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Edexcel GCSE History A, International Relations

I am doing the Cold War exam on monday. I am doing sections 4,5 and 6. Does anybody have a topic list and some good places to revise from online. Any other tips are appreciated.

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Reply 1
Bumping this, can anybody help me with this?
Reply 2
Bump, doing this too
Reply 3
I'm doing this exam and fro Sect. 4 flash cards are the way to go. Any Section 4 questions I should hopefully be able to answer!

The most important thing is knowing your timings and understanding the structure and what it requires!

A few things to remind you of facts that are quite important:

For Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam order just remember someone had to TYPe it out in your text book

For the change of US President at Potsdam, either remember that it was Truman and this was a problem because he spoke TRUth about Communism or remember that the President was honest and TRUthful about Communism thus was Truman.

Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev are the only Premiers really worth knowing albeit I've not found any way of remembering it aside from Stalin was first, Gorbachev was last and then I remember Brezhnev with Prague and piece together Khrushchev's role!

Then for section 6 there's the five conferences and we were taught Gorby Really Wants My Mum which is Geneva, Reykjavik, Washington, Moscow and Malta. You can remember the 'M' conferences through the rhyme thing of 'The Cold War started in Yalta and ended in Malta'.

That rhyme also helps for when/if you're asked about tensions changing and why in the 40's and you can remember despite Teheran's existence the relationship only began to falter at Yalta and thus that is where the Cold War can be seen as starting.

My friend said to me she remember's Eisenhower was president for the Berlin Wall/crisis as EisenHOWER->Tower->Wall. I told her she was ridiculous but I found it quite funny and thus has remembered it.

But yes, try and work on;

-Dates
-Structure/question style
-Question timings
-3 key points/events for each decade covered in your sections
Reply 4
I did this exam for my GCSE two years ago. What really helped me was getting flashcards and writing an event on one side and the year it happened on the other, and quizzing yourself until you know the whole timeline. It's what I did, and I can still remember some of them today! For example you could have Cuban missile crisis on one side and 1962 on another.

What I also did was for every event, I wrote down three key points that I could use so I had all the bases covered no matter what question that event turned out to be in. I can only vaguely remember the style of the questions so I won't really be able to help with that...
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by Taimmi
I did this exam for my GCSE two years ago. What really helped me was getting flashcards and writing an event on one side and the year it happened on the other, and quizzing yourself until you know the whole timeline. It's what I did, and I can still remember some of them today! For example you could have Cuban missile crisis on one side and 1962 on another.

What I also did was for every event, I wrote down three key points that I could use so I had all the bases covered no matter what question that event turned out to be in. I can only vaguely remember the style of the questions so I won't really be able to help with that...

DO you know where I could get a list of every event I need to know?
Reply 6
Original post by Jmw123
DO you know where I could get a list of every event I need to know?

The impact of the Depression on international relations. The Manchurian Crisis (1931–33) and Abyssinia (1935–36): the League’s actions, the consequences of the League’s approach and failure.
Hitler’s aims and policies with regard to the Versailles settlement: Lebensraum, Grossdeutschland, re-armament, the Saar, re-occupation of the Rhineland, links with Italy and Japan and the Anschluss. Britain’s policy of appeasement: Chamberlain and appeasement, the Sudetenland crisis, Munich and the takeover of Czechoslovakia. Agreements with Poland and the abandonment of the policy. New and changing alliances and their consequences: the Pact of Steel, the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Poland and the outbreak of war.


The Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, the attitudes of Stalin and Truman and the ideological differences between the superpowers.
The establishment and control of the Soviet satellite states; Cominform and Comecon. The growing involvement of the USA in Europe, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, Bizonia, the Berlin Blockade/Airlift and the formation of NATO. Military developments and the beginnings of the arms race.
The impact of Soviet rule on Hungary, Rakosi, de-Stalinisation and optimism, Nagy and his demands, Soviet reaction and uprising, the death of Nagy, the re-establishment of Soviet control and international reaction.


