Key topic 4 - Who was to blame for the cold war Flashcards
Why did the USA-USSR alliance break down?
- Ideological differences
- Historic tensions
- Wartime disagreements
- Post war disagreements
Ideological differences
Capitalism v communism are opposing ideologies. Communism by nature is expansionist and relies on the down fall of capitalism
Capitalism
An economic and political system where by a country’s trade and industry and controlled by profit owners for profit rather than by the state
- Means of production owned by individuals
- Means of production provide profit
- Market is supply and demand
- Each individual receives according to wealth
Communism
An economic and political system in which all property, trade and industry is owned by the community and controlled by the state
- receives according to whats needed
- gives what they can by ability
- Means of production provide usefulness to the people
- Means of production are owned by everyone and not just the wealthy
Historic tensions
- USA and Britain could not forget about Nazi-Soviet pact
- USSR couldn’t forget about attempted British intervention in the Russian revolution in 1917
- USSR also couldn’t forget that one of the reasons the west left Hitler alone for so long was the hopes the USSR and Germany would destroy each other
Why else did the USSR/USA alliance fall apart? 🙈
- The USSR sphere of influence was growing and the USA saw as a threat
- There was no longer any common ground between the two countries.
Tehran Conference 1943
November 1943
- Allied invasion of Italy well underway, USSR counterattack going strong
- Discussed next steps ( opening second eastern front, Soviet entry into war in japan)
- Agreed Germany needed to be split up after the war, disagreed on how
Yalta 1945
February 1945
Victory likely
- Agreed what to do with defeated Germany (Unconditional surrender, Germany and Berlin to be divided into 4 zones, Germany to pay reparations)
- Free elections 😉 to be held in eastern Europe
- What to do with Poland
- Stalin to fight war in Japan and receive previously lost land in Japan and gain land in Manchuria
- UN set up
Postdam 1945 ( Context )
July- August 1945
Clement Attlee, Harry Truman , Joseph Stalin
- Churchill replaced by Attlee during the conference
- Roosevelt died replaced by Truman ( didn’t like soviets )
- USA successfully tested first atomic bomb
- Germany surrendered in May, USSR occupies eastern europe
Postdam 1945 ( Agreements)
- 5 D’s
- Confirmation of division of Germany into 4 zones
- Each country could take reparations from their zone with Russia taking 25% from other zones
-There would be an ‘orderly transfer’ of German speaking people back to Germany - Stalin to keep land annexed in 1939. Polish-German border moved westward
- UN set up
Postdam 1945 (Disagreements)
- Stalin wanted to cripple Germany further, Truman didn’t want a repeat of Versailles
- Arguments over where boundaries for zones should be drawn
- There was no sign or statement of Stalin allowing free elections in eastern Europe
- USSR still wanted to intervene in Japan, Truman didn’t allow it because he didn’t need it and didn’t want to share victory with USSR
How had the USSR gained control of eastern Europe by 1949?
Salami tactics- Term coined by Hungrian Stalinist Matyas Rakosi to describe the ‘piece by piece’ takeover of Eastern Europe
East Germany
-Given to the USSR after the war ,
- the red army were effectively in control and oversaw the forced transfer of weapons and materials.
