Cold War Orgins Flashcards
Between what two powers did the COld War develop after WW2
It was a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Cold war was a long period of tensions betwen the democracies of the Western world and the communist countries of Eastern Europe
Why was the WW2 Alloed Conferences (Tehran, yaltan, postdam) the start of disagreement?
Change in leadership sparked the disagreement. and change in war plan
At the end of the war, what does Soviet Union want? what does US want?
Soviet Union wants communism and the US doesn’t want communism to spread and tries to prevent it. The US wants containment and spreads capitalism
What was Churchill’s Iron curtain speech? what does he say
HE warned the US about how the Soviets were acting in Europe. CHurchill talks about how the continent is divided by an iron curtain and he lists the different countries on each side
Truman decides to get tough with his Truman Doctrine, what does that say
It said that the U.S. would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external/internal authoritarian forces
What is the marshall plan
It was an american initiative passed in 1948 to aid Western Europe, in which the US gave over 12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild western European economies after WW2
How does Stalin respond to both the Truman doctrine and the Marshall plan
He Refused to accept because he believed the marshall plan was an attempt to weaken soviet . He sets up the cominform (communist infomration bureau) to strengthen the power and influence of the Soviet Union believing that the Truman doctrine and marshall plan were part of the larger US plan for world domination
What was the Berlin Blockade
IT was when the soviet union blocked the western allies railway, roads and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under western control
With response to Berlin blockade, what did the US do?
Berlin airlift. It was an operation carried out by US and BRitain air force to supply 2 and a quarter million people at Berlin with food, coal and other necessities of life
What were the consequences of the war crisis?
Stalins intention was to show that soviets also had power in Germany to match the economic power and unity of the WEst. He did not want to risk war over Berlin or intend to ‘drive the allies out’. However the allies were now determined to showcase west berlin for capitalism
What were the myths surrounding the berlin blockade and airlift
the airlift failed to meet west berlins food needs and never supplied coal to heat private homes. West berliners embarked on foraging trips surrounding soviet zone and practiced black market strategies for their survival.
