Cold War - The Origins of the Cold War Flashcards
When did the Yalta Conferences take place?
February 1945
What was the main objective of the Yalta Conference?
Decide what to do with Germany once it had been defeated
What was Churchill’s aims for the Yalta conference?
To keep Britain’s empire and status strong
while resisting demands from the USA and USSR to give up its colonies
What was Roosevelt’s Aims for the Yalta Conference?
To promote world peace and free trade to prevent another Great Depression, with the United Nations as a peacekeeping force
What was Stalin’s aims for the Yalta Conference?
To protect the USSR from Western threats
Stalin sought a buffer zone of communist countries after facing invasions from the West
between 1914 and 1941
What was the outcomes of the Yalta conference?
- Countries freed from Nazi rule were promised free elections, but Stalin was given influence over Eastern Europe
- The Allies committed to hunting Nazi war criminals and creating the United Nations to promote peace and cooperation
- Germany and Berlin were divided into four zones controlled by the USSR, USA, Britain, and France
What was the aims of the Potsdam Conferences?
- Finish a post-war settlement
- Put into action all the things agreed at Yalta
Who were the participants at the Potsdam conferences?
- Atlee
- Truman
- Stalin
What was the outcome of the Potdam conference?
- Germans living in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia would return to Germany
- Germany will loose territory in the East to USSR
How did Truman having Nuclear weapons lead to more tension between the USA and USSR?
He looked untrustworthy and greatly angered Stalin
Damaging an already fragile relationship
When was the first atomic bomb dropped?
6th August 1945 on the city of Hiroshima
What was the consequences of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima?
- Killed 140,000 people
- Destroyed more than 60% of the city’s buildings
What was the consequences of the second atomic bomb?
- Killed around 74,000 people
What was the consequences of BOTH atomic bombs?
Japan surrendered on the 15th August, ending WW2
Why was the Atomic Bombs dropped?
- Force the Japanese government to surrender
- Some Historians theorised it was to show the Soviet Union, the strength of the American Military (Seen as a warning)
What impact did the Atomic Bomb have on the Cold War?
- Changed the nature of warfare for the remainder of the Cold War
- The threat of atomic weapons and nuclear war would be a constant theme
How did the Atomic Bomb increase tension?
- It was built on secrecy by the USA
- The soviets would view possessing Nuclear weapons as essential to balancing power and ensuring its security against potential US aggression
Why was Eastern Europe used as a buffer zone?
To protect the soviet Union from the West
How did the Soviets turn Albania communist?
1945 - Immediate communist after WW2
How did the Soviets turn Bulgaria communist?
1945 - During the elections, a communist-led coalition was elected but the communists executed the non-communists
How did the Soviets turn East Germany communists?
1945 - East Germany was soviet control of Germany
- In 1945, they set up a communist-controlled state called the German Democratic Republic
How did the Soviets turn Romania communists?
1947 - Communist-led coalition was elected to power
- Gradually took over and in 1947, they abolished the monarchy
What was the reaction to Soviet Expansion?
It seemed that in many countries the hard-won freedom from Nazi
dictatorship
was being replaced by communist dictatorships
What was The Long Telegram?
22nd Febuary 1946 - George Kennan sent a detailed report, which included 8000 words, back to the government in Washington
