New
New
Year 11
AQA
The U2 Crisis
I can explain the impact of the U2 crisis on East-West relations.
New
New
Year 11
AQA
The U2 Crisis
I can explain the impact of the U2 crisis on East-West relations.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- US and Soviet relations showed signs of improvement at the end of the 1950s.
- The 1960 Paris Summit was scheduled to try and resolve issues such as Berlin, Cuba and nuclear testing.
- In May 1960, a US U2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR.
- The U2 Crisis helped trigger the collapse of the Paris Summit.
- Tensions between the US and USSR increased as a result of the U2 Crisis.
Keywords
Peaceful coexistence - the belief that conflict between the USA and USSR could be avoided
Treaty - a written agreement between two or more countries
Espionage - the act of spying and gaining secret information about another country
Common misconception
The USSR immediately refused to cooperate with the USA after a U2 was show down in May 1960.
The USSR still attended the Paris Summit but walked out when the US refused to apologise for spying on it.
Students can debate whether it was likely that peaceful coexistence would have really emerged from the Paris Summit. Students can be prompted to consider the precedent of the 1955 Geneva Summit.
Teacher tip
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Write the missing word. refers to unfair treatment that limits people's freedom.
Q2.
Which country followed a policy of containment?
France
Hungary
USSR
Q3.
Write the missing word. Imre led Hungary during most of the Hungarian Uprising.
Q4.
Which organisation did Hungary announce its intention to leave in 1956?
NATO
United Nations
Q5.
Which statement is most accurate?
Nikita Khrushchev supported none of Nagy's reforms.
Nikita Khrushchev supported all of Nagy's reforms.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Write the missing word. is the act of spying and gaining secret information about another country.
Q2.
What were U2s?
anti-aircraft missiles
nuclear submarines
Q3.
Match each individual with the correct description of them.
US President
U2 pilot
Soviet leader
Q4.
Which countries were expected to attend the 1960 Paris Summit?
China
Q5.
How did the US government respond to the shooting down of a U2 plane over the USSR?
accepted that they had been spying and apologised for conducting espionage
accepted that they had been spying but declared war against the USSR
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Additional material
Download additional material