Cold War Flashcards
What are Churchills aims?
Re-establish British empire
Prevent Germany from attacking its neighbours and causing havoc
What’s stalins aims?
Establish socialist satellite governments across Eastern Europe
Eliminate German dominance
Dominate Europe
Create communist governments across the globe
What are Roosevelts aims?
Destruction of totalitarian regimes
Rise of democracy everywhere
What are the issues wit their aims?
Only Roosevelt wants to establish a world peace keeping organisation (UN)
Their aims are incompatible
Soviet controlled communist regimes opposed
Stalin had the upper hand (first to capture Berlin)
What are communist ideas?
Everyone equal
One party dictatorship
Society and the collective
State owned industry
What are capitalist ideas?
Individual Great wealth and great poverty Private owned industry Government chosen in free democratic elections Being free of government control
When was the Yalta conference?
February 1945
What decisions were made at Yalta?
Germany divided into four zones (British, French, USA, USSR)
Berlin also divided into four zones
All agreed to join UNO to keep peace
A soviet sphere of influence over Eastern Europe
Countries freed of occupation get to choose their governments in free elections
Who were the big three at Yalta?
Churchill
Roosevelt
Stalin
What was the only disagreement at Yalta?
Poland
Stalin wants to move borders westward into Poland
Unhappy but agreed so long as Stalin not interfere with Greece
What changes had there been since Yalta which affected the Potsdam conference?
Stalins army occupying most of Eastern Europe and set up communist rule in Poland (against the poles wishes)
Roosevelt died and Truman now president (very anti communist and suspicious of Stalin)
USA tested an atomic bomb
Halfway through Churchill lost the election and Clement Atlee became the PM
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July-August 1945
Who were the big three at the Potsdam conference?
Stalin
Truman
Clement Atlee
What problems did stalins occupation of Eastern Europe cause at the Potsdam conference?
Weakens relationship
Allies feel threatened
Lose trust
Why problems did Truman cause at the Potsdam conference?
Very anti communist
No trust of Stalin
Fears a soviet takeover
Rivalry and suspicion
What problems do the atomic bomb test cause at Potsdam?
Lose trust
Fear of attack from both sides
What disagreements were made at Potsdam?
Stalin wants to cripple Germany and wanted compensation but Truman didn’t want to repeat the treaty of Versailles
Trumans not happy about stalins plans for Eastern Europe
What happened in 1946?
Allies form one zone in Germany
Stalin takes over
Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland (this domination of Eastern Europe created a divide - the iron curtain)
How did Stalin take over Eastern Europe?
Secret police imprisoned anyone who opposed communism
Cominform set up in 1947 allowing Stalin to over see what was happening and coordinate the communist parties
When was cominform set up?
September 1947
What happens in 1948 which causes the Berlin blockade?
Allies establish their own currency in their combined zones - (all the forming together is to try and help German recovery)
When is Berlin blockaded?
June 1948
Why is Berlin and important symbol?
To Stalin it represents authority and power
To Truman it represents freedom from communism
Why does Stalin blockade Berlin?
To show that he has authority
Reaction to the allies forming together and the Truman doctrine and Marshall plan
Hoped it would force the allies out of Berlin so it would become entirely soviet
Why did Britain get involved in Greece?
Help restore order an supervise free elections
Stopped free elections being fair
Supported the monarchists and help the king back into power to stop communism taking over
Truman funded the involvement
What happened in Czechoslovakia?
Jan Masaryk was suspected to be killed by the communists
Showed American congress how ruthless the communists were
What was the significance of Greece and Czechoslovakia?
Sparked the creation of the Marshall plan and Truman doctrine
Americans paying for British troops in Greece showed how countries needed financial support to prevent communism
What is the Truman doctrine?
A policy of “containment”
America was prepared to send, money, equipment and advice to any country under threat from a communist take over
Caused because of American intervention in greece
When was the Truman doctrine introduced?
1947
Who are the allies at Yalta?
Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
Franklin D Roosevelt
Why does the Marshall plan increase tension between the allies and Stalin?
Very anti communist
Insulting
Threat
Undermines and shows Stalin a lack of respect
Why was the Marshall plan introduced?
Believed communism spread because of poverty - Europes economy in shambles after the war
To prevent the spread of communism
When Czechoslovakia falls it pushes congress to accept it
What is the Marshall plan?
George Marshall was sent to assess Europes economic state and said needed $17 billion to rebuild
CIA created to challenge communism covertly
When was the Marshall plan accepted by communism?
April 3rd 1948
Name 5 examples where Marshall aid helped countries in Europe
1950 Yugoslavia turn their back on communism
Greece received $700 million and American mules (stronger)
$13.5 billion spent in 16 countries over 4 years
September 1947 16 countries sign up
Americans urge Italian relatives to not vote communism when communist victory feared in their free elections
What do the allies do in 1948 as a response to stalins blockade?
Airlift supplies into their sectors ( Stalin couldn’t shoot them down as that would be an act of war)
What happened in May 1949?
Stalin lifts the blockade realising the allies aren’t going to give up
Formal division of Germany into
Federal republic of Germany (west)
German Democratic Republic (East)
When is NATO set up and why?
1949
During blockade war seemed real possibility so all western powers signed a treaty agreeing to work together
Name 5 Cold War developments in the 60s
Warsaw Pact - (eastern version of NATO)
Arms race
ICBM - USSR May 1957
- USA 1959
Missile gap - myth
Polaris - nuclear missiles fired from submarines - undetectable
