Lesson 2R.1.1

2R.1.1 To the brink of nuclear war, c1945–1963 Quiz: AQA History, Unit 28

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2R.1.1, To the brink of nuclear war, c1945–1963: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA History (7042), Unit 28: 2R The Cold War, c1945–1991, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which conference in February 1945 saw Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill discuss the future of post-war Europe?

    • Versailles
    • Yalta
    • Geneva
    • Potsdam

  2. Which diplomat's 1946 'Long Telegram' argued that the USSR was an expansionist power that should be contained?

    • Harry Hopkins
    • Averell Harriman
    • George Kennan
    • Dean Acheson

  3. Which 1946 speech by Churchill popularised the term 'Iron Curtain'?

    • The Yalta toast
    • The Fulton speech
    • The Atlantic Charter speech
    • The Quebec address

  4. Which 1947 policy of Truman committed the USA to support 'free peoples' facing communist pressure in Greece and Turkey?

    • The Truman Doctrine
    • The Marshall Plan
    • The Monroe Doctrine
    • NSC-68

  5. Which 1948-1949 crisis saw the Soviet Union block land and rail links to West Berlin?

    • The Berlin Wall
    • The Potsdam conference dispute
    • The Berlin blockade
    • The Berlin Crisis of 1958

  6. Which military alliance was founded in 1949 to protect Western Europe against Soviet aggression?

    • NATO
    • SEATO
    • The Warsaw Pact
    • The Hanseatic League

  7. What did the Warsaw Pact of 1955 create in Eastern Europe?

    • A treaty guaranteeing the Berlin Wall's removal
    • A free-trade zone including Western Germany
    • A defensive pact linking the USA and Japan
    • A military alliance of Communist states led by the USSR

  8. Which 1950-1953 conflict saw US-led UN forces fight Chinese and North Korean forces?

    • The Greek Civil War
    • The Korean War
    • The Vietnam War
    • The Chinese Civil War

  9. Which policy of John Foster Dulles in the 1950s involved threatening war to deter communist expansion?

    • Peaceful coexistence
    • Ostpolitik
    • Brinkmanship
    • Détente

  10. Which theory of the 1950s suggested that the fall of one country to communism would lead to others falling?

    • The Truman Doctrine
    • The domino theory
    • The theory of mutually assured destruction
    • The Hallstein Doctrine

  11. Which conference of 1954 saw an agreement to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel?

    • The Yalta Conference
    • The Geneva Conference
    • The Bandung Conference
    • The Paris Summit of 1960

  12. Which 1956 uprising against Soviet control was crushed by Soviet tanks?

    • The Prague Spring
    • The Solidarity movement
    • The Hungarian Revolution
    • The East German rising of 1953

  13. Which event of 1957 gave the USSR an early lead in the space race and shocked the USA?

    • The Apollo programme
    • The Berlin Airlift
    • The launch of Sputnik
    • The first Moon landing

  14. Which 1960 summit meeting between Khrushchev and the Western leaders collapsed over the U2 incident?

    • The Paris summit
    • The Camp David talks of 1959
    • The Yalta conference
    • The Potsdam conference

  15. Which factor best explains the Berlin Wall's construction in 1961?

    • The French demand to rebuild the Reich
    • Mass emigration of East Germans through Berlin
    • The end of the Marshall Plan in 1960
    • The Soviet decision to give Berlin to the USA

  16. Which movement in Vietnam was founded in 1960 to oppose the Diem government and the USA?

    • The Viet Minh
    • The Pathet Lao
    • The National Liberation Front
    • The Khmer Rouge

  17. Which 1963 event saw the South Vietnamese president Diem killed in a coup supported by the USA?

    • The launch of the Tet Offensive
    • The coup that ended Diem's government
    • The signing of the Test Ban Treaty
    • The Geneva Conference

  18. Which 1962 event brought the superpowers to the brink of nuclear war?

    • The Korean War
    • The Berlin Crisis of 1958
    • The Cuban Missile Crisis
    • The Hungarian uprising

  19. Which agreement of 1963 limited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, space and under water?

    • The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
    • The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
    • The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
    • The Moscow Test Ban Treaty

  20. Which statement best explains the emergence of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949?

    • Ideological hostility and rival spheres of influence
    • Shared goals and joint planning for a global economic union led to unity
    • The war ended with a peace treaty that gave both sides equal control of Europe
    • The USA and the USSR fought a direct war in Europe after 1946

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