Cold War (early tension) Flashcards
What was the ‘Grand Alliance’?
An alliance between the USA, Britain and the USSR to defeat Nazi Germany in the second world war
When was the ‘Grand Alliance’ created?
1941
Who were the leaders of the ‘big three’ around the time of the Grand alliance?
Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
What was agreed at the Tehran Conference?
- The Soviet Union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
- The boundaries of Poland would be moved westwards; Poland would gain territory from Germany and lose it to USSR
- Agreed that an international body would be set up to settle future disputes, which lead to the later establishment of United Nations
When was the Tehran Conference?
November - December 1943
When was the Yalta Conference?
February 1945
What was agreed at the Yalta conference?
- Germany, when defeated, would be reduced in size, divided and demilitarised. It would have to pay reparations
- The UN (united nations) would be set up
- The soviet union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
- Poland would be in the ‘soviet sphere of influence’ but run on a broader democratic basis
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July-August 1945
What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference?
- A council of foreign ministers was set up to aid the rebuilding of Europe
- Nazi party was banned and war criminals were to be prosecuted
- Germany was to be reduced in size and divided in 4 zones of occupation for the USA, Britain, France and USSR
- Berlin was also to be divided into zones of occupation
When did the War against Germany end?
In 1945, due to Germany’s surrender
Who were the leaders of the Big three when WW2 ended?
Truman, Stalin and Churchill
Why did the Grand Alliance end?
- USA’s testing of Atom bomb on Japan in 1945. Gave them a huge military advantage
- Roosevelt was prepared to work with Stalin, but he died in April 1945 and was replaced by Truman. Truman trusted Stalin much less.
- Stalin disliked the way Truman pushed him about in the Potsdam Conference, thanks to the atomic bomb
- Stalin didn’t do what he was supposed to do in Poland, there was not multiple political parties, just a communist democracy
What was a great difference between the USA and USSR that led to a breakdown of trust?
They had opposing ideologies, communism and capitalism
What were Capitalist beliefs held by the USA?
- everyone should be free to make money for themselves
- communism enslaved people to the state, and that capitalism was about freedom and democracy
What were the communist beliefs held by the USSR?
- capitalism exploited workers to make the rich even richer
- communism was based on fairness
- individuals are not as strong as everyone working together
What triggered the Arms Race?
The dropping of the first atomic bomb by the USA, and how Truman was not willing to reveal the technology of it to Stalin, making him suspicious to the West
Why did both the USA and USSR have secret reports from their embassies in the form of telegrams?
Truman and Stalin both feared the breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the subsequent threat of a new war
What did Kennan, a US ambassador, report to Truman from Moscow in the Long Telegram?
- 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 was not possible.
What did Novikov, a soviet ambassador, in the US tell Stalin in the Novikov telegram?
- the USA wanted world domination and was
building up its military strength - 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.
What did both countries believe following the telegrams?
That there was a great possibility of war
What year did the Long and Novikov Telegrams take place?
1946
When did the Grand Alliance end?
By the end of 1946
Why were Satelite States created?
to respond to the USSR’s nuclear inferiority by strengthening its control over Eastern Europe
Name some Eastern European states that the USSR gained control over using salami tactics?
Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania
What were salami tactics?
fixing elections then shutting down the opposition (what stalin used in eastern european countries)
What happened by 1947 regarding all Eastern European states?
By 1947, all eastern European states apart from Czechoslovakia had communist governments
How did the USSR justify its creation of satellite states?
- It had created a buffer zone against the West.
- It was afraid of the USA’s atomic power
- It was afraid of an attack by the West in the near future.
What did the USA think of the creation of satellite states?
- As a betrayal of the Yalta agreement, in which Stalin had made promises about holding democratic elections
- Others saw it as evidence of Soviet expansion:Eastern Europe was a stepping-stone to a Soviet takeover of Western Europe.
What was the US response to satellite states?
Containing communism through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
