Cold War

Question 1

Why were nuclear bombs used by America at the end of WW2(august 1945)

Answer 1

-to avoid losing men to invade main,and Japan
-to demonstrate power to the USSR
-vengance
-they wanted to test it

Question 2

Communism (in theory)

Answer 2

-Everything belongs to the state and is run on behalf of the people
-classless society
-everyone’s equal

Question 3

Why does the USA oppose communism

Answer 3

Because the USA was built on an ideology that is centered around an individual being able to work hard and be successful

Question 4

Why were the USA and USSR enemies

Answer 4

-different political ideologies
-saw eachother as threats
-their intentions in Europe clashed

Question 5

Yalta (February 1945)

Answer 5

-Stalin wanted to keep the territories he’d taken in WW2
-Germany pay reperations
-stalin’s new territories were to have free elections
-Polish borders to return to those of 1921

Question 6

Potsdam conference (July-August 1945)

Answer 6

-Germany had surrendered
-Nazi party to be banned
-The united nations formed in June
-Berlin to be split into 4 zones

Question 7

Long telegram 1946

Answer 7

George Kennan, US ambassador to Moscow, sent a telegram back to Washington saying Stalin wanted to abolish capitalism.
Caused a US policy for containing the spread of communism.

Question 8

Novikov telegram 1946

Answer 8

Nikolai Novikov, Soviet diplomat to washington, sent a telegram back to Moscow about how the USA wanted to stop dealing with the USSR and wanted to dominate the world.
Gave the Soviets the motivation to have as much influence in eastern Europe as possible

Question 9

Iron curtain speech

Answer 9

March 5th 1946, Fulton Missouri, Churchill made a speech about the divide between capitalism and communism in Europe and describes the divide as an ‘iron curtain’.
Stalin believed Churchill was showing similarities with Hitler, that he was a warmonger, and that the west are to blame for rising tensions

Question 10

Truman Doctrine 1947

Answer 10

Truman promised to fight communism, stop the spread of communism and keep Europe capitalist

Question 11

Marshall plan

Answer 11

1948 Diverting Europes path to communism by providing financial support to economically struggling countries. $13 Billion sent to rebuild industry in countries that were hit hard by the war.
Soviet’s saw it as an attempt to divide Europe and to extend the influence of the dollar(‘dollar imperialism’) and satellite states refused help

Question 12

Cominform

Answer 12

1947 (Communist information Bureau)Soviet response to Truman Doctrine, aimed to enforce communist rule of satellite states and influence communist parties elsewhere. Consolidated USSR’s power by purging opposition.

Question 13

Comecon

Answer 13

1949 (Council for mutual economic assistance) Soviet response to marshall plan. Aimed to keep satellite states communist and to organise industrial planning in them. Further increased political and economic divide increased

Question 14

Nato

Answer 14

Founded (1949)to prevent the soviets from attacking any of the involved countries, the USSR tried to join but was rejected

Question 15

Warsaw pact

Answer 15

(Founded 1955, after W.Germany joined NATO)Soviet response to NATO, a similar alliance to NATO which consited of the Soviet Union and it’s satellite states

Question 16

Stalin’s death (1953)

Answer 16

Nikita Khrushchev gained power by 1956, he wanted to ‘de-stalinise’ the USSR and wanted ‘peacful co-existance’ with the USA (this didn’t really work)

Question 17

U2 spy plane incident 1960

Answer 17

Gary Powers, U2 spy plane pilot shot down and captured over the soviet union. Eisenhower refused to apologise for spying on the soviets, which angered Khrushchev

Question 18

Leonid Brezhnev

Answer 18

Soviet leader from 1964, replacing Khrushchev

Question 19

Sputnik 1 1957

Answer 19

USSR launches first man made satellite

Question 20

Vietnam

Answer 20

1965 USA troops sent to Vietnam to fight the communist North

Question 21

Outer space treaty 1967

Answer 21

The ban of testing nuclear weapons in space

Question 22

Non proliferation treaty 1968

Answer 22

The ban of sharing nuclear weapons with other countries

Question 23

Tehran agreements 1943

Answer 23

Second front in normandy
Stalin to declare war on japan
Poland given german land
Discussed creation of the UN
Spheres of influence

Question 24

Terhan tensions 1943

Answer 24

Stalin suspicious of delayed second front
Disagreed on second front in the Balkans
Roosevelt saw British colonialism as a bigger threat than communism
Stalin wanted reparations from Germany, Roosevelt and Churchill wanted it rebuilt