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Origins of the Cold War

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did the Berlin Blockade and Airlift bring the Cold War to its first major crisis and deepen the divide in Europe?

Explain the causes and outcome of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift and why this crisis deepened the Cold War
A clear N(A)-Level answer on the Berlin Blockade and Airlift. The division of Germany and Berlin, why Stalin blockaded the city, the Western airlift, the outcome, and why this first Cold War crisis hardened the divide in Europe.
9 min answer →

Why did the wartime allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, become bitter enemies after 1945?

Explain why the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union broke down into hostility after the Second World War
A clear N(A)-Level answer on why the wartime alliance broke down into the Cold War. Different ideologies, disagreements over Eastern Europe, distrust at the conferences, and how to explain the rise of hostility between the superpowers.
9 min answer →

How did the United States try to stop the spread of communism through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan?

Explain the aims of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and how they were intended to contain the spread of communism
A clear N(A)-Level answer on the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The policy of containment, American aid to Europe, why the United States offered it, the Soviet reaction, and how to explain these as early Cold War moves.
9 min answer →