The Cold War is a core part of GCSE History. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.
Key concepts
Yalta Conference 1945February meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreeing post-war division of Europe and Soviet entry to UN.
Truman Doctrine 1947US pledge to contain communism by aiding 'free peoples'; sent $400m to Greece and Turkey.
Marshall Plan 1948US aid programme of $13 billion to rebuild Western Europe; Stalin forced satellites to refuse.
Berlin Blockade 1948-49Stalin's closure of road and rail access to West Berlin; defeated by 11-month Anglo-American airlift.
Cuban Missile Crisis 196213-day October standoff when USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; Kennedy's quarantine forced Khrushchev to withdraw.
Detente 1970sPeriod of relaxed tensions including SALT I (1972), Helsinki Accords (1975) and Apollo-Soyuz docking.
Cold War1945-91 tension between USA and USSR, no direct war
Iron CurtainChurchill's term for the East-West divide in Europe
CapitalismEconomy based on private business and profit
CommunismState-run economy aiming at a classless society
NATO1949 Western military alliance led by the USA
Warsaw Pact1955 Soviet-led alliance of Eastern bloc states
Berlin Blockade1948-49 Soviet block of West Berlin supplies
Berlin Wall1961 wall sealing off East from West Berlin
Common mistakes to avoid
Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:
Did the USA and USSR fight each other directly in the Cold War?✗ Yes, their armies fought each other openly. ✓ No — it was tension, an arms race and proxy wars, not direct war between them.
Who built the Berlin Wall in 1961, and why?✗ The Western Allies, to keep people out. ✓ East Germany/the USSR, to stop people fleeing to the West.
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) end?✗ In a nuclear war. ✓ Diplomatically — the USSR removed its missiles; the USA secretly removed missiles from Turkey.
Practise The Cold War — free games
Test yourself with these quick revision games for this topic:
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