Cold War 1946-1955 Flashcards
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLD WAR 1946 TO 1955
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLD WAR 1946 TO 1955
USSR EXTENDING CONTROL OVER EASTERN EUROPE
USSR EXTENDING CONTROL OVER EASTERN EUROPE
What did Stalin want to create in Eastern Europe?
A buffer zone
How did the US interpret the actions of the USSR in Eastern Europe?
To spread communism - rather than a desire for protection
What did the USSR tell foreign ministers of the Baltic States at the start of WW2?
That they faced an invasion unless they signed a treaty of assistance with the USSR
When were the Baltic States initially occupied by the Red Army?
June 1940
What % of the Baltic States voted to be incorporated into the USSR in a rigged referendum?
90%
What did many people in the Baltic States see as liberation?
Being invaded by the Nazis in June 1941
When did the Red Army reoccupy the Baltic States?
Summer of 1944
How many people in the Baltic States were deported once the Soviets took over again?
500,000
What did Stalin promise at the Tehran Conference in 1943 in regards to the Baltic States?
He promised a referendum would be held in the Baltic States - never happened
Why did the USSR see Poland as vital for the USSR post WW2?
Poland was needed as a buffer against Germany
What were the 2 rival governments in Poland?
London Poles and Lublin Poles (communist)
When were 16 representatives of the London Poles arrested by the NKVD and forced to confess to Nazi collaboration?
March 1945
Why did Stalin not hold free elections in Poland despite promising them?
The Polish Communist Party was unpopular
What % of the vote did the Polish Communist Party win in rigged elections in January 1947?
80%
How many seats did the Polish Communist party win in rigged elections in January 1947?
394 seats
What % of the vote and how many seats did the Polish Peasants Party win in rigged election in January 1947?
10% of the vote, 28 seats
What % of the vote did the Democratic Front win in rigged Romanian elections in November 1946?
70%
When was Romanian King Michael forced to abdicate?
December 1947
What did Romania become after the abdication of King Michael?
A pro-Soviet people’s republic, one-party state
What coalition government was set up in Bulgaria in 1945?
The Fatherland Front
What did the Bulgarian Fatherland Front consist of?
Communists and non-communists
Who controlled the Bulgarian Ministries of the Interior and Justice in the Fatherland Front?
The communists
What did Stalin do once the Bulgarian non-communists demanded that the power of the Ministries of the Interior and Justice be shared?
The army was purged of non-communists and a rigged referendum was held which meant Bulgaria became a republic, monarchy was abolished
When were the Bulgarian opposition party leaders executed?
September 1947
Why was Stalin more cautious in his approach towards Hungary?
He agreed to split Hungary 50/50 with Churchill
What was set up in Hungary in 1945?
A genuine coalition government
What was the only government department in Hungary that the communists had control of in the coalition?
Ministries of Trade and Agriculture
What % of the vote did the Hungarian communists win in November 1945?
17%
What % of the vote did the Smallholders party win in Hungary in November 1945?
57%
What was communist Imre Nagy appointed as in the Hungarian coalition?
Minister of the Interior
Why did the Prime Minister of Hungary and leader of the Smallholders party resign?
His son was kidnapped
When were Hungarian elections rigged to ensure a communist victory?
August 1947
When did the communists take complete control of the Hungarian government?
1948
What % of the vote did the communist party win in free elections in Czechoslovakia in May 1946?
38% - largest share
ACTIONS OF THE WEST
ACTIONS OF THE WEST
What did Churchill state about Eastern European countries in his iron curtain speech?
That they had been placed under totalitarian rule and were controlled by Moscow
Who heavily influenced Harry Truman’s foreign policy?
George Kennan, a diplomat based in Moscow
When was George Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’?
22nd February 1946
What 2 things did George Kennan claim about the USSR in his ‘Long Telegram’?
- USSR was inherently expansionist
- USSR saw the West as an enemy
When did Clement Attlee tell Truman that British aid to Greece and Turkey would stop?
21st February 1947
When did Truman give a speech announcing the Truman Doctrine?
12th March 1947
What is a quote from Truman’s speech?
