cold war Flashcards
D-day invasion date
6/6/44
nazi soviet pact date
1939
what leads to the marriage of convenience in 1941?
operation Barbarossa and pearl harbour
Yalta agreements (6 points)
- Japan
- free and fair elections
- war criminals
- GER into zones and Berlin into sectors
- UN
- Eastern Europe seen as soviet SoI
yalta date and who was there
feb 1945
Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
potsdam date and who was there
July 1945
Clement Atlee, Truman, Stalin
yalta disagreements (one MAJOR point)
POLAND
- Stalin wanted to move USSR’s borders westwards into Poland and Poland’s boarders westwards into Germany –> Churchill didn’t approve but there was nothing he could do as Stalin’s red army was in total control of Poland and eastern Germany —> Roosevelt didn’t approve either but Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to accept it, as long as the USSR agreed not to interfere in Greece where the British were attempting to prevent the communists from taking over. Stalin accepted this.
potsdam agreements
- Germany would be divided and reparations would be paid
- Poland’s eastern border would be moved west
- Denazification - Nazi party banned
- Decentralization
- Demilitarization
- Democratization - bring democracy to Germany
potsdam disagreements
- deindustrialization (deindustrialize germany, get everything from them) - Stalin yes brit and America no because they were trading partners
- Stalin wanted to cripple Germany completely to protect the Ussr against future threats, however Truman did not want a repetition of the First World War and the T of V
what happened in potsdam that made Truman unhappy about Russian intentions?
Stalin had won agreement from the allies that he could set up pro-soviet governments in Eastern Europe.
he said: “If the slav (majority of Eastern Europe) people are united, no one will dare move a finger against them”. Truman adopted a ‘get tough’ attitude towards Stalin
What was Stalin convinced of after many western countries sent troops to fight the Russian revolution?
That the west would seize any chance, embrace any ally in order to destroy communism
Why did FDR manage capitalism?
For the public good. As a result of the Great Depression, American politics shifted to the left, and the West worried that a communist revolution (just like the Russian revolution) would take place
What did Stalin conclude from the Munich conference?
that the western democracies would never stand up to Hitler, therefore, he signed the nazi-soviet pact because he needed time to rearm
Positive and negative impacts on relations - D-day invasion
positive - took away German attention from eastern front
negative- took too long. mistrust and suspicion by USSR towards west
Where did Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech take place?
Foulton, Missouri
Truman invited Churchill to speak in a college even though Churchill was no longer prime minister. Really showed Truman’s and Churchill’s alliance and shared hate towards communism.
What was the “iron curtain” speech
a metaphor used by Churchill in relation to the ideological separations in Europe. A ‘curtain’ that divided non- communist Europe to communist Europe. Churchill had to convince the American people that behind the ‘iron curtain’ lay an Europe which did not allow peace. The ‘iron’ symbolized an impenetrable division.
How did Stalin take over Eastern Europe? (timeline)
1-shared power in a coalition government after free elections
2- took over civil service, media, security and defense
3-forced their opponents out of office through threats and bribery
4- Outlawed all opposition parties
5- Fixed elections to ensure communist victory
6- Executed opponents to leave them in total control of communist puppet states in Eastern Europe
What was the Marshall Plan?
- 17 billion dollars to Europe to aid countries so that they didn’t feel the need to turn to communism
What was Stalin’s reaction to the Marshall Plan?
Comecon. Soviet planned economy so that countries would become communist. Stalin thought the Marshall plan tore away his soviet sphere of influence
Why was Yugoslavia an unique case?
Yugoslavia became communist without help from Moscow. Yugoslav leader Tito became ally with Stalin but Stalin thought Tito had too much power so he expelled him from the common form. Tito turned to the West and requested American economic assistence. In 1950 he signed an agreement with the US. Yugoslavia had emerged from behind the iron curtain. 150 million dollars worth of aid to Yugoslavia
What was ‘Bizonia’
In January 1948, US and Britain merge their parts of Germany, which contained 75% of German population and most of industry
why was the role of the west against the Berlin blockade significant?
it showed Stalin that the west was willing to fight for democracy - they were prepared to resist communism