Origins Of The Cold War Pt.1 Flashcards
When was the Tehran Conference?
November 1943
What was the Tehran conference?
The Grand alliance first met in Tehran to plan a winning strategy to end the war
What was the Grand alliance?
The Grand alliance was formed between the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain to mastermind the defeat of Germany and Japan in the Second World War
Agreements at Tehran
. The USA and Britain would open a Western Front by launching an attack against Germany in Western Europe
. Stalin would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
. Poland to receive land from Germany but the Soviet Union could keep land it has seized from Poland in 1939
. An international body to solve problems by discussion was agreed (this would become the United Nations).
When was the Yalta Conference?
February 1945
What was the Yalta conference?
Two years after the Tehran Conference, the Big Three held a second meeting to discuss winning the war and the government of post-war Europe at Yalta in the Soviet Union.
Agreements at Yalta
• After the war, Germany would be split into four zones. They would each
be controlled by a different power, the USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
• A United Nations would be set up
• Germany would pay 20 billion in reparations
• Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan
• Future governments of countries in Eastern Europe would be decide in free elections
Disagreements at Yalta (and signs of tension)
Poland proved to be the stumbling block at the conference. It was agreed that the borders of Poland would be returned to their position in 1921 (which would give the Soviet Union significant gains)
and that there would be free elections. However, Stalin expected those elections to bring about a pro-communist government, whereas the British supported the non-communist London Poles.
Disagreements at Tehran (and signs of tension)
Stalin was suspicious that the western allies had deliberately delayed the Second front in the West so that the Soviet Union would be weakened
They also disagreed about a Second front in the Balkans
Roosevelt seemed at times to view British Colonialism as more of a threat than the Soviet Union.
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July- August 1945
What was the Potsdam Conference?
A conference between Stalin, Truman and Attlee post war.
Agreements at Potsdam
• Germany would be divided into four zones, administered by the Soviet Union, the USA, Britain and France, but the German economy would be run as a whole.
• Berlin would also be divided into four zones, controlled by different countries, even though it was based well inside Soviet-controlled Germany.
Disagreements at Potsdam (and signs of tension)
Agreement was not reached over the government of Eastern Europe. Truman objected to the control that the Soviet Union had over the countries it had liberated from Nazi rule. He was beginning to see the Red Army as an army of occupation. However, without risking further war, there was little Truman could do.
Truman also objected to the arrangements for Poland and the borders that had previously been agreed. He wanted to see a new government with less communist influence.
Communism
Communists believe that all property, including homes and businesses, should belong to the state, to ensure that every member of society has a fair share. Communism is based on the writings of Karl Marx and was the political ideology of the Soviet Union.
Capitalism
Capitalists believe everyone should be free to own property and businesses and make money. The USA’s economic ideology was capitalist.
Soviet Union: Key features
Single-party rule
Classless society (everyone is equal)
All property owned by the state, not individuals
Rights of all workers more important than individual rights
USA and Britain: key features
Free elections with a choice of parties
Some people havemore power than others
Private ownership and a competitive workplace
Individual freedoms valued but limited by majority opinion.
Leaders of the International Superpowers before 1945
Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin
Leaders of the International superpowers after 1945
Truman, Attlee, Stalin
Franklin D. Roosevelt: key features
Believed strongly in democracy but compromised and formed an alliance with Stalin. Thought he needed Soviet support in Japan and therefore was not tough in negotiations with Stalin.
Winston Churchill : key features
Believed strongly in the British empire at a time when many others thought colonies should be allowed freedom to rule themselves. His political attitudes made him deeply suspicious of Stalin. Throughout the time of the Grand alliance he saw his role as trying to stop soviet expansion
Josef Stalin: key features
Strengthened one party rule in the Soviet Union
Was convinced that the west wanted to destroy communism so the Soviet Union had to stand firm in any negotiations with the west
What is a satellite state?
A nation that was once independent but is now under the control of another.
When were the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
6th and 9th of August 1945
Effect of Atom bombs in Japan
120,000 Japanese civilians killed by the two bombs
US reasons for using the Atom bomb
To win the war against Japan
To establish a stronger bargaining position with the Soviet Union
To test the atom bomb
Consequences of the US use of the atom bomb
Stalin created a buffer zone of communist countries between Germany and the Soviet Union
Increased US-USSR tensions and worsened relations
Started the Arms race
Kennan’s long telegram
George Kennan, America’s ambassador in Moscow reported that Stalin wanted to see the destruction of Capitalism and that Stalin felt tbaf the world outside the Soviet Union was hostile and looking to destroy communism. Kennan believed that if faced strong resistance the USSR would back down.
US response to Kennan’s long telegram
The American government believed there should be a determined policy of ‘containment’ to stop communism spreading
Novikov Telegram
Nikolai Novikov ( a soviet diplomat working in Washington) said that the USA wanted to use their massive military power to dominate the world. He believed that, since Roosevelt’s death, the Americans no longer wanted to co-operate with the Soviet Union and the American people would support their government if this led to war.
Soviet response to Novikov telegram
If this was how the USA was thinking, it was vital to develop as much protection as possible in Eastern Europe.
When was Chrurchill’s iron curtain speech?
March 1946
Where did Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech take place and why was this significant?
In Fulton, Missouri in the USA. Because it was in the USA Stalin interpreted what churchill said as reflecting American beliefs.
What was Churchill’s Iron curtain speech about?
In the speech he made it plain that he thought the Soviet Union was a threat to freedom and world peace.
What Provoked Churchill to make his Iron Curtain speech?
By the fact that communist governments had recently been set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
Consequence of Iron Curtain Speech
The speech increased tension and mistrust, and led the Soviet Union to strengthen its forces and step up a campaign of anti-Western propaganda. Churchill’s speech intensified the growing hostility between East and West.
Impact of the creation of Soviet Satellite States
Useful buffer zone between the Soviet Union and Germany for Stalin
Worsened relations because it made Truman believe that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism worldwide
Methods used to take over satellite states: Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia)
Conquered during WW2 (1940) and from then were treated as part of the Soviet Union.
Methods used to take over satellite states: Czechoslovakia
Communists staged a coup and Benes and other non communists were removed and replaced by a communist government
Methods used to take over satellite states: Poland
After the Warsaw uprising failed they invaded and put in a pro communist government
Methods used to take over satellite states: Hungary
Originally some communists were elected. Eventually enough were elected and Hungary became a one-party communist state
Methods used to take over satellite states: Bulgaria and Romania
Elections were rigged to bring in communist governments
Significance of Nuclear Arms race
- Up to 1949 the United States thought it could use its monopoly of nuclear weapons to deter Soviet attack.
- However, by the mid 1950s the development of nuclear weapons to include bigger warheads and missile delivery systems meant that any nuclear war would destroy both sides resulting in Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
- This meant that the USA and the Soviet Union had to find ways of stopping disputes between them turning into dangerous wars that involved nuclear weapons.
Nuclear arms race timeline
1945- USA drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1949- Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb
1952- USA develops Hydrogen bomb
1953- Soviet Union develops Hydrogen bomb
