AP European History:: Unit 9

The Cold War, a very significant, prolonged period of political and military tension substantially between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II, is generally attributed by historians substantially to:

- **A)** The Cold War having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant ideological competition, or the broader significant breakdown of the wartime Allied cooperation already discussed in an earlier unit
- **B)** Significant ideological competition between American-led liberal democratic capitalism and Soviet-led communism, combined with the breakdown of the temporary wartime cooperative alliance between these two powers once their shared immediate objective of defeating the Axis powers had been achieved already discussed in an earlier unit - the Cold War's own significant ideological and geopolitical competition illustrates a further significant example of how the significant political and economic ideologies already discussed at multiple points throughout an earlier unit could directly generate very considerable, prolonged tension across a divided Europe
- **C)** A conflict involving direct, large-scale military combat between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout its own entire duration, a characterization that does not accurately reflect the Cold War's own actual, well-documented general avoidance of direct large-scale military conflict between these two specific powers
- **D)** A conflict that developed with no meaningful connection of any kind to the earlier World War II wartime alliance already discussed in an earlier unit, a characterization that understates the genuinely significant, well-documented connection between the breakdown of this wartime alliance and the subsequent Cold War

The significant "Iron Curtain," a term substantially popularized by Winston Churchill already discussed in an earlier unit to describe the significant division of Europe following World War II, is historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** Describing the significant, considerable political and physical division of Europe substantially between Soviet-aligned Eastern European communist states and Western European states aligned with the United States, illustrating a further significant example of the broader Cold War division already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit that would substantially characterize European political geography for several subsequent decades
- **B)** The Iron Curtain having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant Cold War division of Europe, or the broader significant political geography of this period already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **C)** A term describing significant continued unified European political cooperation with no meaningful division of any kind, a characterization that directly contradicts this specific term's own actual, well-documented emphasis on considerable European division, rather than unified cooperation
- **D)** A term first used considerably before World War II, a characterization that inaccurately misplaces this specific term's own actual, well-documented post-World War II, Cold War-era origin

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw Pact, two significant, opposing Cold War military alliances, are historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** Formalizing the significant broader Cold War division of Europe into two significant opposing military alliance blocs, with NATO uniting the United States and significant Western European allies, and the Warsaw Pact uniting the Soviet Union and significant Eastern European communist states - these two significant opposing alliances illustrate a further significant example of how the significant ideological competition already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit could directly generate formal, institutionalized military alliance structures, considerably heightening the broader significant Cold War tension already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **B)** NATO and the Warsaw Pact having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant Cold War military alliance structure, or the broader significant division of Europe already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **C)** A single, unified military alliance including both the United States and the Soviet Union, a characterization that directly contradicts these two alliances' own actual, well-documented significant opposing, rather than unified, character
- **D)** Alliances established considerably before, rather than after, World War II, a characterization that inaccurately misplaces these two significant alliances' own actual, well-documented later Cold War-era timing, following World War II

The Berlin Wall, constructed by East German authorities in 1961, is historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** The Berlin Wall having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant Cold War division, or the broader significant symbolic and physical separation between Western and Soviet-aligned Europe already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **B)** Facilitating considerably freer movement between East and West Berlin, a characterization that directly reverses the Berlin Wall's own actual, well-documented significant restriction, rather than facilitation, of movement between East and West Berlin
- **C)** Physically dividing East and West Berlin to prevent significant East German emigration to the West, becoming a powerful, enduring physical and symbolic representation of the broader Cold War division between Soviet-aligned Eastern Europe and the Western-aligned world already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit - the Berlin Wall's own construction and, later, its own significant 1989 fall covered further below in this unit illustrate a further significant example of how a single, specific structure could come to symbolize very considerable broader Cold War political and ideological division
- **D)** A wall constructed considerably before, rather than during, the Cold War, a characterization that inaccurately misplaces the Berlin Wall's own actual, well-documented 1961 Cold War-era construction

