Cold War Flashcards
When was the Tehran conference
Nov-dec 1943
What did the Tehran conference include
-The Soviet Union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
-Soviet Union would have parts of Poland
When was the Yalta conference
February 1945
What did the Yalta conference include
-Germany would reduce in size, divided and demilitarised
-also pay reparations
-UN set up
-the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
When was the Potsdam conference
July-Aug 1945
What did the Potsdam conference include
-the nazi party was banned and war criminals were to be prosecuted
-Germany divided into four zones run by: France, Britain, Soviet Union and USA
-Berlin was also divided up into four zones of occupation
What happened to the grand alliance after the war
-Roosevelt believed that he could work with the Soviet Union after the war through the UN
-Truman and Churchill was more suspicious of them and increased tensions
Why didn’t Truman trust Stalin?
He had broken the promises he made over Poland at Yalta
What did the USA, Britain and other capitalist countries say about communism
They said that communism enslaved people to the state and capitalism was based on freedom and democracy
The long telegram (1946)
A secret report from the us ambassador Kennan in Moscow to president Truman
What did the Long telegram say?
-the Soviet Union saw capitalism as a threat to communism that had to be destroyed
- the Soviet Union was building its military power
-peace between a communist Soviet Union and a capitalist USA wasn’t possible
Novikovs telegram (1946)
A report from novikov, Soviet ambassador to the USA
What did Novikovs telegram tell Stalin
-the USA wanted world domination and was building up its military power
-the Soviet Union was the only country left after the war that could stand up to the USA
-the USA was preparing its people for war with the Soviet Union
Satellite states
Between 1947-1949 the Soviet Union spread its sphere of influence to neighbouring counties. Countries like Poland and Hungary became ‘satellite states’ under the control of the Soviet union
All the countries that became communist due to Soviet influence
-Bulgaria
-Romania
-Poland
-Hungary
-Czechoslovakia
-east Germany
The Truman doctrine (1947)
Truman set out why the USA should get involved:
-countries faced a choice between either capitalism or communism
-communism was bad because it meant people couldn’t be free
-the USA must try to contain this spread of communism
-the USA should provide money and troops to help free governments to combat communist takeovers
The Marshall plan (1947)
-about $13 billion from the USA to help rebuild Europe
-countries must train with the USA to get money
-16 Western European countries took the money including Britain, France and west Germany
-the Soviet Union criticised the Marshall plan as an attack on them because it threatened communist control in Eastern Europe
Cominform
-Stood for communist information Bureau.
-Stalin set up in 1947
-organised all the communist parties in Europe and arranged their leadership so they would do what Moscow told them to do.
-it encouraged communist parties in western countries to block Marshall plan assistance
Comecon
-stood for the council for mutual economic assistance.
-Stalin set it up in 1949
-Soviet unions alternative to the Marshall plan
-built up trade links between Comecon countries
-also prevented Comecon countries from signing up to the Marshall plan
The North Atlantic treaty organisation
(NATO)
-nato was set up in 1949. It was a military alliance made up of the USA, Britain, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway
-based around the principle of collective security
The Berlin airlift
-west Berlin couldn’t last for many days without supplies
-looked like western powers would have to pull out of Berlin( would look weak)
-between 26th June 1948 - 30th sept 1949, thousands of tonnes of supplies were flown daily into Berlin
The Berlin blockade
24th June 1948 - 12th may 1949, cutting off all land and river transit between West Berlin and west Germany
The arms race
A period of intense competition between the USA and Soviet Union during the Cold War to build up their military forces, especially nuclear weapons
Warsaw pact
-set up 14th may 1955
-was a collective defence treaty Involving the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, east Germany, Czech. Romania, Albania and Bulgaria
- strengthen the Soviet hold over the other participating countries