1940’s Flashcards
When was Potsdam conference?
17th July 1945
When did the Americans drop the first atom bomb?
6th august 1945
Hiroshima
Briefly explain the events of the arms race
6th august 1945 - first atom bomb dropped by Americans on Hiroshima
1949 - Russia developed its own atom bomb, USA shocked at how fast they achieved this
1952 - USA develop more powerful hydrogen bomb
1953 - Russia develops hydrogen bomb
1955 - USA develops more powerful H-bomb
Few months later - Russia has its own H-bomb
How did the USA react to soviet expansion? (with dates)
Soviet expansion (1945-48)
Marshall plan - 1947
Truman doctrine - March 1947
Explain the Truman doctrine
March 1947
Truman implemented a ‘containment’ policy to prevent communism from spreading further
USA prepared to send resources, money and advice to countries threatened by communist takeover
Explain the Marshall plan
1947 Truman sends george Marshall to assess economic state of Europe: he found a ruined economy and estimated 17billion dollars of aid required to rebuild Europe
1948 Money finally granted when USSR invaded Czechoslovakia
What was Stalin’s reaction to the Marshall plan and Truman doctrine?
Prevented communist countries from applying to Marshall aid and created Comecon: His own version of Marshall aid in 1949
Comniform set up to create trade networks between communist countries to tighten grip/control on Europe
Explain the Berlin blockade and airlift
1947 - USA and Britain combined their zones in germany originally decided at Yalta, France joined to form west germany
Allies helped their zones rebuild its economy using Marshall aid money
24th June 1948 - Stalin cut off land access to Berlin from the allies (blockade) to establish soviet power in east germany
Allies airlifted supplies into West Berlin for 11 months until may 1949
What order did events occur in the 1940s?
Yalta –> Potsdam —> atom bomb dropped —> arms race —> Soviet expansion —> Marshall aid/Truman doctrine —> Berlin blockade and airlift
What happened at Yalta?
February 1945: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
- Divided Germany into 4 zones
Which countries were taken over by communism during the soviet expansion - when?
All Evil Reds Build Power-Hungry Communists
1945:
Albania
East Germany
Romania
1946:
Bulgaria
1947:
Poland
1948:
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Why did Stalin initiate soviet expansion?
Stalin feared that Eastern Europe could be the doorway for an attack on the Soviet Union by the West, so he constructed this ‘buffer zone’.
