GCSE History Revision Guides: The Hungarian Rising of 1956, the Space Race and the Nuclear Arms Race

Two sets of revision notes for the ‘Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1960’ topic in Unit 1 of the AQA GCSE History B course, covering the Hungarian rising of 1956, the nuclear arms race and the space race. All the prescribed content for these parts of the specification is covered and these guides have been used successfully by GCSE students over the last few years.

There are also links included to video clips that neatly summarise the content being revised.

The guides are divided into the following sections to support students in structuring their revision:

The Hungarian Rising of 1956

1. How peaceful was Khrushchev’s policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’?
2. The causes of the uprising
3. The key events of the uprising
4. How the USSR dealt with the uprising
5. The consequences of the crisis for Europe and the Cold War

The Space Race and the Nuclear Arms Race

1. Why was space so important in the Cold War?
2. Key events in the early space race
3. The important link between the space race and the nuclear arms race
4. The ‘nuclear deterrent’
5. ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ (MAD)