1c DBQ

World History Express 3 Topic One International conflicts and
2012 New DBQs threats to peace in the 20th century

C The Cold War (1946-1991)
1. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.
Source A
The following Soviet poster was published during the Cold War.
Source B
The following French poster was published in 1951.
©LING KEE PUBLISHING CO., LTD. 1

(1) Identify the blog during the Cold War represented by the gentlemen in
Source A. Cite two clues from Source A to support your answer.
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(2) What was the attitude of the author of Source A towards the bloc you
mentioned above? Explain your answer with reference to Source A.
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(3) Which country does the man in Source B represent? Cite two clues from
Source B to support your answer.
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(4) What was the attitude of the author of Source B towards the country you
mentioned above? Explain your answer with reference to Source A.
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(5) Point out the main features of the conflicts between the two blocs during
the Cold War, as reflected in Sources A and B.
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Source A
This following British cartoon was published on 28 May 1946.
Source B
The following passage is related to post-WWII Yugoslavia:
After the Second World War, Yugoslavia turned communist. The Soviet troops
did not march into Yugoslavia because the Yugoslavian anti-Nazi guerillas
were able to expel the German army on their own during the War. Therefore,
unlike other Eastern European countries, Yugoslavia had a government that
was independent from the Soviet influence after the War. Tito, a Yugoslavian
leader, proposed the establishment of an independent communist government
that was free from Moscow. Yugoslavia even accepted financial assistance
from the United States.
(1) Who out forward the term ‘Iron Curtain’ shown in Source A? What is the
meaning of this?
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(2) List three countries behind the Iron Curtain. What were their relations
with the Soviet Union?

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(3) What was the attitude of the cartoonist of Source A towards the Soviet
Union? Explain your answer with reference to Source A.
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(4) Were all communist countries in Eastern Europe repressed by the Iron
Curtain? Explain your answer with reference to Source B.
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Source A
The following passage is extracted from the memoir of Dean Acheson, the
former Secretary of State of the US, in which he mentioned the Greek Civil
War of 1947:
The Congressmen had no idea about the challenge they were facing. I should
be the one who formulate the strategy……I explained to the Congressmen: In
these recent 18 months, the Soviet Union has advanced much in the Balkans
due to the pressure it had put on the Bosporus, the Dardanelles, Iran and the
northern Greece. Such advancement would encourage the Soviet aggression in
Europe, Asia and Africa. It is said that one rotten apple spoils the barrel; the
downfall of Greece may have serious influence on Iran and other countries in
the east, and perhaps Egypt and the whole African territory as well. The
collapse of Greece may also spread Soviet influence to Europe through Italy
and France. The Communist threat in western Europe is now clearly visible.
Source B
This photo shows the President of the US who was in office from 1945 to 1953.
(1) According to Acheson, what was the impact of the Greek Civil War on
the situation of Europe? Explain your answer with reference to Source A.
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(2) Name the man in Source B.

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(3) How did the man you mentioned above handle the crisis created by the
Greek Civil War? How did his action affect the development of Cold
War? Explain your answer using your own knowledge.
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Source A
The following British cartoon was published in September 1947.
Source B
The following British cartoon was published in July 1947. It is titled ‘American
Dollars are good for you’.

(1) Why was Europe portrayed as a piece of scorched land in Source A?

Explain your answer with reference to Source A and using your own
knowledge.
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(2) Why did the US propose the Marshall Plan? Explain your answer with
reference to Source A.
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(3) What was the attitude of the cartoonist of Source B towards the Marshall
Plan? Explain your answer with reference to Source B.
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(4) Would the Soviet Union accept the aid provided by the Marshall Plan?
Explain your answer with reference to Source B.
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Source A
The following British cartoon was published in January 1949.
Source B
The following British cartoon was published in March 1948.

(1) How did the European countries and the Soviet Union react to the
Marshall Plan respectively? Explain your answer with reference to
Source A.
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(2) Why did the European countries and the Soviet Union react in the way
you mentioned above? Explain your answer using your own knowledge.
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(3) What were the relations between the girls in Source B and the Soviet
Union? Explain your answer using your own knowledge.
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(4) How did the Soviet Union response to the Marshall Plan? Explain your
answer with reference to Source B and using your own knowledge.
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Source A
This following Dutch cartoon was published in November 1949.
Source B
This following Soviet cartoon was published in 1949. It is titled ‘Marshall Plan
in practice’. The man in the cartoon is holding harnesses.

