Cold War- Origins 1941-58 Flashcards
Tehran conference 1943- key points
USA and GB agreed to open 2nd front by invading Nazi occupied Europe
USSR would declare war on Japan after Germany defeated
Boundaries of Poland would move west, they would gain territory from German but lose territory to USSR
International body to be set up to settle future disputes between countries (UN)
Yalta conference Feb 1945- key points
Germany when defeated would become smaller, divided and demilitarised and also pay reparations
Europe countries would have democratic elections
UN would be she up
USSRZ would still declare war on Japan after Germany gone
Poland would be in the ‘soviet sphere of influence’ but run on wider democratic basis
Potsdam conference Jul 1945- key points
Council of foreign ministers set up to organise rebuilding of Europe
Nazi party banned and war criminals persecuted
Germany divided into 4 zones of occupation
Berlin also split into 4
USSR was to receive 25% of output from other 3 zones
The end of the grand alliance- steps
USA dropped atomic bombs on Japan in Aug 1945- huge military advantage over other countries (Stalin had spies and was annoyed USA didn’t tell him they were doing that- espionage)
Roosevelt died and replaced by trueman -more sus of Stalin and felt he could push him around at spot conference
Stalin didn’t like how he was pushed around at Pot conference
Increased tension
Britain was economically exhausted so didn’t really involve in this, only allied with the USA
Why did capitalist countries not like communism
Said that it enslaved people to the state
Why did communist countries not like capitalism
Said it exploited the workers to make the rich even richer
What was the long telegram (1946)
Secret repot from US ambassadors Kennan in Moscow to Truman
It said:
USSR saw capitalism WD a threat to communism and it needed to be destroyed
USSR was building military power
Peace between USSR and USA wasn’t possible if they were capitalist and communist
What was the Novikov telegram (1946)
Report from soviet ambassador Novikov to the USA
It told Stalin that:
USA wanted world domination and was building military strength
USSR was the only country left after WW2 that could stand up to USA
USA was preparing its ppl for war against USSR
Communism and free elections
At conferences USSR agreed to free elections in other countries
However, elections were fixed to make sure communist parties won, and non communist parties were removed from gov
Once in control, the communists shut down opp parties and each country became a single party state
‘Salami tactics’
How did USSR take over Bulgaria
A communist government was elected in 1945, and all elected non-communists were executed
How did ussr take over Romania
A communist-led coalition took power. However, by 1947 the communists had
taken over and Romania became a one-party state.
How did ussr take over Poland
At Yalta Stalin promised to set up a joint communist/non-communist government.
He then invited 16 non-communist leaders to Moscow and arrested them. Thousands
of non-communists were arrested. The communists then ‘won’ the 1947 election.
How did ussr take over Hungary
The communists lost the 1945 election but the communist leader Rakosi took
control of the secret police, executed and imprisoned his opponents and
turned Hungary into a communist state.
How did ussr take over Czechoslovakia
Edward Benes set up a coalition government. However, the communists retained
control of the army, the radio and the secret police. In 1948 they seized power
completely, turning the country into a communist state.
How did ussr take over east Germany
The original Soviet zone of occupation in Germany, it became a communist state
in October 1949.
Impact of soviet occupation of Eastern Europe on superpower relations
USA saw it as betrayal of yalta agreement
Others saw it as evidence of soviet expansion and a chance to take over west
USA was determined to contain communism thru military and economic assistance (Trueman + marshal)
USSR argued it needed to control Eastern Europe as a buffer zone, preventing attack from the west, and the us was doing too much
What was the Truman doctrine (1947)
Countries faced a choice between communism or capitalism
Communism was bad cause it meant ppl couldn’t be free
USA must try to contain the spread of communism
The USA should provide money and troops to help free governments to combat communist takeovers
What was the marshal plan (1947)
Around 13 billion from USA to help rebuild Europe
Communism appealed to most ppl with nothing to lose, so marshal plan hoped to stop communism by giving people a staken in the capitalist system
Countries must trade with USA to get the money
16 west Europe countries took the money
USSR criticised the marshal plan as an attack on them cause it threatened communist control in east Europe
What was cominform (1947)
Communist information bureau
It organised all the communist parties in Europe and arranged their leadership so they would do what Moscow told them to do
It got rid of any opps to the USSR control in satellite states
It encourage communist parties in west countries to block Marshall plan assistance
What was Comecon (1949)
Council for mutual economic assistance
Soviets alternative to the mardhal plan
Built up trade links between Comecon countries
Prevented Comecon countries signing up to the marshal plan
Consequences of Comecon, cominform and NATO
West Europe as now one group and linked to USA thru containment of communism
East Europe was now one group, tied to USSR as satellite states and ussr believed socialist revolution would spread worldwide
2 spheres of influence
NATO (1949)
Military alliance of west Europe mostly
Based around principle of collective security
Directed against a possible military attack from Soviet Union of west Europe
Bizonia and west Germany
Part of the masrchal plan
Became trizonai when France joined too
Introduced new currency- really made it a whole new country
Soviets hated this as they thought USA wanted to permanently divide rich west from poor east
Significance of NATO
Showed that after Berlin blockade and users development of atomic bomb, neither USA or west Europe govs were prepared to accept future user aggression
USSR therefore turned to strengthening its control over east Europe, resulting in formation of Warsaw pact
Now 2 military pacts facing each other across the iron Curtain
