4. Who was to blame for the Cold War? Flashcards
What was the US-USSR alliance based off of?
- Strategic wartime alliance
- Defeat Hitler
- Not shared ideologies
What were the 2 clashing ideologies?
Communism vs Capitalism
Communism vs Capitalism view on industry
Communism - run by state
Capitalism - Industry, business, and property privately owned
Communism vs Capitalism view on elections
Communism - maybe they have it but it won’t make a difference - communist leader always wins and is in charge
Capitalism - Democratic elections for various different parties (democrat and republican in the USA)
USSR vs USA wealth
USSR - Economic superpower, lots of fast growing industry. Lower overall living standard but less extreme wealth and poverty
USA - World’s wealthiest country, higher overall living standard but more extreme wealth and poverty
Communism vs Capitalism view on individual rights
Communism - Individual rights < rights of the whole → tighter government control
Capitalism - Individual rights > rights of the whole → very little government control
Communism vs Capitalism view on their own ideologies
Both think that their way of life is the best and all others should live by it
Capitalist view of communism and the USSR
Violently trying to spread communism with communist theory (even though the USSR tended to take a more practical approach)
Communist view of capitalism and the USA
Selfishly trying to build its own economic and political power (with stuff like aid - the USA thought they were doing the right thing with some benefits)
What was the purpose of the Yalta conference?
To plan what would happen with post war Europe after Germany lost WW2
When and where was the Yalta conference?
February 2-11, 1945 in Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine
What message did the Yalta conference send to the world?
Despite differences in ideologies, countries could still negotiate and do business with each other
Who did the discussions at the Yalta conference?
Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (UK), Stalin (USSR)
Who had the heavier hand in the Yalta conference debates?
Stalin - He was about to take Berlin, while the other Allies were only at the Rhine river
What was agreed about Japan during the Yalta conference?
Stalin would declare war on Japan after Germany surrendered
What was agreed about Germany during the Yalta conference?
Germany would be split into 4 zones - one for the US, one for the USSR, one for France, and one for Britain
What was agreed about elections during the Yalta conference?
Free and fair elections would take place in the countries liberated from Germany
What was agreed about the UN during the Yalta conference?
It would be sort of like a successor to the LON but it would fix some of its mistakes - all of the Big 3 would join. They convinced Stalin to join by giving him veto power in the security council.
What was agreed about war criminals during the Yalta conference?
They would be found and punished for being responsible for the genocide
What was agreed about Eastern Europe during the Yalta conference?
There would be a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe (but with free and fair elections)(this kinda meant satellite states for the USSR as a buffer between themselves and Eastern Europe)
What was the main disagreement at the Yalta conference? How was it solved?
Poland
- USSR wanted Poland’s border to move west so the USSR’s border could also move west.
- UK didn’t want this - Poles had helped fight for the UK in Africa
- USA also didn’t want it
- Not much they could do since the USSR had control of the area
- Let the USSR have Poland so long as they stayed out of Greece (they did not)
Europe was now divided!
When and where was the Potsdam conference?
July 17 - August 2, 1945 in Potsdam, Berlin - it ended right before the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan
By the time of the Potsdam conference, what had changed about the USSR since the Yalta conference?
Stalin was now occupying most of Eastern Europe - after liberating a bunch of countries from Germany, he left his troops there. People were fleeing from those countries, fearing a communist takeover. The USSR also set up a communist government in Poland (Trial of 16) in the name of “defense”
By the time of the Potsdam conference, what had changed about Germany since the Yalta conference?
Hitler had committed suicide and Germany had surrendered (the USSR hadn’t declared war on Japan just yet though)
By the time of the Potsdam conference, what had changed about the UK since the Yalta conference?
Churchill lost an election to Clement Attlee - more tension between the US and USSR because he was a less strong character
By the time of the Potsdam conference, what had changed about the USA since the Yalta conference?
- Roosevelt died and Truman became president - he was way more anti-communist and suspicious of Stalin
- Atomic bomb was tested on July 16, 1945 - The USA told the USSR about it (even though they already knew because of their spies) and it shifted the power balance in favor of the USA
Stalin → Churchill attitude during Yalta conference
- Thinks he won’t accept communism
- Thinks he’s petty and will do anything to best/deceive Stalin
- Thinks he’s a joke and teased him a lot
Churchill → Stalin attitude during Yalta conference
Scared of USSR’s influence and power and wants to create a “new front” against “her onward sweep” because it “has become a danger to the free world”
Churchill → Roosevelt attitude during Yalta conference
Trusted him and respected his power - confided in him about his fears towards the USSR
Roosevelt → Churchill attitude during Yalta conference
Didn’t agree about everything but trusted him
Roosevelt → Stalin attitude during Yalta conference
Scared of the USSR’s influence and power
Stalin → Roosevelt attitude during Yalta conference
- Thinks he won’t accept communism
- Doesn’t think Roosevelt is petty (at least not as much as Churchill)
- Was more diplomatic and respectful towards Roosevelt than Churchill
What was “agreed” at the Potsdam conference?
