Access to History: Europe and the Cold War 1945-1991: Second Edition

Ensure your students have access to the authoritative and in-depth content of this popular and trusted A Level History series. For over twenty years Access to History has been providing students with reliable, engaging and accessible content on a wide range of topics. Each title in the series provides comprehensive coverage of different history topics on current AS and A2 level history specifications, alongside exam-style practice questions and tips to help students achieve their best. The series:- Ensures students gain a good understanding of the AS and A2 level history topics through an engaging, in-depth and up-to-date narrative, presented in an accessible way. - Aids revision of the key A level history topics and themes through frequent summary diagrams- Gives support with assessment, both through the books providing exam-style questions and tips for AQA, Edexcel and OCR A level history specifications and through FREE model answers with supporting commentary at Access to History online (www.accesstohistory.co.uk)Europe and the Cold War 1945-1991The book starts by examining the crucial events of 1944-7, which led to the break down of the Second World War alliance between the'Big Three'and the onset of the Cold War. It shows how the Cold War shaped post-war Europe through the creation of two great military and economic blocs. Key events such as the Berlin bockade of 1948-9, the Hungarian revolt of 1956, the second Berlin crisis of 1958-61 and collapse of Communism from 1989-91. Cover 1 Book title 2 Contents 4 Dedication 6 Chapter 1 The Cold War: An Introduction 8 1 What Was the Cold War? 9 2 The Origins of the Cold War 1917–45 10 3 The Beginnings of the Cold War in Europe 1945–8 12 4 The ‘First Cold War’ 1948–53 14 5 The ‘Thaw’ 1953–7 15 6 The ‘Second Cold War’ 1958–62 16 7 The Period of Détente 1963–79 17 8 The ‘Third Cold War’ and the Collapse of Communism 1979–91 17 9 The Nuclear Background 18 Chapter 2 The Defeat of the Axis Powers 1943–5: Cold War Foreshadowed? 20 1 The Conflicting Aims of the Big Three 21 2 Inter-Allied Negotiations 1943–4 25 3 The Liberation of Europe 1943–5 25 4 The Yalta Conference, February 1945 35 5 The End of the War in Europe 37 6 Conclusion 38 Study Guide 39 Chapter 3 The Break-up of the Grand Alliance 1945–7 43 1 Early Postwar Tensions Between the Great Powers, April–August 1945 44 2 The Peace Treaties with Italy and the Minor Axis Powers 47 3 Germany, June 1945–April 1947 48 4 The Truman Doctrine of Containment 54 5 The Marshall Plan 55 6 The European States, June 1945–December 1947 58 7 Conclusion 63 Study Guide 65 Chapter 4 The Division of Germany and Europe 1948–9 70 1 The Emergence of a Western Bloc 71 2 The Consolidation of the Eastern Bloc 73 3 The Yugoslav–Soviet Split 73 4 The Decision to Create a West German State 75 5 The Soviet Response: The Berlin Blockade 76 6 The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 79 7 The Division of Germany 80 8 Key Debate 82 Study Guide 85 Chapter 5 The Consolidation of the Rival Blocs 90 1 Western Integration 1950–2 91 2 Stalin’s Failure to Stop West German Rearmament 97 3 Eastern Integration 99 4 Western Attempts to Destabilise the Soviet Bloc 100 5 Leadership Changes in the USA and USSR 101 6 The East German Revolt, June 1953 103 7 The Western European Settlement 1953–5 105 8 The Warsaw Pact Treaty 107 9 The Geneva Conference, July 1955 107 10 Key Debate 109 Study Guide 111 Chapter 6 The Khrushchev Era and the ‘Second Cold War’ 1956–63 114 1 The Year of Crises 1956 115 2 The Legacy of the Crises 121 3 The Berlin Crisis 1958–61 123 4 The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 130 5 Assessment: The ‘Second Cold War’ 135 Study Guide 137 Chapter 7 The ‘Long Peace’ in Europe 1963–91 142 1 The Road to Détente 1963–9 143 2 Ostpolitik 149 3 The Helsinki Accord 153 4 The ‘Third’ or ‘New Cold War’ 1979–85 154 5 The End of the Cold War in Europe 1983–91 158 6 Reunification of Germany 164 7 Conclusion 165 Study Guide 167 Chapter 8 Interpreting the Cold War 171 1 Could the Cold War Have Been Avoided? 171 2 When Did the Cold War Actually Start? 172 3 Why Did the Cold War in Europe Last For So Long? 174 4 Why Did the Cold War End? 174 Study Guide 175 Further Reading 180 Glossary 184 A 184 B 184 C 184 D 185 E 185 F 186 G 186 H 186 I 186 J 187 L 187 M 187 N 188 O 188 P 188 R 188 S 189 T 189 V 190 W 190 Y 190 Index 191 A 191 B 191 C 191 D 191 E 191 F 191 G 191 H 192 I 192 K 192 L 192 M 192 N 192 O 192 P 192 R 192 S 192 T 192 U 192 W 193 This study analyses how the Cold War shaped post-World War 2 Europe through the division of Germany and the creation of two great military and economic blocks.