🧩| Chapter 4 Flashcards
When did the Cold War happen?
mid-1940s to 1990s
What is a cold war?
More tension between countries than fighting; a stand-off.
Why did USSR and US form an alliance?
June 1941 - Germans invade USSR
Dec 1941 - US Pearl Harbour bombed by Japan
Who did the Grand Alliance consist of?
Britain, US, USSR
Differences between US and USSR
US: capitalist democracy | USSR: communist dictatorship
US: voting rights | USSR: no opposition
US: multi-party elections | USSR: one-party state
Similarity between US and USSR
They both were against the Axis powers.
When did FDR die?
Early 1945 - Truman takes office
How were Truman and FDR different?
FDR supported the Soviet Union, whereas Truman disliked USSR’s communist ideas and Stalin’s “spheres of influence”
When was the Tehran Conference?
Nov. 1943
What were the agreements made in Tehran in Nov 1943?
1) Make Germany surrender
2) Split Germany after the war (no method discussed)
3) Poland to receive German land
(originally, USSR would give land back to Poland,
but Stalin wanted to keep the USSR’s territory there)
3) International body for negotiation should be made
4) Open up a Second Front in West for allies,
to ease tensions in the Eastern front at USSR.
6) USSR to declare war on Japan
and therefore help USA - only once WWII was over
When was the Yalta Conference?
Feb 1945
When was the Potsdam Conference?
Jul-Aug 1945
Where was Tehran situated?
In Iran (1943)
Where was Yalta situated?
In a Russian town in the Crimea (1945)
Where was Potsdam situated?
On the border of Berlin (1945)
What is D-Day?
The day that USA and Britain would attack Germany from the west,
forcing Germany to redirect troops from USSR back to Germany
Results of Tehran Conference (Nov 1943)
- Allies were on the winning side of WWII so far
- D-Day was successful and Germany was pushed back
- Soviet Union also pushed back Germany and gained territory in most of Eastern Europe
What were the agreements made in Yalta in Feb. 1945?
1) USSR should keep territory in Eastern Europe
as a buffer zone between USSR and Germany
2) UN’s first meeting agreed
Only Russia, Belarus & Ukraine allowed to attend
as members of Soviet Union
3) DIVIDE Germany into four zones
4) DEMILITARIZE German troops
5) DE-NAZIFY Germany and prosecuting war criminals
6) Make Germany pay reparations
7) Stalin promised that countries in his sphere of influence will have free, fair elections (even though this was a lie)
Results of Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)
- territory given to Poland from Germany
* Soviet Union’s “spheres of influence” in East Europe officially became part of the Soviet Union
When did Germany surrender in WWII?
Early 1945s
FDR also died right before Germany surrendered
How did the Big Three change in the summer of 1945?
- FDR died right before Germany surrendered; Truman takes his place
- Churchill loses election and so Attlee became the new PM
When did USA launch the atomic bomb on Japan?
6 Aug 1945 - 9 Aug 1945
Japan surrenders shortly after
What were the agreements made in Potsdam in Jul-Aug 1945?
1) Split Berlin into four zones like how Germany was
2) Germany was to pay less reparations
3) Germany’s economy ran as a whole though it was split
4) De-nazify and democratize Germany
5) USSR gets 1/4 of the reparations from each zone