(1) Which country proposed the Marshall Plan mentioned in the sources
above?
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(2) What was the attitude of the Netherlands towards the Marshall Plan?
Explain your answer with reference to Source A.
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(3) Did the Soviet Union hold similar attitude towards the Marshall Plan as
the Netherlands? Explain your answer with reference to Source B.
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(4) Why did the Soviet Union hold such attitude towards the Marshall Plan?
Explain your answer using your knowledge.
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Source A
This following British cartoon was published in September 1948.
Source B
This following American cartoon was published in May 1949.

(1) Which country does the old cat in Source A represent? How did it seal
the rat hole in reality?
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(2) How did the Western countries react to the Berlin Blockade? Explain
your answer with reference to Source A.
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(3) How long did the Berlin Blockade last? Explain your answer with
reference to Source B.
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(4) How was Germany affected by the Berlin Blockade? Explain your
answer using your own knowledge.
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8. Study the source below and answer the following questions.
Source A
The following British cartoon was published in 1949.
(1) Name any three countries inside the enclosure representing the North
Atlantic Pact.
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(2) Who is the man on the right side of Source A? What was his attitude
towards the North Atlantic Pact? Explain your answer with reference to
Source A.
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(3) Did the cartoonist and the man you mentioned hold the same attitude
towards the North Atlantic Pact? Why? Explain your answer with
reference to Source A and using your knowledge.
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(4) What action did the Soviet Union take as a response to the establishment
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
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Source A
This painting shows the Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 1 October, 1949.
Source B
This following Chinese poster was published in July 1951.

(1) Name the historical event referred to in Source A.

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(2) According to Source A, which bloc gained victory in the Chinese Civil
War? What happened to the defeated bloc? Explain your answer with
reference to Source A and using your own knowledge.
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(3) What was the diplomatic stance of China in the early 1950s? Cite clues
from Source B to support your answer.
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(4) How did the stance you mentioned above affect the development of Cold
War? Elaborate with reference to your answer in (3).
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10. Study the source below and answer the following questions.
Source A
This Chinese poster was published in 1950.
(1) Identify the war referred to in Source A.

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(2) What was the stance of China towards this war? Explain your answer
with reference to Source A.
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(3) Why did China adopt the stance you mentioned above? Explain your
answer with reference to Source A and using your own knowledge.
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(4) Point out one difference between the poster and historical fact with
reference to Source A and using your own knowledge. Explain the reason
for such difference.
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Source A
The following passage is related to the Berlin Wall:
In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the

Soviet Union, put forward the idea of ‘normalising’ the situation of Berlin. He
planned to propose a new peace treaty with Germany in order to turn West
Berlin into a non-militarised free city. The reason was, on one hand, to drive
Western powers out of West Berlin, such that the existence of the Soviet
occupation zone could be consolidated; on the other hand, it was to reduce
capitalist influence in West Berlin. The economy of West Berlin recovered
quickly and its prosperity became a mirror reflecting the life in the West. The
Soviet Union feared that such condition may make people in East Germany
aspire to the Western capitalist world. Between 1948 and 1960, around 2.5
million people moved from East Germany to West Germany.
However, Khrushchev’s idea was rejected by the United States. In 1961, the
Soviet Union sealed off the route between East and West Berlin to prevent the
East Germans from escaping to the West. It even began to build a 3-feet wall
along the frontier. That was the famous Berlin Wall, which was known as the
‘Wall of Anti-Fascist Defence’ in East Germany.
Source B
The following passage is extracted from a speech given by President John
Kennedy of the US during his visit to Berlin in 1963:
Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was ‘I am a Roman citizen’.
Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘I am a Berliner’. …
Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have
never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving
us. … The wall is an offence not only against history but an offense against
humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and
sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.
What is true of this city is true of Germany ── real, lasting peace in Europe
can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the
elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years
of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be
free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace,
with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but
your life is part of the main. So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes
beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom
merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of
freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond
yourselves and ourselves to all mankind. Freedom is indivisible, and when one
man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward
to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great
continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe.

