Greenbaum The cold war Flashcards
What happened at the Yalta Conference near the end of WWII?
The allies agreed to divide Germany into four zones: American zone, British zone, French zone, and Russian zone
What was the Cuban Missle Crisis in 1962?
It was a tense period where the U.S feared for its security due to the close proximity of nuclear weapons
What is the Warsaw Pact?
It was an alliance between the Soviet Union and seven other communist countries
Who is Fidel Castro
It led the Cuban Revolution by overthrowing the government and ruling Cuba as a strict communist country with assistance from the Soviet Union
What was the cold war?
This was when the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union entered a time period (1945-1991) of a very tense relationship after WWII was over
Who were the Satellite States?
They were the neighbors of the Soviet Union and remained under its communist influence and pressure
What was the main goal of the United Nation?
To solve international conflict
What did the SALT/START state make them agree to?
They made the Soviet Union and the United States agree to limit nuclear weapons
Where was Korea divided after years of fighting?
The 38th parallel
What is the difference between North and South Korea?
North Korea was aided by the Soviet Union and China and they fought to establish Communism while South Korea fought to establish democracy
What was the symbol of the end of the cold war?
The fall of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany
What was MAD
In the arms race, the USSR and the U.S competed with each other to amass the most powerful weapons. MADSstands for Mutually Assured Destruction
What is solidarity?
The Polish workers organized this union and it was led by Leah Walesy which also led to the fall of Communism
What was the Truman Doctrine?
It was established so that the United States will help any (non communist) country establish a Democratic government and give economic aid to Greece and Turkey ($400 mil)
What led to the breakdown of Communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Gorbachev’s policies of Perestroika (openness) and Glastnos (economic reform to allow for more capitalism)
What is the Marshall plan?
The United States provided economic aid to worn torn countries in western Europe. Provides food, machines, medicines, etc. ($12.5 bil)
What happened to Germany after WWII?
It was divided into 4 zones. East Germany became Communist and was controlled by the USSR
What did the Soviets do in 1956?
They crushed the Hungarian uprising efforts to rebel against a communist government
What did the Berlin wall separate?
The concrete wall divided communist East Berlin from Democratic West Berlin
What was the US policy of containment?
It was an effort to stop communism from spreading
What was the significance of the Vietnam war?
It represented a failure of the US in stopping the spread of communism in Asia when the South surrendered to the North and became communist
What is the Iron curtain?
The ideological divide between Eastern and Western Europe by Winston Churchill
What is the domino theory?
The US and its allies feared this so-called chain reaction of countries falling to communism
What is Nato
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was an alliance between ten democratic Western European nations joined with the United States and Canada
What was the Berlin airlift?
Soviet Union cut off traffic, water, and food to East Berlin and hoped that this would force the US to give up on West Berlin but the Americans and British decided to fly food supplies into East Berlin for 11 months. (May 1949 the blockade was lifted)
What was the Potsdam agreement?
It was the agreement between three of the allies of WWII for the military occupation and reconstruction of Germany.
What was the general idea of the Cuban Revolution?
Cuba’s old regime Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959 and US refused to recognize Castro’s government so Castro nationalized American companies without compensation and the Us broke off relations with Cuba which means no trade and then Cuba turned to the USSR for aid
What were some differences between Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro?
Batista was a big anti-communist supporter and used secret police and terror to control the country. Meanwhile, Castro wanted democratic reforms and rights
Who were the satellite states
Satellite nations are the eastern European nations that were allied with and are under the control of the soviet union during the cold war
