Form 4 Revision Week

Hi Form 4!

Your main basis for revision should be the four sets of study notes you have received so far:

https://goo.gl/d51cht
https://goo.gl/qpeYYJ
https://goo.gl/Pu3Asz
https://goo.gl/uUgdjB

And here is a sheet Mr Shearer drew up with some ideas on how to do the Prague Spring source study - https://goo.gl/B4bgpE 


Finally, here is a model answer I wrote on a typical 'what were two effects of...' question. I'm not overly happy with my second paragraph, but you get the idea. You need to show a link between the event (in this case, the Berlin Crisis) and the effect (NATO, formation of East and West Germany).

Explain two effects of the Berlin Crisis of 1948-49 on superpower relations.

One effect of the Berlin Crisis of 1948-9 on superpower relations was the creation of the NATO alliance. The blockading of Berlin in 1948 by the Soviets showed the West that Stalin was serious about enforcing his dominance over the Eastern bloc. By cutting off all surface access to West Berlin, Stalin was making it abundantly clear to the US that Berlin was firmly within its sphere of influence. It also showed that Stalin was prepared to provoke the USA and its allies over the issue of Berlin, possibly even to the point of starting a war for control of the city. It signified a dramatic intensification of tensions between the rival superpowers, and emphasised that Berlin could easily become a flashpoint in the evolving Cold War. This led to US policymakers rethinking their approach to the question of Berlin, and the Iron Curtain more generally. Whereas the Americans, in the Potsdam era, had been confident to rely on negotiation and compromise in settling disputes with the Soviets, the Berlin Crisis led them to believe that a more confrontational approach was required. Also, the vast numbers of conventional Soviet forces in Eastern Europe led the US to see the need for a military alliance with friendly European nations. In line with the Truman Doctrine and the emerging policy of containment, the USA decided to formalise its alliance with its Western European partners. Thus the NATO alliance was created in April 1949, with ten signatory nations including the USA, UK, Italy and France. The treaty organisation was a direct and robust response to the assertion of Soviet power that had been displayed over Berlin.

A second effect of the Berlin Crisis on superpower relations was the official and long-term division of Germany into two countries, each sponsored by one of superpowers. The Blockade had shown that the USSR was determined to assert its power over Berlin and East Germany; the Airlift had shown that the US was determined to protect West Berlin and maintain the security of the western half of Germany. Following the easing of the crisis in 1949, both superpowers cemented their support for their respective zones of influence by declaring the founding of two independent nations - the Federal Republic of, or West, Germany in May 1949; and the Democratic Republic of, or East, Germany in October 1949. Both states were protected by the superpowers, which maintained military bases and forces within the two Germanys for the duration of the Cold War. The declaration of East and West Germany was a formal recognition of the Cold War division of East and West, and further drove a wedge between the USA and USSR in terms of their relations with each other within Europe. The formation of these two new US and Soviet-sponsored countries was a direct result of Stalin’s blockading of Berlin.