- Same things as Yalta (incl. Poland→USSR)
- Berlin split into 4 zones (UK, France, USA, USSR)
- Council of foreign ministers to sort out war torn Europe
What was disagreed about Germany at the Potsdam conference?
Stalin wanted to cripple Germany and get them to pay a ton of reparations for the 20 million Russians that had died in the war so they couldn’t attack in the future.
Truman didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the ToV.
What was disagreed about Eastern Europe during the Potsdam conference?
Stalin got his pro soviet governments in Eastern Europe, saying, “If the Slav people are united, no one will dare move a finger against them.”
Truman wasn’t happy with this and got a “get tough” attitude towards Stalin.
Were the Potsdam disagreements solved?
Not really - Eastern Europe became part of the USSR’s sphere of influence, and there was all that Marshall stuff, and Germany did demilitarize and get split, but there weren’t any treaties or stuff like that
When did the cold war start?
Debatable
- 1917 - Russia became communist
- February 1945 - Yalta conference divides Europe
- July - August 1945 - Potsdam conference shows a clear Truman vs Stalin attitude
- 1946 - Iron Curtain speech, symbolising cold war, leading to alliances, and blaming Stalin and Communism for it
- 1945-1950 - Free and fair elections don’t happen
- 1947 - Greek civil war, shows very clear communism vs capitalism
Who coined the term “Iron curtain” and when?
Churchill, March 1946
How did Stalin gain control of Eastern Europe from 1945-1950? Main takeaway(s)
Salami tactics - slicing away at opposition/oppressors bit by bit (as described by Rakosi, a Hungarian politician)
- Cominform→Control
- Rigged elections (CZ, Hungary)
- Threats (CZ)
- Exiling opposition (Poland)
- Government moles (YGS)
How did the secret police affect Stalin’s takeover of Eastern Europe?
Doing “boots on the ground” work, like imprisoning all who oppose communist rule
How did Stalin gain control of East Germany?
- Allies gave USSR control of Eastern Germany
- Run by USSR (effectively red army control)
- German Democratic Republic set up (communist government) in 1949
- Satellite state from then on out
How did Stalin gain control of Poland?
- Provisional Government formed
- Communists formed coalition government
- Non communist leader exiled in 1947
- Maintained control from then on
How did Stalin gain control of CZ?
1945 - USSR leaves, Benes comes back, left wing coalition wins elections
1946 - Benes makes coalition with left wing parties, communists are largest party (in the coalition though). USA stops loans because CZ doesn’t support rearming Germany → bad economy → communism.
1948 - Position threatened → Purges and coup and other parties banned and rigged elections → communist control until 1989
How did Stalin gain control of Hungary?
- Nov 1945 - actually free election - smallholders win
- It’s allowed but Ministry of the Interior role (police control) is given to Communists
- Smallholders were pressured to expel their outspoken “fascist” members
- Then they were forced to join a ‘single workers’ party’ with the communists to up their votes
- Then in May 1949 the election was rigged and communists won - took control, killed ppl, got rid of civil service and the army and the judicial system imprisoned opposition politicians and attacked church leaders
How did Stalin gain control of Romania?
1945 - Communist elected PM within left wing coalition
1947 - abolished monarchy
How did Stalin gain control of Bulgaria?
Left wing coalition wings in 1945 - Communist members execute leaders of other parties
How did Stalin gain control of Yugoslavia?
He didn’t - Stalin tried to get Tito to obey but he didn’t since he wanted to do communism his own way. Tito got kicked out of cominform in 1948 and wasn’t a satellite state but was isolated (kinda)
How did Stalin gain control of Albania?
- Communists gained power right after the war
- Little opposition - during the war communist and national resistance movements opposed Italy and Germany
- Strong communist movement backed by USSR and YGS
When and what was the Long Telegram?
1946 - George Kennan (US Ambassador of Moscow) writes to Truman stating
- Russia and communism couldn’t be trusted - they wanted to destroy democracy
- Poverty and ignorance → communism
- USA should provide aid to Europe so the countries didn’t fall to communism (→Marshall aid)
What was Cominform? When was it made?
Communist information bureau to co-ordinate the work of communist parties of Eastern Europe. Made in October 1947 and gave Stalin a lot more control of Eastern Europe. Successor to Comintern.
What was the Iron Curtain?
Border between soviet controlled countries and western countries
Who was fighting in the Greek Civil war, and who had whose support?
Monarchists/Greek governmental army (backed by US and UK)
vs Communists/Democratic Army of Greece (backed by YGS, Bulgaria, and Albania)
Both hated the Nazis
When was the Greek Civil War?
Causes happened 1944-1945, Started 1946 and ended 1949
How did the British intervene in the Greek Civil War?
