KQ4: The Start of the Cold War Flashcards
1
Q
What was agreed at Yalta in February 1945? [5]
A
- The USSR would enter the war against Japan
- Germany would be split into American, British, French, and Soviet occupation zones(Same with Berlin temporarily)
- Nazi war criminals would be hunted down and punished
- USA, USSR, and Britain would join the UN and work to keep peace
- Eastern Europe would be considered a Soviet Sphere of influence
- The soviets would not interfere with the Greek civil war as they were trying to stop a communist takeover
- German surrender was to be unconditional.
2
Q
What important events occurred between Yalta(February) and Potsdam(July)? [4]
A
- Soviet troops moved in to occupy most of Eastern Europe; Poland, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia.
- They liberated Eastern countries, but kept the troops there to control them and said it was for defensive measures.
- Roosevelt died in April, and was replaced by Truman, who was much more anti-communist and suspicious of communism
- USA successfully tested its first atomic bomb; a potential threat to the USSR(Truman mentioned this to Stalin)
- Halfway through Potsdam Churchill was defeated in the election and replaced by Attlee.
3
Q
What were the main disagreements at Potsdam? [4]
A
- Rivalry and suspicion between Stalin and Truman, particularly because of the atomic bomb.
- Germany; Stalin wanted a crippled Germany to protect the USSR, but Truman and Attlee wanted to rebuild it and avoid a ToV rebuild. Also denied him access to Ruhr industry.
- Reparations; Stalin wanted massive compensation for the loss of 20 million lives and damage cause to USSR; Truman resisted this.
- Eastern Europe; Truman became unhappy about the Soviet Sphere of Influence and wanted Stalin to respect the idea of free elections in Poland(which he wasn’t)
- Japan; the USSR wanted to be involved in the war with Japan, but Truman rejected this idea.
4
Q
How far did communism spread in the years after 1945? [3]
A
- Poland; communists became ruling party in 1947 and exiled non-communist leader.
- Hungary; largest party by 1947 elections and began imprisoning opposition
- Czechoslovakia; Left-wing won election in 1945 and became largest party the following year
- East Germany; Run by the USSR under the Red Army until the German Democratic Republic in 1949
- Romania; 1945 Communist PM at the head of a left-wing govt.
- Britain and France had strong communist parties belonging to Cominform.
5
Q
What developments took place in Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1948 which led to the Communist takeover? [3]
A
- Russia liberated Czechoslovakia communists formed a coalition government in 1946 from free elections
- PM Klement Gottwald was a communist, and all non-communists resigned in a coup before May 1948(except Masaryk; suspicious death)
- All candidates in May 1948 elections were communist
- Benes had resigned
6
Q
How did Stalin tighten his grip on the Iron Curtain countries? [3]
A
- Secret Police; imprisoned communist opponents and USSR critics
- Stalin set up Cominform in 1947; regularly brought leaders of each communist party to Moscow to be briefed by Stalin
- Independent-minded leaders replaced by those loyal to Stalin
- Only Tito in Yugoslavia escaped Soviet Control and was expelled from Cominform in 1948
7
Q
Why did the wartime friendship between the USA and USSR break down? [4]
A
- They had only been friends because of the necessity of winning the war against Germany; changed when they surrendered
- Many Soviets remembered US troops sent to fight the Bolsheviks(1918-1921)
- Americans appalled when Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939
- Very little in common; Capitalist Democracy vs. Communist Dictatorship
- Stalin believed his policy in Eastern Europe was to make USSR more secure; Truman thought he wanted to expand the Soviet Empire.
8
Q
What were the main differences between the USA and the USSR? [3]
A
- USA was Capitalist and USSR was Communist
- USA was a democracy and USSR was a dictatorship
- Most Americans thought freedom was more important than equality; communists believed the opposite
- Americans wanted a capitalist democracy world, and Soviets wanted a communist world
9
Q
What happened to Greece after the war? [5]
A
- Communists wanted a Soviet Republic; monarchists wanted a return of the King
- Churchill sent British troops in 1945 to “supervise free elections”
- Britain supported the monarchists, and the King returned
- 1946; Civil War developed when Communists tried to take control of Greece
- Britain couldn’t afford this, and withdrew in 1947, so the royalists controlled Greece in 1950, but were a weak govt.
10
Q
What was the Truman Doctrine? [4]
A
- The view held by the US was that Soviets were trying to spread communism in Eastern Europe, and Truman said US policy would be to support all free people to resist oppression
- A determination to resist any further spread of communism, like CONTAINMENT; Italy and France were vulnerable to a communist takeover
- US intervention in Greece marked the start of this new policy
- USA sent money, equipment, and advice to any country threatened by a communist takeover
11
Q
What was Marshall Aid? [5]
A
- A way of putting the Truman Doctrine into practice; provided economic assistance to countries threatened by communism; they thought poverty started communism, so they wanted to stop poverty and build prosperity
- Masterminded by General George Marshall
- Rejected by US Congress at first, but then approved after the purge of Anti-Soviet leaders in Czechoslovakia, 1948
- $17 billion paid out to Western European countries over 4 years
- Stalin did not allow Eastern European countries to accept Marshall Aid as a) it would make his grip weaker and b) it would make them dependent on the US dollar.
12
Q
Why did the USSR blockade Berlin in 1948? [4]
A
- Britain, France, and USA combined their occupation zones in 1946 to form West Germany
- New currency introduced into West Germany in 1948 and Marshall Aid provided to the West
- Stalin saw this as a threat and felt the need to re-assert Soviet control of Berlin by trying to control it
- Stalin felt that the USA’s handling of West Berlin was provocative, so he wanted to drive the West out of West Berlin by shutting off trains and roads
13
Q
What was the Soviet plan in the Berlin Blockade and how well did it work? [4]
A
- USSR blocked all supply into West Berlin in June 1948, cutting off 2 million west Berliners from Western help.
- Aim was for the US to abandon West Berlin as they wouldn’t provoke war by ramming the roadblocks down with tanks
- DIDN’T WORK, because Truman wanted to prove to Stalin that the USA was serious about containment, so he didn’t give it up
- Berlin was supplied by air for 10 months, and Stalin gave up in May 1949
14
Q
What was the significance of the Berlin Blockade? [4]
A
- Could have easily caused war between the USA and USSR if they used tanks
- It showed the USSR that the West was not going to give up on West Germany that easily and would continue with containment
- Supply lines to West Berlin population were cut; clever from Stalin as they had to find a way to break the blockade without giving him an excuse to go to war.
- Western Powers founded NATO in April 1949 out of fear that the Berlin Blockade would cause war and Stalin complained that the world was breaking into 2 military blocks
- Berlin seen as a symbol of freedom behind the Iron Curtain
15
Q
What caused the Cold War?[4]
A
- Ideological differences; communism vs. capitalism
- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid as it provoked Stalin into thinking they were trying to take his buffer zones, so he became more cautious
- Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech; Created ill-feeling in the Kremlin and provoked the USSR
- Soviet expansion; COMINFORM set up in 1947 to try and spread communism which created conflict
- Stalin’s failure to abide by Yalta and Potsdam agreements; Didn’t allow free elections in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, and murdered opposition, ignoring the idea of free elections. He didn’t respect the agreements set out at Yalta and Potsdam which annoyed the West.
