Aftermath of WWII and Beginning of the Cold War Flashcards
What are two ways that the wartime experiences of the US and the Soviet Union were greatly different?
1) The US were capitalists and Societs was a Dictatorship
2) The US ended WWII with 40,000 people dead while the Soviets ended with over 2 million dead
What are 2 reasons why the Soviet Union distrusted the US after WWII?
1) The US refused to recognize the USSR until 1933
2) The US was the most powerful nation in the world
The Soviet Union established a series of Communist “satellite” nations in Europe following WWII. What is a “satellite” nation?What was his goal in creating them?
An independent nation under the control of the more powerful nation. To guarantee security for the Soviet UNion against potential future security threats from the West.
List some of these Communist “satellite nations:
Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany
What was the geographic problem faced by free West Berlin throughout the Cold War?
Berlin was located far within Russia’s East Germany.
This term refers to government by one or a few that exerts nearly total control over many aspects of people’s lives:
Communism
Who owns the means of production in Capitalism?
People
Who owns the means of production in Socialism/Communism?
Government
What political system goes along with Capitalism?
Democratic
What political system goes along with Socialism/Communism?
Totalitarian
Goals of Capitalism?
Peace and Prosperity
Goals of Socialism/Communism?
Protection from future attacks
Distribution of Wealth in Capitalism?
Every individual has to work for himself to create wealth
Distribution of Wealth in Socialism/Communism?
Wealth is distributed as per needs and ability
What was the term used by Winston Churchhill to describe the seperation between free Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe?
Iron Curtain
Why did the Soviet Union choose not to hold free elections in the countries it occupied during WWII?
The idea that the US should supprt “free peoples who resist subjugation by outside pressures was known as the ________ Doctrine.
Truman Doctrine
Which two countries recieved aid from the ______ Doctrine?
Greece and Turkey
The US plan to provide economic aid to European nations following WWII was known as the _______ Plan.
Marshall Plan
The term for the primary US strategy during the beginning of the Cold War, that of using steady pressure to prevent the Soviet Union and Communism from expanding was known as?
Containment
Why did the Soviets want a “weak” and divided Germany following WWII?
So that it could not rise to its former strength to threaten European peace and security again