Ch 1.5

Question 1

What did NATO stand for ?

Answer 1

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Question 2

When was NATO set up ?

Answer 2

It was et up in 1949

Question 3

What is NATO ?

Answer 3

• It was a military alliance made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway.
• West Germany joined in 1955.
  NATO was a military alliance based around the principle of collective security; if one country was attacked other countries had to assist it.
• It was directed against a possible military attack form the USSR on Western Europe

Question 4

What was the significance of NATO ?

Answer 4

• NATO showed that, after the Berlin Blockade and the Soviet Union’s own development of the atomic bomb, neither the United States nor Western European governments were prepared to accept future Soviet aggression.
• The Soviet Union therefore turned to strengthening its control over Eastern Europe, resulting in the formation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955.
• There were now two military alliances, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, facing each other across the Iron Curtain.

Question 5

What did the Allies agree about Germany ?

Answer 5

• The allies were unable to agree about Germany’s future
• A short-term solution was agreed at Potsdam to divide the country and its capital ( Berlin ) into zones of military occupation

Question 6

How was Germany split ?

Answer 6

• The ESA, Britain and France are given West Germany and West Berlin
• The USSR was given East Europe and East Berlin

Question 7

What did the USA want in Germany ?

Answer 7

The USA wanted a united, capitalist Germany that it could trade with and would help prevent the spread of communism.

Question 8

What did the Soviet Union want in Germany ?

Answer 8

The Soviet Union wanted Germany to be weak, communist and divided, so that it would never be able to attack the Soviet Union again.

Question 9

What was Bizonia ?

Answer 9

• Bizonia is the zone that was created when the British and the US joined together ( the area was included in the Marshall plan )

Question 10

What was trizonia ?

Answer 10

The zone that was created when France joined with Us and Britain, this made up all of West Germany

Question 11

What did the Soviet Union think of Bizonia ?

Answer 11

• This was not popular with the Soviet Union, as Stalin was not consulted.
• He thought Bizonia went against the agreements made at the Potsdam Conference, and he suspected the USA was aiming to permanently divide richer Western Germany from poorer Eastern Germany.

Question 12

What did the Soviet Union do in eastern Germany ?

Answer 12

• The Soviet Union had 1.5 million troops in its zone, whereas the Western countries had sent most of their troops home.
• Eastern Germany grew almost all the food that West Berlin ate.

Question 13

How war Berlin divided ?

Answer 13

Berlin was deep in Soviet-controlled Germany, and divided into US, British, French and Soviet zones.

Question 14

What was the Berlin blockade ?

Answer 14

• Stalin knew that Western-occupied zones in Berlin were vulnerable as they were surrounded by Soviet-occupied territory
• In June 1948 the Soviet Union closed all road, rail and canal links into West Berlin to force British, French and US troops to leave their zone in the city.
• The Soviet Union blocked all supplies into Berlin to show it had the power to show USA, Britain and France that a divided Germany would not work

Question 15

What was the Berlin airlift ?

Answer 15

• West Berlin couldn’t last for many days without supplies. It looked like the Western powers would have to pull out of Berlin. That would look weak, undermining the USA’s image in particular.
• So Western powers responded with an airlift - between 26 June 1948 and 30 September 1949 thousands of tones of supplies were flown daily into Berlin.

Question 16

What were the consequences of the Berlin airlift for West Germany ?

Answer 16

• The Berlin Airlift made the USA appear peaceful and generous.
• In September 1949, West Germany (FRG) was officially formed, with US support.

Question 17

What were the consequences of the Berlin airlift for the USSR ?

Answer 17

• The Berlin Blockade made the Soviet Union appear aggressive and threatening.
• In October 1949, East Germany (GDR) was officially formed.

Question 18

What is the timeline of the nuclear arms race ?

Answer 18

• 1945 - US drops two atomic bombs on Japanese cities
• 1949 - Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb
• 1952 - USA develops H-bomb ( hydrogen bomb that 1000 times more powerful that atomic bomb )
• 1953 - Soviet Union develops H-bombs
  1957 - Use tests inter-continental ballistic missile
• 1957 - USSR makes first successful ICMB launch

Question 19

What led to the arms race ?

Answer 19

• Disagreements over how Germany should be governed had helped divide Europe into two camps by 1949
• Tensions were then increased when they battled for military supremacy

Question 20

What did the arms race result in ?

Answer 20

• It led to the USA and USSR having so many nuclear weapons by the earl 1950 s that they had enough to destroy the world many times over

Question 21

What did MAD as a result of the arms race lead to ?

Answer 21

• This led to changed thinking about war
• Before armed forces and weapons were made to win wars while now when either side understood the risk involved when using nuclear weapons they acted as a deterrent ( develop to stop other side form going to war )

Question 22

What is a deterrent ?

Answer 22

A force that prevents something form happening

Question 23

Explain the significance of the nuclear arms race ?

Answer 23

• 1. Up to 1949, the United States thought it could use its monopoly of nuclear weapons to deter Soviet attack.
• 2. This meant that US military figures, such as Curtis LeMay and Douglas MacArthur, decided that the best strategy in the event of war with the Soviet Union was to use nuclear weapons.
• 3. However, by the mid 1950s the development of nuclear weapons to include bigger warheads and missile delivery systems meant that any nuclear war would destroy both sides resulting in Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
• 4. This meant any military confrontation between both sides could rapidly escalate to nuclear war.
• 5. This meant that the USA and the Soviet Union had to find ways of stopping disputes between them turning into dangerous wars that involved nuclear weapons.

