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NOTE: Five of the marks on this question come from correct use of spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology.

Example:

Study Interpretation B. Explain why not all historians and commentators have agreed with this interpretation. Use other interpretations and your knowledge to support your answer.

Interpretation B

Michael Hart’s argument justifying placing Mikhail Gorbachev in his top 100 most influential persons in history; Hart is author of: The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1986):

‘The Cold War was caused by the military expansionism of Stalin and his successors. The American response… was basically a defensive reaction. As long as Soviet leaders clung to their dream of imposing Communism on the world, the West had no way (other than surrender) of ending the conflict. When a Soviet leader (Gorbachev) appeared who was willing to abandon that goal, the seemingly interminable Cold War soon melted away.’

Tips:

The best way of starting this question is to explain what the interpretation is saying, so you then have a clear basis to argue for and against it. It may be useful to annotate or underline key parts of the interpretation.

You then need to structure an answer to show WHY different interpretations have been created about the causes of the Cold War and its eventual ending.

First discuss evidence, events and interpretations which support the source. Focus on providing examples that show how Soviet aggression caused the Cold War. You could refer to:

• the Berlin Wall (preventing ‘Brain Drain’)
• the Cuban Missile Crisis (although you could argue this both ways!)
• the role of Gorbachev in ending the Cold War (as the interpretation argues it was his change in approach compared to other Soviet leaders that ended the Cold War)

Then discuss evidence, events and interpretations to question the source focussing on examples that suggest it was NOT Soviet aggression that was to blame for the Cold War. You could refer to:

• Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan ‘Dollar imperialism’.
• Vietnam (US aggression, preventing Domino Theory).
• Reagan and the ‘Second Cold War’.