Superpowers 4 — Three crises: Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History · 4HI1
Paper 1
A wall, thirteen days that came closer to nuclear war than any before or since, and the doctrine that justified crushing the Prague Spring.
Specification coverage
Paper 1 — A world divided: superpower relations, 1943–72, key topic 4
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO2, AO4. Suggested learning time: 110 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The U2 incident of 1960 and its effects on the Paris Summit Conference
- Reasons for the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, including the refugee problem, and its effects on East–West relations
- The Bay of Pigs invasion; the causes and key events of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the reasons for its outcome
- The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia — causes, events and impact, including the Brezhnev Doctrine
Required skills
- Explain and analyse using second-order concepts: causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance
- Analyse and evaluate a written interpretation of this period (AO4)
- Reach a supported judgement rather than describing events
How it is examined
- (a) 6 marks — “What impression does the author give about…?” (AO4)
- (b) 8 marks — “Explain two effects of…” (AO1 4, AO2 4)
- (c) 16 marks — a statement, “How far do you agree?”, choice of two (AO1 7, AO2 9)
Common mistakes
- Telling the Cuban Missile Crisis as a story. The 16-mark question wants a judgement about causes or outcomes, not thirteen days of narrative.
- Missing that the Wall solved a genuine East German problem — the loss of skilled workers — as well as being a propaganda disaster.