Cold War 1945-89 Flashcards
What caused the Cold War
Different political systems
Iron curtain
Truman doctrine
Marshall plan
What are the different political systems
The Soviet Union was a communist country
Only the communist party existed
Shops and banks were controlled by the state
No voting
The Americans followed a capitalist system
People were free to own property, land and business
The state tried not to interfere in controlling the economy
What is the iron curtain
End of WWII
red army drove nazis out of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and eastern part of Germany
New communists country’s were called satellite states
Churchill complained Stalin had drawn an iron curtain
A division between democratic countries in the west and ‘unfree’ countries in the east.
What’s the Truman doctrine
1947 Harry Truman announced Americas response to soviet control of Eastern Europe
What’s the Marshall plan
That communism spread as a result of poverty
What’s the Berlin blockade
Germany - 4 zones of occupations, divided between the Soviet Union, America, Britain and France
Berlin was divided into east and west
1948 Stalin closed of water and land routes between west Germany and West Berlin
2 million people in West Berlin had food for 1 month
They tried to airlift food from Hamburg, Hanover and Frankfurt
They dropped off hot water bottles
Stalin hoped a bad winter would delay flights
Borders reopened in May 1949
Results
Germany was split
Berlin Wall - 25 miles between east and West Berlin
The Korean War
Korea - part if Japan
2 zones - Soviet Union
South Korea - America, all Japanese troops were removed in 1949
Divided along the 38th parallel
North Korea - communist - Kim il sung in 1950 invaded the south
They moved from Seout to Pusen
United Nations sent an international army led by General Douglas Mac Arthur
The sent the North Koreans back.
But he sent Chinese groups to help as they were also communist
The international general wanted America to drop atomic bombs on China
He was then fired
Peace talks started in 1951 in 1953 Dwight D Einenhover became president of America
1953 Stalin died
He was replaced by Nikita Khrushchev
An armistice (ceasefires) was signed in July
Results
Cold War spread to Asia
4 million people died
Korea is still divided
Cuban missile crises
90 miles south of USA
general Batista was over thrown by Fidel Castro he wanted to make Cuba communist
America was suspicious of the soviet
JFK agreed to invasion by the Central Intelligence Agency
1962 2 spy planes showed missiles being prepared in Cuban Jungle
Khrushchev claimed they’re for Cuban protection
Novel blockade - stopping all ships to enter Cuba and search for missiles
Results
Détente - relaxing of tension
Hotline - between kremlin and the White House
Test ban treaty - forbidding the testing of nuclear bombs
What does containment mean
The policy followed by president Truman is not allowing the spread of communism
What does glasnost mean
A policy of openness introduced by Gorbachev which allowed people to criticise the communist system
What does perestroika mean
A policy introduced by Gorbachev aimed at rebuilding the economy of the Soviet Union