Source C
The following table shows the statistics of East Germans attempting to escape to
West Berlin between 1961 and 1989.
Situation Number of people
Successfully entering West 5043
Berlin
Arrested 3221
Killed 239
Injured 260
(1) Why did the Soviet Union build the Berlin Wall, as reflected in Source
A?
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(2) Did President Kennedy approve the existence of Berlin Wall? Cite two
clues from Source B to support your answer.
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(3) Why did President Kennedy say that ‘one German out of four is denied
the elementary right of free men’? Explain your answer using your own
knowledge.
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(4) Could the Soviet Union achieve the aim of building the Berlin Wall?
Explain your answer with reference to your answer in (1) and Source C.
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Source A
The following passage is extracted from the TV speech delivered by
President John Kennedy of the US on 22 October 1962:
I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how
your nationalist revolution was betrayed ── and how your fatherland fell
under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders
inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets and agents of an international
conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbors in the
Americas, and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a
target for nuclear war ── the first Latin American country to have these
weapons on its soil.
The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but
it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our
commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high, but
Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that
is the path of surrender or submission.
Source B
The following American cartoon was published on 30 October 1962.

(1) Identify the incident referred to in the speech of President Kennedy. Cite
two clues from Source A to support your answer.
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(2) How did the US react to the incident you mentioned above? Explain your
answer with reference to Source A and using your own knowledge.
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(3) Who does the soldier in Source B represent? What was the impact of his
teeth on the US?
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(4) Who does the dentist in Source B represent? Why did he try to remove
the soldier’s teeth?
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Source A
The following passage is extracted from a speech given by Senator John
Kennedy, who later became the President of the US, in 1956:
Vietnam represents the cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia, the
keystone to the arch, the finger in the dike. Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the
Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose
security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into
Vietnam.
Source B
The following American cartoon was published in August 1972. The man
holding the file is President Richard Nixon of the US. He was seeking a second
term when the cartoon was published.

Source C
The following Chinese poster was published in 1975.
(1) Why did the US intervene in the Vietnam War? Explain your answer
with reference to Source A.
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(2) What was the cost of entering the Vietnam War to the US? Explain your
answer with reference to Source B.
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(3) What was the attitude of the cartoonist of Source B towards President
Nixon? Explain your answer with reference to Source B.
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(4) Explain why Source C was published in China

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Source A
The following American cartoon was published in November 1962.
Source B
The following passage is related to the development of nuclear weapons
during the 1950s and 1960s:
In 1945, Japan declared its surrender after the atomic bombings by the US. By
the 1960s, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and the People’s Republic of
China had carried out successful in atomic bomb tests. After 1950, the quality
of atomic bombs had been under improvement and had become more
powerful. Various kinds of missiles and nuclear weapons were massively
produced. Since the new weapons were extremely destructive, it was predicted
that the Third World War would end within hours and would result in no victor
but the extinction of mankind. Therefore, superpowers began to adopt
measures to lower the possibility of a nuclear war. In 1963, the US and the
Soviet Union agreed to limit nuclear testing in order to reduce the impact of
radiation on people’s health and life. The two countries also called for
meetings, hoping to put restriction on the number of nuclear weapons.

Source C
The following passage is adopted from a history book:
The first series of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talk (SALT) started in 1969.
It aimed at limiting the number of armaments instead of disarmament. In an
ear that both the US and the Soviet Union were capable of fully destroying
each other with nuclear weapons; deterrence was the only strategy that could
be dependent on. The superpowers would refrain from attacking each other
because of the certainty of mutual assured destruction. However, this
stimulated the armaments race between them. Under this circumstance,
armaments limitation became a possible way to resist the threat brought by the
development of nuclear weapons.
The first series of SALT ended in 1972 without any conclusive result, but the
two superpowers had made two subordinate agreements. Firstly, they agreed
to froze the number of weapons at existing levels for a five-year period:
 Intercontinental ballistic missiles: 1054 for the US and 1618 for the Soviet
Union
 Long-range bombers: 455 for the US and 140 for the Soviet Union
Secondly, they signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) in which each
country was allowed only two anti-ballistic missile sites. The number of
missile launchers at each base should no more than 100.
(1) The two men in Source A were the leaders of the US and the Soviet
Union at that time. Name them.
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(2) How did they view the development of nuclear weapon? Explain your
answer with reference to Source A.
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(3) Why did they have such view, as reflect in Source B?

