origins of the cold war -> developing tensions up to 1948 - Soviet hegemony in Eastern and Southern Europe and the US response Flashcards
1
Q
why did Stalin believe he was entitled to control of many Eastern European states?
A
the percentages agreement + the Yalta conference confirmed to Stalin that Eastern Europe and the states thee USSR had liberated from Nazi occupation would fall within the Soviet sphere of influence
2
Q
was there support for communist regimes in Eastern Europe?
A
- yes, a substantial degree of support for policies put forward by communist groups
- communist parties called for radical change from the situation that had existed before WWII
- little desire to restore old regimes (e.g. fascism)
- desperate need for restoration after devastation of war -> fitted with communist’s message of building a new society
- communists advocated land reform -> redistributing land from large landowners to smaller farmers, popular with peasants
- communists actively resisted Nazi German occupation of their countries during the war and gained respect -> Yugoslavian local communist resistance + Partisans under Tito liberated the country from Nazis
3
Q
what other political groups were calling for radical change in 1945?
A
- in the countryside, peasant parties were popular + posed a threat to Communist’s ability to succeed in elections
- Stalin’s strategy to form agreements and government coalitions with other left-wing parties, such as socialists and peasant groups
- known as ‘salami tactics’
4
Q
what was the reality of the ‘salami tactics’ ?
A
- appeared to ‘strengthen’ pro-communist powerhouses, but in reality they dominated the party
- thought to be more acceptable to the West than immediately installing communist-led one-party states.
5
Q
what were Stalin’s intentions in Eastern Europe?
A
- influence, rather than ideological expansion was Stalin’s initial focus
- however, his actions in Eastern Europe were motivated by a determination to do whatever was necessary to safeguard Soviet international interests and Soviet territory
- can be seen as ‘defensive expansionism’
- initial intent to establish a buffer zone against a potential invasion from the West based on satellite states was completed by 1948
6
Q
where did Stalin have pro-communist regimes in place in 1948?
A
Poland -> elections in Jan 1947 took place amidst violence + manipulation, so the Peasant’s Party was effectively neutralised as a political force
Hungary -> the smallholder’s party was subjected to similar pressures and effectively destroyed by time of elections in August 1947
Bulgaria
Romania -> by December 1946, had CP and its allies fully in control
Albania
Czechoslovakia
7
Q
what was political life like in Stalin’s buffer zones?
A
- remained a semblance of a parliamentary gov + democratic norms
- in reality, Soviet secret police + the Red Army’s bayonets were decisive factor in shaping political life
- some important reform + reconstruction measures introduced
- no attempt to introduce Soviet-style regimes until 1947-48
- Soviet actions viewed as a contravention of the Declaration on Liberated Europe reached at Yalta in Feb 1945 + Greek Civil War (march 1946 - Oct 1949) seen as evidence of Soviet aggression.
8
Q
how was there compliance to communism in post-war Czechoslovakia?
A
- Communists had figured predominantly in anti-fascist wartime resistance and emerged as committed patriots
- the Communist party emerged as the largest single party + won 38% of votes in relatively free elections held in May 1946
- war had left workers in states with unemployment + economic chaos -> communism offered better prospect than capitalism + dominance of an economic elite associated with it
9
Q
what was the case of Poland in 1945:
A
- despite Polish gov existing in exile in London, the pro-Stalin Lublin gov established + became Stalin’s instrument of political control
- Stalin failed to conform to range of agreements at Yalta regarding Poland
- agreement to free elections at Yalta enabled him to preserve the role of the Lublin gov
- Provisional Government of National Unity formed in June 1945 -> contained parties from both ends pf political spectrum
10
Q
what did Stalin’s tactics in Poland focus on?
A
- Stalin didn’t simply impose a pro-Soviet communist regime in Poland
- focused on a number of approaches
- such as appearing to allow free multi-party elections with clear intent to ensure he would emerge
11
Q
how did Stalin combat the Peasant Party?
A
- communists weakened this group by strengthening their own links with the Polish socialists
- Jan 1947, communist + peasant groups merged (com dominant)
- Deputy Prime Minister, Wladyslaw Gomulka (Polish communist) not fully pro-Moscow
- opposed Soviet policies -> felt irrelevant to Poland
- 1948: accused of ‘nationalist deviation’ and replaced by a compliant pro-Stalinist Boleslaw Bierut
12
Q
how did Romania view communism?
A
- communists were popular as they offered an alternative to the pre-war regime
- the Red Army occupied Romania -> Soviets treated Romania as occupied territory
- these factors made it relatively easy for Stalin and opposition was minimal
13
Q
What were the issues between Michael I and Petru Groza?
