Starter quiz
- Which keyword describes a highly destructive explosive device that gets its power from nuclear reactions?
- 'nuclear weapon' ✓
- Which keyword describes a short written message sent via a telegraph line?
- 'telegram' ✓
- How did the USSR find out about the USA's first atomic bomb even though they tried to keep it a secret?
- Truman could not help but brag about it to Stalin at the Yalta Conference.
- A US newspaper leaked the news to the Soviet government.
- Soviet spies penetrated security at Los Alamos where the bomb was being tested. ✓
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- Where was the world's first atomic bomb to be used in warfare dropped?
- on the Japanese city of Hiroshima ✓
- on the Japanese city of Nagasaki
- on the Japanese city of Tokyo
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- What do historians argue was the purpose behind the USA's development of the atomic bomb?
- to get Germany to surrender and to secure the end of WW2
- to get Japan to surrender and to secure the end of WW2 ✓
- to demonstrate American power and show that they would protect Western Europe ✓
- to establish a stronger bargaining position with the USSR ✓
- to get Japan to fight back so WW2 could continue
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- What were the consequences of the development of the atomic bomb on the relationship between the USA and USSR?
- may have made the USA and the USSR more reluctant to go to war ✓
- dramatically decreased tensions between the USA and the USSR
- the USA and USSR became involved in a lasting friendship
- dramatically increased tensions between the USA and the USSR ✓
- the USA and USSR became involved in an arms race ✓
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Exit quiz
- Which keyword describes a country that is dominated by another country?
- 'satellite state' ✓
- Which keyword describes an election in which unfair tactics or cheating are used to influence the outcome?
- 'rigged election' ✓
- Complete the sentence: Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe at the ______ Conference but had no intention of allowing this.
- Tehran
- Yalta ✓
- Potsdam
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- What was the name of Churchill's speech in 1946 which was a response to Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe?
- 'Iron curtain speech' ✓
- In Stalin’s view, which country was of the most vital importance to the security of the USSR?
- Romania
- Hungary
- Poland ✓
- Czechoslovakia
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- How did Truman see Stalin's actions in Eastern Europe?
- as a blatant attempt to spread capitalism
- as a blatant attempt to spread communism ✓
- as a blatant attempt to spread liberalism
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe at Yalta but had no intention of allowing this.
- Stalin believed Soviet control of Eastern Europe was essential to protect the USSR from any future invasion.
- From 1945 to 1948, the USSR used similar methods to turn most Eastern European countries into Soviet satellite states.
- The USSR's establishment of satellite states in Eastern Europe significantly increased Cold War tension.
- Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech in 1946 was a response to Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe.
Common misconception
Students may believe that the Iron Curtain was a real barrier (often mixing it up with the Berlin Wall).
The Iron Curtain was not a real barrier but metaphor for the divide imposed between East and West by the USSR, first referred to in a speech by Churchill.
Keywords
Sphere of influence - a region of the world in which one country is dominant
Buffer zone - an area that provides protection
Satellite state - a country that is dominated by another country
Coalition government - a government in which two or more political parties work together to run a country
Rigged election - an election in which unfair tactics or cheating are used to influence the outcome
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