Origins Of The Cold War Flashcards
1
Q
Reasons for US/Soviet mistrust
A
- Different political systems
- USSR tried to spread Communism, but the USA was determined to stop this
- Stalin had signed an alliance with Hitler
2
Q
Poland
A
- Stalin wanted to keep parts of Poland he had won in the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939
- Buffer zone between the USSR/Germany
- Lublin Poles (USSR) V London Poles
3
Q
Tensions at the Potsdam conference
A
• July, 1945
• Soviet troops remained in ‘freed’ Eastern European countries
Roosevelt replaced Truman
4
Q
Agreements made at Potsdam
A
- Germany to be divided as agreed at Yalta
- Allies receive reparations
- Nazi party banned, leaders tried as war criminals
- Poland’s Eastern border moved West
5
Q
‘Iron Curtain’ speech
A
- Winston Churchill, 1946
- Declared that Europe was being split in two by Soviet policy
- West was free and democratic, East was under Soviet control
6
Q
8 Reasons for Soviet Expansion
A
- Buffer zone between the USSR and the West
- USSR had been invaded twice from the West in last 30 years
- Western concerns of Soviet domination
7
Q
Soviet Expansion
A
- The Red army ‘liberated’ countries from Nazi occupation, but then took over them themselves
- Poland, rigged elections in 1947
- Army seized control of Czechoslovakia
8
Q
US reaction to Soviet Expansion
A
• Paid for British troops in Greece & Turkey • Containment’ – Truman Doctrine, 1947 • Marshall Plan, 1947 – economic aid • 1948-52 USA provided $13 billion to 16 countries