A
- King Michael was not content with the direction of Groza’s government
- attempted to force Groza’s resignation by refusing to give royal assent (sign any legislation)
- Groza enacted laws without obtaining Michael’s signature
- despite King’s disapproval, the first Groza gov brought land reform and women suffrage
14
Q
who was elected in Romania in 1946?
A
- 19 Nov 1946: communist-led bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) claimed 84% of votes
- elections had intimidation, electoral fraud, and assassinations
15
Q
what did the new communist government in Romania impose throughout 1946 and 1947?
A
- eliminated the role of the centrist parties (moderate)
- imprisoned some of their leaders
- other political parties forced to ‘merge’ with the communists
- 1946-47: hundreds of participants in Romania’s pro-Nazi gov during WWII executed as war criminals
16
Q
what happened on the 30th December 1947 in Romania?
A
- 1947: Romania remained only monarchy in Eastern bloc
- Groza summoned King Michael to Bucharest and presented him with a pre-typed letter of abdication
- forced to sign as Groza held him at gunpoint
- Parliament abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania as a People’s Republic
17
Q
how was communism reacted to in Bulgaria?
A
- Gradualism, manipulated elections and the forced the removal of opponents characterised the takeover
- the strongest political opponent facing the communists was the Agrarian Party, led by Nikola Petkov
- Despite winning over 20% of popular vote in the October elections, Petkov was faced with trumped-up charges and executed
- his party forcibly absorbed into Bulgarian communist movement
- by April 1947, all other political groups were banned
18
Q
how was communism reacted to in Hungary?
A
- communists used tactic of allying with other political groups to challenge power of greatest opponent, the Smallholders Party
- many Hungarian communists didn’t display the degree of loyalty to Moscow that Stalin wanted
- they formed close links with Yugoslavia where a non-Soviet regime was in place
- SU intervened through fore resulting in a puppet government that disregarded the Smallholders Party, placed communists in important ministerial positions and imposed several restrictive measures
- in 1949, the Hungarian communist leader, Laszlo Rajk, was executed for ‘anti-Soviet’ activities
- by 1949, all political opposition to the Moscow-backed Hungarian communists had disappeared
19
Q
what was the state of Czechoslovakia after the war?
A
- after its liberation in 1945, soon fell behind the ‘Iron Curtain’
- Soviet and American troops jointly occupied Czechslovakia
- both sides pulled out 1 Deceber 1945
- Soviets kept a number of divisions on Czechoslovakia’s borders
- Czechoslovakia caught between Poland and Eastern Germany on the north and Hungary on the South -> made Soviet influence pervasive
20
Q
what were Czechoslovakia’s attitudes to communism?
A
- industrialised unlike rest of Europe and had a large, unionised working class
- Czech communists popular among rural peasants -> given them land at the end of the war
- Czech communist part leader, Klement Gottwald, became prime minister (won 38% of votes)
21
Q
what was the difference between the Prime Minister, Klement Gottwald, the President Edvard Benes and the Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk? (Czechoslovakia)
A
- neither the President, Edvard Benes, nor the foreign minister, Jan Masaryk were communist
- Klement Gottwald was the Czech Communist Party leader
- both tried to maintain a balance between the East and West
22
Q
what issues arised between Gottwald and Benes in February 1948?
A
- in Feb 1948, Gottwald refused to cooperate with Benes on a plan to reorganise the police and the Cabinet broke up
- Gottwald issued an ultimatum for a new gov under his power
- Soviet mission flew to Prague to demand Benes’ surrender
- Feb 25 1948, Benes capitulated and the Communists assumed control and attempted to create an alternative right-wing group
- Masaryk assassinated two weeks later at the Defenestration of Prague
- The highly respected President Edvard Benes agreed to support a communist-dominated government and resigned in June 1948, leaving pro-Moscow communists in complete control
23
Q
how did George Kennan view the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia?
A
- as ‘defensive’
- Stalin had neither issued direct orders to Czech Communist Party nor offered to move troops to the border to intimidate non-Communists
- others in gov saw it differently
24
Q
why were communist parties rising in popularity in Italy and France after WWII?
A
- communists had been predominant in the resistance against the Nazis in both countries
-> their resistance to Nazi german occupation during war represented the defence of national sovereignty which many non-communists agreed with - there as an economic crisis after WW2 which discredited capitalism
-> on journalist wrote: “Nobody in Europe believes in the American way of life… [people] want Socialism”
25
Q
what is evidence of the Communist’s rise of influence in Italy and France?
