Origins of the Cold War Flashcards
When was the Tehran Conference?
- 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
Which leaders met at Yalta Conference, Feb 1945?
Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (GB), and Stalin (USSR)
Which leaders met at Potsdam Conference, July 1945?
Truman (USA), Churchill (GB), and Stalin (USSR) – but Churchill was replaced by Atlee
When did the USA drop atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan?
6 and 9 August 1945 to end World War Two
How did the development of the atom bomb affect USA/USSR relations?
What was the Kennan Long telegram?
A telegram discussing US-Soviet relations sent by George Kennan, the US ambassador in Moscow. It said Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism but that the USSR would back down if threatened by the USA.
What was the Novikov Telegram?
A telegram sent by Nikolai Novikov, a Soviet diplomat in Washington that said that the USA wanted to dominate the world.
How did both telegrams affect American-Soviet relations?
Both sides now distrusted the other side even more. Led eventually to America’s policy of containment as the USA felt that the USSR was now looking to spread communism and led to the Soviet desire to protect itself.
What was the Iron Curtain speech?
In March 1946 Churchill visited the USA where he made a speech in which he declared that Europe was being divided by Soviet policy. In the West were free and democratic states, but in the East countries were living under the domination of communism and the USSR – an ‘iron curtain’ separated the two
How did the Iron Curtain speech affect American-Soviet relations?
It increased tension and mistrust and led the USSR to step up its campaign of anti-Western propaganda. Intensified hostility.
What were satellite states?
Countries that were freed from Nazi rule by the Red Army. These included: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
How did Stalin ensure these states relied on the USSR?
He set up COMINFORM in 1947, an alliance of Communist countries, which restricted their contact with the West. This was done in response to the Marshall Plan. Later on he set up COMECON to coordinate trade between these countries
What was the Truman Doctrine
Truman announced this change of policy from isolationism to containment to the world in a speech in March 1947 – he made it clear that the USA was prepared to assist any country under the threat of communism. Truman said choosing democracy over communism was like choosing good over evil. The USA would send troops and money to stop communism spreading. This was known as containment.
What was Marshall Aid?
Truman believed poverty and hardship were the breeding grounds for communism, and he therefore provided billions of dollars for the wrecked economies of Europe. Between 1948 and 1952 the USA gave $12.7bn to West Europe. He also wanted these economies to recover so that they could provide a market for US produced goods.
What was the Soviet response to the Truman Doctrine?
Stalin thought it showed that the USA was trying to extend its influence in Europe. He argued that the MP was a way of using economic strength to divide Europe in two. He called it dollar imperialism.
Why did Stalin decide to impose a blockade on Berlin in June 1948?
By blockading road and rail links from West Germany into West Berlin, Stalin hoped to test the strength of the USA and to force them into surrendering West Berlin where two million people lived free from Soviet rule