The three flashpoints in the Cold War:
Berlin: the refugee problem, Khrushchev’s challenge to the USA, Summit Conference and Eisenhower, challenge to Kennedy, construction of the Berlin Wall and its impact, Kennedy’s visit to Berlin, 1963.
Cuba: the arms race to 1961, Cuba’s drift from the USA, Bay of Pigs, Castro’s friendship with the Soviet Union, economic ties, missile bases, the 13 days, immediate and longer-term results, ‘hot line’, Test Ban Treaty (1963) and the moves to détente.
Czechoslovakia: opposition to Soviet control, Dubcek as party secretary, the ‘Prague Spring’ reforms, the re-establishment of Soviet control and international reaction.
Are these things that you need to know for sections 4,5 and 6?
Wartime alliance
Teheran conference
Yalta Conference
Potsdam Conference
Truman Doctrine
Cominform
Marshall Aid
Comecon
Berlin Blockade
NATO and the Warsaw pact
Hungarian Uprising
Berlin Wall
Cuban missile crisis
Detente
Prague spring/czechoslovakian uprising
Soviet war in Afghanistan
Gorbachev and Reagan
End of cold war and the collapse of The Soviet Union

Thanks:smile:
What is it likely that the essay question will be on?:smile:
For the mark scheme on question B, does anyone understand what this means "One mark within level per developed point."? If so could someone please tell me, I would like to know how many developed points you need to get the 6 marks.

Please help, cheers
Original post by Chloe_Atherton
Are these things that you need to know for sections 4,5 and 6?
Wartime alliance
Teheran conference
Yalta Conference
Potsdam Conference
Truman Doctrine
Cominform
Marshall Aid
Comecon
Berlin Blockade
NATO and the Warsaw pact
Hungarian Uprising
Berlin Wall
Cuban missile crisis
Detente
Prague spring/czechoslovakian uprising
Soviet war in Afghanistan
Gorbachev and Reagan
End of cold war and the collapse of The Soviet Union

Thanks:smile:


Pretty much got it all I think, you'll need to know about the Long and Novikov telegrams for Section 4 too.
Original post by NorwichCityFC
Pretty much got it all I think, you'll need to know about the Long and Novikov telegrams for Section 4 too.


I have never even heard of them:/
Reply 12
Original post by NorwichCityFC
For the mark scheme on question B, does anyone understand what this means "One mark within level per developed point."? If so could someone please tell me, I would like to know how many developed points you need to get the 6 marks.

Please help, cheers


You only need three developed points, normally a cause, highest point of tension and a consequence but it depends what the question is asking you.:smile:
Can someone help me answer this question? Why was there an uprising in Hungary 1956?
Reply 14
Original post by Chloe_Atherton
Can someone help me answer this question? Why was there an uprising in Hungary 1956?

The death of Stalin led Hungarians to hope Hungary would be de-Stalinised, In october 1956, Hungarians attacked the secret police and destroyed a statue of Stalin and Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the warsaw pact.
Original post by Jmw123
The death of Stalin led Hungarians to hope Hungary would be de-Stalinised, In october 1956, Hungarians attacked the secret police and destroyed a statue of Stalin and Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the warsaw pact.


Following Kruschev's Secret Speech in 1956 which hinted at a change from Stalin's previous ways.
Reply 16
Original post by NorwichCityFC
Following Kruschev's Secret Speech in 1956 which hinted at a change from Stalin's previous ways.

If it was a twelve marker you would also have to talk about limited freedom, rakosi's oppression or food shortages; any two. Additionally Nagy was put in place after the uprising so you would only talk about the 'secret' speech for that part.
(edited 10 years ago)
In my text book it says Kennedy's "common interests" speech in 1963 signalled the beginning of detente, does that mean the USSR's invasion of Czechoslovaki in 1968 didn't affect detente relations then?
Reply 18
Original post by NorwichCityFC
In my text book it says Kennedy's "common interests" speech in 1963 signalled the beginning of detente, does that mean the USSR's invasion of Czechoslovaki in 1968 didn't affect detente relations then?

In my book it said it strained detente but did not break it
Reply 19
Does anyone want to take a guess at what will come up?

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