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2R The Cold War, c1945–1991

  • 29 subtopics
  • 82 things to know
  • Component 2

What 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 covers

Option 2R is a depth study of the Cold War, taken as one of the Component 2 choices. It follows the conflict from its origins in 1945 through its global widening and the crises of the 1960s to détente and the settlement of 1991.

Where it is assessed

Component 2

A depth study, of which a student sits one.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 29 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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What was agreed at the Yalta Conference regarding Germany?

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How would you describe Roosevelt's approach towards Stalin at Yalta?

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How did Truman's approach to the USSR differ from Roosevelt's?

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In which countries did the Soviet Union install communist governments between 1945 and 1948?

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According to Kennan's Long Telegram, why was the USSR inherently expansionist?

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Who were the opposing sides in the Greek Civil War (1946–1949)?

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How did the USA support British post-war recovery after 1945?

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How did the Marshall Plan aim to promote economic recovery in Europe?

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How much aid did the Marshall Plan provide to Western Europe, and over what period?

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How was Germany divided after 1945?

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Why did the USSR oppose currency reform and the creation of Bizonia/Trizonia?

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When was the Federal Republic of Germany established, and from which zones?

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What did the demilitarisation of Japan under US occupation (1945-1952) involve?

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What did US policy towards Taiwan include after 1949?

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How did NSC-68 propose to strengthen America's international position?

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Which country provided the majority of UN forces in Korea and who commanded them?

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What support did the USSR provide to North Korea during the Korean War?

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How did China describe its forces in Korea and what was the scale of intervention?

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How did McCarthyism affect the entertainment industry?

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How did the US diplomatically isolate China after 1949 regarding recognition?

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What economic measures did the US take to isolate China?

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When did West Germany join NATO and why was this significant?

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What was the Warsaw Pact and why was it formed?

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Who became President in 1953 and who did he appoint as Secretary of State?

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What approach did Khrushchev adopt as Soviet leader that balanced ideological rivalry with the West against the risk of direct war?

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What event in June 1956 sparked the Polish uprising?

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How did the Soviet Union respond militarily to the Polish crisis of 1956?

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Approximately how many Soviet troops were involved in suppressing the Hungarian uprising, and how many Hungarians died?

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Define Khrushchev's doctrine of peaceful coexistence.

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What did Khrushchev demand from Eisenhower at the Paris Summit regarding the U-2 incident?

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What are ICBMs and why were they significant for nuclear deterrence?

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What was Sputnik and when was it launched?

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What happened to Khrushchev's deadline for Western withdrawal from Berlin?

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How was Vietnam divided by the 1954 Geneva Accords?

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What was the purpose of the Strategic Hamlet Programme authorised by Kennedy?

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What aspects of Diem's regime alienated the South Vietnamese population?

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What was the Bay of Pigs invasion and when did it occur?

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When did Kennedy announce the naval quarantine of Cuba?

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What public pledge did the United States make as part of the crisis resolution?

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What two ideological principles underpinned President Johnson's decision to escalate military involvement in Vietnam?

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What were search and destroy missions in the context of US tactics in Vietnam?

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What was Agent Orange and why was it used in Vietnam?

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What factors gave North Vietnam strategic advantages in the Vietnam War?

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Why did Nixon extend the Vietnam War into Cambodia in 1970?

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How did Nixon's rapprochement with China aim to exploit Cold War divisions?

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What was the Hot-line established in 1963 and what was its purpose?

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What was the Prague Spring and who led it?

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Define the Brezhnev Doctrine.

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What agreement did the Paris peace talks produce in January 1973?

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What event in April 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War?

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Which regime seized power in Cambodia in 1975 following the end of the Vietnam War?

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What was the approximate financial cost of the Vietnam War to the United States?

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Which two leaders signed the SALT I agreement?

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Besides ICBMs, what other weapons system did SALT I limit?

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Which leaders signed the SALT II agreement?

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What was the central aim of Ostpolitik?

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Besides borders, what economic commitments were included in the Helsinki Accords?

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What was the Soviet Union's stated purpose for invading Afghanistan?