Question 24

When was the Warsaw Pact set up ?

Answer 24

It was set up on 14 May 1955
following West Germany’s entry into NATO on 9 May 1955

Question 25

What was the Warsaw Pact ?

Answer 25

The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence treaty involving the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

Question 26

What was the significance of the Warsaw Pact ?

Answer 26

• The formation of the Warsaw Pact meant there were now two opposing alliances in Europe separated by the Iron Curtain.
• Both alliances planned for military action against the other, including the use of nuclear and conventional weapons.
• The Warsaw Pact gave the Soviet Union direct control over the armed forces of its satellite states, thus strengthening its grip on
  Eastern Europe.

Question 27

Who took Stalins pace after he died ?

Answer 27

Khrushchev

Question 28

What were the impacts of the Soviet’s rule on Hungary ?

Answer 28

• Hungary suffered a lot under
  Stalin’s control.
• Food and industrial products were shipped off to Russia = food shortages and poor harvests
• Lack of political freedom / all opposition was wiped out
• Matyas Rakosi was a brutal ruler. He called himself ‘Stalin’s best pupil’ but was known as the ‘Bald Butcher’
• Communist rule became very unpopular.

Question 29

Who took over from Truman ?

Answer 29

Eisenhower

Question 30

What were Eisenhowers beliefs/ ideology ?

Answer 30

• He was strongly anti-Communist
• He was determined to block any attempts of communist expansion but was also ware of dangers of nuclear weapons
• Therefore he was open USSR proposals that there should be talks to improve relations between the two superpowers

Question 31

What caused Hungarian’s to start rioting/protest against communist control ?

Answer 31

Poor harvests, food shortages as well as lack of political freedom

Question 32

How did Hungarian’s riot against communist rule from USSR ?

Answer 32

They pulled down Stalin’s statues and local communists attacked

Question 33

What did Khrushchev do in response to the Hungarian riots ?

Answer 33

• Although Soviet troops restored order, Khrushchev also appointed amore liberal Prime Minister - Imre Nagy
• He hoped that his appointment would end the protests

Question 34

Who was Imre Nagy ?

Answer 34

He was a former Prime Minister who believed within the communist regime but still believed there should be personal freedoms

Question 35

What reforms did Nagy want in Hungary ?

Answer 35

• Leave the Warsaw Pact and become a neutral country.
• Hold free elections leading to no more single-party communist government.
• UN protection from the Soviet Union.

Question 36

What did Nagy do days after his appointment ?

Answer 36

• Authorised immediate release any political prisoners
• He reorganised the Hungarian government to include members of non-communist parties ending the one-party start in Hungary
• Persuaded Khrushchev to withdraw troops from Hungary

Question 37

Why did Khrushchev accept these reforms but not Nagy wanting to break away from the Warsaw Pact ?

Answer 37

• He was ready to accept the reforms proposed as long as it settled the unrest in Hungary
• He couldn’t however accept Hungary trying to break away from eh Warsaw pact because this could cause other countries to want to follow putting the ‘buffer zone’ created from the USSR’s protection under threat

Question 38

What did Khrushchev fear as a result of Nagy’s reforms ?

Answer 38

• Khrushchev disapproved of Nagy’s reforms and proposals. If Hungary left the Warsaw Pact, other countries would soon follow.
• Khrushchev worried that Nagy’s actions threatened communist rule. He claimed communists were being slaughtered in Hungary. This may have been propaganda, but a number of Hungarian communists had been killed and members of the state security forces, the AVH, attacked in the violence of October 1956, which took place in Budapest and other Hungarian towns and cities. Khrushchev feared the unrest would spread to other satellite states.

Question 39

What did Khrushchev do to combat the unrest in Hungary ?

Answer 39

On 4 November 1956, Khrushchev sent 200 000 Soviet troops into Hungary

Question 40

What happened in regards to the Soviet Invasion in Hungry ?

Answer 40

• Up to 20,000 Hungarians were killed as a result of the invasion, and around 1000 Soviet troops. Many Hungarian soldiers loyal to Nagy and the revolution fought against Soviet troops.
• Nagy and his government were deposed.
• Imre Nagy was arrested, tried and executed. Khrushchev wanted to prevent rebellions in other communist countries, such as Poland, and hoped he could do so by making an example of Nagy.
• A new leader, Janos Kadar, was appointed.

Question 41

What did Nagy expect when he proposed the Warsaw pact ?

Answer 41

• Expected support from USA and other Western Nations

Question 42

Why did Nagy expect USA to help in Hungarian uprising ?

Answer 42

• Radio free Europe ( US government-funded radio station ) regularly urged people to stand up against communism
• USA offered financial aid through Marshall Plan

Question 43

Why did the USA do in response to Hungarian uprising ?

Answer 43

• Did not send any military support
• While it may use military force to stop the spread of communism, it did not want to interfere in affairs of an already communist country
• Feared it would trigger a military war and would result in destruction of both sides

Question 44

What were the consequences of USA’s lack of action in response to the Hungarian uprising ?

Answer 44

• Satellite states saw that USA would not defend them against USSR
• This retightened Soviet control across Europe and made Khrushchev’s position in the uSSr much more strong/secure
• Made the USA look bad, not back up their won word
• Decreased relations between two superpowers