Breakdown of the Grand Alliance 1945-47

Question 1

When was the UN formed?

Answer 1

1944

Question 2

Who was part of the assembly of the UN?

Answer 2

All nations

Question 3

What else was there in the UN as well as an assembly?

Answer 3

A Security Council to deal with crises

Question 4

Who were the permanent members of the UN?

Answer 4

USA, Britain, France, USSR and China

Question 5

Which countries did the Alliance argue over treaties with before the Paris Peace Treaties?

Answer 5

Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania and Hungary

Question 6

When were Paris Peace Treaties completed?

Answer 6

1947

Question 7

What did the USSR hope for in terms of Germany?

Answer 7

That Germany would have elections and the Communist party there would form a coalition with other parties and eventually take control of government

Question 8

What was the SED?

Answer 8

The Socialist Unity Party

Question 9

Where was the SED set up and what did it do?

Answer 9

The Soviet zone, and it merged the Socialist and Communist east German parties

Question 10

What did Stalin do to try and hide the intentions of the SED?

Answer 10

Insist on the use of democratic means by the SED

Question 11

Why did the UK and USA want their zones to have economic recovery?

Answer 11

They were having to divert resources to deal with thousands of eastern refugees flooding their areas

Question 12

What had to happen in order for the USSR to receive some of the (previously agreed) Western reparations, and what did the Soviets think of this?

Answer 12

There had to be a whole German economic system created; the Soviets saw this as an attempt to spread capitalism and so increased production in their zone

Question 13

How did the USA and UK join their zones, and what was the new zone called?

Answer 13

Economically, and Bizonia

Question 14

Why was Bizonia formed?

Answer 14

In order to improve the economy

Question 15

What did the USSR see the formation of Bizonia as?

Answer 15

A breach of Potsdam and the start of a new West German state

Question 16

What happened when the British could no longer support containment of Communists in the Greek Civil War, and how did it happen?

Answer 16

President Truman announced the ‘Truman Doctrine’ as a crusade against Communist ‘tyranny’

Question 17

What was the Marshall Plan created to deal with?

Answer 17

The crippling economic problems in Europe post-war, which the US feared would lead to Communist support

Question 18

What did the Marshall Plan do?

Answer 18

It gave $13 billion of aid to European states, although tried to create supranational integration of Europe

Question 19

What did the USSR see the Marshall Plan as?

Answer 19

dollar imperialism

Question 20

What did the USSR do in response to the Marshall Plan?

Answer 20

They refused to allow Eastern countries to take Marshall aid and created Cominform to coordinate Soviet policies in the cross national Communist parties

Question 21

When did Churchill make his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech?

Answer 21

1946

Question 22

What did Churchill say in the ‘Iron Curtain’ speech?

Answer 22

That Soviet control had descended over eastern Europe

Question 23

What happened when Poland fell to Communism?

Answer 23

The West tacitly accepted it; elections were engineered for a Communist victory, but the new leader Gomułka was not keen on Soviet control

Question 24

How did Romania and Bulgaria turn Communist?

Answer 24

Through legitimate election and some terror

Question 25

How did Yugoslavia turn Communist?

Answer 25

The Yugoslavian Communists won independently

Question 26

What was the problem for Stalin in terms of Yugoslavia?

Answer 26

Their leader Tito had ambitious plans of his own, which Stalin found difficult to control. As well as accepting Marshall aid

Question 27

How did Czechoslovakia turn Communist?

Answer 27

Czechoslovakian Communists won power legitimately in 1946

Question 28

What did the Czechoslovakian Communists want to do, and what happened as a result?

Answer 28

They wanted to attend the conference on Marshall aid, however Stalin stopped them; the hard-line Communists then took over and expelled opposition in 1948 in a coup, where Jan Masaryk was killed. The Hungarian Socialists and Communists were brought into line by Stalin by 1949

Question 29

What did France decide in terms of which side to be on?

Answer 29

France tried to be a bridge between East and West initially, but after the Communist movement there led violent strikes against Marshall aid they moved clearly to the West

Question 30

What happened in Italy in terms of Communism?

Answer 30

Italy had a strong Communist movement, but with CIA and Catholic religious propaganda support they were defeated and Italy aligned to the West