Origins of Cold War Flashcards
When and Why was the grand Alliance formed? (3 points)
1) The grand alliance was formed in 1941, it was an alliance between the greatest capitalist state (US), the greatest communist state (USSR) and the greatest imperialist state (Britain) formed to defeat the axis powers (Germany, Japan & Italy)
2) It was formed out of fear that Germany might win the war after the defeat and surrender of France in 1940 and Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22 1941 (Operation Barbarossa — More than 800,000 Soviets had been killed, and an additional 6 million Soviet soldiers had been wounded or captured).
prompted by fear that Germany might win the war, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared their support for the Soviet Union.
3) Thereafter, a steady stream of agreements and periodic meetings between heads of state of the three countries formalized the alliance.
What was the Atlantic Charter and why was it significant?
It was Declaration created in August 1941 by US & Britain ( Churchill and Rosevelt ) that consisted of ideas & goals for a post-war world (stated 8 clauses) and addressed anglo American policy. One clause stated it is “the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live,”.
Why was it Significant?
— was significant as it publicly affirmed the sense of solidarity between the U.S. and Great Britain against Axis aggression. and formed the basis for the United Nations. It also envisioned democracies, not communism in the postwar world.
Discuss what happened at 4 Wartime Conferences, namely: Casablanca Conference(4), Yalta Conference (5) & Potsdam Conference (6)
- Casablanca Conference (january 1943)
- conference was for the advancement of “unconditional surrender” of Germany
- Location of point of attack on the second front was argued by Churchill & Stalin
- Allied invasion on the second front (allies forces invaded the island of Sicily (Jul 9, 1943 – Aug 17, 1943)) went as Stalin requested but did little to divert Nazi’s
- showed the grand alliance was paradoxical – they had very different ideas of a post-war world but the 3 countries were willing to work together to defeat the axis powers - Yalta Conference (February of 1945)
- Stalin, Churchill & FDR met in Crimea to discuss what would happen in the aftermath of Germany’s defeat
- Agreed that only unconditional surrender would be accepted & anti-Nazi policies & establish provisional governments
- Agreed that Germany would be divided into four zones, (occupied by 3 main allies (USSR, US, Brit) + France) demilitarised and disarmed.
- Agreed Germany would pay reparations in several ways (including labor)
- USSR agreed to join the fight against Japan 2 - 3 months after Germany’s surrender in exchange for dominance in Mongolia - Potsdam Conference (August 1945)
- New representation in UK (Clement Atlee) and US (Truman) because Churchill was replaced & FDR died in april
- Potsdam’s greatest purpose was to expand and clarify policy laid out during the Yalta conference.
- Germany was to be divided into four zones, (occupied by 3 main allies (USSR, US, Brit) + France) demilitarized and disarmed.
- US and UK tried to guarantee USSR kept territorial integrity (should not occupy most of eastern and southern Europe) but were inclined to accept soviet dominance in eastern Europe because they were a vital ally in the war against japan
- also at the conference, Truman told Stalin about that the US had an atomic bomb
- Conference was significant. in that, it showed the strain of the wartime alliance (Tension about the vision of the post-war world began to emerge — set the stage for the Cold war)
Argue briefly why the role of US & Soviet Union’s ideology in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance
Keynote: Both US & Soviet ideologies were grounded in fear & mistrust
1) The USA, a Democractic & capitalist nation, was fearful of Soviet expansionism and the spread of communism across Eastern Europe through salami tactics (divide & conquer) – potentially extending their sphere of influence worldwide. The viewed the spread of communism as a threat to democracy and the self determination of nations
Drove:
1) Truman Doctrine
2) Marshall Plan
3) US intervention in Iran & Turkey
4) Arguably the Formation of NATO
2) The USSR, a communist nation that held the political ideology of Marxism–Leninism. Led by Stalin, the USSR feared the expansion of capitalism and democracy and the downfall of communism. Out of pure fear, Soviet leaders imprisoned those who had knowledge of the west, and limited contact, directly, culturally, and socially, with western society.
Drove:
1) Berlin Blockade
2) COMECON
3) Formation of Warsaw Pact
Significance:
1) Ideological differences between the US & the USSR, drove the political and economic decision that not only broke down the grand alliance but also heightened and progressed the policy of brinksmanship between the two countries, arguably instigating the start and enabling the continuity of the cold war
When did the US drop atomic bombs on Japan, and why was it significant with respect to the Cold war?
- Just days after Potsdam Conference, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6th August 1945, and another atomic bomb on Nagasaki on 9th August 1945 (Consequence: Japan surrendered – WW2 ceased)
From historian John Lewis Gaddis perspective Truman had used the bomb chiefly to end the war, but he and his advisers did indeed expect their new weapon to induce a more conciliatory attitude on the part of the USSR which Stalin viewed as a means by which the United States would seek to extract post-war concessions from the Soviet Union.
