The Cold War: two blocs, a divided Berlin and how it ended
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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Cards A to E, summaries in our words, written today, except card B. Card A (1989 to 1991): Soviet leader Gorbachev loosened Soviet control over Eastern Europe, and elections with several parties were held. On November 9, 1989, the border in Berlin reopened and the wall came down. East Germany left the Warsaw Pact in September 1990, and Germany was reunified by October 1990. After a failed coup in August 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time on December 25, 1991. Card B, two invented readings, made up for this sheet and not from any historian. Reading X: "The Cold War ended because Soviet leaders chose to loosen control." Reading Y: "The Cold War ended because economic strain left Soviet leaders no choice but to loosen control." Card C (the Soviet economy): A Library of Congress exhibit reports that strict centralization led to economic decline and inefficiency in the 1970s and 1980s, and that the Soviet system ended after August 1991. Card D (Cuba): The public terms of October 1962 were removal of the Soviet missiles under UN supervision and a US pledge not to invade Cuba. A further part, kept out of the public deal, was that the United States planned to remove its own missiles from Turkey. Card E (Korea and the Pact): The armistice of July 27, 1953, stopped the fighting in Korea but was not a peace treaty. Each side pulled its forces back 2 km to create a demilitarized zone. The Warsaw Pact formed on May 14, 1955, as a counterbalance to NATO, after West Germany joined NATO. It was used to contain dissent in Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Poland in 1981.
Card A shows Gorbachev loosening control; card C shows decline in the 1970s and 1980s. Ari asks how both can explain the end.
- The coup of 1991 explains the decline of the 1970s, which came as a result
- Decline may have led leaders to loosen control; the cards show both, not the link
- Decline alone ended the system, since it came first in the cards' time order
- Gorbachev's choice alone ended it, since he loosened control and the system fell
Card D gives the public Cuba terms and a part kept out. Bo asks how a historian reconciles the public account with the full record.
- The public terms were true but incomplete; the kept-out part completes the deal
- The public account was false, since the Turkey part was left out of the public deal
- The Soviet missiles left because of the Turkey part alone, not the public pledge
- The Turkey missiles were removed after the secret part of the deal was exposed
Reading X says Soviet leaders chose to loosen control; reading Y says economic strain left them no choice. Jun asks which fact on cards A and C favors Y.
- The failed coup of August 1991, which shows a crisis at the top
- Economic decline and inefficiency in the 1970s and 1980s, in card C
- Gorbachev's loosening of control and the several-party elections, in card A
- The lowering of the Soviet flag in December 1991, which ended the state
Readings X and Y are invented. Kira asks which question would let a historian choose between them.
- Whether the wall fell on November 9, since that date settles the dispute
- Did strain push Soviet leaders to loosen control, or would they have done so anyway?
- How many countries left the Warsaw Pact, since a larger number shows strain
- Which reading names Gorbachev, since the leader decided and the others followed
Reading X says Soviet leaders chose. Luz asks what in card A supports X.
- The flag lowered in December 1991, since leaders chose that end for the state in a final decision
- Gorbachev's loosening of control and the elections, both leadership choices
- The wall coming down, since a wall cannot fall without a decision by someone in power
- East Germany leaving the Pact in September 1990, as a Soviet order that card A reports
A student says: "The Cuban missile crisis was settled by the US winning." Using card D, Milo asks how it fares.
- It holds, since the US gave up a pledge and the Soviets removed their missiles
- It holds, since the Soviet missiles left Cuba under UN supervision
- It overlooks the kept-out part: the US also planned to pull missiles from Turkey
- It fails, since the Turkey part shows the Soviet Union won
A student says: "The Warsaw Pact formed because NATO threatened the Soviet bloc." Using card E, Noah asks how it fares.
- It holds, since a counterbalance is made against a threat, and NATO was one
- It goes beyond card E, which calls the Pact a counterbalance, not a response
- It holds, since the Pact acted in 1956 after NATO had grown to include West Germany
- It fails, since the Pact formed before West Germany joined NATO
Card A dates the wall's fall to November 1989 and the Soviet flag to December 1991. Ren asks what the spacing shows.
- The wall's fall caused the Soviet Union's end two years later
- Germany reunified and the wall fell together, so the end came in one stroke
- About one year separates them, since Germany reunified within a year
- About two years separate them, so the end was a process, not one event
Card E says each side pulled its forces back 2 km to make the demilitarized zone. Tala asks how wide the zone is and what that shows.
- A permanent border, since the line has lasted since 1953 without a treaty
- A buffer that ended the war, so peace was reached in July 1953
- A buffer 4 km wide separated forces, but a buffer is not a settlement
- A buffer 2 km wide, since each side pulled back 2 km from the line
Card E lists Pact actions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland between 1955 and 1991. Zee asks what three cases in 36 years can show.
- The cases ended in 1981 because the Pact stopped acting in member states
- About one case each 12 years, so a regular pattern across the Pact's 36 years
- Each member of the Pact was affected, since three are listed as examples
- Three cases show it happened, not how often dissent arose or who was affected