Exam Questions: Superpower Relations & the Cold War (Edexcel GCSE History)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Potsdam Conference for early Cold War tension between the USA and the Soviet Union (8)

• The importance of the refugee problem in Berlin for increasing tensions between East and West in the years 1958-61 (8)

• The importance of the 'Second Cold War' for relations between the Superpowers (8)

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the formation of NATO (1949) for the development of the Cold War (8)

• The importance of the summit meetings of 1959-61 for relations between East and West (8)

• The importance of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979) for Superpower relations (8)

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Berlin Crisis (1948-49) for the development of the Cold War (8)

• The importance of the Prague Spring for relations between East and West (8)

• The importance of détente for relations between the superpowers in the 1970s (8)

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Marshall Plan (1947) for relations between East and West  (8)

• The importance of the arms race in the years 1949-58 for the development of the Cold War (8)

• The importance of the Carter Doctrine (1980) for relations between the USA and the USSR (8)

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the formation of the Warsaw Pact (1955) for Superpower relations (8)

• The importance of Soviet relations with Cuba for tension between East and West in the 1960s (8)

• The importance of the USA’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) for US-Soviet relations (8)

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)