30.1 Flashcards
What countries was WW2 a devastation to?
Japan and Europe
What countries were the great powers after WW2? (also known as superpowers)
US and SU
What does superpowers mean?
Nations stronger than other powerful nations
What did the CW cast over the world?
A 40 year shadow
What alliances did the SU and the US have at the beginning of the CW?
European military alliances
What organization did the US lead and what did it stand for?
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
What did the SU lead and where?
Warsaw Pact in Eastern Europe
Where did the SU and US first face each other?
The Iron Curtain
What was the Iron Curtain?
Border between democratic west and communist south
What was Berlin during the beginning of the CW
The key focus
How was Berlin split?
- Comm. east
- Dem. west
What did Berlin showcase in the 1950s?
West german prosperity
What did the east germans unhappy w/ comm do?
Move to west germany
What did east germ do to stop their fleeing citizens?
They built the Berlin wall in 1961
When was the Berlin airlift?
1948
Where were there revolts against soviet domination?
- East Germany
- Poland
- Hungary
- Czech
When was the earliest revolt in East Germany and what happened during the revolt?
- 1953
- 50,000 workers confronted the Soviet Army in the streets of the German Capital
What did the Eastern Europeans do in Poland and Hungary?
They challenged Soviet authority in the same of economic reforms in Poland and Hungary
Why were the soviets authority being challenged in P and H?
As a response to the mass arrest of non communist leaders and the government siege of independent land
Who was Imre Nagy and what did he do?
- Hungarian leader
- Ended the one party rule seeking to pull the country out of the Warsaw Pact
Who was Alexander Dubcek and what did he do?
- 1968 Czech leader
- Introduced greater freedom of expression
- Limited democracy
What ended the new freedom in Czech and why?
- Soviet invasion
- Because they were scared of a democratic overthrow
What did the SU develop in 1949?
Nuclear weapons
What did both the US and the SU have in 1953?
Hydrogen bombs
What were hydrogen bombs more destructive then?
Atomic bombs
What was the balance of terror?
US and SU races to be the better nuclear weapon nation
Why was the balance of terror such a big deal?
Because it was to ensure if one side attacked that the other side could destroy the original attacking side
What did both sides talk of during the balance of terror?
Disarmament (talks were filled with distrust)
What did the US and the SU begin talking about in 1969?
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
What was SALT used for?
To limit the amount of nuclear weapons on each side
What happened with SALT in 1972 and 1979.
Salt agreements signed
What did one agreement do involving missiles?
Limited anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs)
What were ABMs?
Missiles that could shoot down other missiles
What was the fear with ABMs?
That the use of ABMs would cause the other side to attack
What did Reagan do in 1980s?
Launched a program to build a Star Wars missile defense against a nuclear attack
What did people fear with the Star Wars missile?
That it could violate the ABMs treaty
What did both the US and the SU sign in 1991?
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
What did the arms control agreements lead to?
An era of détente (1970s)
What does détente mean?
Relaxation of tensions
What was the US strategy during the era of détente?
Restrain the SU through diplomatic agreements rather than military means
When and how did the era of détente end?
- 1979
- SU invaded Afghanistan
What countries had created nuclear weapons by the 1960s?
- Britain
- France
- China
- SU
- US