Starter quiz
- Which keyword describes a meeting between leaders to discuss significant issues or make important decisions?
- 'summit' ✓
- Write the missing word. ______ Germany suffered from a refugee problem during the 1950s.
- 'East' ✓
- Which country took the decision to construct the Berlin Wall?
- East Germany
- West Germany
- USA
- USSR ✓
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- How many people were murdered as they attempted to flee to West Germany between 1961 and 1989?
- 100
- 130 ✓
- 230
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- Which statement is most accurate?
- The USA supported the construction of the Berlin Wall.
- The USA fought to block the construction of the Berlin Wall.
- The USA criticised but accepted the construction of the Berlin Wall. ✓
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- Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
- 1⇔East and West German states founded
- 2⇔Millions of East Germans fled to the West
- 3⇔Khrushchev issued his Berlin Ultimatum
- 4⇔Summit meetings failed to deliver a diplomatic agreement over Berlin's future
- 5⇔Berlin Wall built
Exit quiz
- Which keyword describes a product or service that is sold and transported to another country?
- 'export' ✓
- Which keyword describes someone who has been forced to leave their home and live somewhere else, often for political reasons?
- 'exile' ✓
- Which US organisation trained Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
- 'CIA' ✓
- Match each individual to the country they led in the early 1960s.
- Fidel Castro⇔Cuba ✓
- Nikita Khrushchev⇔USSR ✓
- JFK⇔USA ✓
- Why did the USA have strong economic interests in Cuba by the 1950s?
- American companies owned large gold mines.
- American companies owned large sugar plantations. ✓
- American businesses invested in Cuba’s tourist industry. ✓
- Cuba’s electricity and telephone networks were controlled by US companies. ✓
- American businesses invested in Cuba’s agriculture industry.
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- Which of Esienhower's actions pushed Castro closer to the USSR in 1960?
- refused to recognise Castro’s government because of his links to communism ✓
- reduced the amount of sugar the USA would buy from Cuba ✓
- sent US troops to threaten Castro
- placed nuclear missiles pointing at Cuba in US cities
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- In 1959, Fidel Castro led a nationalist revolution in Cuba which overthrew Batista's unpopular, US-backed government.
- Castro confiscated US property; the USA responded with economic sanctions which led Cuba to move closer to the USSR.
- The USA's attempt to use CIA-trained, Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro ended with defeat at the Bay of Pigs.
- The Bay of Pigs incident damaged the reputation of Kennedy and the USA and meant Cuba and the USSR became closer allies.
- Kennedy was concerned that the USSR would place missiles in Cuba but Khrushchev assured him that this would not happen.
Common misconception
Castro was a communist when he overthrew Batista's government in 1959.
Although some people involved in the Cuban Revolution were communist, Castro was a nationalist and only declared that he was a communist at the end of 1961 after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion led Cuba to develop a closer relationship with the USSR.
Keywords
Revolution - a rapid and important change
Export - a product or service that is sold and transported to another country
Nationalist - someone who strongly believes in and supports their own country, placing its interests above those of other nations
Cia - stands for Central Intelligence Agency; part of the US government that is responsible for espionage and secret operations
Exile - someone who has been forced to leave their home and live somewhere else, often for political reasons