Unit 17: Paper 2 — The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries (20th Century)
Topic 17.3: Cold War crises Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History Topic 17.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Choose1 mark
2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.2 - Q1
Along which line was Korea divided in 1945, and to which the front line largely returned by the 1953 armistice?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.2 - Q5
Which term best describes Kennedy and Khrushchev pushing the missile crisis to the very edge of war to force the other to back down?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.2 - Q2
Which event in 1961 pushed Castro closer to the Soviet Union and made Cuba fear a US attack?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.3 - Q11
Which reformer became prime minister of Hungary during the 1956 uprising?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.2 - Q3
Why was the Soviet Union unable to veto UN military action in Korea in 1950?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q1
Examine the causes of the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q7
Evaluate the role of Stalin in the first Berlin crisis (1948-49).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.3 - Q8
Compare and contrast the nature of popular resistance in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q11
Which Western action in June 1948 most directly alarmed Stalin and preceded the Berlin Blockade?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q4
Compare and contrast the causes of the two Berlin crises (1948-49 and 1958-61).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.3 - Q9
Examine the reasons why the West condemned but did not intervene in the crises in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q14
At which Berlin crossing point did US and Soviet tanks face each other in October 1961?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q15
Into which two states was Germany formally divided in 1949 following the first Berlin crisis?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q8
Discuss the aims of Khrushchev and Kennedy during the second Berlin crisis (1958-61).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q10
Examine why Berlin, rather than any other place, became the main flashpoint of the early Cold War.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q2
Evaluate the consequences of the Berlin Blockade and airlift of 1948-49.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q13
What was the main reason the German Democratic Republic built the Berlin Wall in 1961?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.3 - Q13
What was the name given to Dubček's programme of reform in Czechoslovakia in 1968?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q5
To what extent was the Berlin airlift responsible for the West's victory in the first Berlin crisis (1948-49)?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.3.1 - Q9
Compare and contrast the outcomes of the two Berlin crises (1948-49 and 1958-61).
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