1940s. Flashcards
Yalta Conference
Feb 1945.
Agreement on dividing Germany, UN started & free elections in Eastern Europe (didn’t happen).
Disagreement on Poland’s government before elections.
Potsdam Conference
July 1945
Bring Nazi war criminals to trial, and to hold free elections as soon as possible in Poland & recognise Polish provisional government.
Disagreements on size of reparations to give Germany.
Who was present at Yalta?
Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill
Who was present at Potsdam?
Truman, Stalin and Attlee
What happened in August 1945?
Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan which caused them to surrender. This made the USSR feel threatened.
What was the Iron Curtain?
A speech in which Churchill declared that there was an iron curtain separating the democratic nations of the West from the communist nations of the East.
What was the Truman Doctrine?
- The US would send military and economic aid to anti-communist forces as a form of containment. $350 million was given to Greece and $50 million was given to Turkey.
What was Marshall Aid?
- Aid given to Europe in recovering from war. Given no matter if fighting communism. Went to Western Europe, USSR walked out of the Paris conference and told the EE countries to go too.
What was Cominform?
- This was Stalin’s response to Marshall Aid and the Truman Doctrine. Every communist party in Europe joined. This allowed Stalin to control the Communists in Europe.
What was the ‘Baruch Plan’?
In 1947, the US was the only country in the world with an atomic bomb. A man called Baruch came up with the ‘Baruch Plan’ which meant that nobody should have atomic weaponry. The USSR refused which made them look bad.
What happened with Czechoslovakia in 1948?
The communist takeover of government. Stalin asked the communists to rebel and they were able to get rid of the non-communists in government and Benes (the liberal leader). Convinced US to vote for Marshall Aid.
What was the Berlin Blockade?
In June 1948, Britain, France and the US united their zones into a new country and they later introduced a new currency. The next day, Stalin cut off all rail and road links to West Berlin. The West saw this as an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender.
What was the Berlin Airlift?
In June 1948, the West airlifted supplies into West Berlin. The USSR were unable to shoot these planes down because they were scared of the atomic bomb.
When did the USSR call off the Blockade?
- They did this because the blockade was pointless. This was a victory for the US because it showed that they would never give up on those loyal to them.
What happened in April 1949?
NATO was formed. An alliance of the USA, UK and most of Western Europe.
