Cold War Relations Flashcards
when + why did Stalin create comecon
- 1949
- to give financial aid to communist countries
what was the iron curtain
- the division between the communist countries of E Europe and capitalist countries of W Europe
why did Stalin want E Europe countries to have communist gov + how did W Europe allies conceive this as
- to prevent USSR from being invaded as it had been by Nazi Germany 1941
> to W.E allies it looked like USSR had taken over the whole of E Europe
President Harry Truman took a tough anti-communist line called the Truman Doctrine which was based on:
- containing the USSR within its current areas of influence + not allowing it to spread
- promising to support any nations that wished to resist communist (what Truman called totalitarian) governments being forced upon them
when was Cominform created + what was it
- 1947
- co-ordinate economic policies between communist countries of E Europe
what was the Marshall plan
- $13 billion given to capitalist countries to rebuild after the war
why did Stalin introduce the Berlin Blockade
- his fears about the Marshall Plan + Allied decision to introduce new currency in W Zones led to his decision to blockade Berlin
when did Stalin begin the Berlin Blockade
- June 1948
what did the Berlin blockade result in the allies doing
- allies decided to airlift supplies for the 2.4 million W Berliners with food, fuel and other essential supplies
> known as Berlin airlift
what did Stalin do in the Berlin Blockade
- began cutting of road + rail links between Berlin and west
how long did the Berlin Airlift last
11 months
how many flights happened in the Berlin Airlift + extra details abt them
- 278,000 flights
> every 30 seconds a flight left from Germany to Berlin - 2.4 million tons carried at a cost of more than $200 million
- new airport built at Tegel to reduce congestion at other Berlin airports
when was the Berlin Blockade lifted + why
- May 1949
- because Stalin realised that the blockade was not working + didn’t want to risk a full-scale war and so called it off
what were the results of the Berlin Blockade + airlift
- 2 separate German countries created
- Berlin became symbol of opposition to the spread of communism
- USA (1949) set up NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) as a military alliance to protect from Soviet Russia
> Soviets retaliated with Warsaw Pact 1955 - Cold war continues for another 40 years
how long did the Berlin Blockade happen
- June 1948 - May 1949
> 11 months
when did stalin die
5 Match 1953
what was created in 1950s by E German gov to stop citizens fleeing to west + did it work
- ‘inner German border’
> guards ordered to shoot anyone who wasn’t supposed to be there
> however many E German citizens easily walked into W Berlin to escape into W Germany