Cold War Flashcards
When was the Yalta Conference & what was agreed?
- February 1945
- Germany and Berlin would be divided into 4 zones
- Germany to pay 20 million reparations (& half will go to the Soviets)
What were the consequences of the Yalta Conference?
- showed lack of agreement e.g. over reparation process
- showed Stalin wanted lots of land
When was the Tehran Conference & what was agreed?
- 1943
- USSR could keep land in Eastern Europe if they won the war ( to make Germany weaker)
- international organisation would be created
- USA & Britain launch another attack on Germany so German army would reduce troops in the East
What were the consequences of the Tehran Conference?
- very good & beneficial for USSR
- gained lots of land
When was the Potsdam Conference & what was agreed?
- July 1945
- Germany would be demilitarised
- there would be democracy
- Soviets would gain a quarter of goods made in Western Europe in return for supplying food and coal
What were the consequences of the Potsdam Conference?
- lots of disagreements
- highlighted differences between capitalism and communism
When was the atomic bomb dropped, where & how many people died?
- 6th August 1945
- Truman dropped it over Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- over 120,000
What were the consequences of the atomic bomb dropping?
- USSR saw the USA as a great danger to the world
- Stalin took control of more land between USSR & Germany as a ‘buffer zone’
Describe the first telegram sent out & when?
- 1946
- Long telegram
- Kennan sent a detailed telegram about the USSR’s attitude towards the USA (that Stalin wanted disruption of (capitalism)
What were the consequences of the Long Telegram?
- USA started ‘containment’
- which meant keeping communism in the USSR only
Describe the second telegram & when was it?
- 1946
- Novikov telegram
- sent by soviet diplomat, shows USA didn’t trust USSR
- showed that America not afraid of war
What were the consequences of the Novikov Telegram?
- USSR felt the need to occupy more land for safety
What was the Iron Curtain speech?
Winston Churchill’s speech when he said that Europe is divided by “an iron curtain” in 1946 , behind it was USSR controlled countries
What were the consequences of the Iron Curtain speech?
- increased tension
- both sides strengthened their forces
Why were satellite states made?
- barrier between Germany and USSR
- showed power and strength
- increase of communist influence
Name 5 satellite states & how/when?
- East Germany
- Poland (1947 as a communist government)
- Czechoslovakia (1948 as a communist government)
- Hungary (1949)
- Romania (voted communist after intimidation)
What was the Truman Doctrine?
- 12th March 1947
- Truman announced he would provide economic help to countries being threatened by communism
- promised 400 million dollars, sent US soldiers to Greece and Turkey
Describe what followed the Truman Doctrine
- Marshall Plan (gave 12.7 billion dollars between 1948-52)
- economic aid to countries hit by war
- offered money to satellite states, Stalin refused
What did Stalin call the Marshall Plan?
- Dollar imperialism
- he thought it was the USA trying to be more powerful and create American Empire in Europe
What were the consequences of the Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan?
- friendly Grand Alliance now gone
- USA in direct opposition to USSR
- Europe divided into Western and East
What was Cominform? When?
- 1947
- every Eastern European country was to follow Stalin’s orders, every country would have a Cominform office
What was Comecon? When?
- 1949
- no Eastern European country could take money from the USA
- there would be trade only between communist countries
- communist party took over all industries
What were the consequences of Comecon & Cominform?
- increased tensions
- made divide greater
What was the Berlin Crisis & when?
- March 1948
- USA, Britain & France united their zones in Trizonia
- they created a currency called Deutsche Mark
What was the Berlin Blockade?
- USSR blocked off any land route in and out of Berlin
- this stopped food & essentials reaching Trizonia
When & what was the Berlin Airlift?
- June 1948 to May 1949
- America flew in food and resources instead
- there was a risk the planes might have been shot but it didn’t happen
- over 1000 tonnes of food flown in
- after a year, Stalin removed the blockade
What were the consequences of the Berlin Airlift?
- made Stalin look weak
- West proved they could success peacefully
- 3 days after, USA, Britain & France officially united
When & what was NATO?
- 1949
- Western powers e.g. USA, Britain, France & 9 others united
- from 1949 American troops stationed in Europe
When & what was the Warsaw Pact?
- 1955
- all of Satellite States, lead by the Soviet Union
- promised support
Describe the 6 stages of the arms race
- 1945: US atomic bomb
- 1949: Soviets made their own
- 1950: American Hydrogen Bomb
- 1957: Soviet Hydrogen Bomb
- USA: ballistic missiles
- 2 months later: Soviets also had ballistic missiles
What occurred under Khrushchev’s leadership?
- he openly criticises Stalin, he suggests peace
- the reasons as to why people had hope for peace: war in Korea ended, both countries broke from arms race, Austria calmed tensions through their 1955 meeting
How did the Hungarian Uprising start?