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(4) What attempts had the US and the Soviet Union made to limit
armaments? How did such attempts affect the development of Cold War?
Explain your answer with reference to Sources B and C, and using your
own knowledge.
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Source A
A major source of strength during the early years of the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) was its close ties with the Soviet Union. In 1949 Mao Zedong
announced his ‘lean to one side’ policy: ‘The Chinese people must lean wither
to the side of imperialism or to the side of socialism. There can be no
exception. There can be no sitting on the fence; there is no third path.’ …
Thus, Mao went to the Soviet Union shortly after his rise to power in 1949 to
seek a treaty of friendship and alliance. It was his first trip abroad.
The Moscow-Beijing Axis, formally established on 14 February 1950, became
the cornerstone of the People’s Republic’s foreign policy for the greater part
of its first decade. Stalin granted Mao a military alliance, $300 US million in
credit, and a promise to provide experts to help the Chinese industrialisation
and military modernisation. Mao in 1952 described the Axis as ‘lasting,
unbreakable, and invincible’, while Liu Shaoqi paid tribute to it in the
following glowing terms: ‘There is no deceit, competition, mutual exclusion
or extortion between each other, or oppression and plunder of the one by the
other ── as is inherent among the capitalist countries.’
Source B
This following British cartoon was published in August 1978.

Source C
On 8 March 1963, Beijing published a list of lost territories, including part of

Southern Siberia, the Maritime Province, and at least 500,000 square miles of
land in Russian Central Asia. It demanded that the Soviets acknowledge, for
the record, that the current Sino-Soviet frontier was a product of ‘unequal’ and
therefore ‘illegal’ treaties. Moscow denied having territorial problems with
any neighbouring state and refused to admit the illegality of the old treaties
with China. On 10 July 1962, Mao told a visiting Japanese Socialist party
delegation: ‘About a hundred years ago, the area to the east of Baikal became
Russian territory and since then Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Kamchatka, and
other areas have become Soviet territory. We have not yet presented our bill
for this list.’ Khrushchev retorted publicly that is Tsarist Russia was
expansionist, so was Imperial China; both countries had taken land from other
people and their actions should cancel out each other. Hence, the border
negotiations that began in February 1964 made no progress and broke down in
October of the same year. What followed were more frontier incidents of
increasing frequency and intensity.
(1) How were the relations between China and the Soviet Union at the early
stage of the PRC? Cite clues from Source A to support your answer.
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(2) Describe how the Sino-Soviet relations changed during the period 1950
to 1978 with reference to your answer in (1) and Source B.
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(3) Account for the change above with reference to Source C.

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(4) How did the changing Sino-Soviet relations affect the development of
Cold War?
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Source A
This following British cartoon was published in October 1988.
Source B
This following British cartoon was published in in August 1991.
(1) Identify the man in Source A. Cite one clue from Source A to support
your answer.
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(2) How did the cartoonist of Source A think about this man? Cite clues
from Source A to support your answer.
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(3) What was the situation of the Soviet Union at the time Source B was
published? Account for such condition using your own knowledge.
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(4) Do you think the man in Source A was responsible for the situation you
mentioned above? Explain your answer using your own knowledge.
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Answers
1. (1) The gentlemen are wearing hats bearing the national flags of France, the
US and Britain. Moreover, they are holding a banner reading ‘Capitalists
from Worldwide, Unite!’. Therefore, they represent the capitalist bloc led
by the US.
(2) In Source A, uncountable bodies of workers are lying beneath the feet of
the overweight gentlemen. The author of Source A believed that capitalists
acquired wealth by exploiting workers. Moreover, this poster was
published in the Soviet Union, the leader of the communist bloc.
Therefore, the author held a negative attitude towards the capitalist bloc.
(3) The man in the cartoon looks like the Soviet leader Stalin. He has tattooed
a sickle and a hammer on his arm, and is wearing a shirt with a star. The
star and hammer and sickle was the symbol on the national flag of the
Soviet Union. We can conclude that the man represents the Soviet Union.
(4) In Source B, the man is holding a board reading ‘Peace’. However, he is
also armed. This shows that the Soviet Union simply pretended to promote
peace. Instead, it was actually an evil and aggressive country.
(5) Sources A and B were published by the communist and capitalist blocs
respectively as a tool to criticise each other. During the Cold War, the two
blocs mainly used political propaganda to discredit the other side.
2. (1) ‘Iron Curtain’ was put forward by Winston Churchill. It refers to the
Soviet oppressive rule imposed on various communist countries in Eastern
Europe that separated them from the Western ‘free’ world.
(2) They included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania,
Bulgaria and Albania (any three). These countries were Eastern European
communist countries under the control of the Soviet Union.
(3) The cartoonist of Source A held a negative attitude towards the Soviet
Union. In Source A, Molotov, Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, is
shouting ‘Don’t fence me in’ to France and Britain at the top of the Iron
Curtain. However, the Iron Curtain was actually built by the Soviet Union.
This shows that the Soviet Union was responsible for the separation
between Eastern and Western Europe. Moreover, people suppressed by the
Iron Curtain are in great pain. This shows that the Soviet oppressive rule
was disastrous to Eastern communist countries.
(4) According to Source B, although Yugoslavia, located in Eastern Europe,

