AQA A-level History · 2R

The Cold War, c1945–1991

50 exam-style questions with answers for 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was agreed at Yalta (February 1945)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The division of Germany, free elections in Eastern Europe and Soviet entry into the war with Japan.
Question 2 · Spec 2R, Part one
Why was Potsdam (July 1945) tense? [1 mark]
Answer:
Truman distrusted Stalin, and Soviet control of Poland was disputed.
Question 3 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Long Telegram (1946)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Kennan’s analysis urging containment of Soviet expansion.
Question 4 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the ‘salami tactics’ policy? [1 mark]
Answer:
The gradual communist takeover of Eastern Europe, slice by slice.
Question 5 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was Bizonia (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The merged British and American zones in Germany.
Question 6 · Spec 2R, Part one
What triggered the Berlin Blockade (1948)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The introduction of a new currency in the Western zones.
Question 7 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was NSC-68 (1950)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A US policy paper calling for a massive military build-up.
Question 8 · Spec 2R, Part one
How did the USA rebuild Japan? [1 mark]
Answer:
Through MacArthur’s occupation reforms and aid, making Japan a US ally.
Question 9 · Spec 2R, Part one
Why did North Korea invade in 1950? [1 mark]
Answer:
Kim Il Sung sought unification and had Stalin’s approval.
Question 10 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was SEATO (1954)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The South East Asia Treaty Organisation, an anti-communist alliance.
Question 11 · Spec 2R, Part one
When did West Germany join NATO? [1 mark]
Answer:
1955.
Question 12 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was ‘brinkmanship’? [1 mark]
Answer:
Dulles’s policy of pushing to the brink of war to force the enemy to back down.
Question 13 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the New Look policy? [1 mark]
Answer:
Eisenhower’s reliance on nuclear weapons rather than costly conventional forces.
Question 14 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Polish October (1956)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Gomułka came to power, and the USSR accepted limited reform.
Question 15 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Hungarian Uprising (1956)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A revolt crushed by Soviet tanks.
Question 16 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was Sputnik (1957)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The first satellite, which showed Soviet rocket capability.
Question 17 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Berlin Wall (1961)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A wall built to stop East Germans fleeing west.
Question 18 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A confrontation over Soviet missiles on Cuba, resolved in October 1962.
Question 19 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Geneva Conference on Indo-China (1954)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It divided Vietnam at the 17th Parallel.
Question 20 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Truman Doctrine (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A pledge to support free peoples against communism.
Question 21 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Marshall Plan? [1 mark]
Answer:
US economic aid to rebuild Western Europe.
Question 22 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was Cominform (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet body to coordinate communist parties.
Question 23 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was NATO (1949)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Western military alliance.
Question 24 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the Warsaw Pact (1955)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet bloc’s military alliance.
Question 25 · Spec 2R, Part one
What was the U2 incident (1960)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A US spy plane was shot down, wrecking the Paris summit.
Question 26 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It gave Johnson authority to escalate the Vietnam War.
Question 27 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Hotline (1963)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A direct communication link between Washington and Moscow.
Question 28 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A ban on nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in space.
Question 29 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine (1968)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet right to intervene to protect communism in satellite states.
Question 30 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Sino-Soviet border conflict (1969)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Clashes on the Ussuri River.
Question 31 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was SALT I (1972)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement limiting strategic missiles and anti-ballistic missiles.
Question 32 · Spec 2R, Part two
What were the Helsinki Accords (1975)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Agreements accepting post-war borders and promising human rights.
Question 33 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was Ostpolitik? [1 mark]
Answer:
West Germany’s policy of improving relations with the East.
Question 34 · Spec 2R, Part two
Why did détente collapse in 1979? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Question 35 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Second Cold War? [1 mark]
Answer:
Renewed tension from 1979 to 1985, under Reagan.
Question 36 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was SDI? [1 mark]
Answer:
Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (‘Star Wars’).
Question 37 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Angolan intervention? [1 mark]
Answer:
Cuban troops backed by the USSR supported the MPLA in Angola’s civil war.
Question 38 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Iran-Contra affair? [1 mark]
Answer:
Secret US arms sales to Iran funding the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Question 39 · Spec 2R, Part two
Who was Gorbachev? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Soviet leader from 1985 who introduced reforms and ended the Cold War.
Question 40 · Spec 2R, Part two
What were glasnost and perestroika? [1 mark]
Answer:
Openness and restructuring.
Question 41 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Reykjavik Summit (1986)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A summit where Reagan and Gorbachev nearly agreed to abolish nuclear weapons.
Question 42 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the INF Treaty (1987)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It eliminated intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
Question 43 · Spec 2R, Part two
When did Soviet troops leave Afghanistan? [1 mark]
Answer:
1989.
Question 44 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Sinatra Doctrine? [1 mark]
Answer:
Letting satellite states choose their own path.
Question 45 · Spec 2R, Part two
When did the USSR dissolve? [1 mark]
Answer:
December 1991.
Question 46 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was Vietnamisation? [1 mark]
Answer:
Nixon’s policy of handing the fighting to South Vietnam.
Question 47 · Spec 2R, Part two
When did Saigon fall? [1 mark]
Answer:
April 1975.
Question 48 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was SALT II (1979)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An arms limitation treaty never ratified by the US Senate.
Question 49 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was Solidarity? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Polish independent trade union founded in 1980.
Question 50 · Spec 2R, Part two
What was the Malta Summit (1989)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Bush-Gorbachev meeting often seen as the end of the Cold War.

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The Cold War, c1945–1991

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