1.2 Recovery from War after 1945

Question 1

When did German invasion of USSR begin?

Answer 1

22 June 1941

Question 2

the economy during WW2 (6)

Answer 2

• CENTRALIZATION OF ECONOMY was very effective at mobilizing resources for war
• COMITEES were set up to co-ordinate production of war materials
• FACTORIES CONVERTED to the production of war materials
• INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION ROSE impressively despite the initial collase of industrial output right after invasion
• production of CONSUMER GOODS almost non existent
• production fell significantly in NAZI OCCUPIED AREAS

Question 3

what was impact of WW2 on Agriculture? (4)

Answer 3

• the impact of the war on food production was bad
• most men from collectives were in army and animals were requisitioned by red army
• so government lifted the restrictions on cultivation of private plots, as an incentive for peasants to keep up production
• link system was introduced

Question 4

fourth five year plan (timespan)

Answer 4

1946-50

Question 5

how did the Soviet Union plan to reconstruct the economy after war? (6)

Answer 5

• the priority of government was to reconstruct economy as QUICKLY was possible
• many factories had to be converted back to civillian production
• in order to achieve these aims, STATE CONTROL was reinforced
• large amounts of machinery were taken from East Germany as reparations
• trade agreements were signed with new soviet-dominated governments of Eastern Europe, very much in favour of USSR
• in general though, economic reconstruction was to be done mainly by soviet people and soviet resources

Question 6

Fourth Five-Year Plan (8)

Answer 6

• aimed to restore economy to PRE-WAR levels
• the results were impressive, especially in such a short time, this was mainly due to STRONG CENTRAL PLANNING
• industrial production recovered quickly, mostly thanks to the 2 million gulag slave labourers
• RETRAINING PROGRAMMES ensured workers had the basic skills for jobs
• penalities for slackers were harsh
• focus on HEAVY INDUSTRY
• metal industry and heavy engineering were especially sucessful
• the plan was OVERFULLFILLED, but consumer goods were still neglected

Question 7

when was fifth five-year plan? (timespan)

Answer 7

1951-55

Question 8

fifth five-year plan (4)

Answer 8

• set out to achieve CONTINUED GROWTH, but slower and more realistic
• COLD WAR resulted in increased arms expenditure
• growth in other industries was less impressive
• a lot of resources were used to build big impressive projects that had limited economic value (Volga Don Canal and government buildings in Moscow)

Question 9

‘Link-System’ (4)

Answer 9

• during war
• small groups of peasants were given responsibility for areas within the collective farm
• as long as targets for food delivery to state were met, peasants could sell the remainder for profit
• link system was abolished after war

Question 10

Agriculture after the war (6)

Answer 10

• taxes were raised on private plots to try and reduce their importance
• supervision of agricultural resources was in the hands of party through the Machine and Tractor Stations
• agricultural production remained low and labour problems continued
• was shortage of males in countryside because many men went to cities for work
• Krushchev (appointed Party Secretary for Moscow Province by Stalin), had the idea of creating larger collectives, which would be easier to control and use large-scale machinery
• by 1952, over 100 000 large scale collectives had been created