Development of the Cold War 1946-1955

Question 1

What 4 issues caused the Grand Alliance to break down between 1945-1947?

Answer 1

THE UNITED NATIONS
- Creation of the Security Council whereby the four powers present would have the right of a Veto (the power to stop an official action of a legislation) The USSR disagreed on the introduction of a Veto.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
- November 1945 UN atomic energy - exchange of basic scientific information for all nations
TREATIES WITH AXIS POWERS
- Discuss the treaties of Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary and Romania - there were immediate arguments
- USSR wanted a harsh treaty on Italy, however USA and Britain felt Italy deserved leniency
GERMANY
- Germany’s economic and military strength meant that neither side could back down and let the other control it
- Stalin hoped that Germany would fall in to the Soviet’s sphere of Influence. He hoped that communism would take over control
- West were keen to get the German economy running again to pay for food imports
- At the Moscow Conference of Ministers, the Soviets demanded a new central German administration. Britain feared that this would damage the economy.

Question 2

What was the Iron Curtain Speech 1946?

Answer 2

• Churchill expresses the divide between the East and the West

Question 3

What was the Baruch Plan 1946?

Answer 3

• Truman proposed joint superpower control over nuclear weapon production, but Stalin rejected this offer of co-operation

Question 4

What did US and Britain do in 1947 in Germany?

Answer 4

• Joined their German zones together economically to from Bizonia

Question 5

What was the Truman Doctrine 1947?

Answer 5

• President Truman had informed congress that it was America’s responsibility to contain communism
• USA would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat of communism - protection and containment
• The US offered billions of dollars in aid across the whole of Europe through the Marshall Plan

Question 6

What was Cominform 1947?

Answer 6

• Organisation set up by Russia to promote ideological unity among the communist parties

Question 7

What was Comecon 1949?

Answer 7

• The council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Russia’s Marshall Plan)

Question 8

What was the Marshall Plan 1948/49?

Answer 8

• The giving of $5 billion of Marshal Aid was passed through congress, ended up totalling around $13 billion, in economic assistance to Western Europe (rebuild economies)

Question 9

What was the Brussels Pact?

Answer 9

• Signed between Belgium, Britain, France, Luxembourg and Holland - it promised mutual defence against any aggressor

Question 10

What were the causes of the Berlin blockade 1948?

Answer 10

• Issued immediately after Marshal Plan???
• It was decided at Potsdam that Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones. The USSR took heavy reparations whereas the Western allies wanted to improve the economy by issuing a new currency which they said would help trade. West could now be seen as more prosperous than communism.
• West and East had different aims with what they wanted to do with Germany - conflict inevitable?
• The next day, Stalin cut off all rail and road links to West Berlin.

Question 11

What was the Berlin Airlift 1949 and what were the reasons behind it?

Answer 11

• Truman wanted to show that he was serious about containment
• Truman wanted Berlin to be a symbol of freedom behind the Iron Curtain
• June 1948 the allies decided the only answer to the problem was a less aggressive policy of air lifting supplies to Berlin.
• A plane landed every 45 seconds carrying in oil, food and electrical supplies.

Question 12

What was NATO? When was NATO formed?

Answer 12

• April 1949 - a military alliance agreeing that if one party in the alliance was attacked, all the other parties would come too its aid.

Question 13

When did USSR successfully detonate their first atomic bomb?

Answer 13

• August 1949

Question 14

What were the short term consequences of the Berlin Crisis?

Answer 14

• The Western Powers approved the constitution of West Germany called the FRG ( Federal Republic of Germany)
• Stalin therefore created the GDR
• Ulbricht attempted to make an all German constitution

Question 15

What were the long term consequences of the Berlin Crisis?

Answer 15

• The Berlin Crisis had persuaded the Western allies that there had to be an alliance against Russia and expansion of communism in Western Europe
• Brussels Pact

Question 16

What was the Spofford Compromise?

Answer 16

• Parallel to the creation of a European Army, NATO itself would create an integrated force within Europe

Question 17

What was the Korean War?

Answer 17

• North Korean troops invaded South Korea in June 1950

Question 18

What did the French Prime Minister propose in 1950?

Answer 18

• The creation of an EDC - its purpose to create a European Army

Question 19

What was the impact of the Korean War in Europe?

Answer 19

• The North Korean invasion appeared to many in Western Europe and the USA to be a prelude to a new global conflict in which the Soviets would finally overrun Western Europe
• North Korea acted under Stalin’s orders
• East German leader, Ulbricht, supported North Korean aggression and appeared to recommend similar action to unify Germany.

Question 20

When did US test their first hydrogen bomb?

Answer 20

• 1952 - the USA test first ever hydrogen bomb, 1000x bigger than atomic bombs

Question 21

What major event occurred in 1953?

Answer 21

• Stalin died

Question 22

When was the reason behind the 1953 East German demonstrations? How did Russia react?

Answer 22

• June 1953 - demonstrations against harsh working conditions in GDR. East German government had announced that they wanted workers to produce 10% more under the same pay
• Soviet troops intervened resulting in the death of 125 people.

Question 23

When did USSR test their first hydrogen bomb?

Answer 23

• 1953 a year after USA detonation (scared US due to the unawareness of the scientific improvements)

Question 24

What showed an improvement in relations in 1954?

Answer 24

• Molotov proposes the reunification of Germany. This proposal was rejected but was seen as more constructive than previous proposals.

Question 25

What was the Warsaw Pact? When was it introduced?

Answer 25

• May 1955 - a mutual defence organization that puts the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. (similar to NATO)