A
- the PCI’s (Italian Communist Party) membership increased from about 5000 in 1943 to 1.7 million at thee end of 1945
- in November 1946, the PCF (French Communist Party) became the largest party in Parliament with 182 seats out of 627 in thee Parliament (roughly 29%)
26
Q
why was the rise of communism in Italy and France dangerous for the capitalist powers?
A
communist popularity, and capitalist weakness meant that the French and Italian communists had a chance at seizing power
27
Q
why did Stalin not encourage the Italian and French communist powers to seize power?
A
- Stalin who effectively controlled these leaders held them back from seizing power
- Molotov (Soviet foreign minister) said in 1948 that an attempt at an armed Communist uprising would be a ‘dangerous misadventure’
- following thee strategy from Stalin, both parties focused on building alliances with other political groups rather than taking radical measures
28
Q
how was communism reacted to in Yugoslavia?
A
- the local Communist resistance, the Partisans under Josip Broz Tito had liberated the country from the Nazis before the arrival of the Red Army
- by 1948, it was apparent that Soviet influence over Yugoslavia was limited
- conflict between Stalin and Tito based on Stalin’s determination to impose Soviet control over Southern + Eastern Europe
- Yugoslavs refused to become Soviet puppets
29
Q
what happened in June 1948 for Yugoslavia?
A
- on 28 June 1948, Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform
- its leaders accused of abandoning Leninism and no longer conforming to an acceptable Marxist-position.
- US delighted with the Soviet-Yugoslavia split, and actively courted Tito with economic and military and economic aid in the late 1940s and 1950s
- any state that the USSR opposed was seen by the USA as its friend
30
Q
when did Roosevelt shift to containment and what did it entail?
A
- adopted containment in March 1947 to June 1950
- included avoiding war and boosting allies
- passive containment: giving millions of dollars to allied forces (military aid and boosting economies for the policy of containment)
- switched to active containment in June 1950 - July 1953 (Korean War)
31
Q
what triggered the falling out of Eastern Europe?
A
- The USA was unwilling to accept complete Soviet domination of East Europe
- nearly every important American leader acknowledged that Eastern Europe could no longer maintain an anti-Soviet position
- at the same time, they all wished to promote democracy, freedom of religion and speech, and free enterprise
32
Q
what were the US aims for Poland and the Soviet Union and why was this impossible?
A
- Secretary of State James Byrnes said: “Our objective is a government [in Poland] both friendly to the Soviet Union and representative of all the democratic elements of the country”
- was an impossible program to have governments friendly to USSR and representing the will of the people
- any freely elected government would certainly be anti-Russian
33
Q
what was Roosevelt’s view on Poland and the Soviet Union’s incompatibility?
A
- Roosevelt recognised this fact but was unwilling to explain it to the American people
- emphasised Stalin’s agreement to free elections at Yalta in Feb 1945 -> fed soaring American expectations about post-war East Europe
- hoped that Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and the rest of the region would become democratic capitalist states closely tied to the West
- never the slightest possibility that this would happen but when it failed to occur, millions of Americans were outraged
34
Q
why was Poland the key issue after WWII?
A
- in 1945, the German defeat left a power vacuum and there was the presence of the Red Army which was by then incomparably the strongest power in all Europe
- If the Red Army remained and occupied Poland and East Germany, the US demobilised and if Poland fell into communist hands -> all seemed likely in Feb 1945
- there would be nothing to prevent the Soviets from overrunning all of Europe
- Poland was Soviet’s gateway to overrunning Europe
35
Q
what did Stalin express was his key concern for the Soviet Union?
A
- emphasised the Soviet Union’s security problem
- feared foreign penetration and direct contact between Western world and their own
- as well as its need to protect itself from Germany and the West by controlling the nations on its border
- Americans increasingly dismissed his statements as lies
36
Q
what did millions of American Democratic Party members of Polish origin believe was necessary?
A
- millions of American Democratic Party members of Polish origin, aided by the Catholic church, decided that standing up to Stalin was as important as standing up to Hitler
- As Presidents of the time, Roosevelt and Truman were representing the Democratic Party members and needed to answer their voters
37
Q
was Stalin committed to power before or after his commitment to ideology?
A
- Stalin believed ideology could only be fulfilled if the USSR was powerful and he as leader, was all-powerful
- the purity of communist ideology operating in Eastern European states was not a high priority for Stalin
- leaders of these states had to act as Stalinist puppets
- this level of commitment and loyalty to Stalin and the Soviet Union gave power and this power gave security
- one by one, the Eastern European states were gradually brought into the Stalinist fold