became a communist country, its government still remained independent

and of direct Soviet control. It even accepted aid from the US, the leader of
the capitalist bloc. It was obviously that not every Eastern European
communist country was repressed by the Iron Curtain.
3. (1) Acheson believed that one rotten apple could spoil the barrel. Once Greece
fell to communism, the influence of the Soviet Union would spread from
Greece to Asia Minor, Africa and Western Europe, encouraging the
communist activities there. As shown above, Acheson was worried that the
Greek Civil War would favour the Soviet expansion in Asia, Africa and
Europe.
(2) Harry Truman
(3) Truman suggested providing financial aid to Greece in order to prevent the
establishment of a pro-Soviet communist government there. He clearly
proposed the idea of ‘containing’ communism. This diplomatic policy was
known as the Truman Doctrine. It increased the tension between the
capitalist and communist blocs during the Cold War.
4. (1) Source A was published in 1947, when the Second World War just ended.
During the Second World War, many major cities in Europe were severely
demolished. Factories, farms, railways and houses were burnt down.
That’s why Europe is portrayed as a piece of scorched land in Source A.
(2) In Source A, Uncle Sam is a staff member of the ‘US Reconstruction Inc.’.
He is helping the workers who are ready for the reconstruction of Europe
to participate in the Marshall Plan. There were a number of moneybags
inside the ‘US Reconstruction Inc.’. All these show that the aim of
Marshall Plan was to provide financial aid to European countries in order
to support their post-war reconstruction.
(3) Source B is titled ‘Dollars are good for you’. In the cartoon, a big bird
representing Britain and France desired to enjoy the ‘dollar drinks’. It
shows that the cartoonist held a positive attitude towards the Marshall
Plan. He believed that it could assist the recovery of Europe.
(4) In Source B, Molotov representing the Soviet Union was portrayed as a
small parrot standing alone on branches. The parrot has no interest in the
‘dollar drinks’. This shows that the Soviet Union would not accept
American financial aid.
5. (1) In Source A, the man representing Europe is trapped in the snow. He is

calling the rescue dog with a sign reading ‘Marshall Plan’ for help. This
shows that Europe was desperately in need of assistance from the US.
In contrary, Stalin and Molotov thought that the rescue dog was a wolf and
were frightened by it. This shows that the Soviet Union was resentful
towards the Marshall Plan proposed by the US.
(2) Europe was severely devastated during the Second World War. Many
European countries were unable to revive economic development on their
own after the War. They needed help from the Marshall Plan. However,
the Soviet Union considered the Marshall Plan as a plot to control
Europe’s economy and combat communism initiated by the US. Therefore,
the Marshall Plan was regarded as a horrifying wolf by the Soviet Union.
(3) The girls represent Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and
Hungary. They were all Eastern European communist countries under
Soviet control.
(4) According to Source B, Madame Stalin is preventing the girls from
looking at the ‘Marshall Plan’ dress on display. This shows that the Soviet
Union did not allow Eastern European communist countries to join the
Marshall Plan.
In fact, the Soviet Union announced the Molotov Plan to provide aid to
Eastern European countries. It also set up the Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance in 1949 to counteract the Marshall Plan.
6. (1) The Marshall Plan was proposed by the US.