Threatened by the USSR’s vulnerability, Stalin was spurred to take active measures to eliminate soviets technological deficiency. Developing an atomic bomb was pursued aggressively and accelerated through effective intelligence gathering about the German nuclear weapon project and the American Manhattan Project. The Soviet efforts also rounded up captured German scientists to join their program, and relied on knowledge (such as Smyth Report of 1945 on the Manhattan Project was translated into Russian) passed by spies & informants to Soviet intelligence agencies . As a result, Soviet-developed an atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, ending the US’s nuclear monopoly.
Significance:
(1) Escalated tension and mistrust & mutual suspicion between US & USSR
(2) Led an arms race for nuclear weapons
Discuss the power ranking between the US, the USSR, Britain & France in the aftermath of WW2
1) Soviets and US emerged as the two “Superpowers” in the aftermath of WW2 with the military and political strength to influence worldwide events. It was up to them to create a new international order (Ideological difference drove the shift from a wartime alliance to post-war rivalries)
2) Post WW2, France and Britain had been crippled. Both wanted to maintain colonial dominance, but lacked the assertive will and capital to impose their empires for prolonged periods
State 3 differences between Communist Goverance & Democractic Governance
1) Political system
In a democracy its democractic (of, by & for the people) whilst in communism its a stateless, classless and governed directly by the people. This, however, has never been achieved. In practice, they have been totalitarian in nature (e.g USSR)
2) Key Elements
A democracy consists of free elections, suffrage & majority Rule whilst communism consists of planned economy, nationalization of property and usually an anti-democratic rule with a 1-party system (e.g Stalin)
3) Freedom of choice
In a democracy, individuals can make decisions for themselves (e.g freedom of religion) whilst in communism, ruler control the population (e.g freedom of religion, speech may be banned)
Argue briefly why the role of the US & Soviet aggression in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?
Examples of Aggression
1) US use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagaski
- Spurred USSR to build an atomic weapons
- Escalated tension and mistrust & mutual suspicion between US & USSR
2) Berlin Blockade
- Its aftermath marked the consolidation of Europe into two separate parts
Argue briefly why the role of US & Soviet Economic Interests in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?
1) Marshall plan
— According to the revisionist school of thought, the US’s main behind the Marshall plan was to help the economic recovery of many countries across Europe such as Austria, Grecce & France
(though viewpoint is debatable. — one can argue US’s desire to maintain and expanding economic opportunities abroad whilst simultaneously helping other countries)
2) COMECON
- –• If countries aided by the Marshall plan developed faster than the USSR satellite states such as Romania & Czechoslovakia, it would be a defeat for Stalin and Communism. Could be argued Stalin was motivated to stimulate an Economic recovery through COMECON
3) Creation of the Deutsche mark
- – was a factor that contributed to the start of the berlin blockade
With respect to military weaponry, How did the US support the USSR following the formation of the grand alliance?
US extended its lend-lease act to the Soviets, supplying $11 billion worth of weapons to the USSR (US also provided $31 Billion worth of weapons to Britain through the lend lease act)
Argue briefly why the role of US & Soviet fear in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?
Examples of fear
1) Truman Doctrine (1947)
2) Czechoslovakia Coup (1948)
Describe Kennan’s long telegram & its significance
1) 1946, a 8,000-word telegram from George Kennan in the USA embassy in Moscow was sent to the US state department describing soviet “Motives” and his predicted course of actions for the nation.
2) Kennan described how Soviet foreign policy was grounded in both Marxism- Leninism and historical tsarist foriegn policy goals
3) He outlined Soviet foreign policy explaining how communist expansionism was supposedly a threat to the world & Recommended US avoid direct confrontation (military) with USSR (unpredictable & volatile)
5) Consequence: Tone of the telegram alarmed the American government into thinking an economic or practical war would occur
6) Significance: help form the basis of American policy towards the Soviet Union (e.g policy of containment, Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan etc)
Describe the Churchills Iron Curtain Speech
1) On March 5, 1946, in Fulton Missouri, United States, Churchill gave a speech condemning the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe. He mentioned that an iron curtain has descended across the continent as Europe was now divided into totalitarian Europe and free Europe. He also said that it was the duty of free countries to prevent the further spread of communism into western Europe.
2) Significance:
Reinforced message in Kennan’s long telegram
the speech also significantly increased tension between the US and the Soviet Union & helped strengthen Western European opposition to communism and the Soviet Union
Describe the Turman Doctrine, its short term cause and its significance
1) Fear of the spread of communism, Truman took the offensive approach and during a speech on March 12th, 1947, he announced his intention to pursue the policy of containment known as the Truman Doctrine. It was a formal statement that the USA would help any nation resist communism in order to prevent its spread.
- - This policy would avoid direct military conflict with the USSR, not make countries already under communist or soviet domination targets
3) To prevent this, the USA had a duty to assist legitimate governments in their fight against communist expansion and he requested $400 million ($4.224 billion in 2015 dollars). The policy won the support of Congress and eventually, $400 million of military and economic aid was used to assist Greece & Turkey
4) Significance — some scholars argue its marked the official start of the Cold war, and escalated tension between the US & the USSR
State the Significance of the Truman Doctrine
1) Some scholars regard it as the official start of the Cold war
2) It shifted American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union from détente (a relaxation of tension) to the containment of Soviet expansion as advocated by diplomat George Kennan.
