
The Causes of the U2 Crisis were:
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In May 1960 the US, Britain, France and the Soviet Union agreed to meet at a
Peace Summit in Paris to try and improve relations between the West and
East.
The US had developed a secret super-spy aeroplane, called the U2, which
could fly at 750,000 feet over the Soviet Union to take spy pictures of Soviet
military sites.
The US believed that the U2 was unstoppable because it flew too high to be
intercepted by Soviet defence aircraft.
On 1 May 1960 a U2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers took off from Pakistan
and flew over the Soviet Union but was shot down by Surface-to-Air Missile
(SAM).
The Soviet Union, unknown to the Americans, captured Gary Powers who
confessed to spying after he parachuted, recovered the spy photographs and
the U2 spy plane.
The US did not want to admit that they had been spying on the Soviet Union
because that would ruin the Paris Summit and lied about the U2 crash.
Khrushchev then humiliated the US by revealing to the world that Gary
Powers, the spy photographs and the plane had been captured showing them to
the world press.
Consequences of the U2 Crisis were:
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Khrushchev demanded that the US apologise to the Soviet Union at the Paris
Summit.
US President Eisenhower refused to apologise arguing the spy fights were
essential to protect the US from a surprise Soviet attack.
Khrushchev stormed out of the Paris Summit and cancelled an invitation for
President Eisenhower to visit the Soviet Union increasing Cold War tension.
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GCSE Revision Notes
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The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for spying but was later
released in exchange for the release of a top Soviet spy from a US prison.
The Berlin Wall (1961)
The reasons for building the Berlin Wall were:
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The division of Berlin into West and East Berlin continued to be a source of
tension.
West Berlin under Capitalism was wealthy, prosperous and full luxury goods
while East Berlin under Communism was poor and had food shortages.
Up to 1961 over two million East Germans living under Communism defected
(escaped) to freedom by crossing into West Berlin where life was better.
Khrushchev was embraced that so many people were choosing to escape to
live under Capitalism rather than Communism that he claimed was a superior
way of life.
In 1961 Khrushchev again demanded that the allies surrender West Berlin to
East Germany but the US President Kennedy refused.
Khrushchev ordered the building of a high concrete wall around West Berlin
and ordered border guards to shoot anyone who tried to defect (escape) to the
West Berlin.
In the first year alone 41 East Berliners were shot trying to cross the wall to
defect (escape) to West Berlin.
The US did nothing to stop the Soviet Union building the Berlin Wall because
that might have started war with the Soviet Union.
In 1963 President Kennedy visited Berlin, however, saying in a speech “Ich
bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner) and promised the US would never desert
the city.
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
The causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis:
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The US has traditionally viewed the Caribbean and South American as its
backyard where no other country other than the US should have influence.
In 1959 Fidel Castro led leftwing guerrillas in seizing power on the island of
Cuba just 90 miles from the US coast of Florida.
The US believed that Castro was a Communist and refused to buy Cuba’s
main export crop, which was sugar.
Castro responded by taking over all the US owned land and businesses on the
island and made an alliance with the Soviet Union that promised to buy Cuban
sugar.
The CIA convinced US President Kennedy that rightwing pro-American
Cuban fighters could land in Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro.
In April 1961 the Cuban rebels landed by boats on The Bay of Pigs in Cuba
but were quickly defeated by the Cuban army but Castro feared further US
attacks.
In December 1961 Fidel Castro declared himself to be a Communist and
called upon the Soviet Union to protect Cuba from further attack.
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GCSE Revision Notes
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The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
Khrushchev responded by secretly sending nuclear missiles to Cuba by ship
that had a range of 2500 miles and could attack any US city within minutes.
On 14 October 1962 American U2 spy planes photographed the Soviet missile
bases and the CIA reported more ships with nuclear missiles were on the way
to Cuba.
The reasons why Khrushchev sent nuclear missiles to Cuba were:
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To protect Cuba by deterring the Americans from launching any further
attacks against Fidel Castro’s communist government.
Cuba was an ideal base for the Soviet Union, just 90 miles from the US coast
of Florida, to match the US nuclear missiles based in Turkey along the Soviet
border.
Khrushchev viewed Kennedy as weak following the failed Bay of Pigs attack
and his failure to stop the building of the Berlin Wall.
Khrushchev wanted to see how strong a leader Kennedy was and whether he
was willing to risk a nuclear war by confronting the Soviet Union.
The Naval Blockade of Cuba:
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President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba to stop further Soviet
shipments of nuclear missiles to Cuba.
The threat of nuclear war was real if the US sunk a Soviet ship carrying
nuclear missiles but Khrushchev ordered his ship to return to the Soviet
Union.
The crisis did not stop because the shipments did because there were already
Soviet nuclear missiles based in Cuba that the US demanded the Soviets
dismantle.
The risk of nuclear war was real especially when the Soviets shot down a U2
plane over Cuba and the Americans bordered a Soviet ship carry nuclear bomb
parts.
