foreign policy after ww2 + berlin blockade Flashcards
when did hitler kill himself
30 april 1945
when did germany surrender
7 may 1945
when did the trinity test take place
16 july 1945, in new mexico (manhatten project)
-truman received news during postdam conference with allies
battle of okinawa
ended 21 june 1945. US planned to use it as staging point for invasion of japan
why did truman order the use of the atomic bomb
-cost of invading japan: 12,000 died to take okinawa. japs fought to the death. invasion of japan planned for 1946 with estimated 500,000 casualties
-bring ww2 to quick end: no evidence japan would surrender - ‘war weariness’
-soviet relations: truman wanted to demonstrate US power to stalin
when was the bomb dropped on hiroshima
6 august 1945
when was the bomb dropped on nagasaki
9 august 1945
deaths at hiroshima
140,000
nagasaki deaths
75,000
USSR invasion of korea
8 august 1945
japanese surrender
15 august 1945, hirohito, emperor overrules govt that wanted to keep fighting
relations with USSR after ww2
US POV, stalin had already broken agreements over future of eastern europe: e.g. poland, where he failed to recognise pre-war govt despite promises. clear that he was setting up puppet govts ‘satellite states’ that would be controlled from moscow (eastern/communist bloc). significant disagreement over future of germany
british decline after ww2
undergoing economic crisis + empire ending, loss of india 1947
chinese civil war
in midst of civil war: US allies, nationalists under chiang kai-shek losing to mao zedong’s communists
french decline after ww2
in ruins + already getting drawn into conflicts in asia and africa as it struggled to hold onto empire
differing economic systems US vs USSR
free market capitalism vs communist-state command economy.
differing political systems US vs USSR
multi-party democracy vs single-party dictatorship
communist expansion after ww2
-US perceived aggressive expansion of communism by soviets to other states
-not a single country that became communist between 1945-1950 did so democratically
-rigged elections in czechoslovakia, romania, bulgaria, poland
-strong communist parties in italy/france that received money/support from soviets
-chinese civil war being won by mao zedong in 1949
-civil war in greece
-feared communist guerrillas that had fought nazis would help take over
long telegram, feb 1946
feb 1946, american diplomat in US embassy in moscow, George Kennan, sent memorandum to sec. of state, james byrnes discussing the position of the USSR.
-argued russia had always been expansionist power, and would continue under communism
-believed soviets behaved logically and could be ‘contained’ as they were unlikely to risk war
long telegram quote
‘the main element of any US policy towards the soviet union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of russian expansive tendencies’
churchill’s fulton speech, march 1946
visited US and gave speech in fulton, missouri on threat posed by soviets:
‘from stettin in the baltic to trieste in the adriatic, an iron curtain has descended accross the continent.’
containment
adopted by truman to attempt to limit the expansion of communism around the world. 3 pillars:
-truman doctrine
-marshall plan
-NATO
Truman address to congress 1947
address to congress 12 march 1947: ‘it must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures’
truman doctrine
Policy of US aiding states (financially/militarily) to resist communist takeover. came into effect 1947 + remained for next 40 years
-did not aim to drive communism out of states where it already existed
-accepted division of world into ‘spheres of influence’