- Hungary didn’t like Soviet control
- they couldn’t vote, food shortages, their leader was brutal
What were the consequences of the attitudes during the Hungarian Uprising?
- protested in Budapest
- tore down statue of Stalin
- Soviets had lack of control
How did Khrushchev respond to the Hungarian Uprising?
- sent the red army to stop the riots
- tried to please them with a new leader: Imre Nagy
What did Imre Nagy follow?
- wanted voting and dictatorship
- asked for political prisoners to be freed
- asked Khrushchev to remove political troops
What happened in Nov. 1956 & what were its consequences?
- Nagy said that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact
- Khrushchev felt that other countries might follow and copy
When & what was the Soviet Union invasion of Hungary?
- 4th November 1956
- Khrushchev sent in the red army, Hungarians fought back & America didn’t help Hungary because of their containment policy & the risk
What were the short term consequences of the USSR invasion of Hungary?
- uprising failed
- 20,000 Soviet troops in Hungary
- 20,000 Hungarians killed
- Nagy & his supporters executed
What were the long term consequences of the USSR invasion of Hungary?
- Khrushchev seemed more powerful
- new leader in Hungary
- showed Eastern Europe that America won’t help them, made the USA look weak
What occurred in 1958?
- 3 million East Germans moved to West Germany
- refugee problem
What were the consequences of the refugee problem?
- an embarrassment for Soviet Union
- people openly choosing capitalism over communism
How did Khrushchev respond to refugee problem?
- Khrushchev demanded that Western troops removed from East Berlin & that Berlin should become a free city, he gave them 6 months & threatened to take over all transport routes
- this was the Berlin Ultimatum
What happened despite the Berlin Ultimatum that caused the Berlin Wall?
- August 1961
- on one day there was 40,000 refugees
- the relationship between USSR and USA was weak
Describe the event of the Berlin Wall
- 12th August 1961
- Khrushchev ordered the building of the Berlin Wall
- first it was a barbed wire fence as they built the concrete
- it was 165km around the city
- by October 1961 it was built
What were the consequences of the Berlin Wall?
- 130 people killed trying to cross the wall
- friends & families divided
- West Berlin Fire Service helped East Germans to escape
Name & date the 4 summit meetings between 1959-61
1) Geneva Summit: May 1959, spoke about Berlin, nothing agreed
2) Camp David: Sep. 1959, Eisenhower & Khrushchev got along, Khrushchev agreed for no more Berlin Ultimatum terms & it displayed they had a better relationship
3) Paris: May 1960, Soviets just shot down the US spy plane, Eisenhower refused to apologise, Khrushchev walked out of the summit
4) Vienna: June 1961, JFK was president & Khrushchev did not trust him, Berlin Ultimatum terms back on, weakened relationship
Describe JFK’s visit to Berlin in June 1963
- he was treated like a rockstar
- “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner)
- gained a good reputation, said a wall was better than a war
What caused the Cuban Revolution?
In 1959, a group in Cuba brought down their government who supported America
What was the impact of the Cuban Revolution on the Cold War?
- any land owned by the US in Cuba was put back under Cuban Control
- Castro puts communists in government
- 1960: Khrushchev & Castro agreed to trade Cuban sugar for economic aid
- Secret agreement that Cuba would receive USSR weapons
What were the consequences of the Cuban Revolution?
- a communist government was now only 145 miles away from USA
- Eisenhower banned all trade and political relationships with Cuba in 1961
Describe the Bay of Pigs invasion
- April 1961
- 1400 ex-Cuban exiles invaded Bay of Pigs
- aimed to remove Castro & communist government however failed as: they had limited military knowledge, US couldn’t support & Castro was prepared w/ 20,000 Cuban soldiers prior to the attack
What were the consequences of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
- USA humiliated (Castro showed photos all over the world)
- looked like the US wanted to invade
- increased popularity of communism
- Khrushchev gave Cuba more weapons
What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- 1961: US spy planes photograph launch pads in Cuba
- CIA told Kennedy that Soviet ship were sailing to Cuba with missiles
What were the consequences of what was found during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- missiles would be active in 2 weeks
- US putting a lot of pressure on Kennedy
Narrate the 13 days, 16th-18th October 1962
1) meeting on the 16th October, believed nuclear war would start
2) 22nd October, Kennedy decided not to attack
3) set up naval blockade around Cuba
4) announced the plans on the TV
5) USA worried
6) Kennedy prepared 54 bombs in case
7) 24th Oct: Soviet ships retreated
8) telegram from Khrushchev, Soviets agreed to remove missiles, if USA promised not to invade Cuba and remove missiles from Turkey
What were the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- war was avoided, Kennedy was loved in the US
- hotline set up between Moscow & Washington
- 1953 Test Ban Treaty (stop testing nuclear weapons)
- 1967 Outer Space Treaty (not allowed to use nuclear weapons in space)
- Khrushchev sacked in 1964
What state was Czechoslovakia in?
