Origins of the Cold War

Quiz answers and analysis

Why is the Korean War an important event
in the Cold War?
Section One
1. Example: 1K Federal Republic of Germany,
Created in 1949
2. 2E: Yalta Conference, The Grand Alliance
disagreed over the future of Poland
3. 3A: Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet Foreign
Minister (1939 1949)
4. 4D: Tehran Conference, Stalin sought a
second front to reduce the German
pressure on the Red Army
5. 5J: Iron Curtain Speech, Winston Churchills
assessment of the situation in Europe.
6. 6I: West Germany, Trizone
7. 7G: NATO, Military alliance that pledge
the USA to the defence of Europe.
8. 8H: Cominform, Soviet Response to the
Marshall Plan
9. 9B: Bolshevik Revolution, This resulted in
the formation of the first socialist state
10. 10F: Blockaded by the Soviet Union to
chase America out of Euope.
11. 11C: Kartyn Forest, Site of a mass grave of
Polish soldiers.

Section One
Section Two
Explain the significance of the
following events to the development or
the origins of the Cold War. You are
not to simply describe the events but
argue for HOW the events affected the
relations between the two superpowers
and hence contributed to the start of the
Cold War.
Significance
The event is definitely important/
contributed to the origins of the Cold War.

How in its own way, it contributed to the
Cold War (by affecting the relationship
between the superpowers)

How it falls under a category/theme which
certain factors are demonstrative of.
Significance
Questions to ask:
What is the event about?

What resulted from this factor/event/person?
What were the impacts?
How did it achieve this impact?

Why is the event important?
What larger themes does this event
demonstrate / fall under?

Significance
Band 1 (1 mark)
The paragraph merely descriptive (what?)
and does not offer any insight on the
significance of the issue in the history of
the origins of the Cold War.
e.g. The Warsaw Pact was a military
agreement between many countries.
Band 2 (2-3 marks)
The paragraph gives a simplistic
description of the significance of the
event in the question.
e.g. The Warsaw Pact was a military
agreement between many countries. As a
reaction to NATO, it worsened the
relationship between the Soviet Union and
United States. [2]
Significance
e.g. The Warsaw Pact was a military
agreement signed between the Eastern
European states and the Soviet Union where
they were obliged to come to each others aid
in the event of an attack. The Warsaw Pact,
alongside, and as a reaction to NATO,
demonstrated the worsening in the
relationship between US and USSR because
it widened the dimension of confrontation to
one militaristic in nature, and solidified the
division of Western and Eastern Europe. [3]

Significance
Band 3 (4-5 marks)
The paragraph, in addition to showing how
the event contributed the changing
relationship between the United States and
Soviet Union, demonstrates how the event
fits into a larger narrative / trend in Cold
War history.
Give higher marks for deliberate and well
structured arguments regarding the
significance of the event.
Significance
e.g. (in addition to earlier points.) As a
military alliance alongside the Wests WEU
and NATO, demonstrates how in addition to
the political and economic spheres, there was
a military dimension to the Cold War, and
how alliances were a means of competition
between the superpowers. Furthermore, the
division only served to further exacerbate the
mutual suspicion the US and USSR felt for
each other, something that had been ongoing
ever since the 1917 Russian Revolution. [5]

Significance

Why is the Korean War an important event
in the Cold War?

We are looking at a
significance question