Churchill sent British troops in 1945 to “help restore order and supervise free elections” - they supported the monarchists and the king was returned to power
How did the USSR intervene in the Greek Civil War?
Complained to UN that the British troops were a threat to peace in Greece → UN did nothing → communists tried to take control of Greece by force → Civil war broke out
How did the USA intervene in the Greek Civil War?
- British too poor for war in Greece - they announce withdrawal on Feb 24 1947
- Truman steps in to pay for some British troops to stay
- Monarchists win and king is back
What were the results/outcomes/consequences of the Greek civil war?
- Monarchists win (with a very weak government being propped up)
- 50,000+ fighters die, 500,000 temporarily displaced from homes
- Greece divided and unstable
- US is influencing the world and Eastern Europe, just what they had chastised Russia for doing! Oh, the hypocrisy! This was the US’s first time being a “world policeman” and combating communism
What was the Truman Doctrine?
US’s new attitude to world politics - isolationism → internationalism. US would send money to any country threatened by communist takeover to support freedom
What was containment?
USA trying to stop communism from spreading any further (Truman accepted that Eastern Europe was now communist - he wasn’t trying to convert them)
How badly did WW2 wreck Europe’s economy?
11.5 billion $ owed to the USA
Extreme shortages of everything
Rationing bread
Coal shortage made Britain turn off electricity for a period each day in 1947 winter
Refugees
Damage to infrastructure and homes
Homelessness
What was the Marshall plan?
- Truman believed poverty → communism
- He sent Marshall to assess the economy and it was super ruined, so Marshall suggested giving 17 billion dollars to rebuild Europe’s prosperity (and so communism wouldn’t spread)
- Truman pitched the plan to Congress in December 1947 - they said no
What happened in CZ in 1948, and how did that help lead to Marshall aid?
Communist government took over
- Anti soviet leaders purged
- Jan Masaryk “jumped out of his window”
- Marshall plan immediately accepted because it showed how far the USSR was willing to go for communism, and the USA needed to match it
What was Marshall Aid?
The money that got sent out thanks to the Marshall plan
- Only went to Western Europe - Eastern Europe (with Stalin’s influence) refused it.
- Super generous, but also motivated by self interest - trade and US approved governments got aid (though clearly others were offered it…)
- Stalin saw this as Truman’s way of weakening Stalin’s hold on Eastern Europe and dominating the rest by making them dependent on his money.
- Western Europe - fast recovery
- Eastern Europe - slow recovery
What are some examples of increased distrust between Stalin and Truman? (1948)
Both sides increased weapon stocks, propaganda war developed, took every opportunity to denounce the others’ policies and plans
Both wanted to show their people how tough they were
In 1945, how much access did the Allies have to West Berlin?
June 1945 - 1 road 1 rail
November 1945 - 3 air
What did Truman want with Berlin/Germany?
Strong Germany as an ally and so the Germans wouldn’t all starve
What did Stalin want with Berlin/Germany?
Reparations and weakness.
What was the Morgenthau plan?
US’s original plan for Germany - remove all industry so it could be an agricultural country so it couldn’t ever wage modern war again. This didn’t happen.
When were the German zones combined to make West Germany?
1946, but it was called West Germany in 1949
When was west Berlin formed?
1949
What led to the Berlin Blockade?
- New currency - Deutschmark - introduced to Western Germany and Berlin - Stalin felt ganged up on
- Political tensions
- Divided Germany
- Stalin felt like he needed to take a stand
When was the Berlin Blockade?
June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949
What did Stalin want the outcome of the Berlin Blockade to be?
West Berlin people begin to starve - US and UK back down on new currency or surrender Berlin to Stalin - they couldn’t ram the roadblocks or railway blocks because it would be seen as an act of war and Stalin would be the victim in the world’s eyes. Win-win-win.
How did Stalin block off Berlin?
Blocked roads and railways (but left plenty of space for planes to land…)
What was the outcome of the Berlin Blockade?
The Berlin Airlift
- Supplies flown into West Berlin
- Nothing shot down bc act of war
- Lots of operations, including Vittles, Plane Fare, Little Vittles, Santa Claus, and more
- Total of 275,000+ flights, 1.5 mil tons of food, 65 plane deaths, 2.3 mil tons of food and supplies incl clothes, building stuff, oil, etc
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?
- Powerful symbol of Cold War
- Place that US and USSR met up face to face every day
- Showed cold war thinking patterns
What is/was Nato?
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Made April 1949
USA treaty thing with Canada, France, UK, Norway, Italy, Portugal, and more countries
Article 3 of Nato
To achieve the aims of this treaty, the Parties will keep up their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack. (you have to be able to join the fight if you need to - don’t disarm, don’t hold back)
Article 5 of NATO
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all (war with one of us is war with all of us)
What was the Warsaw Pact?
The USSR and main communist states in eastern Europe formed an alliance called the Warsaw pact in 1955 - they would defend each other if any one of them was attacked (communist NATO)
