Breakdown of the Grand Alliance 1945-1947 Flashcards
When was the United Nations established?
It was established in 1944 at Dumbarton Oaks near Washington
What disagreements came out of the UN?
It had an assembly of all cantons and a security council to deal with crises, with the USA, Britain, France, the USSR and China as permanent members. The USSR disagreed with the right of veto that the permanent members had, but had to concede to it
What was the Atomic Energy Commission?
It was set up in response to the bombings of Japan which was to create rules for the control of nuclear weapons. The USSR and USA disagreed on the use of veto over decisions made by it and the agreement collapsed
What disagreements occurred in the Alliance?
They argued over treaties with Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania and Hungary, but the Paris Peace Treaties were completed in 1947
What did the USSR hope for Germany?
They hoped that Germany would have elections and the Communist party there would form a coalition with other parties and eventually take control of government
What was the SED?
It was set up in the Soviet zone of Germany, merging the socialist and Communist east Germany parties, but it was done violently leading to the rejection of the merger in the West and made the allies suspicions. Stalin tried to insist on the use of democratic means by the SED to hide their intentions
What did the US and Britain want to happen to their zones of Germany?
They wanted their zones to have economic recovery as they were having to divert resources to deal with thousands of eastern refugees flooding their areas
Why did the US refuse to give the USSR their 25% of reparations?
They insisted that they would not give some of the agreed western reparations to the USSR unless there was a whole German economic system created. The Soviets saw this as an attempt to spread capitalism and increased production in their zone
What was Bizonia?
It was the merge of the US and Britain zones in Germany economically, but the USSR saw it as a breach of Potsdam and the start of a new West German state
What happened at the Moscow conference of Foreign Ministers?
It took place in 1946, and the USSr tried to demand that there be a unified German political system but Britain and the USA insisted that the economy be sorted beforehand. No agreements were made and Bizonia was built up
What was the Truman Doctrine?
Britain could no longer support containment of communists in the Greek civil war, and president Truman got $400m from Congress by announcing the Truman doctrine as a crusade against communist tyranny
What was the Marshall Plan?
It was created to deal with the crippling economic problems in post war Europe, which the US feared would lead to Communist support. It gave aid to European states, although tried to create supranational integration of Europe
What did the USSR regard the Marshall plan as?
They saw it was the spreading of capitalism and US imperialism. In response they refused to allow eastern countries to take Marshall aid and created Cominform to coordinate Soviet policies in the cross national communist parties
What was the Iron Curtain Speech?
It was given by Churchill in Missouri in 1946, claiming that Soviet control had descended over Eastern Europe, which Stalin claimed was purely defensive
What happened in Poland?
Poland fell to Communism with acceptance in the west, and elections were engineered for a communist victory, but Gomulka was not keen on Soviet control
