Causes of the Cold War Flashcards
give 5 causes of the cold war
-threat of communism
-USA/USSR Alliance during ww2
-post war aims
-break down of alliance
-deterrance
explain why the threat of communism caused the cold war
-extremist left wing ideals compared to US
-eg one party gov + command economy (gov controls market) vs democracy and free market
why were the USA and the USSR allies during WW2
-Germans invaded USSR 1941; USA supported them due to their manpower
-15 million WW2 deaths = soviets
why were the USA and the USSR suspicious of each other after the war
-Stalin initially allied with Hitler
-made USA spy on USSR and vice versa
explain what the USA’s post war aims were
-open market and global monetary fund as it aligned the globe with USA politics not marxism
explain why the USA’s post war aims included an International Monetary Fund / World Bank
-USA would benefit from inc trade/ exports
-provided economic control of other countries as it propped up capitalism
why did the USSR fear Germany more than the US (3)
-USA had not suffered physical damage to infrastructure/ people Russia had
-eg 15 mil soldiers and 10 mil civilians and 100,000 state farm
-Germany invaded Russia in WW1 and 2
what were the USSR’s post war aims (2)
-isolationist/ be a self sustaining communist state
-protection from Germany through a sphere of influence as they had been invaded in WW1/2
what 3 factors contributed to the break down of the alliance between USA/ USSR
-Poland / 1945 Yalta Conference
-Germany / 1945 Yalta Conference
-Kennan’s Telegram
how did Poland contribute to the breakdown of the alliance between US/USSR (3)
-Yalta Conference 1945; Churchill allowed USSR to keep pre ww1 borders but FDR told Stalin to hold election to see if they can reclaim Poland
-Stalin did not and kept Poland
-also did not join world bank/ IMF
how did Germany contribute to the breakdown of the alliance between the US/ USSR (3)
-1945 Yalta Conference decided Germany divided between Britain, France, USA, USSR to get reparations for war damages
-USSR used occupation as payback eg moved factories to soviet union
-USSR broke terms of Yalta by not sharing resources with West Germany
when was the Yalta Conference and what happened there (3)
-1945
-FDR asked Stalin to hold elections in Poland to see if they wanted to rejoin Russia
-Germany divided between US, Britain, France, USSR in East/West Germany/ Berlin
what was Kennan’s Telegram and its impact (3)
-official Us ambassador in Moscow’s report on history of USSR’s foreign policy
-stated SU struggled to unite the population and did so through common enemy (the West)
-marxists thought there was no peace with capitalists which led to tough policy to USSR
why did the USSR use their occupation of Germany as a punishment more than others
-Eastern Europeans faced more persecution from Nazi than other allies
-other allies’ previous experience with WW1 made harsh punishments seem worse (led to ww2)
explain how deterrence caused the cold war
-USA likely bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a deterrent to the USSR and make them easier to negotiate with