-In 1949 became DDR run by Walter Ulbricht
Greek Civil War
1945
- Between monarchist and Yugoslavian backed Communists
- Britain could no longer back war and asked USA to step in
- USA took control of situations and monarchists remained in power by 1950
Peoples socialist republic of Albania
- Communists led by Enver Hoxha gained power immediately after the war
- As the war ended had the backing of Yugoslavia and USSR
Cominform
1947
To co-ordinate the various communist governments in eastern europe
Truman doctrine
1947
Establishing that the US would provide economic, military or political aid to free peoples fighting subjugation from outside forces
Marshall plan
1948
US general George Marshall argued Europe needed to be rebuilt to stop the spread of communism. Asked congress for $17bn , congress refused but after the coup in Czechoslovakia agreed. Stalin forbade any countries from the Easter Bloc to apply for Marshall aid
Berlin Blockade
1948-9
- 1946 Britain, France and the USA combined their zones and created a new currency
- Stalin printed loads of this currency making it useless then. Blockaded Berlin
- In response the west conducted the ‘Berlin Airlift’ supplying the city goods by air at its height supplies were dropped off every minute
- Stalin lifted the Blockade May 1949
COMECON
1949
Council for Mutual economic assistance
- set up to co-ordinate the industries and trade of eastern Europe. Favoured the USSR over its other members
- Made Poland sell its coal at 1/10th the price
NATO
1949
- Set up as a mutual defence treaty
- USA,Canada,UK,Belgium,Netherlands, Portugal,Denmark,Norway and Iceland
- Article 5 ‘ An armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an armed attack against them all’
USSR was to blame for war
- Soviet takeover of eastern europe
- Breaking Yalta agreements
- Anti capitalist ideology / communist revolutionary
- Czechoslovakia 1948
- Berlin Blockade 1948-49
USA to blame
- involvement in Greek civil war
- iron curtain speech
- Truman doctrine
- Marshall aid which the USSR viewed as dollar imperialism
- West Germany( uniting it and introducing currency without consulting USSR)
- NATO
Iron curtain speech
‘From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent
Warsaw pact
May 1955
mutual defence treaty
Response to west germany joining NATO
- Consisted of USSR,Romania,Poland, Hungary,East Germany,Czechoslovakia,Bulgaria and Albania
when was the berlin blockade lifted?
May 1949
When was the berlin blockade?
1948-1949
When was NATO set up?
1949
What countries were in NATO?
UK, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium,USA, Portugal,denmark, Norway & Iceland
Article 5
NATO
‘ An armed attack against one of them should be considered an armed attack against them all’
What were the 5’ds?
Wanted Germany Denazified, demilitarised, democratised , decentralised and dismantled. This included laws, industry and war criminals persecuted
Where were the 5’d’s agreed on
postdam 1945
What changed between the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences
Roosevelt replaced by Truman, who was ‘tired of babying the Soviets’ (more critical of USSR)
- US developed nuclear weapons
- Communists had taken over parts of eastern Europe e.g. Poland
- Churchill replaced by Attlee
- Germany surrendered, Hitler dead
How long did the berlin air lift last?
11 months
How many flights were involved in the berlin airlift?
300,000
When was soviet control established in Bulgaria?
1947
What led up to the communist takeover of Bulgaria?
- in 1941 Bulgaria joined the axis powers with germany
- When USSR began turning tide of war communist oppositio to the government grew
august 1944 (Bulgaria)
Stalin declared he no longer recognise Bulgarian neutrality and Bulgarian government ordered german troops to leave the country
What happened after German troops left bulgaria?
Soviet forces invaded and overthrew the government and replaced it with the fatherland front a coalition of communist parties that had been resisting the previous government
What happened in 1946 (Bulgaria)
a communist regime was installed and led by Georgi Dimitrov and his Bulgarian communist party, the largest member of the fatherland front
How did Georgi Dimitrov and the Bulgarian communist party secure its position
political opponents were arrested or killed and the monarchy was abolished in 1946 and in its place was the peoples republic of Bulgaria.
When did the red army leave Bulgaria?
1947
Why did the red army leave bulgaria in 1947
A new constitution was introduced ending bulgarian democracy for good
What did Poland become towards the end of the war?
diplomatic flashpoint for the allied powers. Britain and the US wanted to restore the polish government the. ‘ london poles’ and Stalin wanted to put the ‘Lublin poles’ in power
When was poland liberated by the red army?
1945
What followed the red armies liberation of poland
A coalition government was formed and dominated by mostly ‘Lublin poles’
What did the USSR do instead of holding free elections in eastern europe as promised?
