Origins of the Cold War : US Soviet Relations 1945-6 and Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe Flashcards
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 bombs make the USA and the West feel?
More confident/secure. Could use it to persuade Stalin to hold free elections in Eastern Europe.
What did Stalin do in reaction to the bomb?
• He made a buffer zone between Eastern European countries and the West.
• Tested their own atomic bomb in 1949.
How did the development of the atom bomb affect USA/USSR relations?
• Increased cold war tensions as the bomb was so powerful
• Made both sides reluctant to go to war
• Arms race between USA and USSR
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.
Why did Stalin ensure that every government in Eastern Europe was pro-communist?
Stalin wanted to create a buffer zone between east and west. The USSR had suffered two invasions in the last thirty years – if Eastern Europe was under his control, this would make any future invasion less likely
How did the USA interpret the buffer zone by Stalin?
The USA believed that this was part of Stalin’s aim to spread communism throughout the world – in particular they thought countries in Western Europe were under threat
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 set up pro- Communist governments?
Although Stalin did hold elections, these were rigged to ensure Communists won. Politicians from other parties were beaten, intimidated or even murdered (e.g. Jan Masaryk). Even after the war, six million Soviet troops remained in Eastern Europe to stamp out opposition
How did Stalin set up a pro- communist government in Czechoslovakia?
After WWII, a coalition government led by Benes tried to restore democracy in Czechoslovakia. Stalin saw this as a threat to his buffer zone. He got communists to stage a coup and Jan Masaryk, a pro-democratic supporter was pushed out of a window and murdered. A pro-communist government was set up under the leadership of Gottwald.
How did Stalin set up a pro- communist government in Poland?
In 1944 during WWII, the Poles had staged the Warsaw uprising against the Germans. The Soviets promised to help them but instead waited until the Germans had crushed them. They then installed a pro-communist government (Lublin Poles) in Poland. Some of the London Poles were included at first but then forced to flee after rigged elections in 1947.
