Conflict and Tension Between East and West, 1945–1972

What you'll learn

How the Cold War began and developed between the superpowers.

Origins

• Ideological conflict: capitalism (USA) vs communism (USSR).
• Wartime conferences (Yalta, Potsdam); the Iron Curtain; Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.

Key crises

• The Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948–49) and formation of NATO.
• The Hungarian Uprising (1956); the Berlin Wall (1961).
• The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) — the closest the world came to nuclear war.
• The Prague Spring (1968).

Easing tension

• Moves towards détente by the early 1970s.

Exam tips

• Learn the sequence of crises with dates.
• Explain how each event increased or eased tension.

Common mistakes

• Muddling the Berlin Blockade (1948) with the Wall (1961).
• Ignoring the ideological roots of the conflict.