On 26 October 1961 Khrushchev sent his first letter to Kennedy offering to
dismantle the missile bases if the US lifted its blockade and promised not to
attack Cuba.
On 27 October 1961 Khrushchev sent a second letter to Kennedy offering to
dismantle the missile bases if the US removed its missile bases from Turkey.
Kennedy replied to Khrushchev’s first letter promising to lift the blockade and
not invade Cuba if the Soviets dismantle their bases otherwise he would
invade Cuba.
On 28 October 1961 Khrushchev agreed to dismantle Soviet missile bases
even though Kennedy did not agree to dismantle US missile bases in Turkey.
The Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis were:
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The US and Soviet Union came closer to nuclear war than at any other time
during the Cold War.
The problem was that neither side wanted to be viewed as weak and the one to
back down first in the eyes of the other side.
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GCSE Revision Notes
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The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
During the crisis people across the world started building nuclear bomb
shelters and stock pilling food convinced that nuclear war could break out any
day.
Both sides realised how close they had come to nuclear war and that it was
important to avoid repeating the crisis.
In June 1963 the “Hot Line,” a direct phone link, was established between the
US and Soviet leaders could talk directly in the event of a future crisis.
In August 1963 the US and Soviet Union signed a Test Ban Treaty that banned
nuclear testing in the air or under water.
In October 1963 a UN resolution supported by the US and Soviets banned the
placing of nuclear weapons in outer space.
Kennedy claimed victory in the Cuban Missile Crisis because he did not back
down, got the Soviet missile bases dismantled while keeping US missile bases
in Turkey.
Khrushchev claimed victory in the Cuban Missile Crisis because he was the
peacemaker who avoided war by dismantling the missiles and got a US
promise not to lift the blockade and not invade Cuba.
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GCSE Revision Notes
The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
GLOSSARY
Blockade (Not allowing ships to enter or leave enemy ports with weapons or goods.)
Capitalism (A laissez-faire economy where individuals and businesses are free to
invest money and make profits from their investments.)
Co-Existence (The idea of the Capitalist West led by the US and Communist East led
by the Soviet Union peacefully leaving together.)
Cold War (The name of the era of tension and rivalry between the USA and the
Soviet Union between 1945 – 1990.)
Comecon (The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was the Soviet Union’s
answer to the Marshall Plan offering aid to rebuild the economies of Eastern Europe.)
Communism (Belief in creating an equal society by workers organising a revolution
against the ruling class.)
Cominform (Communist Information Bureau set up by the Soviet Union to spread
Communism and protect Communist countries from US attack.)
Congress (The American Parliament.)
Containment (The idea of keeping Communism confined to the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe and making sure its spreads to no more countries.)
Democracy (Countries whose governments are chosen by free and fair elections.)
Dictator (When an individual holds absolute power and answers to nobody.)
Domino Theory (The theory popular in the US that if one country became
Communist other nearby countries would also become Communist.)
Economy (The wealth of a country or how businesses in a country are doing.)
ICBM’s (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles.)
Iron Curtain (The name given by Winston Churchill for the imaginary dividing line
between Democratic Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe.)
Laissez-Faire (Government non-interference in the economy.)
Leftwing (Parties that want to change things to create a more equal society e.g.
socialists, communists etc.)
MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction of both sides in the event of nuclear war.)
NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation which was the military alliance
between the USA and democratic capitalist countries of Western Europe.)
Rightwing (Parties that want things to stay the same or get even stricter e.g.
nationalists, fascists, Nazis etc.)
Satellite States (Countries whose governments, military and economy are under the
control of a superpower.)
SEATO (The South East Asian Treaty Organisation.)
Soviet (Russian word meaning “council”.)
Soviet Union (The old name for Russia short for the USSR or the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics.)
Totalitarianism (When one political party controls all aspects of life in a country.)
Truman Doctrine (The US promise to help any country threatened by Communism
with the aim of containing Communism to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.)
United Nations (The organisation set up to keep the peace after the WW2 which
replaced the failed League of Nations.)
USSR (The old name for Russia standing for the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics.)
Warsaw Pact (The military alliance between the Soviet Union and the Communist
States of Eastern Europe.)
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GCSE Revision Notes
The Cold War (1949 - 1963)
The Cold War (1949 - 1963).
No
Unsure
Yes?
The Korean War.
- The Causes of the Korean War.
- The Events of the Korean War.
- The Consequences of the Korean War.
The Khrushchev Era.
- De-Stalinization.
- Peaceful Co-Existence.
NATO & The Warsaw Pact.
- The Creation of NATO (1949).
- The Creation of the Warsaw Pact (1955).
The Hungarian Uprising.
- The Causes of the Hungarian Uprising.
- The Consequences of the Hungarian Uprising.
The Nuclear Arms Race.
- The Threat of Nuclear Weapons.
- Attempts at Nuclear Disarmament.
The Space Race.
The U2 Crisis.
- The Causes of the U2 Crisis.
- The Consequences of the U2 Crisis.
The Berlin Wall.
The Cuban Missile Crisis.
- The Causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- The Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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