Cold War: Early Tensions Between/and/or/in Weat And West Flashcards
Capitalism
Capitalists believed everyone should be free to own property and businesses and make money. The USA’s economic ideology was capitalist.
Communism
Communists believe that all property, including homes and businesses, should belong to the state, to ensure that every member of society has a fair share. Communism is based on the writings of Karl Marx and was the political ideology of the Soviet Union.
The Grand Alliance
In the Second World War, the Grand Alliance was formed between the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain to defeat Germany and Japan. The leaders of The Grand Alliance nations met three times during the war: at Tehran (1943), Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July 1945).
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Believed strongly in democracy, but compromised for alliance with Stalin
- After Japan bombed USA, Roosevelt thought he needed Soviet support against them
- Not always as tough in negotiations with Stalin as Churchill would have liked
- Believed that any long-term settlement was possible if the Soviet Union was viewed as a superpower/partner in peace.
Winston Churchill
Conservative from an aristocratic family, had very traditional values Strongly believed in British Empire, did not want to grant any colonies freedom Suspicious of Stalin. Main job of being in the Grand Alliance was trying to stop Soviet expansion
Joseph Stalin
Strengthened one-party rule in the Soviet Union, cut back on people’s individual rights.
Convinced that the West wanted to destroy communism
So had to stand firm in negotiations with Western superpowers
What was Aims of the Tehran conference (November-December 1943)
• The USA and Britain agreed to open up a second front by invading
Nazi-occupied Europe.
- 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 the Soviet Union.
- It was also agreed that an international body would be set up to settle future disputes between countries. This set the scene for the establishment of the United Nations.
What was The Yalta Conference (February 1945)
- Germany, when defeated, would be reduced in size, divided and demilitarised. It would have to pay reparations.
• Europe would be rebuilt along the lines of the Atlantic Charter. - Countries would have democratic elections.
- 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.
What was The Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)
- A Council of Foreign Ministers was set up to organise the rebuilding of Europe.
- The Nazi Party was banned and war criminals were to be prosecuted.
- Germany was to be reduced in size and divided into four zones of occupation run by Britain, France, the USA and the Soviet Union.
• Berlin was also to be divided up into zones of occupation. - The Soviet Union was to receive 25% of the output from the other three occupied zones.
How were US-Soviet in 1945-46
- Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to protect the Soviet Union. But Truman believed that Stalin was trying to SPREAD communism. In the years 1945-46, this disagreement and lack of TRUST turned the wartime alliance into peacetime hostility.
- Because of the atomic bomb, Stalin was determined to make the Soviet Union secure. His immediate aim was to create a BUFFER zone of countries that supported communism between Germany and the Soviet Union’s western borders.
- The bomb made Cold War tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union much worse. A war that used atomic weapons could kill millions of people. But, equally, the dangers of using an atomic bomb made both the USA and the Soviet Union try to avoid war. Instead they began an arms RACE, in which each side tried to make sure their nuclear weapons were more powerful than those of their rival.
Breakdown of Trust from USA, etc. POV
The USA, Britain and other capitalist countries Said: communism enslaved people to the state. Capitalism was based on freedom and democracy:
• Everyone should be free to make money for themselves.
• Individuals are better at deciding what to make/ sell than the state.
• Trade between countries makes everyone richer.
Breakdown of Trust from USSR, etc. POV
The Soviet Union and other communist countries Said: capitalism exploited the workers to make the rich even richer. Communism was based on fairness:
• Capitalism only makes some people rich by exploiting everyone else.
• Individuals are not as strong as everyone working together for the same aim.
• The state should take control of the economy and run it to benefit everyone.
The Long Telegram (1946)
A secret report from the US ambassador Kennan in Moscow to President Truman said:
• 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.
Novikov’s Telegram (1946)
A report from Novikov, Soviet ambassador to the USA, told Stalin that:
• 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 were satellite states
Countries that came under the control of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. These countries (or ‘pawns’) play a major role in future cold war events.