Origins of Cold war-Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Flashcards
What was the cold war?
The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others).
What were the underlying causes of the Cold War?
The causes of the Cold War were rooted in the failure of the Allies (U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R.) to reach common peace agreements with regard to Germany and Poland at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. … As a result, the Cold War polarization between the U.S. and the Soviet Union lasted for almost 50 years.
Who was the Grand Alliance?
The Grand Alliance, also known as The Big Three, was a military alliance consisting of the three major Allied powers of World War II: the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
What was the Tehran Conference? Which leaders were present?
The Tehran Conference, 1943. The Tehran Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran, between November 28 and December 1, 1943.
What was agreed at Tehran
- USA and |Britain would open a second front and launch an attack on Germany from the West
- Stalin would declare war against Japan
- Discussion of what would happen to Germany after the war
- Foundations for the United Nations set up
When was the Yalta Conference? Which leaders were present?
The February 1945 Yalta Conference was the second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
What was agreed at Yalta?
- Germany and Berlin would be devided into zones of occupaton under control of USA, USSR, GB and France.
- USSR would join the war against Japan
- United Nations to be set up after WW2
- Eastern European countries could hold free elections after the end of the war
What did the Allied leaders disagree on at Yalta?
Stalin wanted to move the border of Poland westwards into German territory - Roosevelt was unhappy but agreed since Stalin promised not to help Communist rebels in Greece. The British supported the London Poles
How many USSR civilian and military deaths were there in WWII?
Over 21 million, including over 13 million soldiers (the USA lost only 0.5 million soldiers)
When was the Potsdam Conference? Which leaders were present?
The Potsdam Conference, 1945. The Big Three—Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (replaced on July 26 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee), and U.S. President Harry Truman—met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II.
What was agreed at Potsdam?
- Germany and Berlin would be divided as agreed at Yalta
- Poland’s eastern border moved west-giving the USSR more territory
- Nazi leders to be tried as war criminals
What were the disagreements at Potsdam?
- Truman blocked Stalin’s demands for crippling reparations (fines) to be placed on Germany
- Truman refused to allow the USSR to occupy Japan once it was defeated
- Truman and Atlee opposed Stalin’s demand that he set-up pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe. Stalin’s Red Army was looking like an army of occupation
What was the relationship like between the USA and USSR as a result of Potsdam?
- Stalin’s troops remained in Eastern Europe - hopes of free elections seemed very distant now
- Truman informed Stalin that the USA now possessed the atom bomb-Stalin feared that the USA might use this weapon in the future against the USSR
- Truman adopted a far more hardline approach to Stalin than Roosevelt had
- GB and USA were suspicious of |Stalin who had now set up a pro-Communist government in Poland
- Stalin was suspicious as to why the USA wanted Germany to ‘recover’ economically
What did the long Telegram state – give three examples
the USSR was heavily armed and feared the outside world. It was determined to spread communism and therefore there could be no peaceful co-existence between the USSR and the USA. However, the USA was stronger than the USSR and so communism could be ‘contained’.
What did the Novikov Telegram state – give three examples
The Soviet response to The Long Telegram was The Novikov Telegram, in which the Soviet ambassador to the USA, Nikolai Novikov, warned that the USA had emerged from World War Two economically strong and bent on world domination. As a result, the USSR needed to secure its buffer zone in Eastern Europe.
