1.1 Early Tension Between The East And West Flashcards
What was the grand alliance?
Big three allies from world war 2 . Britain , Usa and USSR were united to defeat nazi germany but tensions emerged after ww2
Why was there an initial distrust by the USSR of the US?
- Stalin did not trust the west as they fought against the communists in the civil war in 1918
- Stalin believed the british and Americans wanted russia to destroy itself fighting germany
Why was there an initial distrust by the US of the USSR?
- Usa and britain fought nazis for 6 years and didnt want another dictator
- fear Stalin would treat eastern europeans badly
Government in capitalism?
- democracy
- free elections
- many political parties
Human rights in capitalism?
Few limits on basic human freedoms: religion , speech , travel etc.
Economy in capitalism?
Free market
-most farms , businesses , shops , etc privately owned
Living standards in capitalism?
Average living standards were a lot higher but a wide gap between rich and poor
Culture in capitalism?
Media and entertainment owned by private companies. Censorship rare, other than for public morality
Government in communism ?
One party rule. No choice at elections
Human rights in communism ?
Strict limits on many humans rights. Persecution/ imprisonment for dissidents
Economy in communism ?
Socialist economy : state controls everything. Profits for public use
Living standards in communism?
Lower average living standards. More even distribution. Party members had privileges . ‘Atomgrad’ workers paid highly
Culture in communism ?
State controlled media and sport. Entertainment heavily censorship for political conformity
When did the big 3 meet?
1943 at the Tehran conference
When was the Tehran conference?
1943
What were the objectives of the Tehran conference?
-to discuss the groups plans to invade nazi occupied france. Stalin , was keen to see this happens , as the red army was the only army fighting the nazis on land
Outcomes of the Tehran conference?
- USA and Britain would invade france by may 1944
- ussr would join the USA and Britain in the war against japan , once nazi germany was defeated
- agreed the USSR would claim a sphere of influence in eastern europe when the war was over
Who were the leaders at the Tehran conference?
- stalin
- FDR
- churchill
What was a soviet sphere of influence?
Eastern european countries would be subject to soviet policies and ideas
What did the USSR stand for?
Union of soviet socialist republics
What were the objectives of the Yalta conference?
Allied victory looked likely , the Yalta conference was to decide what to do with germany once it had been defeated. In many ways the Yalta conference set the scene for the rest of the cold war in europe.
When was the Yalta conference?
February 1945
Leaders at the yalta conference?
Winston churchill
FDR
Joseph Stalin
Outcomes of the Yalta conference?
- germany would be divided into four zones for britain , ussr, france and the us. Also berlin would be divided into four zones.
- all countries freed from nazi control would hold free democratic elections
- Stalin offered sphere of influence and agreed to ‘free elections’
- Stalin again agreed to joining war against japan
- commitment to put nazi war criminals on trial
- united nations was set up in replacement of the nations league
Why was france at the yalta conference?
Pressure from french leader , general de gaulle ,and also britain wanted a european ally to rebuild germany
When did democratic elections become offical?
Declaration on liberated europe
Why was the UN set up?
Dedicated to international cooperation and prevention of war
What did Stalin believe free elections meant?
Only communist parties were allowed to run.
When was the Potsdam conference ?
July and august of 1945
Leaders at the potsdam conference?
Clement atlee
Joseph stalin
Harry s truman
What were the objectives of the potsdam conference?
Finalise the post war settlement and put into action all things agreed at yalta
When did the germans surrender?
May 1945
How Harry s truman effected the potsdam conference?
FDR had died, he had been willing to work with stalin because he wanted stalin to join the war in japan. Truman hated communism and stalin and was a hawk on foreign policy
How the nuclear threat effected the potsdam conference?
Just before the conference the usa had successfully tested an atomic bomb in a test site in new mexico desert. Stalin knew this already due to his spy networks , but truman informed him at the conference. Stalin was angry because truman kept a secret from a supposed ally
How the expansion of communism effected the potsdam conference?
After agreeing free elections in eastern europe stalin had not kept his promise and it looked unlikely he would allow the. The red army was in control of poland and was in the process of setting up a communist government
Who was Harry S Truman?
- 33rd president
- was vice president but when FDR died he succeeded him.
- successful officer in ww1
- a baptist and was guided by his religion
- he was partly responsible for the beginning of the cold war
Outcome of the potsdam conference?
Little progress was made beyond a agreement to put into action yalta commitments
- new boundaries of Poland were agreed
- big three plus france would get a share of Germany
- nazi leaders would be tried
Why was there conflict over reparations at the potsdam conference?
Ussr lost the most men and believed they should get the majority of germany . Us saved europe so they thought they should get the majority of germany . Britain and france believed they could rebuild germany , whereas USSR wanted extreme reparations.
What was the manhattan project?
Secret project to build the atomic bomb , begun in 1939 after warnings from albert einstein or germany building one.
Two spy’s who informed stalin of the atomic bomb?
Klaus fuchs
Rudolf peierls
When were the atomic bombs dropped ?
6 august 1945 and the 9th
What Japanese cities were bombed ?
Hiroshima and nagasaki
How many people were killed when hiroshima was bombed?
140,000
How many people were killed when nagasaki was bombed?
74000
Who did japan fight with in the second world war?
Nazis and continued to fight after they surrendered in 1945
What were the results of the bombing of hiroshima in terms of infrastructure?
60% of buildings destroyed
5 square miles blast diameter
Why were the bombs dropped on nagasaki and hiroshima?
- Force the Japanese to surrender , which they did a couple days later
- show strength to soviets and truman didn’t want to remain allies to fight japan
Why the atomic bomb drop on japan was significant?
Common theme through the cold war. started an Arms race.
How did the soviet become influential in eastern europe?
Red army occupied eastern europe after the second world war. Making a sphere of influence. Stalin installed puppet governments in poland, hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia
How did stalin impose his authority to create satellite states?
- kidnapped political opponenetd
- yalta declaration
- gradually taking influence
- replacing everybody with communists
- banning other parties
- murdering opposition
- secret police and soldiers
- elections were rigged
- rationalising industry so the countries depend economically on the soviet union
What did churchill say in his iron curtain speech(?
- stalin is creating a divided in the world between the east and the west.
- stalin is a threat to europe
- ussr are determined to destroy usa way of life
Why the iron curtain speech by churchill was significant?
Demonstrates the breakdown of the grand alliance
What is long telegram ?
February 1946
- issue to president Truman about the ussr.
- it said that stalin had given a speech in favour of the destruction of capitalism
- it warned of he ussr trying to weaken and divide western powers , while building the strength of its own military.
What and when was the novikov telegram?
- issued to stakin about the us
- report claimed the us was pursuing world domination
- warned us was trying to limit influence of the ussr in europe
What was the effect of the telegrams?
Panicked the russians and american givernments and accelerated the cold war
