Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Growing Rivalry and the Berlin Blockade, 1945-58
The Cold War's growing rivalry between 1945 and 1958 saw wartime cooperation between the USA and the USSR collapse into open hostility, driven by their opposed ideologies (capitalism versus communism) and by disputes over Germany and Eastern Europe. Key moments of growing rivalry included George Kennan's Long Telegram (February 1946) and Nikolai Novikov's telegram (September 1946), each warning their own government the other side could not be trusted, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947), which committed the USA to containing communism with military and economic aid, and the Soviet response, Cominform (1947) and Comecon (1949), which tied Eastern Europe more tightly to Moscow. The rivalry became a direct confrontation over Berlin: when the Western powers introduced a new currency in their zones of Germany in 1948, Stalin blockaded all land routes into West Berlin in what became known as the Berlin Blockade, and the Western Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, flying in supplies for nearly a year until Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949. By 1958, Germany had split into two states and each side had built a military alliance, NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955).
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the two telegrams as a matched pair: Kennan's Long Telegram (February 1946) told the US government the USSR was inherently expansionist and could not be reasoned with, recommending 'containment'; Novikov's telegram (September 1946) told the Soviet government the USA was seeking world domination through capitalism and rearmament. Each side's fear of the other became self-fulfilling.
- Learn the US containment policy as two connected parts: the Truman Doctrine (March 1947) promised US military and financial support to any country resisting a communist takeover, and the Marshall Plan (from 1948) offered around 13 billion US dollars of economic aid to rebuild Western Europe, since Truman believed poverty made countries vulnerable to communism.
- Learn the Soviet responses as the mirror image: Cominform (1947) coordinated communist parties across Europe from Moscow, and Comecon (1949) was the USSR's own economic aid organisation for Eastern Bloc states, created because Stalin would not let satellite states accept Marshall Plan money.
- Learn the Berlin Blockade and Airlift as cause and effect: the Western powers introduced the Deutsche Mark into their zones of Germany in June 1948; Stalin responded by cutting all land and rail routes into West Berlin to try to force the Allies out; the Allies replied with the Berlin Airlift, flying food and fuel into West Berlin until Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949.
- Learn the consequences: Germany formally split into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, May 1949) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, October 1949); NATO was founded in April 1949 as a Western military alliance; the Warsaw Pact followed in May 1955 once West Germany joined NATO.
- For 'explain two consequences of...' questions on this period, keep economic causes (Marshall Plan, Comecon) and military/political causes (Truman Doctrine, the Blockade, NATO) as separate, nameable strands so you can pick two genuinely different consequences rather than restating the same point twice.
Worked example
Explain two consequences of the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49 for relations between the superpowers.
- Identify two different consequences before writing: one about how the crisis was resolved (the Airlift succeeding), and one about its longer-term effect (the permanent division of Germany).
- Write consequence one: the Berlin Airlift's success, flying in enough supplies to keep West Berlin running for almost a year, forced Stalin to lift the blockade in May 1949 without gaining control of the city, which was a clear propaganda defeat for the USSR and a boost to Western confidence.
- Support consequence one with detail: Allied aircraft made over 275,000 flights into West Berlin, delivering food, coal and other essentials, showing ordinary Berliners that the West would not abandon them.
- Write consequence two: the crisis hardened the division of Germany into two separate states, since it convinced the Western powers to formally create the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in May 1949, and the USSR responded by creating the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in October 1949.
- Support consequence two with detail: this meant Germany, and Berlin itself, would remain physically divided along an increasingly fortified frontier for the rest of the Cold War, making Berlin a recurring flashpoint in later crises.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What did George Kennan's Long Telegram of February 1946 recommend the USA do in response to Soviet behaviour?Show answer
Answer: Pursue a policy of 'containment', resisting Soviet expansion firmly wherever it threatened, rather than trying to cooperate with Stalin.
Q2What two forms of support did the Truman Doctrine of March 1947 promise?Show answer
Answer: Military and financial (economic) support to any country resisting a communist takeover.
Q3Roughly how much economic aid did the Marshall Plan offer to rebuild Western Europe?Show answer
Answer: Around 13 billion US dollars.
Q4What was Cominform, and when was it established?Show answer
Answer: The Communist Information Bureau, established in September 1947 to coordinate communist parties across Europe under Soviet direction.
Q5Why did Stalin blockade West Berlin in 1948?Show answer
Answer: In response to the Western powers introducing a new currency (the Deutsche Mark) into their zones of Germany, Stalin cut off West Berlin's land and rail links to try to force the Western Allies out of the city.
Q6How did the Western Allies respond to the Berlin Blockade, and when did Stalin lift it?Show answer
Answer: With the Berlin Airlift, flying supplies into West Berlin by air for almost a year; Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949.
Q7Name the two military alliances formed by 1955 as a result of this growing rivalry.Show answer
Answer: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), founded in 1949, and the Warsaw Pact, founded in 1955.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two consequences of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan for relations between the superpowers.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 8 available
Write a narrative account analysing the key events in the growth of superpower rivalry from the Long Telegram of February 1946 to the lifting of the Berlin Blockade in May 1949. You may use the following information to help write your answer: the Truman Doctrine, March 1947; the introduction of the Deutsche Mark, June 1948. You must also use information of your own.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 8 available
See real GCSE History past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the superpower relations and the cold war, 1941-91: growing rivalry and the berlin blockade, 1945-58 worksheet pack - 8 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on superpower relations and the cold war, 1941-91: growing rivalry and the berlin blockade, 1945-58, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.