The Hungarian Revolution (1956), a significant, ultimately suppressed uprising against Soviet-aligned communist rule in Hungary, is historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** The Hungarian Revolution having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant popular resistance to Soviet-aligned communist rule, or the broader significant limits of Soviet tolerance for political liberalization already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **B)** A revolution that achieved permanent, lasting Hungarian political independence from Soviet influence, a characterization that directly contradicts this specific revolution's own actual, well-documented ultimate suppression by Soviet military forces
- **C)** A revolution that generated no meaningful Soviet military response of any kind, a characterization that significantly understates the very significant, well-documented Soviet military intervention already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **D)** Illustrating a further significant example of the significant limits the Soviet Union was willing to place on political liberalization within its own significant Eastern European sphere of influence already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit, as Soviet-led military forces intervened to suppress this specific significant popular uprising - the Hungarian Revolution's own significant suppression illustrates a further significant example of how the Soviet Union maintained very considerable authoritarian political control over its own Eastern European allies throughout much of the Cold War

The Prague Spring (1968), a significant period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia that was ultimately suppressed by a Soviet-led military invasion, this specific episode is historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** Illustrating a further significant example of the significant limits the Soviet Union was willing to place on political liberalization within its own significant Eastern European sphere of influence already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit, as Soviet-led military forces intervened to reverse Czechoslovakia's own significant political reform efforts, comparable to this unit's earlier coverage of the Hungarian Revolution above - the Prague Spring's own significant suppression illustrates a further significant example of how the Soviet Union maintained very considerable authoritarian political control over its own Eastern European allies throughout much of the Cold War, notwithstanding occasional significant internal reform efforts
- **B)** The Prague Spring having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant Soviet control over Eastern Europe, or the broader significant Warsaw Pact already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **C)** A period of political liberalization that the Soviet Union actively supported and encouraged, a characterization that directly contradicts the Prague Spring's own actual, well-documented significant Soviet suppression, rather than support
- **D)** An episode that occurred within the Soviet Union itself, rather than Czechoslovakia, a characterization that inaccurately misidentifies the Prague Spring's own actual, well-documented specific Czechoslovak context

The Solidarity movement, a significant Polish independent labor union and broader political movement that developed considerably during the 1980s, is historically notable primarily for:

- **A)** Solidarity having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant Polish resistance to communist rule, or the broader significant later collapse of Soviet-aligned communist governance already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **B)** Organizing significant, sustained Polish worker and broader popular resistance to communist rule, substantially led by Lech Wałęsa, ultimately contributing directly to Poland's own later significant political transformation away from communist rule, providing an important further significant early example of the broader collapse of Soviet-aligned Eastern European communism covered further below in this unit
- **C)** A movement that achieved no meaningful lasting political significance of any kind, a characterization that significantly understates Solidarity's own actual, well-documented very significant lasting political significance
- **D)** A movement substantially supported and encouraged by the Soviet Union itself, a characterization that directly contradicts Solidarity's own actual, well-documented significant opposition to, rather than support from, Soviet-aligned communist authority

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last significant leader of the Soviet Union, is historically notable primarily for introducing significant reform policies known as:

- **A)** Glasnost ("openness," involving significantly increased political and social transparency and freedom of expression) and perestroika ("restructuring," involving significant economic and political reform toward a somewhat more market-oriented and decentralized system) - Gorbachev's own significant reform policies, while intended to strengthen and modernize the Soviet system, ultimately contributed to considerable political and economic instability that helped precipitate the Soviet Union's own subsequent 1991 dissolution
- **B)** Gorbachev's own significant reform policies having no meaningful, describable relationship to significant late Soviet political and economic reform, or the broader significant end of the Cold War already discussed at multiple points throughout this unit
- **C)** Policies that significantly reinforced strict, centralized Soviet political and economic control with no meaningful reform of any kind, a characterization that directly contradicts Gorbachev's own actual, well-documented significant reform, rather than reinforcement, of Soviet political and economic control
- **D)** Policies pursued substantially by the United States, rather than the Soviet Union, a characterization that inaccurately misidentifies these specific policies' own actual, well-documented specific Soviet, Gorbachev-led origin