Contents:

1.  From Hot War to Cold War

2.  Causes of the Cold War

3.  Yalta and Potsdam: The Big Three during the War

4.  Hiroshima and the Cold War

5.  Salami Tactics: the Soviet takeover of eastern Europe

6.  Churchill's Fulton Speech

7.  Truman Doctrine/ Marshall Plan

8.  The Berlin Blockade

9.  Interpretations

10.  Origins of the Cold War Cascade

11.  Self-test

How to study this topic:

1.    Start by reading some easy sources - for instance the ‘Basics ’ sheet in the ‘Going Deeper’ panel on this page.  Get a grasp of the basic story.

        It might be a good idea to do this before you start to study this topic in class.

2.    Work through the study sections 1-8 above; you can do this over time as you study the topic in lessons.

        Take advantage of some of the links to explore, more deeply, aspects of the topics which attract your interest.  Try to become ‘an expert’ on some issues.

3.    Study the historiography, to learn how historians have interpreted the causes, and to consider what YOU think about the debates.

4.    Plunder the Cascade webpage to help you write any essays you are given.

5.    When it comes to the exam, the Cascade webpage and the Self-test will be useful as revision tools, along with other exercises in the Revision section of this website.