Mock Revision 2 Flashcards
Why was the Truman Doctrine introduced?
- It was primarily in response to crises in Greece and Turkey, where communist insurgencies threatened to destabilize the governments.
- As Britain could no longer offer aid to those countries due to the fact that their military spendings had exhausted the loan granted to them by the Soviets
What was the purpose of the Truman Doctrine?
- To stop the geopolitical expansion of the Soviet Union
What did Truman declare as part of the Truman Doctrine?
- That the U.S. would support free peoples resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures.
Why was supporting Greece important in 1945?
- Because Greece was experiencing a civil war between the government and communist forces.
Why was supporting Turkey important in 1945?
- Because Turkey was under pressure from the Soviet Union to allow for Soviet naval bases in the Dardanelles.
How much money did Truman offer to Greece and Turkey to prevent them from turning communist?
- $400 million in military and economic aid
What followed after the Truman Doctrine?
- The Marshall Plan
- Formation of NATO
What was the aim of the Marshall Plan in 1947?
- To aid the economic recovery of war-torn Europe after World War II, thereby preventing the spread of Soviet communism by stabilizing these regions economically and politically.
How much money was provided to Western European countries in aid?
- $12 billion over four years
How many nations accepted the aid?
- 16 Western European nations
Who didn’t accept the aid?
- Most of the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe were offered assistance but declined it under Soviet pressure.
What did the Marshall Plan require the nations involved to do?
- It required recipient countries to work together to create a cooperative economic plan for their region, leading to greater economic integration in Western Europe.
What was established as part of the Marshall Plan and why?
- The Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)
- Established to administer the funds and oversee the implementation of the plan.
Why did the Marshall Plan contribute to the development of the Cold War?
- Because it deepened the ideological divide by separating the West and East
- The Soviet Union perceived the Marshall Plan as a threat and responded by tightening its control over Eastern Europe and establishing the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) to counter the U.S. economic influence.
- It set a precedent for the Cold War, where both superpowers sought to gain influence in various regions through economic and military aid.
- The U.S. success in reviving Western Europe economically created a deep-seated distrust in the Soviet Union, which saw the plan as an attempt to encircle and weaken Soviet influence.
When was NATO established?
- 1949
What were NATO’s aims?
- The main goal was to provide collective defense against the threat posed by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies.
What does Article 5 of the Treaty state?
- That an armed attack against one or more members is considered an attack against them all, committing members to mutual defense.
Why did the formation of NATO contribute to the origins of the Cold War?
- Because it heightened tensions and solidified the division of Europe.
What was the Soviet response to NATO?
- Create the Warsaw Pact
Why was NATO significant? What did it mark the start of?
- The arms race
Who introduced the ‘New Look policy’ and when?
- Eisenhower
- In the 1950s
What was the ‘New Look policy’?
- It was a national security strategy designed to address the Cold War challenges faced by the United States.
- It emphasized the importance of nuclear weapons as a deterrent against Soviet aggression and aimed to reduce overall military spending by relying more heavily on strategic nuclear capabilities.
What did the New Look strategy promise?
- It promised a large-scale, nuclear response to any Soviet aggression, regardless of whether the attack was conventional or nuclear.
What was the aim of the New Look policy?
- To deter Soviet actions by making the potential consequences overwhelmingly destructive.
What did Eisenhower believe in, in terms of nuclear weapons?
- That maintaining a strong nuclear arsenal was more cost-effective than sustaining a large conventional military force.
What else is argued to be the reasoning behind the New Look policy other than containment?
- “rolling back” communism, suggesting a more aggressive stance than mere containment.
How did the New Look policy contribute to the origins of the Cold War?
- The doctrine of massive retaliation and the emphasis on nuclear deterrence contributed to the arms race, with both the U.S. and the Soviet Union significantly expanding their nuclear arsenals.
- The aggressive rhetoric and the concept of rollback were perceived by the Soviet Union as direct threats, leading to heightened mistrust and suspicion.
What did the New Look policy inevitably lead to?
- MAD (mutually assured destruction)
Why did the Berlin blockade contribute to the origins of Cold War?
- Because it portrayed the Soviets as ruthless and the West as the heroes which led to further tensions between the 2 superpowers
- It reinforced U.S. commitment to the defense of Western Europe
- It contributed to the formulation of strategies such as the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and the policy of nuclear deterrence.
When did the Berlin blockade start?
1948
What did the Soviets cut off during the blockade?
- Electricity
- Road/rail links to the west
What was the Western response to the blockade?
- Airlift over the 3 ‘corridors’ allocated to them by the Soviets
What was the average amount of supplies that the West was able to fly in a day?
- 2000 tones of food and raw materials
What measures did the West take to damage the Soviet zone in Germany?
- Stopped all Western exports to the Soviet zone, increasing the pressure on the zone’s economy
What was the daily average tonnage by April?
- 8,000 tons
When was the blockade lifted?
- 12th May 1949
Why was the blockade lifted?
- Stalin couldn’t afford to go to war over Berlin
- The lack of trade with the West was crippling his economy
What were the newly formed sides of Germany following the blockade?
- FRG (Federal Republic of Germany)
- GDR (General Democratic Republic)
What were some social factors during the 1945-1960 in the USSR?
- Repression and political control leading to widespread fear and forced ideologies
What were some of the methods people in the USSR were being suppressed and monitored?
- NKVD (secret police)
- Censorship, propaganda and manipulation
What were the impacts of censorship/monitoring?
- It created a climate of fear and conformity. - - It stifled political opposition
- Restricted freedom of expression, and limited civil liberties, contributing to a tightly controlled society.
What was the role of the NKVD?
- It maintained an extensive network of informants and surveillance methods to monitor the population for dissent, anti-Soviet activities, and potential threats to the regime.
- They conducted arrests, interrogations, and executions of perceived enemies of the state, including political opponents, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens accused of counter-revolutionary activities.
How was the education system adapted to censorship/indoctrination?
- Schools and universities were controlled by the state to promote Marxist-Leninist ideology and loyalty to the regime from an early age.
What is an economic factor?
- State controlled labor and production
What did the Five Year Plan outline?
- Specific goals for industrial output, agricultural production, infrastructure development, and technological advancements over five-year periods.
What happenned under Stalin in terms of private enterprises?
- They were progressively nationalized, and agricultural land was collectivized.
What enterprises dominate the economy? What industries specifically?
- State-owned enterprises (SOEs)
- Steel, coal, machinery, and armaments
How did the SOEs operate?
- Under direct state supervision and were tasked with fulfilling production quotas set by central planning authorities.
What are some links between the 2 factors?
- They both aimed to control citizens and are linked because one is dependent on the other.
- e.g. the indoctrination and propaganda developed more dedicated workers towards the Soviet cause, meaning when they work for the state owned enterprises they will be more efficient workers and will meet their quotas, combined with the fear instilled by the NKVD for not following policies
