Cold War Flashcards
Describe the features a Capitalist government (USA)
- Democracy - people can choose between republican or democratic government
- Fear of communism
- Belief that other countries should be ruled their way
- Sees their policies as ‘doing the right thing’
Describe the features of a Capitalist industry (USA)
- Businesses & property privately owned
Describe the features of Capitalism regarding individual rights (USA)
- Worlds wealthiest country
- With extremes: some people are very rich, and some very poor
- Being free from the government thought to be more important than equality
Describe the features a Communist government (USSR)
- Dictatorship
- Rights tightly controlled
- Belief that other countries should be communist
- Feeling that it is their role to spread communism over the world
Describe the features of a Communist industry (USSR)
- Industry run by the state
Describe the features of Communism regarding individual rights (USSR)
- Standard of living lower than in USA
- Less unemployment
- Less extreme povery
Where was the Yalta conference?
Yalta, Ukraine
When was the Yalta conference?
February, 1945
(War was coming to an end)
Who participated in the Yalta conference?
Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt
What agreements were made in the Yalta conference?
- Stalin to enter war with Japan when Germany is defeated
- Germany to be divided into 4 zones; British, French, Soviet, American
- Countries to have free election
- Big three to join UN & keep peace
- To hunt creators of the Nazi concentration camps
- Eastern Europe to be a ‘soviet sphere of influence’
- Stalin to hold democtratic election in Poland (he does not do this. Instead, he sends returned Polish politicians to the Goulags month later)
What were the different opinions on the disagreement at the Yalta conference?
Stalin: Wants his border with Poland to move westward, and Poland to move into Germany
Churchill: Did not approve, but did not want to make a move as Stalin had his red army securly in eastern Germany, and poland
Roosevelt: Was convinced by Churchill to not interfere as long as USSR does not try to convert greece to communism
What makes the Yalta conference a turning point?
It shows that Europe is now divided
How does Stalin discover about the Atom bomb and why is this important/what does it demonstrate?
He has secret intelligence in the USA that reported back to him. This shows he did not fully trust the USA.
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July 1945
5 months after the Yalta Conference
Where was the Potsdam Conference?
Potsdam, Germany
Emphasises Germany’s defeat
Who participated in the Potsdam Conference?
Harry Truman, Clement Attlee & Joseph Stalin
What important events happen between the Yalta and Potsdam conferences?
- Roosevelt –> Truman
- Churchill –> Attlee
- Germany has surrendered
- The atomic bomb is first tested (Manhattan Project)
- USSR has invaded majority of Eastern Europe
Btw Stalin’s spies know about the Atomic Bomb
What disagreements were there at the Potsdam conference?
Germany
- Stalin wants to cripple Germany so it poses no threat to the USSR
- Truman does not want to repeat the mistake of Versailles
Reparations
- 20,000,000 Russians died in the war, so Stalin wants compensation from Germany (e.g money/slave labour)
- Truman does not want to repeat the mistake of Versailles
Eastern Europe
- Stalin wants to set up pro-communist governments as a buffer zone
- Truman is afaid of spreading communist influence, as agreed in Yalta, but Truman is opposed to this idea
What “agreements” took place at the Potsdam conference?
- Germany is to be divided into 4 pieces (France, Britain, USA & USSR), and Berlin (which is in USSRs territory) is split into 4 again.
- Fair elections to take place in eastern europe (Stalin completely ignores this)
Stalin is not happy
What reasons caused the allies to fall out in 1945?: Personalities
- Capitalist/Conservationist Churchill is replaced by Democtratic Attlee, meaning he was kind of in the middle while Stalin and Trumans opinions conflicted
- Friendly Roosevelt is replaced by less tolerant, strict Truman, meaning he is more menacing towards the USSR
- Hitler is gone, and so is the Allies’ common enemy
What reasons caused the allies to fall out in 1945?: Actions by the USA
- The manhattan project & the creation of the Atomic Bomb. This leads to USA using this as an untold threat if other countries don’t behave their way. This also creates suspicion on the behalf of Stalin
What reasons caused the allies to fall out in 1945?: Actions by the USSR
- Stalins secret intelligence tells him about the Atomic bomb in advance, increasing his mistrust
- The fact that Stalin is controlling most of eastern europe & insists of on them becoming satellite states
What reasons caused the allies to fall out in 1945?: Misunderstandings
- At Yalta, it had been decided that the USSR could have a Soiet sphere of influence. However, Truman does not want to let this happen.
- There is a conflict about Poland, as Stalin wants is for his buffer zone but Churchill and Roosevelt want free elections there
- Secret deal between USA & USSR at Yalta letting them have absolute Veto in the UN
- USSR is told to invade Japan but USA is going to deal with them using the Atomic bomb
What was the iron curtain?
It was both a landmark/barrier/frontier geographically, but also an ideological divide between Eastern and Western Europe. On the Eastern side, most countries were under communist influence and control.
Which countries were in the soviet sphere of influence?
Poland, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia
During which period was the USSR establishing communist governments in other countries to create a buffer zone?
from 1945 - 1948, mostly during 1946/47.