He promised to support ‘free peoples everywhere who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures’
How much did Truman give Greece to defeat ELAS (communist) in the Greek Civil War?
$300 million
How much money overall was in the Truman Doctrine?
$400 million
What % of the vote did the Italian communists win in 1946?
28%
What % of the vote did the French communists win in 1948?
31%
Who was the Marshall Plan named after?
US Secretary of State George C. Marshall
When did Truman sign the Marshall Plan into law?
3rd April 1948
How much did European countries ask for in the Marshall Plan?
$29 billion
How much did European countries receive in the Marshall Plan?
$17 billion
How much did France receive in Marshall Aid?
$2.7 billion
How much did Italy receive in Marshall Aid?
$1.5 billion
How much did West Germany receive in Marshall Aid?
$1.4 billion
How much did Yugoslavia receive in Marshall Aid?
$109 million
What did Stalin refuse his satellite states to receive?
Marshall Aid
What did the Soviets portray the Marshall Plan as?
Dollar imperialism
What prompted Congress to pass the Economic Cooperation Act? (Marshall Plan)
Jan Masaryk was murdered in March 1948
What was Comecon?
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
What was Comecon founded as an alternative to?
Dollar imperialism
ISSUES OVER GERMANY
ISSUES OVER GERMANY
What were the top 2 similar ambitions of the allies in regards to Germany?
Demilitarisation and denazification
When did the US and UK merge their German zones to form Bizonia?
January 1947
What did Stalin envisage Germany to be?
Weak, united and neutral
When was the Deutschmark launched in the Western zones?
20th June 1948
When did the Berlin Blockade start?
23rd June 1948
What was Stalin’s main aim with the Berlin Blockade?
To force the Western powers out of Berlin
What had West Berlin become by the time of the blockade?
A symbol of freedom against Soviet tyranny
When did the Berlin airlift begin?
26th June 1948
How often did a plane land in West Berlin during the airlift?
Every 90 seconds
How many tonnes of supplies were brought into West Berlin every day during the airlift?
4500 tonnes every day
When was Nato formed?
4th April 1949
When was there a plane crash over Berlin?
6th April 1949
When did the Soviets lift their blockade of Berlin?
11th May 1949
How many people was Stalin willing to starve in his decision to blockade West Berlin?
2 million
What did France agree to do once the blockade was lifted?
Merge their German zone with Bizonia
When was the FRG created?
21st September 1949
Who was elected as the first FRG Chancellor in September 1949?
Konrad Adenauer
When was the GDR created?
7th October 1949
Who was appointed as the first secretary of the GDR?
Walter Ulbricht
How much did the USSR take in reparations from their zone by 1952?
$3.7 billion
When did General Clay announce that the US wouldn’t collect reparations until there was a 4-zone economic plan for Germany?
May 1946
When did US Secretary of State Byrnes tell Molotov that the US wouldn’t collect reparations until Germany had a trade surplus?
July 1947
How much had Molotov demanded the US collect in reparations in July 1947?
$10 billion
When was the 2nd London Conference?
February to June 1948
What did the USSR say to the UK and US at the 1st London Conference?
That they were betraying Potsdam agreements
WHY WAS NATO CREATED IN 1949?
WHY WAS NATO CREATED IN 1949?
When did Washington start to see Czechoslovakia in the Soviet sphere of influence?
When Stalin didn’t allow them to accept Marshall Aid
What was the US response to Czechoslovakia appealed for aid?
That they would only help if Czechoslovakia received Marshall Aid
What did Czech Foreign Trade Minister Ripka say after the USSR gave them 600,000 tonnes of grain?
‘Those idiots in Washington have driven us straight into the Stalinist camp’
What happened after several parties resigned after being given grain by the USSR?
The communists convinced Benes to allow them to form a government - controlled the police
When was Jan Masaryk pushed out of a window?
10th March 1948
Who replaced Benes after his death in June 1948?
Communist leader Klement Gottwald
When was the North Atlantic Treaty signed?
4th April 1949
How many signed the NATO treaty?
12
What was signed in 1955 as a military pact by Eastern European countries?
The Warsaw Pact