(2) The Netherlands held a positive attitude towards the Marshall Plan. The
cartoonist of Source A believed that the Marshall Plan helped Dutch people
solve the problems of food and resource shortage. Such aid was essential
to the Netherlands’ economic recovery after the Second World War.
(3) The Soviet Union held a different view towards the Marshall Plan. In
Source B, George Marshall, the architect of the Marshall Plan, is portrayed
as a general who is holding harnesses with weapons. He is going to
distribute the harnesses to France and Germany. This shows that the Soviet
Union believed that the US used the Marshall Plan to control Europe. The
European countries that joined the Marshall Plan would become American
military puppets against the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Soviet Union
was hostile towards the Marshall Plan.
(4) After the Second World War, the world was divided into the capitalist and
communist blocs because of ideological differences between the US and
the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was worried that the American

influence would penetrate Eastern Europe through the Marshall Plan.

That’s why the Soviet Union held a negative attitude towards the Marshall
Plan.
7. (1) The old cat represents the Soviet leader Stalin. The cartoonist likened the
sealing of rat hole to Stalin’s decision to stop all land and canal traffic to
the three western zones of Berlin. His aim was to weaken the Western
powers control over their occupation zones.
(2) According to Source A, the old cat is playing with a rat representing
Germans people in Berlin. The other three rats representing Western
powers around the cat’s feet feared that they might become the next
victims. This shows that the Western countries were worried that the
Soviet influence would eventually spread to the West after the Soviet
Union gained full control over Berlin.
(3) Source B was published in May 1949. In the cartoon, the wall representing
the Berlin Blockade is shown collapsed. This shows that Berlin Blockade
ended at the time the cartoon was published.
(4) After the Berlin Blockade ended, the US, Britain and France merged their
occupation zones in September 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany
was established, with Bonn as the capital. It belonged to the capitalist bloc.
One month later, the German Democratic Republic was set up in the
Soviet zone, with Berlin as its capital. It belonged to the communist bloc.
Germany was officially divided into two countries.
8. (1) The US, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada,
Portugal, Norway, Demark, Iceland (any three)
(2) He is Stalin. He is angered by the signing of the North Atlantic Pact,
condemning its signatories as warmongers. This shows that the Soviet
Union was hostile towards the North Atlantic Pact.
(3) In the cartoon, Stalin is portrayed as a raging giant in a negatively way. His
body size is vastly bigger than those of people inside the enclosure.
Though members of the North Atlantic Pact are condemned by Stalin as
warmongers, they were actually scared by Stalin’s anger. This shows that
NATO was established as a self-defence organisation to discourage Soviet
expansion.
On the other hand, the cartoonist came from the capitalist bloc. He
believed that the Soviet Union did not have the right to accuse other
countries for waging wars because Stalin himself was the true threat to

peace.
(4) In 1955, the Soviet Union signed the Warsaw Pact with Poland, Hungary
and other Eastern European countries to counteract NATO.
9. (1) In Source A, Mao Zedong is proclaiming the establishment of the People’s

Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949 at Tiananmen Square of
Beijing. The painting shows the founding ceremony of the PRC.
(2) In Source A, the ceremony is chaired by Mao Zedong, the leader of the
Communist Party of China (CPC). This shows that the CPC gained victory
in the Chinese Civil War. On the contrary, Kuomintang (KMT) led by
Jiang Jieshi was defeated and it eventually retreated to Taiwan.
(3) The poster describes the US as ‘invader’ and the Chinese soldiers are
shown being disgusted with the Western countries. Moreover, the books
held by the soldiers record the number of Fascist troops eliminated by the
Soviet Union during the Second World War and the number of Jiang
Jieshi’s troops eliminated by the CPC during the Chinese Civil War. The
author of the poster praised Soviet accomplishment and likened the KMT
supported by the US to totalitarian states including Germany and Japan.
All these show that China adopted a diplomatic stance of ‘anti-American
and pro-Soviet’.
(4) China became the pioneer of the communist bloc in Asia. The Western
countries were worried that this would encourage the spread of
communism in Asia. The US even increased its military intervention in
Asia in order to contain the influence of communism. The confrontation
between the capitalistic and communist blocs was then intensified during
the Cold War.
10. (1) Source A refers to the Korean War.

