The Cold War: two blocs, a divided Berlin and how it ended

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   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.

2. 1.

   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 Turkey missiles were removed after the secret part of the deal was exposed
   • 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
3. 2.

   Card A says the wall fell on November 9, 1989, and the Soviet flag came down on December 25, 1991. Esme asks how both fit one "end."

   • The Cold War ended on November 9, 1989, so the later events were aftermath
   • The flag in 1991 ended the Cold War alone, so 1989 does not count
   • The wall's fall was one event in a series that ran to December 1991
   • The two events were one year apart, so they formed one event
4. 3.

   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
   • Gorbachev's loosening of control and the several-party elections, in card A
   • Economic decline and inefficiency in the 1970s and 1980s, in card C
   • The lowering of the Soviet flag in December 1991, which ended the state
5. 4.

   Readings X and Y are invented. Kira asks which question would let a historian choose between them.

   • Which reading names Gorbachev, since the leader decided and the others followed
   • 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
   • Whether the wall fell on November 9, since that date settles the dispute
6. 5.

   Reading X says Soviet leaders chose. Luz asks what in card A supports X.

   • Gorbachev's loosening of control and the elections, both leadership choices
   • The flag lowered in December 1991, since leaders chose that end for the state in a final decision
   • 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
7. 6.

   A student says: "The Warsaw Pact formed because NATO threatened the Soviet bloc." Using card E, Noah asks how it fares.

   • It goes beyond card E, which calls the Pact a counterbalance, not a response
   • It holds, since a counterbalance is made against a threat, and NATO was one
   • 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
8. 7.

   A student says: "The 1953 armistice settled the division of Korea." Using card E, Pia asks how it fares.

   • It goes too far; card E calls the armistice a halt to fighting, not a peace treaty
   • It holds, since the armistice created a zone that both sides accepted and kept
   • It holds, since the zone has divided the peninsula since 1953
   • It holds, since each side pulled back 2 km and the gap marks the border
9. 8.

   Card A dates the wall's fall to November 1989 and the Soviet flag to December 1991. Ren asks what the spacing shows.

   • About one year separates them, since Germany reunified within a year
   • Germany reunified and the wall fell together, so the end came in one stroke
   • The wall's fall caused the Soviet Union's end two years later
   • About two years separate them, so the end was a process, not one event
10. 9.

    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
11. 10.

    Card E lists Pact actions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland between 1955 and 1991. Zee asks what three cases in 36 years can show.

    • 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
    • The cases ended in 1981 because the Pact stopped acting in member states
    • Three cases show it happened, not how often dissent arose or who was affected