Chapter One: Origins Of The Cold War

Question 1

What was the ideology of the west?

Answer 1

• capitalism
• private enterprise: business and land owned by the individual with minimum gov interference
• liberal democracy: political system in which every person has the freedom to vote and freedom of speech

Question 2

What was the ideology of the Soviet Union?

Answer 2

• communism
• state owned economy: all industries and agriculture owned by gov on behalf of the people
• one party state: all political parties other than communists banned

Question 3

How did the Cold War start?

Answer 3

1941: Germany invade Russia
1941: Japan bomb pearl harbour
1945: USSR and western allies invade Berlin = both powers face to face

Question 4

Who was president during WW2?

Answer 4

Roosevelt but he dies and is replaced by Truman in 1953

Question 5

What does USSR want after the war?

Answer 5

• security: protection from future German attack and keep land annexed from Poland
• communism in post-war Europe:
  Area under Soviet control (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Soviet zone in Germany) and ‘intermediate zone’ that is neither communism nor capitalist

Question 6

What does USA want after ww2?

Answer 6

• US security, industry and trade
• Atlantic charter (1941): ‘free trade, no more territorial annexation by Britain or the USA and the right of people to choose their governments’
• United nations

Question 7

What does Britain want after WW2?

Answer 7

• survival of Britain
• independent power on good terms with USSR and USA
• concerned about Soviet influence in Central Europe and Poland

Question 8

Give information about the Tehran conference

Answer 8

• 1943
• attended by the big three
• British and US troops to land in France rather then the balkans

Question 9

What is a sphere of influence?

Answer 9

where one power is able to be the dominant influence and to influence local politics

Question 10

‘The Liberation of Europe, 1943-5’ - Poland

Answer 10

• Britain and France wanted it to be independent whereas USSR wanted to reclaim lost land
• ‘democratic elections’
• USSR liquidated non communist groups to eliminate opposition
• west meant to oversee elections but didn’t

Question 11

‘The Liberation of Europe, 1943-5: Bulgaria

Answer 11

–Still at war with Britain and USA but not USSR
–Local Communists set up ‘Patriotic Front’ and set up a government in the capital
–Attempted a Communist revolution: ruling class purged, 10,000 executed, trade unions and police infiltrated, large farms taken
–But Stalin did not want to antagonise West so called for moderate policies, but this proved to be difficult

Question 12

‘The Liberation of Europe, 1943-5’ - France

Answer 12

• aimed to rebuild power and create a powerful bloc
• countered Anglo-American predominance by signing a treaty with USSR that committed them preventing war against Germany

Question 13

Give information about the Yalta conference

Answer 13

• 1945
• each power allotted its own zone and section of Berlin
• Poland: increase territory in north and west but no exact details. Reorganise the government. Elections to be held

Question 14

Was Yalta a success?

Answer 14

• terms = vague
• land not fixed
• democracy interpreted differently by Stalin
• declaration of liberated Europe - committed the three governments to carry out ‘emergency measures’ to assist the new states and set up democratically elected governments