- few goods & fuel
- poor economy
- no freedom of speech
- poor standard of living
- opposed Soviet control
What was introduced to Czechoslovakia during this?
- new leader: Dubcek who said “socialism with a human face”
- wanted to stay in Warsaw Pact but still improve living
What reforms did Dubcek make
(Prague Spring)?
During April 1968:
- less censorship
- trade unions allowed
- travel freedom
- government control of land & industry relaxed
How did Brezhnev respond to the Prague Spring?
ordered his western troops to carry out military practice outside Czechoslovakia
When did Warsaw troops invade Prague & what happened?
- 20th August 1968
- 500,000 troops invaded & stopped Prague Spring
- Dubcek arrested & replaced
What were the consequences of the Prague Spring?
Brezhnev Doctrine, 1968:
- if any communist country attempted freedom Warsaw troops would be sent in
- USA made public protest, showed that the US wouldn’t actually act against USSR
- communist parties in France and Italy cut links with USSR
Why did Detente happen?
- the American public were against Vietnam War
- over 6,000 soldier deaths
- inequality problems e.g. Martin Luther King
- USSR had poor living standards
- nuclear weapons too expensive
What & when was SALT 1?
May 1972:
- anti-ballistic missile treaty
- only allowed in 2 sides & of a max. of 100 missiles each
- Intrim Treaty: restricted number of long range missiles allowed
- Basic Principle Agreement: where missiles were allowed to be placed
What were the consequences of SALT 1?
- if there was war it is unlikely that either side would stick to SALT (still owned nuclear weapons)
- showed peace
- reduced likelihood of war
- symbolic importance
What & when was SALT 2?
June 1979: further restriction limits on missiles & bombers
What was the relationship between US and USSR like late 1970s & why?
weak, lack of trust, increased communist support, political pressure
What happened in December 1979 & what were the consequences?
- Soviets invaded Afghanistan
- symbolised the end of Detente
- Carter (US president) refused to sign SALT 2
Narrate the invasion of Afghanistan
- Soviet Union worried that Muslim fundamentalists (mujahideen) in Afghanistan might attack USSR
- despite a government which support Soviets taking over Afghanistan in April 1978, in September 1979 Muslim fundamentalists took over by force
- 24th December 1979: Soviets invaded, & assassinated the leader on the 27th
- Soviet troops stayed in Afghanistan for nearly 10 years
- 1.5 billion Afghan casualties
How did the US react to the invasion of Afghanistan?
- Carter claimed it was the biggest threat to world peace since WW2
- Carter withdrew from SALT 2
What were the consequences of (long term) of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
- Detente officially & definitely over
- Reagan becomes the new president in 1980
- Boycotted 1980 Olympics (in USSR)
What did Ronald Reagan do & why?
- said the Soviets were an evil empire
- created the Strategic Defence Initiative in 1983 (US would place satellites in space & shoot down Soviet missiles)
- Reagan told the world it was ready, however it wasn’t really & was found to be a complete lie
What were the consequences of Reagan’s SDI?
- Soviets now believed their nuclear missiles were pointless & realised how weak their economy was
- US believed they’d win the arms race
- Reagan increased spending on armed forces & weapons by 13%
- US looked very powerful
Who was the new Soviet leader in 1985 & what problems did he face?
- Gorbachev
- left with a huge debt
- standard of living was very poor
- lack of freedom of speech
Why was the Soviet Union weak during the years 1985-6?
- Brezhnev died in 1982
- 2 leaders after him died shortly after power
- 1986: nuclear explosion (very embarrassing for them)
Describe Gorbachev’s economic reform
1) allowed businesses to make profit, therefore people felt happier
2) allowed opposition parties to run against communist government allowed media to be truthful, therefore TVs now showed difference of East and West
3) withdrew troops from Afghanistan, Soviets & communism look weak
4) spent less money on nuclear weapons, however Soviets looked weak
What were the consequences of Gorbachev’s reforms overall?
tension and regression reduced
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
9th November 1989
What were the consequences of the Berlin Wall fall?
- people reunited after 30 years
- huge symbolic event
- other Soviet states now felt confident to gain freedom
How did the Soviet Union collapse & what were the consequences?
- Brezhnev Doctrine over SS broke free (no threat or violence)
- Warsaw Pact ended 1990
- Europe no longer divided, didn’t have to follow rules
- no arms race, iron curtain ends
- Gorbachev falls in 1991 due to hard strict communism
