B7 Assessment Marshall Plan/Warsaw Pact Flashcards
“which seek to…”
“…perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States” - Truman Doctrine
What name did Foreign Minister Molotov give the Marshall Plan?
“Dollar Imperialism”
“renouncing…
inalienable right[s]” to their economic systems - Vyshinksy
When was the Two-Camps speech and who gave it?
1947, Zhdanov
How was America referred to in the Two-Camps speech?
Leader of the “Imperialist camp”
Who was in control of Yugoslavia?
Tito
How much did Yugoslavia receive from the US after emerging from behind the Iron curtain?
$150 million
When was Comecon formed?
1949
“Our policy is directed…
…not against country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.”
How much did the US donate to Western Europe in Marshall Aid?
Over $15 billion
“The seeds of…
…totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want”
When was NATO formed?
4th April 1949
When did West Germany join NATO?
6th May 1955
“The principle…
…hotbed of the danger of war in Europe” - Marshall Bulganin
When did the rearmament of the FRG begin?
The mid 1950s
Which two non-European countries joined NATO?
Canada, USA
When did China become communist and under who?
1949, Mao
When did the USSR try to join NATO and why was it unsuccessful?
1954, rejected by US and UK
Paragraph 1 Main Points:
- laid foundations for division socially, economically and politically
- socially: dollar imperialism, influence over way of life, manipulating way of life to promote communism, predicting the others expansion, emergence of Yugoslavia
-economically: countries destroyed by war would be reshaped in a capitalist mold - infiltration, dependence, Americanised economy, bolstered Western Europe whilst poorer Eastern countries struggled - knew Marshall Aid would be rejected by Soviets
- did not explicitly set an aggressive divide rather than a resentful co-existence: Comecon, offer to Soviets, could be a benevolent act
Why was the Marshall Plan critical to forming a divide?
A capitalist sphere needed a strong economy capable of supplying weapons, healthy troops and industry. The benefits of Marshall Aid gave the capitalist sphere an economic upper hand, better capability for military advancement pushed American influence further into Europe and stoked Soviet fears.
Why were NATO and the Warsaw Pact more significant than The Marshall Plan? (Intro sentence)
- Built on tensions established by Marshall Plan
- Definitive and internationally recognised divide with military intent
Formation of NATO excluding most of Eastern Europe —> rejection of USSR in 1954 —> formation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 meant Europe eternally poised with weapons, troops and systems in place for war
Paragraph Two Points:
-Germany, esp Berlin as microcosm: complex and guarded rivalry. West Germany joining NATO crystallised divide- military presence right as the two powers met “hotbed”
- Made war between two sides more tangible, rearmament
- Global recognitions: large powers like Canada, US involved, threat of nuclear war.
-Communism like dominoes - Mao’s China - even if not in specific alliances, NATO and Warsaw Pact were signs that the ideological divide had war-worthy stakes and had escalated to the point of intervention - World peace hung in the balance of a divided Europe
- Advancement of troops and military forces: US presence in Central Europe, West Germany had five points permanent stations - as if already at war
- intentionally excluded USSR 1954- clearly wanted to maintain the current split down Europe, felt it only way to maintain two spheres of influence- without the divide one would conquer the other
Why were the formations of NATO and the Warsaw Pact more significantly impactful on the division of Europe (concluding sentence)
-forced unity of military powers, economic resources and weapons under a label
- forged in peacetime - idea of inevitable war with predefined players
- smaller alliances and loyalties grew into larger, globally recognised fronts
-lost concept of attacking the individual
Conclusion points:
Marshall plan:
made an official divide possible by establishing different economic, political and ideological stages in Europe
The financial aid allowed NATO to develop as countries could afford military development and industry
Guaranteed loyalty and dependence on capitalism and therefore made NATO a reliable alliance.
HOWEVER less significant as it was not a direct act or acknowledgement of hostility, and had some futile gestures of amiability to the Soviets. Could be portrayed as benevolent
NATO and Warsaw pact
- the divide was finalised and each side would now fight to maintain it
- could not be seen in any light other than hostile
- both sides in a stalemate
- neither able to cross the divide ideologically or otherwise without risking global war
