History · GCSE · The 20th-Century World
The Cuban Missile Crisis
gcse-hist-1bc-3-2Free2:43Heddy Score 3 of 7, below the standardPlays from youtube-nocookie.com. No YouTube cookies until you press play.
What you need to know
- Castro took power in Cuba in 1959 and grew close to the USSR.
- The Bay of Pigs landing in 1961 was a failed American-backed invasion.
- In 1962 American spy planes found Soviet missile sites on Cuba.
- After thirteen tense days the missiles were removed and a hotline was set up.
In this clip
0:09–2:52The Cuban Missile Crisisgcse-hist-1bc-3-22:52–4:14The arms race, NATO and the Warsaw Pactgcse-hist-1bc-2-2a4:14–6:12Communism in Asia: China, Korea and Vietnamgcse-hist-1bc-2-17:24–8:46Détente and SALT 1gcse-hist-1bc-3-4Heddy ScoreSeven checks every clip must pass before students see it: trusted, on the map, accurate, focused, accessible, safe, and proven by students.3/7, Below the standard
- Trusted source · passed. The creator's own upload, live and playable here.
- On the map · not judged yet. A teacher watched it: it mainly teaches this map topic.
- Spec-true · not judged yet. Accurate, and right for the current UK specification.
- Focused · passed. One idea, short enough to watch in one go.
- Accessible · passed. Good captions, clear sound and pictures.
- Safe for children · not judged yet. Right for 11 to 16 year olds, with no sales pitch.
- Proven · not judged yet. Earned from our students: they learn from it, find it helpful and watch it to the end.
Our students
How the Heddy Score worksNot enough students yet
Our own students' answers. These are what move ★7 Proven.Why we picked it
Second part of the animated Cold War narrative, from Cuba to the collapse of the USSR; much after 1973 is beyond the GCSE period.
OverSimplified on YouTubechecked 2026-10-16