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What covert action did the US take to oppose Soviet forces in Afghanistan?

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Where and when did Solidarity originate?

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Which Angolan faction did Cuban forces support?

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Which Ethiopian government did Cuba support?

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Who was overthrown in the 1973 Chilean coup?

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What type of government did the US overthrow in Grenada?

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What regional concern did the US cite as justification for invading Grenada?

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Which government were the Contras fighting against in Nicaragua?

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What economic condition did Gorbachev inherit when he became Soviet leader in 1985?

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What approach did Gorbachev's 'new thinking' advocate regarding relations with Western powers?

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How did military spending contribute to Soviet economic difficulties?

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What personal outcome emerged from the Geneva Summit despite the lack of concrete agreements?

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Why did the Reykjavik Summit ultimately collapse without an agreement?

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What symbolic event occurred at the Moscow Summit of 1988?

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How did President George H.W. Bush initially approach relations with Gorbachev?

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What was the consequence of Gorbachev abandoning the Brezhnev Doctrine?

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What action did Hungary take in 1989 that facilitated East German emigration?

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How did communist rule end in Romania in 1989?

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Who did the United States support in the Nicaraguan conflict during the 1980s?

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What did Bush and Gorbachev affirm about future superpower relations at Malta?

Process

How did communist rule end in Romania in 1989, and what happened across the Soviet sphere in Eastern Europe?

Process

What was the Bay of Pigs, what triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis, and why did the USSR place missiles in Cuba?

Process

Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan, and what did it cost superpower relations?

Process

What were ICBMs, when did the USSR first test one, and what delivery systems did the superpowers develop?

Take 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Détente vs Containment policy

    Détente: period of managed relaxation and negotiation between rival blocs. Containment policy: strategy designed to prevent further geopolitical expansion by the opposing bloc.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What were the key ideological differences between the USA/Britain and the USSR in 1945?

    Model answer

    The USA and Britain held capitalist, liberal-democratic ideologies emphasising free markets and individual rights, while the USSR held a communist ideology emphasising state ownership and single-party rule.

  2. 2

    What was agreed at the Yalta Conference regarding Germany?

    Model answer

    Germany would be divided into zones of occupation.

  3. 3

    What did the Yalta Conference agree about elections in liberated European countries?

    Model answer

    Free elections would be held in liberated Europe.

  4. 4

    What international organisation was agreed upon at the Yalta Conference?

    Model answer

    The establishment of the United Nations.

  5. 5

    Which country caused significant disagreement between the Allied leaders at Yalta?

    Model answer

    Poland – tensions arose over its future government and borders.

  6. 6

    Why did Stalin want a Soviet-friendly government in Poland at Yalta?

    Model answer

    He sought Poland as a buffer against future invasion from the West.

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2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 revision questions

What does 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 cover in AQA A-Level History?
29 subtopics: yalta, potsdam and the wartime alliance, the sovietisation of eastern europe, the marshall plan and american aid to europe, the division of germany, the berlin blockade and nato, japan, china and nsc-68, korea in 1950 and the un response, mccarthyism and the isolation of china, nato, the warsaw pact and the first indochina war, khrushchev and the crises of 1956 in poland and hungary, the hungarian uprising, peaceful coexistence and the paris summit, the u-2 affair, the missile race and the space race, the berlin crisis and the berlin wall, the division of vietnam and the nlf, cuba, the bay of pigs and the missile crisis, the gulf of tonkin and american escalation, viet cong tactics, tet and vietnamisation, arms control, the prague spring and the sino-soviet split, the paris accords and the fall of saigon, the cost of vietnam and the road to salt i, salt ii, ostpolitik and the helsinki accords, afghanistan, reagan and the second cold war, the pope, solidarity and martial law in poland, angola, ethiopia and chile, grenada and the contras, gorbachev's inheritance and new thinking, the geneva and reykjavik summits, bush, gorbachev and the brezhnev doctrine, the revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the ussr and the end of the cold war in the third world. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 organised?
By the AQA 7042 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991, on a schedule.

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