Key Events Flashcards
Potsdam conference
July 1945-
- Truman is now the president of America
- Stalin went against the agreement at
Yalta by setting up a communist
government in Poland
- Stalin refuses to demilitarise
- Germany was to pay reparations to the
allies- prevent Germany from ever being
in a position to wage war again
- Stalin wanted to damage Germany
significantly, the West didn’t want to
damage them too severely.
Tehran Conference
1943-
- Held in Iran, which is closer to the Soviet
Union (an effort to appease Stalin and
improve relations between the three
countries)
- Britain and the USA agreed to open up a
second front by invading France in 1944
- Stalin agreed to enter the war against
Japan once Germany had been defeated
- Borders of Poland shifted
- UN set up and USSR was to join
Yalta Conference
February 1945-
- Aimed to decide what would happen to
Germany and the rest of Europe
- Germany’s military rights were to be
revoked
- Germany was to Pay reparations
- Germany was to be divided among the
three countries
-Poland was now under soviet rule
- Hungary,Czechoslovakia and Poland
would be under Soviet sphere of
influence.
Buffer Zone Between Western Europe And USSR
- Stalin established a buffer zone using
Governments that were sympathetic to
communism. - POLAND- a coalition of several parties
was set up - HUNGARY- communist party seized
control of the police during an economic
crisis - CZECHOSLOVAKIA- Stalin staged a
coup to remove Benes from power and
establish a pro-soviet government.
Iron curtain speech
- Churchill made his ‘Iron Curtain Speech’
in the USA in 1946, which spoke of an
imaginary line dividing the Western
Capitalists and Eastern Communists.
Telegrams
February 1946-
- Kennan, a US official, sent a Telegram to
Truman, warning him of the Soviets
intention to expand.
- Greatly influenced Truman’s policy of
Containment.
September 1946-
- Soviet Ambassador, Novikov, sent a
telegram to Stalin in retaliation to the Long Telegram prior.
- Spoke of the US intent to carry out world
domination
- Hardened Stalin’s attitude to the US
Truman Doctrine
March 1947-
- Introduced policy of containment
- Civil war in Greece pushed him into
action
- HUNGARY- Communist Party voted into
power; achieved as a result of a coup
against opposition party- Rakosi gained
control
-CZECHOSLOVAKIA- communists
carried out an armed takeover on the
government
comINFORM
1948-
- Communist information bureau
- introduced to control satellite states
- introduced in retaliation of the Truman
Doctrine
Marshall Plan
1947-
- Planned and co=ordinated by George
Marshall
- By 1953, USA donated $17 billion to
Europe
- Involved loaning money to countries in
Europe to aid in their reconstruction
- Aimed to make communism look less
attractive
- Any country that recieved US money had
to spend it on US goods.
- Ties them together long term
- Western countries became loyal to the -
USA
ComECON
1949-
- stands for Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance
- Soviet response to the Marshall plan
- Soviet would provide financial support for
communist countries in Eastern Europe
- Different to Marshall plan as it involved
the countries working together rather than
one country providing money.
- 1953- each country was given a 5 year
plan to nationalise industry and
collectivise agriculture.
Berlin Blockade
1948-
- caused by Trizonia and the
reformation of the currency into
‘Deutschmark’, which infuriated Stalin
- Stalin therefore blocked land and rail
routes across soviet controlled
Germany.
- Trizonia could no longer communicate
with Berlin
Berlin Airlift
- 10 month period
- 275,000 flights
- costed America $350 million
- Increased tension as stalin put greater pressure on the West Berliners,, cutting off their electricity
- By 1949, Stalin called off Blockade as it was deemed ineffective
- NATO formed during height of crisis
- Warsaw pact formed in retaliation
Name the Arms race dates
1945- America develops atomic bomb
1949- Soviet developed atomic bomb
1953- America tests hydrogen Bomb
1953- Soviet tests hydrogen bomb
1954- ICBM America tests
1954- Soviet makes first successful ICBM
Effect of Nuclear Arms Race
Spendings-
- In 1949, America had spent 13.6 billion;
Soviet 13.4 billion
- In 1953, America had spent 49.6 billion;
Soviet 25.5 billion
America’s ongoing fued with vietnam and the spending of the arms race was a great hit to the economy.
What did Krushchev do when he came to power in 1955?
- Ended Cominform
- Continued to create a buffer against
attacks from the west - Created warsaw pact in 1955
- relaxed laws controlling freedom of
speech
-freed political prisoners
De-stalinisation- - statues of Stalin were pulled down
across eastern europe after Krushchev
criticised stalin in a secret speech