(2) In Source A, an American general is portrayed as a violent murderer who
is killing Koreans. The poster also claims that China will not tolerate the
aggression of imperialists. This shows that China supported communist
North Korea to fight against the US.
(3) China and North Korea belonged to the communist bloc, while the US was
their capitalist rival. In the poster, the US is dropping bombs on North
Korea and China. China believed that American intervention in the Korean
War would threaten the safety of China. Therefore, China supported North
Korea to resist American ‘invasion’ in the Korean War.
(4) The Korean War took place on the Korean Peninsula. The US had never

directly attacked the territory of China. This fact contradicted the poster in
which China is also being bombed by the US.
Since the poster was a Chinese propaganda, it was pro-communism. The
author wanted to arouse anti-American emotion among Chinese people by
distorting the facts.
11. (1) The term ‘Wall of Anti-Fascist Defence’ in Source A implies that the
Soviet Union used the Berlin Wall to terminate connection between East
and West Berlin so that the infiltration of capitalism from the West could
be stopped. The Berlin Wall was also built to prevent German people from
escaping to West Germany.
(2) In Source B, President Kennedy pointed out that the Berlin Wall was
‘against history and humanity’. It divided all Germans into half and tore
families apart. President Kennedy also emphasised that East Berlin was
isolated from justice by the Wall. He believed that the Berlin Wall was an
offense to peace and he held a negative attitude towards the Wall.
(3) After the Second World War, Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union,
the US, Britain and France. It was eventually split into capitalist West
Germany and communist East Germany. The government of East Germany
adopted oppressive rule and limit people’s freedom. The Soviet Union
even built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to prohibit people in East Germany from
going to West Germany. The Berlin Wall separated East Berlin from the
Western world. This shows that people in East Germany were deprived of
freedom of movement.
(4) It is mentioned in (1) that the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to prevent
people from moving to West Germany and restrain the infiltration of
capitalism. However, Source C shows that the Berlin Wall could not
discourage people from escaping. From 1961 to 1989, around 8500 people
attempted to escape to West Germany, among which 5000 of them
succeeded. This shows that the Soviet Union was unable to achieve the
aim of building the Berlin Wall.
12. (1) Source A was a speech given on 22 October 1962. President Kennedy
mentioned that Cuba would soon become the first Latin-American country
that possessed nuclear weapons. This shows that the speech referred to the
Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
(2) President Kennedy emphasised that Americans would never choose to
surrender or give in their freedom, implying that the US would not submit

itself to the threat of nuclear crisis. Moreover, he imposed a naval blockade

of Cuba to prevent the Soviet Union from shipping more nuclear missiles
to Cuba.
(3) The soldier is the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In the cartoon his teeth are
portrayed as missiles. These missiles in Cuba could threaten the big cities
of the US. We can conclude that Castro’s teeth were a serious threat to the
national security of the US.
(4) The dentist is the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. During the Cuban
Missile Crisis, the US and the Soviet Union at first refused to back down,
pushing the world to the verge of nuclear war. Finally, the Soviet Union
made concession and decided to remove the missile missiles and other
offensive weapons in Cuba. Therefore, the cartoonist likened the end of the
Crisis to the removal of Castro’s teeth by Khrushchev.
13. (1) In Source A, Kennedy pointed out that Vietnam was the cornerstone of the
Free World in Southeast Asia. Once Vietnam came under communist
control, the remaining Southeast Asian countries would also gradually fall
to communism. Therefore, the US had to intervene in the Vietnam War to
contain the spread of communism in Asia.
(2) The tombstone in Source B shows that around 20,000 Americans had died
since 1968, the year when Richard Nixon was first elected President. This
shows that the US suffered heavy casualties because of its intervention in
the Vietnam War.
(3) The cartoonist of Source B held a distrustful attitude towards President
Nixon. The cartoonist criticised President Nixon for failing to fulfill his
election commitment to withdraw the US troops from Vietnam. In 1972,
President Nixon ran for re-election and promised again to end the War. The
cartoonist used ‘Election-year Plan to End the War’ to describe Nixon’s
election commitment in 1972, implying that it was only an excuse to gain
support from people.
(4) North Vietnam under communist control won the Vietnam War and the
whole nation was unified. China, a member of the communist bloc,
published the poster to congratulate North Vietnam on defeating capitalist
South Vietnam and driving the Americans out of the nation.
14. (1) The man on the left was President Kennedy of the US. The man on the
right was the Soviet leader Khrushchev.
(2) In Source A, President Kennedy and Khrushchev tried to prevent the

