IMPORTANCE Flashcards
1
Q
Importance of the Tehran conference
A
- Strengthened US-Soviet relations because of the second front
- Joint commitment to defeat Nazis cements the relationship
2
Q
Importance of the Yalta conference
A
- Relationship between USA and USSR worsened (cracks began to appear in the relationship because of disagreements over Poland.
- Stalin agreed to hold free elections in eastern Europe (which he did not honour).
3
Q
Importance of the US testing atomic bomb
A
- Made negotiations at Potsdam much more difficult as Stalin was angry he had not been informed.
- Increased hostility between US and USSR. Made Stalin more determined to create a buffer zone of communist states in Eastern Europe.
4
Q
Importance of the Potsdam conference
A
- Differences between the Soviet Union and the USA over Germany.
- Differences between superpowers over what should happen to countries in Eastern Europe. Truman wanted free elections. Stalin didn’t.
5
Q
Importance of the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe
A
- Increased rivalry, USA, Britain and France saw Stalin’s motives as political (attempts to expand Soviet empire and Communism throughout Europe (Long telegram))
- Stalin was confused, as he couldn’t understand the US attitudes as the Soviet Union was just protecting itself from a future attack from Germans
6
Q
Importance of the Truman Doctrine
A
- Increased rivalry and suspicion. Stalin saw Marshall aid as an attempt to ‘buy’ countries in the West.
- It committed America to be involved in Europe and caused cold war tensions to increase because the US and USSR would regularly clash over Europe.
7
Q
Importance of Marshall Plan
A
- Increased rivalry and suspicion. Stalin saw Marshall aid as an attempt to ‘buy’ countries in the West. Further confirmed divisions between East and West as Stalin prevented Eastern European countries (Czech/Poland) for applying for aid.
- America was also interfering in the Soviet sphere of influence and therefore tensions increased.
8
Q
Importance of the Berlin crisis (Blockade)
A
- First major crisis (vastly increased rivalry as Stalin had made an aggressive move to control Berlin).
- As Stalin was defeated it made the US realise that it could and should stand up to the USSR in a
non-aggressive way in the future.
9
Q
Importance of NATO and the Warsaw Pact
A
- Mutal suspicion (Stalin believed NATO was aimed against the Soviet Union)
- Two rival alliance systems (this now divided Europe in a state of permanent hostility between superpowers. Intensified arms race.
10
Q
Importance of the Hungarian Uprising
A
- Demonstrated Soviet determination to maintain control in Eastern Europe and prevent any attacks on communist control.
- Khrushchev’s position was strengthened so he felt more confident which encouraged him to send the Berlin Ultimatum.
- However, it was also made clear that the US would not interfere in countries behind the iron curtain making tensions decrease as both sides were less likely to go to nuclear war as both knew what the other would do.
11
Q
Importance of the building of the Berlin wall
A
- Nuclear war became less likely (there was a clear divide and misunderstanding/issues over Berlin were less likely.
- Berlin became a symbol of divide between US/USSR and so its existence was a cause of low-level tension until 1989.
12
Q
Importance of the Bay of Pigs
A
- The USA’s support for Cuban exiles showed its anti-communism position and led to a deteriorating relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union.
- The failure of the Bay of Pigs gave the Soviet Union and Cuba the opportunity to develop closer ties (leading to the USSR giving military support to Cuba).
- Relations became more confrontational (Kennedy now more determined to stand up to the Soviet Union and Cuba).
13
Q
Importance of the Cuban missile crisis
A
- Improved US-Soviet relations (as hotline was set up between the two countries to prevent further crises).
- Greater co-operation (test ban treaty prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space).
14
Q
Importance of the Prague Spring and Soviet invasion
A
- The US was outraged condemning the invasion causing an increase in tensions.
- Showed that the USA again weren’t prepared to go to war over a country in Eastern Europe, despite its outrage, this showed an unofficial understanding between the two countries.
15
Q
Importance of the Brezhnev Doctrine
A
- Used to maintain the Soviet Unions control of Czechoslovakia by suppressing attempts at reform and enforcing communism as followed in the USSR.
- The doctrine declared the Soviet Unions right to interfere with military force if necessary to preserve communism as accepted by the USSR.