Helped the Lublin poles target opposition. The USSR aided in arresting,killing and torturing opposition
When did Poland become a satellite state?
1947
What allowed poland to become a satellite state?
A rigged election that gave communists 80% of the vote
Who led communist poland?
Bolesaw Bierut ( a little ‘stalin’)
When did the red army occupy romania
by the end of 1945
Romanian leader in March 1945
Dr Petru Groza of the ploughmen’s front in a government mostly controlled by communists
How did the USSR help romanian communists?
Helped them take control of the police force and security forces
19th November romanian election1946
The communist led block of democratic parties claimed 90% of the vote.
1947 Romania
Forced King Micheal to abdicate
How did romanian communists secure power?
After forming a government accused opposition of espionage and treason and arrested political opponents
Romania April 1948
Formally became the Romanian peoples republic, a communist soviet satellitew syate led by Gheorghiu-Dej
When did Soviets completely run the Nazi’s out of Hungary
Febuary 1945
1st feb 1946
Kingdom of hungary was formally abolished and replaced by the second republic of Hungary
What was the second republic of hungary
an uneasy coalituon of pro democratic parties and the Hungarian communist party who were unpopular and only won 17% of the vote
How were communist able to take control of hungary despite their unpopularity
Through the use of political intrigue to systematically eliminate their opponents through conspiracy and oppression
Leader of Hungarian communist party
Matyas Rakosi
June 1942
The communist party along side avo (the secret police) destroyed opposition and had effective control
August 1947
rigged election increased communist share of the vote
august 1949
the country was proclaimed the hungarian peoples republic, a one part socialist state under the influence of the soviet union
5th may 1944
spontaneous uprising in prauge overthrew nazi rule
Edvard benes and the USSR agreement
‘Czechoslovak territory liberated by the Red Army would be placed under Czechoslovak civilian control
What followe d edvard benes + USSR agreement?
Benes was restored as leader of Czecholovakia despite not being a communist as stalin believed as the communist party in Czechoslovakia was pretty strong it would fall to communism eventually
1946 Czechoslovakia
the communists one big but not enough to take power
feb 1948 Czechoslovakia
Stalin ordered a communist coup detat. Jan Masaryak was murdered as he was the only prominent minister not communist
9 june 1948 czechoslovakia
czecholovakia became a communist state and edvard benes resignes
East Germany
Made the DDR (german democratic republic) after The us,france and britain combined their zones to make west germany in march 1948
Who led DDR?
Walter Ulbricht a german politician that had lived in the USSR from 1937-45. a little stalin
Why did Yugoslavia never become a communist state?
because the yugoslav partisans prevented nazis ever getting control of the country without the red army
Who led the Yugoslav partisans
Joseph tito he was the leader of the communist anti fascist resistance
What happened to czechoslovakia after the war?
Became the fedral peoples republic of yugoslavia led by Joseph Tito
SFR republic
arty socialist state made up of six socialist republics – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia – and sided with the Eastern Bloc.
when did the Tito-stalin split happen
1948
5’D’s
Wanted Germany Denazified, demilitarised, democratised , decentralised and dismantled. This included laws, industry and war criminals persecuted
When was the Tehran conference?
November 1943
Who was at the Tehran conference?
Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt , Joseph Stalin
When was the Yalta conference?
Febuary 1945
Who was at Yalta conference?
Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin
When was the Postdam conference?
July-august 1945
Who was at the postdam conference?
Clement Attlee, Harry Truman , Joseph Stalin
when did the west combine their zones
1946
What did the west do once the combined their zones?
Britain, France and the USA combined their zones and created a new currency
In yalta 1945 what was agreed to be done with Poland?
Coalition gov of Lublin poles and exiled ‘London’ poles created, free elections
Marshall aid
Seen as dollar imperialism
stalin forbade any member of the Western blocfrom applying for it