monster from coming out from the box representing ‘Nuclear War’. They
even suggested locking up the box. This shows that the two countries were
worried that a nuclear war would eventually break out. Therefore, they
hoped to prevent nuclear war through co-operation.
(3) Source B pointed out that in the 1960s, apart from the US, many other
countries also possessed the technology to produce nuclear weapons.
Atomic bombs were technically improved to become more destructive.
Under such circumstance, another global conflict would probably lead to
the destruction of mankind. Therefore, President Kennedy and Khrushchev
wanted to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war.
(4) According to Source B, the US and the Soviet Union first agreed to restrict
nuclear weapon testing in 1963 in order to control the spreading of
radiation. According to Source C, they convened the first series of SALT
in 1969 to further limit the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles,
long-range bombers and anti-ballistic missile sites. All these show that the
relationship between the US and the Soviet Union improved, and they
were willing to settle conflicts through negotiation. As a result, the tension
between the capital and communist blocs relaxed.
15. (1) According to Source A, China and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of
friendship and alliance and formed the Moscow-Beijing Axis. Other than
being military allies, the Soviet Union also support China’s
industrialisation and military modernisation by providing financial and
technological support. The Chinese leaders believed that the alliance
between the two countries were unbreakable. We can conclude that the
Sino-Soviet relations were close and friendly at the early stage of the PRC.
(2) As mentioned in (1), China established close relations with the Soviet
Union the early stage of the PRC. However, in Source B, a dragon
representing China is spitting fire towards the Soviet bear. The two
countries obviously became hostile to each other in the 1970s. In
conclusion, the Sino-Soviet relations turned from friendly to tense between
1950 and 1978,
(3) According to Source C, since the 1960s, there were serious territorial
disputes between China and the Soviet Union. The two countries were
unable to reach an agreement on setting the Sino-Soviet border. In 1964,
their negotiations completely broke down. After that, Sino-Soviet border
conflicts became more frequent and intense, further damaging their
relations.

(4) Due to the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, China sought to establish

normal diplomatic ties with the capitalist bloc, especially the US. As China
was a major communist country, the normalisation of diplomatic relations
between China and the US helped tension between the capitalist and
communist blocs during the Cold War.
16. (1) The man in Source A is Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Soviet Union.
He looks like Gorbachev. He is on board the icebreaker bearing the Soviet
sickle and hammer symbol.
(2) In Source A, Gorbachev is controlling the Soviet icebreaker named
‘Freedom for political prisoners’. The ship is breaking the ice sheet
representing the Cold War. The cartoonist believed that Gorbachev’s
reform could ease tension created by the Cold War and bring peace to the
world.
(3) In Source B, the ship named ‘Soviet Union’ is sinking, forcing the men
representing ‘Secret Agents’ and ‘Communist Party’ jumping off the ship.
This shows that the communist rule in the Soviet Union was on the edge of
collapsing in August 1991.
From August 1991, Soviet republics in Eastern Europe, including
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, declared independence one by one. The
Soviet Union eventually dissolved.
(4) Gorbachev was responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev introduced a series of liberalisation reforms after he became the
Soviet leader. He ceased support for the communist governments in
Eastern European countries. The number of Soviet troops stationed in East
Europe was reduced and Soviet control there was relaxed. Gradually,
people in Eastern European countries were able to overthrow the
communist governments. They further demanded independence and
freedom. As a result, many Soviet republics declared their independence,
leading to the breaking up of the Soviet Union. This shows that
Gorbachev’s reforms were the biggest reason for the dissolution of the
Soviet Union.
(There is no definite answer for this question provided that the arguments
are reasonable.)

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World History Express 3 Topic One International conflicts and

2012 New DBQs threats to peace in the 20th century

1. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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2. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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3. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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(2) Name the man in Source B.

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4. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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(1) Why was Europe portrayed as a piece of scorched land in Source A?

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5. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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6. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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7. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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8. Study the source below and answer the following questions.

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9. Study the sources below and answer the following questions.

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(1) Name the historical event referred to in Source A.

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(1) Identify the war referred to in Source A.

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In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the

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(4) Explain why Source C was published in China

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(3) Why did they have such view, as reflect in Source B?

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On 8 March 1963, Beijing published a list of lost territories, including part of

(3) Account for the change above with reference to Source C.

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became a communist country, its government still remained independent

5. (1) In Source A, the man representing Europe is trapped in the snow. He is

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6. (1) The Marshall Plan was proposed by the US.

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influence would penetrate Eastern Europe through the Marshall Plan.

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9. (1) In Source A, Mao Zedong is proclaiming the establishment of the People’s

10. (1) Source A refers to the Korean War.

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