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Year 11
Edexcel

Cold War crises, 1958-70

I can explain the causes and consequences of the Cold War crises that took place between 1958 and 1970.

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Year 11
Edexcel

Cold War crises, 1958-70

I can explain the causes and consequences of the Cold War crises that took place between 1958 and 1970.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Between 1958 and 1970, a series of crises increased tensions between the USA and the USSR.
  2. The Second Berlin Crisis resulted in the building of the Berlin Wall which confirmed the division of Germany and Berlin.
  3. The Cuban Missile Crisis almost led to nuclear war and highlighted the dangers of following a policy of brinkmanship.
  4. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USA and the USSR took action to prevent a similar crisis happening in the future.
  5. The invasion of Czechoslovakia damaged the USSR's relationship with the USA and also with some other communist states.

Keywords

  • Crisis - a time of very great difficulty and danger

  • Ultimatum - a demand that if rejected will bring about an end of peaceful talks and could lead to forceful action

  • Revolution - a rapid and important change

  • Blockade - an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving

  • Warsaw Pact - a military alliance of Eastern European countries led by the Soviet Union during the Cold War; it was formed in 1955 in response to NATO

Common misconception

There was only one Cold War crisis involving Berlin: the USSR's blockade of Berlin in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift launched by the Western powers in response to this.

Berlin was a source of conflict between the USA and the USSR from the start of the Cold War. The crisis that took place between 1958 and 1963 and resulted in the construction of the Berlin Wall is sometimes referred to as the Second Berlin Crisis.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Cold War crises, 1958-70, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ask students to plot the crises on a graph to illustrate the extent to which they increased Cold War tensions; students would be required to annotate the graph with their justifications. Alternatively, this could be done as a living graph with verbal justifications.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes a country that is dominated by another country?
Correct Answer: satellite state, satellite states
Q2.
Which word describes a change introduced to improve something, often a system or law?
Correct Answer: reform, reforms
Q3.
Brezhnev wrote an article in the Soviet newspaper Pravda justifying the invasion of Czechoslovakia. What did the ideas in the article became known as?
Warsaw Doctrine
Correct answer: Brezhnev Doctrine
Spring Doctrine
Soviet Doctrine
Q4.
Match each leader with the correct description of them.
Correct Answer:Leonid Brezhnev,leader of the USSR
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leader of the USSR

Correct Answer:Alexander Dubcek,leader of Czechoslovakia after 1968
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leader of Czechoslovakia after 1968

Correct Answer:Antonín Novotny,leader of Czechoslovakia before 1968
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leader of Czechoslovakia before 1968

Q5.
What name is given to the period in early 1968 when Dubček introduced reforms in Czechoslovakia?
Correct Answer: Prague Spring, the Prague Spring
Q6.
What war was the US fighting at the same time as the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
Second World War
Korean War
Correct answer: Vietnam War
Gulf War

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes a demand that if rejected will bring about an end of peaceful talks and could lead to forceful action?
Correct Answer: ultimatum
Q2.
Which word describes an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving?
Correct Answer: blockade
Q3.
Complete the sentence: Between 1958 and 1970, a series of increased tensions between the USA and the USSR.
Correct Answer: crises
Q4.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - The Cuban Revolution
2 - Vienna Summit
3 - Construction of the Berlin Wall began
4 - The Cuban Missile Crisis
5 - Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
6 - Fall of the Berlin Wall
Q5.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USA and the USSR took action to prevent a similar crisis happening in the future. Which of the following are examples of these actions?
the Cold War ended officially
Correct answer: the USA and the USSR established a hotline
Correct answer: several treaties concerning nuclear weapons were signed
the Berlin Wall was pulled down by the Soviets
Q6.
Which of the following were consequences of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia?
The crisis demonstrated the dangers of brinkmanship.
Correct answer: The Prague Spring reforms were reversed by the new leader, Husak.
Correct answer: It damaged the USSR’s relationship with other communist countries.
Correct answer: It increased tensions in the short-term as the US condemned the invasion.
Khrushchev’s reputation was damaged by the crisis.