KQ4- Who Was To Blame For The Cold War 1945-49? Flashcards
What was agreed at the Yalta Conference in February 1945?
- USSR would enter the war against Japan
-Germany would be divided into American British French and Soviet occupation zones
- nazi war criminals responsible for genocide would be hunted down and punished
- liberated country should be allowed to hold free elections
- The USA USSR and Britain would join the new United Nations and work through it to keep peace
-Eastern Europe would be considered a Soviet sphere of influence
-The Soviets would not interfere in Greece where the British were trying to stop a communist takeover
What important events occurred in between Yalta (February) and Potsdam (July)?
- Soviet troops moved into occupy most of eastern Europe
-Roosevelt died in April 1945 replaced by Truman who was more anti-communist and more suspicious of soviet intentions in Eastern Europe
- The USA successfully tested its first atomic bomb- potential threat to the USSR
- Halfway through the Potsdam conference Churchill was defeated in the British General election and replaced by Clement Attlee
What were the main disagreements at the Potsdam conference July 1945?
-The whole conference dominated by rivalry and suspicion between conflicting Truman and Stalin
- Germany - Stalin wanted Germany crippled to protect the USSR but Truman thought this would be repeating a mistake made at Versailles
- reparations- Stalin wanted massive compensation for the devastation caused to the USSR and the loss of 20 million Russian lives. Truman resisted this.
- Eastern Europe- although Roosevelt had agreed that Eastern Europe would become a Soviet spare of influence Truman became unhappy about this and worried about Russian intentions towards the occupied countries
How far did communism spread in the years after 1945?
Poland- communist joint coalition government 1945 , became ruling party 1947, Poland’s non-communist leader exile
Hungary- communists largest party in 1947 elections, proceeded to imprison opposition politicians
Romania - 1945 communist Prime Minister head of left-wing coalition
Bulgaria- elections won by communists 1945, execute leaders of other parties
East Germany- run by USSR (red Army) until creation of communist German democratic Republic 1949
Czechoslovakia- elections won by left-wing coalition 1945, communists became largest party in 1946, one party state established 1948
Albania- communist gain power after war, no opposition
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania- absorbed into USSR
Yugoslavia- wartime resistant leader communist Marshal Tito president 1945, determined to rule independently from USSR, expelled from cominform in 1948
France and Italy- both had strong communist parties belonging to cominform
Countries effectively controlled by USSR are said to lie behind the ‘iron curtain’
How did Stalin tighten his grip on the iron curtain countries?
- Secret police -used to imprison opponents of communist rule and critiques of the USSR
- Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) set up to coordinate work of communist parties throughout Europe
-communist party leaders summoned to Moscow to be briefed by Stalin
- independent minded leaders replaced by men completely loyal to Stalin
- Tito in Yugoslavia was the only one who escaped close Soviet control
Why did the wartime friendship between the USA and USSR breakdown?
-Only friends because of necessity of winning war, before natural enemies who distrusted each other
- soviets remembered US troops had been sent to fight communists in Russian civil War 1918 to 1921
-americans appalled when Stalin signed Nazi-Soviet pact with Hitler in 1939
-Little in common - USA capitalist democracy, USSR communist dictatorship
- Stalin believed his policy in Eastern Europe was to make USSR secure, Truman believed Stalin wanted to expand the Soviet empire
What were the main differences between the USA and USSR?
-Economically - USA capitalist, USSR communist
-Politically- USA democracy, USSR one party state
- Americans thought freedom from government control was more important than equality, communists believed it was okay to control the lives citizens if it was good for society as a whole
-Americans believed other countries should be capitalist democracies, Soviet leaders believed other countries should be communist
What happened to Greece after the war?
-Communists wanted a Soviet Republic, monarchists wanted a return of the king
-Churchill sent British troops 1945 to restore order and supervise free elections
-Britain supported monarchists king of Greece returned
- 1946 Civil War between communists who took control of Greece
-britain could not afford the war withdrew 1947
-The USA paid for some British troops to remain in Greece to help royalist government
-as a result royalists controlled Greece 1950 but were a weak government
What was the Truman doctrine?
- A new determination by Truman to resist any further spread of communism i.e. CONTAINMENT
-US intervention in Greece marked the start of this new policy - The USA sent money, equipment & advice to any country which was threatened by a communist takeover
What was Marshall aid?
- A way of taking economic steps to put Truman doctrine into practice
- provide economic assistance to countries that were vulnerable to communist takeover (communism thrived in countries where people faced poverty and hardship)
-masterminded by general George Marshall
- plan rejected by US Congress at first then approved after the purge of anti-Soviet leaders in Czechoslovakia March 1948
- $17 billion paid out to Western European countries over a four year period
- plan good for US business creating new markets for US goods helping to prevent another worldwide economic slump
- Eastern European countries offered Marshall aid. Stalin did not permit this he feared it would weaken his hold on Eastern Europe and make them dependent on the US dollar.
Why and how did the USSR blockade Berlin in 1948?
-Britain, France US combined their occupation zones 1946 to form one zone (German federal Republic or West Germany)
- 1948 new currency introduced into West Germany
-Stalin saw as a threat, reasserted Soviet control of Berlin by trying to gain control of West Berlin
What was the Soviet plan in the Berlin blockade and how well did it work?
- June 1948 USSR blocked supply lines into West Berlin cutting off 2 million west Berliners from Western help
- Stalin thought Americans would abandon West Berlin because they wouldn’t want to provoke a war
-USA not prepared to abandon West Berlin, Truman wanted to prove to Stalin USA was serious about containment
- Berlin was supplied by air for 10 months, May 1949 Stalin gave up and reopened communications
What was the significance of the Berlin blockade?
-Could have easily resulted in a war between USA and USSR if USA had used tanks to breakthrough or USSR had shot down American planes
- demonstrated to USSR that the west would continue with its policy of containment
- Berlin became a symbol of freedom behind the iron curtain
