Build up to Cold War Flashcards
When was the Teheran conference?
1943
What 3 things were discussed at the Teheran Conference?
1) Agreed to open a second front to relieve pressure on the USSR
2) Stalin suggested executing 50,000-100,000 German officers
3) Stalin made large claims in Germany and Poland but details were left until later
When was the Yalta Conference?
February 1945
Which politicians were at the Yalta conference?
Stalin(USSR), Roosevelt(USA) and Churchill(BR)
What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?
1) the USSR would go to War with Japan once Germany had surrender
2) Germany was to be divided into four zones
3) Berlin was to be divided into four zones
4) Agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals for the genocide
5) countries liberated form German rule to hold free elections
6) Eastern Europe would be seen as a ‘Soviet Sphere of Influence’
7) all countries to join the United Nations
What was disagreed about at the Yalta Conference?
The future of Poland
Why did the USA and Britain allow the USSR to move its border into Poland?
1) Stalin’s red army has control of both Poland and East Germany so there was not much they could do
2) deal that the USSR would not interfere with Greece where the British were attempting to prevent a communist takeover
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July-August 1945
What were 4 things which were different at Potsdam compared to Yalta?
1) in May 1945 Soviet troops reached Berlin and Germany surrendered
2) Truman had replaced Roosevelt as the new American president
3) Stalin’s armies were occupying most of Eastern Europe (having liberated countries from German rule but then left his troops there)
4) the Americans had successfully tested an atomic bomb
When did the Americans successfully test an atomic bomb?
16th July 1945
How did Stalin excuse his occupation of Eastern Europe?
He said it was a defensive measure against possible future attacks (Buffer Zone)
Why was the Yalta conference dominated by rivalry between Stalin and Truman?
Churchill was replaced by the new British prime minister, Attlee
Why did Stalin and Truman disagree about what to do with Germany at Yalta?
Stalin wanted to cripple Germany to protect the USSR from future threats.
Truman did not want a repeat of the TOV.
Why were there disagreements over Soviet Policy in Eastern Europe at the Potsdam Conference?
At Yalta it was agreed that Stalin could view Eastern Europe as a ‘Soviet Sphere of influence’ so Stalin started setting up Pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe
Truman was unhappy about Russian intentions
Why did Truman as opposed to Roosevelt as President make Yalta more tense?
Truman was far more anti-communist than Roosevelt
How many Russian casualties were there in WW2?
20 million
What was the ‘Iron Curtain’?
Described the division between Soviet controlled Eastern Europe and the Capitalist West
When was the ‘Iron Curtain’ first mentioned?
In March 1946 in a speech Churchill gave in America warning of the spread of communism in Europe
Why did Stalin want control over Eastern Europe?
1) wanted to create a ‘buffer zone’ between the West and the USSR
2) wanted compensation for the 20 million military deaths in WW2
3) wanted to spread communism
4) the percentages deal promises Stalin Eastern Europe
Describe the Soviet takeover of Poland
In 1947 elections were temporarily rigged so that communists took complete control (after having dominated a post war coalition government)
Describe the Soviet takeover of Romania?
In 1946 Stalin disarmed the Romanian army and forced the king to appoint a communist government
In 1947 the monarchy was abolished
Describe the Soviet takeover of Hungary?
Communists became the largest single party in the 1947 elections
They imprisoned opposition leaders and attacked church leaders
Describe the Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia?
In the 1946 elections communists became the largest single party
The communist prime minster controlled the police and armed forces
Due to doubt that the communists would win the 1948 elections they used the army to seize control with the support of the USSR
They banned other parties and killed Jan Masaryk (a foreign minister)
Describe the Soviet takeover of Bulgaria?
Rigged elections in 1945 so communists took control
Executed the leaders of other parties
Abolished the monarchy
Who was elected president of Yugoslavia in 1945?
Marshal Tito
When and why was Yugoslavia expelled from Com-inform?
In 1948 as Tito was determined to apply communism in his own way
How did Stalin tighten his control of countries in the Soviet Sphere of influence?
1) used the secret police to imprison anyone who opposed communist rule
2) set up cominform which allowed Stalin torpor out independently minded leaders at meetings in Moscow
When did Stalin set up Cominform?
October 1947
What were the two sides in the Greek civil war?
The monarchists and communists
