Causes of the Cold War

Question 1

What year was the Truman doctrine policy set?

Answer 1

1947

Question 2

What happened under the Truman Doctrine?

Answer 2

USA provided military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.

Question 3

In what year was Marshall Aid?

Answer 3

1947

Question 4

What were the two main aims of Marshall aid?

Answer 4

Stop the spread of communism (although Truman didn’t admit to this at the time)

To help European economies recover which would eventually provide a market for American exports.

Question 5

What two tensions did Marshall aid cause?

Answer 5

Only 16 European countries accepted it and these were all western states

Stalin refused Marshall Aid for the USSR and banned Eastern European countries from accepting it.

Question 6

When was the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia?

Answer 6

1948

Question 7

Which country was the only Eastern European country that considered accepting Marshall Aid?

Answer 7

Czechoslovakia

Question 8

Why was Czechoslovakia the only Eastern European country to consider accepting Marshall aid?

Answer 8

Because it wasn’t fully part of Stalins ‘eastern bloc’ of countries. Meaning communists weren’t fully in control.

Question 9

What happened in the spring of 1948 in Czechoslovakia?

Answer 9

Elections were due and seemed communists would do badly while the opposition would do well. - So communists organised marches and protests.

In May 1948, elections took place but only communists were allowed to stand, so Czechoslovakia was now fully part of the Communist Eastern bloc.

Question 10

In what year did the French, American and British zones merge into one? And what was it called?

Answer 10

1948Trizonia

Question 11

What did soviet troops do in 1948 to prevent goods from reaching Berlin?

Answer 11

Blocked roads and rail ways

Question 12

Name two effects of the Berlin blockade

Answer 12

1949 the British, French and US zones became the federal republic of Germany, known as west Germany.

In October 1949 the soviet occupied zone in Germany became the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Question 13

What was the allied response to the Berlin blockade?

Answer 13

The Berlin airlift, to fly in supplies.

Question 14

How long did the Berlin airlift go on for?

Answer 14

10 months

Question 15

When did Stalin reopen communications and why?

Answer 15

May 1949 because the Berlin blockade failed.

Question 16

Greek resistance to the Germans had been divided into two movements. What were those movements?

Answer 16

The royalists and the communists

Question 17

Explain the Comecon

Answer 17

Set up in 1949 by Stalin to co-ordinate the production and trade of the eastern European countries. favoured the USSR a lot more than any of its other members.

Question 18

Explain the cominform

Answer 18

Stalin set it up in 1947 as an alliance of communist countries in response to Marshall aid

Question 19

What’s a satellite state?

Answer 19

A country or region under the influence or control of another state

Question 20

By what date did all Eastern European countries have communist governments?

Answer 20

May 1948

Question 21

Explain the iron curtain

Answer 21

In a speech in 1946 Churchill claimed that an ‘iron curtain’ had descended cross Europe separating the democratic nations of the west and the communist controlled states of Eastern Europe.

Question 22

When was the Potsdam conference?

Answer 22

July-August 1945

Question 23

What was discussed at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 23

Victory in Europe and the Soviet Army

The atomic bomb

Question 24

What were the new agreements at the Potsdam conference?

Answer 24

The nazi party to be banned and leaders tried as war criminals.

The Oder- Neisse line (2 rivers) was to form part of the future border between Poland and Germany

Question 25

List 3 tensions at Potsdam

Answer 25

Britain and USA denied Stalin a naval base as they saw no need for Stalin to have such a base - Stalin saw this as evidence that his allies mistrusted him.

2. Stalin wanted more reparations but USA and Britain didn’t want to cripple Germany as they had seen the results of the reparations after WW1. - Stalin was suspicious about why his allies seemed to want to protect Germany.
3. Stalin set up a Communist government in Lublin. However Britain preferred the non communist government so Truman and Attlee were very suspicious of stalins motives.

Question 26

When was the Yalta conference?

Answer 26

February 1945

Question 27

What 4 points were agreed at the Yalta conference?

Answer 27

1. Germany would be divided into 4 zones.
2. Berlin into 4 zones
3. Countries of Eastern Europe hold free elections to decide how they should be governed.
4. USSR join war against Japan in return for territory in Manchuria and the Sakhalin island.

Question 28

Name a disagreement at the Yalta conference.

Answer 28

Stalin wanted to move a part of Poland into German territory. Churchill and Roosevelt were unhappy about this but with thousands of soviet troops still in Poland, Churchill and Roosevelt thought they had to agree.

To compensate, Stalin agreed not to support the communist rebels in Greece.