After The Great Patriotic War Flashcards
What did the end of WW2 lead to for USSR
Increased military prestige
Which countries become part of USSR
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (soviet republics)
How was Germany divided
Into 4- British, American, Soviet and French
How was Berlin spilt
Berlin was part of soviet zone but was split into 4 - caused tension between east and west
Who were in the grand alliance
Soviet, US and Britain
When was the grand alliance
1941-45
When was Tehran
November 1943
When did Churchill mad Stalin meet in Moscow
October 1944
When was Yalta conference
Feb 1945
When was Potsdam conference
July 1945
What was agreed at the Yalta conference
Germany and Berlin divided into 4
Germany will pay reparations
Who was at the Yalta conference
Stalin Roosevelt Churchill
What did Stalin seize from Germany (Yalta conference)
60% of German plant and resources in soviet occupied areas
How did they disagree over Poland (Yalta)
It was occupied by Soviet-promised to hold free elections but uk and us didn’t trust Stalin
Around what time was the Tehran conference
They were close to victory in the war
What was agreed at Tehran
Mount an attack of the Nazis from the east
What were there no agreements on at Tehran
Territory
Who was Potsdam between
Stalin Truman and Attlee
What was war like at the time of the Potsdam conference
War ended but fighting remained in the Far East
What was agreed regarding Germany at the Potsdam conference
Germany demilitarised
Nazi party banned
What would the Soviet Union gain from the Potsdam conference
10-15% of industrial plan and machinery from western Germany
Gain areas of east Poland
What were relations between big 3 at Potsdam
Increased tensions
What was the secret pact between Stalin and Roosevelt
If they supported US against Japan they could have land in Chinese territory
What was the USSR in relation to the United Nations
One of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council
When was the United Nations formed
1945
How did the USSR extend its territory to neighbouring national states
Using its military presence and political influence, they encouraged countries to created governments ‘friendly’ to the Soviet Union
What was a satellite state
Pro soviet governments aka puppet states
When did most countries close to ussr become satellite states
1948
What did these satellite states create
A buffer zone to protect ussr from future invasion
What were previously exiled (in1930s) communist party groups doing
Training in Moscow ready to infiltrate post war governments after liberations
What occurred as soon as red army entered Poland
A provisional government was set up
What was important about the provisional government set up in Lublin
It was mostly pro-Moscow communists
Who led communist partisans in Yugoslavia
Joseph Tito
What did communist partisans gain control of
The post war government
Where did communist regimes control
Bulgaria and Romania
What did the eastern part of Germany become
Soviet zone of occupation
When did Moscow trained communists gain political control of east Germany
1946
What did communists have to do in countries where democratic national governments were elected
Salami tactics- gaining power from within
Join with non communists (especially socialists) to slowly build up
What did salami tactics enable
Pro- soviet governments gain power in Hungary in 1947 and Czechoslovakia in 1948
What ideological differences did the big three have
Stalin was critical of west for not opening a second front in European war in order to relieve pressure on the red army
What did they conflict about at Yalta
Post war borders of Germany and Poland
Why did allies agree to demand German surrender at Tehran
To prevent them from making desperate peace with hitler
What created tension at Potsdam
No peace agreement made- USSR was asserting politics control over countries it has liberated
What did the west dislike about USSR
Soviet expansionism
Right to have a buffer zone
When did breakdown of relations to iccur
1946-49
What was the long telegram
A telegram sent to Washington from Moscow by American diplomatic George Kennan
When was the long telegram
Feb 1946
Who’s as George Kennan
Expert on soviet affairs who was sent to Moscow after the war
What does Kennan refer to in the telegram
Soviet Union aims as “more dangerous and insidious than ever before”
When was the iron curtain speech
March 1946
Who did the iron curtain soeech
Churchill (ex-prime minister)
What did the iron curtain speech entail
Describes how the iron curtain has descended on Europe
He spoke out of ‘communist fifth column’ in western and Southern Europe and advised strength in dealing with ussr
When was Western Europe in crisis
By early 1947
Why was Western European in crisis
Fears of economic collapse and political instability
Which countries were in the most crisis (1947)
Italy and France and Greece
Why did Italy and France struggle
Communist parties were very strong
What was happening in Greece
Civil war
When was the Truman doctrine
March 1947
What was the Truman doctrines
Asserted new policy of containment of communism
When was the Marshall plan
July 1947
What’s as the Marshall plan
An interjection of aid to rebuild Europe
What do many historians believe about the Marshall plan
It was used as a political weapon to extend American influence
What set the context fro the Berlin crisis
When the communists took over Czechoslovakia
When was the Berlin crisis
1948
Where was their clear separation in Germany
Between the soviet zone and all other west zones
Why did Stalin dislike the Marshall plan
Hostile to soviet interests
Worried US would rebuild economy in western Germany
What were soviet bloc countries pressured to do
Reject aid of Marshall plan
Who took over Czechoslovakian government and when
Kliment Gotwald (leader of communists) Feb 1948
What did the Czech ‘success’ lead to
Increased division between east and west over Marshall plan
Which zones did the soviet and the Allies get in Berlin
Allies got the west and soviet got the east
What was Stalin especially annoyed about (relating to Berlin zones)
New currency was being established in the west in June 1948
What did the Berlin zone issue lead to
The Berlin blockade
When was the Berlin blockade
1948
What initially happened in the Berlin blockade
All road and rail links were cut off from Berlin and the west
What was Stalin’s plan, regarding the Berlin blockade
To force the US to settling the Berlin question on soviet terms
Why did Stalin’s blockade plan fail
The Berlin airlift
Who coordinated the Berlin airlift
US military governor, General Lucius Clay
What was the Berlin airlift
Essential supplies were flew into West Berlin through the 1948/49 winter
When was the blockade called off
After 318 days
What did the end of the blockade confirm
Division between east and west
What did Stalin think of NATO
He though it was a hostile act
When was NATO established
1949
What was the purpose of NATO
To defend the west against soviet aggression
When was the first successful US atomic bomb
1945
When was the USSRs first successful atomic bomb test
1949 (world power)
What happened after the Chinese civil war
Communist party succeeded and Stalin met with Mao Zedong to discuss an alliance in Moscow
What happened to mining production after the war
Less than half the level of 1940
What happened to electrical power production after ww2
At 52% of 1940 level
What happened to steel production after the war
45% of the 1940 level
Tons of coal in 1945 and 1950
149.3 to 261.1
Ron’s of steel in 1945 and 1950
12.3 to 27.3
How many collective farms were ruined
98,000
How many tractors were lost
137000
What hindered agricultural recovery
A labour shortage
What was the agricultural in 1946
Driest year since 1891 leading to failed harvests and famine
What was agriculture like by 1953
Still unsatisfactory
Grain lroduction from 1940 to 1952
1940- 95.6
1947- 65.9
1952- 92.2
When did US test H bomb
1952
How many more times powerful was the h bomb than the one dropped on Hiroshima
2500
When did ussr test first h bomb
1953
