- Berlin remained divided after the Second World War.
- Millions of East Germans fled to West Berlin before 1961.
- Khrushchev feared East Germany would collapse if refugees continued leaving.
- The Berlin Wall was built in August 1961 to stop emigration and strengthen communist control.
- Kennedy opposed the Wall but avoided military conflict.
- Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech showed American support for West Berlin.
- The Wall became the most powerful symbol of the Cold War and the division between East and West.
7.1.1 The end of the Second World War
The end of the Second World War: Yalta and Potsdam Conferences; the division of Germany; contrasting attitudes and ideologies of the USA and the USSR, including the aims of Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Attlee and Truman; effect of the dropping of the atom bomb on post-war superpower relations.
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7.1.2 The Iron Curtain and the Evolution of East-West rivalry
The Iron Curtain and the evolution of East-West rivalry: Soviet expansion in East Europe; US policies; the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, their purpose and Stalin’s reaction; Cominform; Comecon; Yugoslavia; the Berlin Blockade and Airlift.
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7.2.1 The significance of events in Asia for superpower relations
The significance of events in Asia for superpower relations: USSR's support for Mao Tse-tung and Communist revolution in China, and the military campaigns waged by North Korea against the UN and by the Vietcong against France and the USA.
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7.2.2 Military rivalries
Military rivalries: the arms race; membership and purposes of NATO and the Warsaw Pact; the space race, including Sputnik, ICBMs, Polaris, Gagarin, Apollo.
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7.2.3 The ‘Thaw’
The ‘Thaw’: Hungary, the protest movement and the reforms of Nagy; Soviet fears, how they reacted and the effects on the Cold War; the U2 Crisis and its effects on the Paris Peace Summit and the peace process.
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7.3.1 Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall: reasons for its construction and Kennedy’s response.
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7.3.2 Tensions over Cuba
Tensions over Cuba: Castro’s revolution, the Bay of Pigs and the missile crisis: the roles of Castro, Khrushchev, Kennedy; fears of the USA and reaction to missiles on Cuba; dangers and results of crisis.
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7.3.3 Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia: Dubeck and the Prague Spring movement; USSR’s response to the reforms; the effects the Prague Spring had on East-West relations, including the Warsaw Pact; the Brezhnev Doctrine.
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7.3.4 Easing of Tension
Easing of tension: sources of tension, including the Soviets' record on human rights; the reasons for Détente and for SALT 1; the part played by key individuals Brezhnev and Nixon.
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