INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
GRADE 12 HISTORY PAPER 1 — TRENDS TO FOCUS ON
The four areas are:
Question Topic What we are analysing
Q1 Origins of the Cold War Source-based trends
Q3 US Civil Rights Movement Source-based trends
Q4 Vietnam Essay trends
🔥🔥🔥 Q1 — ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
This is one of the most predictable areas because the topic stays the same but SACAI changes the
angle.
2022
The focus was heavily on:
Cold War in Europe → NATO and Warsaw Pact
GRADE 12 HISTORY PAPER 1 — COLD WAR STUDY NOTES
1. OPPOSING CAPITALIST AND COMMUNIST SPHERES
After the Second World War, Europe became divided into two opposing ideological blocs or spheres
of influence.
🇺🇸 WESTERN BLOC — CAPITALISM
Led mainly by the USA.
Capitalism:
• Private individuals can own businesses and property.
• Businesses operate to make profit.
• Generally associated with democracy and multiparty elections.
• The USA wanted to prevent communism from spreading further into Europe.
🇺🇸🇷🇺 EASTERN BLOC — COMMUNISM
Led by the USSR/Soviet Union.
Communism:
• The state controls most major industries and economic activity.
• Private ownership is limited.
• The USSR established pro-Soviet communist governments in Eastern Europe.
1
,INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
• These countries increasingly came under Soviet political and military influence.
EASY COMPARISON
CAPITALIST WEST COMMUNIST EAST
Led by USA Led by USSR
Capitalism Communism
Western Europe Eastern Europe
NATO Warsaw Pact
USA influence Soviet influence
This division into competing spheres of influence became one of the central features of the Cold
War.
2. SOVIET SATELLITE STATES
Definition
A Soviet satellite state was:
A country that was officially independent but was under strong political, economic and military
influence or control of the Soviet Union.
This definition is particularly important because SACAI has directly tested the concept. The 2022
memorandum describes satellite states as formally independent countries under heavy political,
economic and military influence or control from another country.
Examples
Important Soviet-aligned states included:
• Poland
• Hungary
• Bulgaria
• Romania
• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
The USSR wanted friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe partly because it wanted a
buffer zone between itself and Western Europe.
MEMORY
SATELLITE = officially independent, but strongly controlled/influenced by USSR.
2
,INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
3. CONTAINMENT
Definition
Containment was the American policy of attempting to prevent the further spread of communism.
It did not initially mean destroying communism everywhere it already existed.
The main objective was:
STOP COMMUNISM FROM SPREADING TO NEW COUNTRIES.
George Kennan
American diplomat George Kennan helped formulate the policy.
How did the USA practise containment?
Important examples include:
Truman Doctrine
USA provided assistance to countries threatened by communism.
Marshall Plan
USA offered economic assistance to rebuild European economies.
A stronger Western European economy would make communism less attractive.
NATO
The USA and Western countries formed a military alliance against possible Soviet aggression.
EXAM ANSWER
Containment:
A US foreign policy aimed at preventing the further spread of communism and Soviet influence.
4. MILITARY ALLIANCES
As tensions increased, both blocs created military alliances.
This strengthened the division of Europe.
Why?
Each side feared attack or expansion by the other.
Therefore:
WEST → NATO
EAST → WARSAW PACT
This meant that the Cold War was no longer simply an ideological disagreement.
3
, INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
Europe became divided into two armed military blocs.
5. NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NATO was established in 1949.
It was a Western military alliance dominated by the USA.
Purpose
NATO operated on the principle of collective defence.
In simple terms:
An attack against one member could be regarded as an attack against the alliance.
Its broader Cold War purpose was to protect Western countries and resist Soviet/communist
expansion.
The 2022 SACAI memorandum specifically identifies NATO as a system of collective defence and
connects its creation to concerns about Soviet expansion in Europe.
Important members
Know examples such as:
• USA
• Britain
• France
• Canada
• other Western European countries
West Germany later joined NATO.
Lord Ismay
The 2022 SACAI memorandum uses NATO's first Secretary-General Lord Ismay's famous summary of
its purpose:
“keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”
What does this mean?
Keep Russians out
→ Prevent Soviet/communist expansion.
Americans in
→ Maintain US involvement in European security.
Germans down
→ Prevent Germany from again becoming an aggressive military threat.
4
GRADE 12 HISTORY PAPER 1 — TRENDS TO FOCUS ON
The four areas are:
Question Topic What we are analysing
Q1 Origins of the Cold War Source-based trends
Q3 US Civil Rights Movement Source-based trends
Q4 Vietnam Essay trends
🔥🔥🔥 Q1 — ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
This is one of the most predictable areas because the topic stays the same but SACAI changes the
angle.
2022
The focus was heavily on:
Cold War in Europe → NATO and Warsaw Pact
GRADE 12 HISTORY PAPER 1 — COLD WAR STUDY NOTES
1. OPPOSING CAPITALIST AND COMMUNIST SPHERES
After the Second World War, Europe became divided into two opposing ideological blocs or spheres
of influence.
🇺🇸 WESTERN BLOC — CAPITALISM
Led mainly by the USA.
Capitalism:
• Private individuals can own businesses and property.
• Businesses operate to make profit.
• Generally associated with democracy and multiparty elections.
• The USA wanted to prevent communism from spreading further into Europe.
🇺🇸🇷🇺 EASTERN BLOC — COMMUNISM
Led by the USSR/Soviet Union.
Communism:
• The state controls most major industries and economic activity.
• Private ownership is limited.
• The USSR established pro-Soviet communist governments in Eastern Europe.
1
,INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
• These countries increasingly came under Soviet political and military influence.
EASY COMPARISON
CAPITALIST WEST COMMUNIST EAST
Led by USA Led by USSR
Capitalism Communism
Western Europe Eastern Europe
NATO Warsaw Pact
USA influence Soviet influence
This division into competing spheres of influence became one of the central features of the Cold
War.
2. SOVIET SATELLITE STATES
Definition
A Soviet satellite state was:
A country that was officially independent but was under strong political, economic and military
influence or control of the Soviet Union.
This definition is particularly important because SACAI has directly tested the concept. The 2022
memorandum describes satellite states as formally independent countries under heavy political,
economic and military influence or control from another country.
Examples
Important Soviet-aligned states included:
• Poland
• Hungary
• Bulgaria
• Romania
• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
The USSR wanted friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe partly because it wanted a
buffer zone between itself and Western Europe.
MEMORY
SATELLITE = officially independent, but strongly controlled/influenced by USSR.
2
,INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
3. CONTAINMENT
Definition
Containment was the American policy of attempting to prevent the further spread of communism.
It did not initially mean destroying communism everywhere it already existed.
The main objective was:
STOP COMMUNISM FROM SPREADING TO NEW COUNTRIES.
George Kennan
American diplomat George Kennan helped formulate the policy.
How did the USA practise containment?
Important examples include:
Truman Doctrine
USA provided assistance to countries threatened by communism.
Marshall Plan
USA offered economic assistance to rebuild European economies.
A stronger Western European economy would make communism less attractive.
NATO
The USA and Western countries formed a military alliance against possible Soviet aggression.
EXAM ANSWER
Containment:
A US foreign policy aimed at preventing the further spread of communism and Soviet influence.
4. MILITARY ALLIANCES
As tensions increased, both blocs created military alliances.
This strengthened the division of Europe.
Why?
Each side feared attack or expansion by the other.
Therefore:
WEST → NATO
EAST → WARSAW PACT
This meant that the Cold War was no longer simply an ideological disagreement.
3
, INDEPTH NOTES PRELIMS FINALS – (THE COLD WAR/ SOUTH AFRICA NOTES) PAPER 1
Europe became divided into two armed military blocs.
5. NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NATO was established in 1949.
It was a Western military alliance dominated by the USA.
Purpose
NATO operated on the principle of collective defence.
In simple terms:
An attack against one member could be regarded as an attack against the alliance.
Its broader Cold War purpose was to protect Western countries and resist Soviet/communist
expansion.
The 2022 SACAI memorandum specifically identifies NATO as a system of collective defence and
connects its creation to concerns about Soviet expansion in Europe.
Important members
Know examples such as:
• USA
• Britain
• France
• Canada
• other Western European countries
West Germany later joined NATO.
Lord Ismay
The 2022 SACAI memorandum uses NATO's first Secretary-General Lord Ismay's famous summary of
its purpose:
“keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”
What does this mean?
Keep Russians out
→ Prevent Soviet/communist expansion.
Americans in
→ Maintain US involvement in European security.
Germans down
→ Prevent Germany from again becoming an aggressive military threat.
4
