Paper 1 Theme 1 - Topic 1: Start of Cold War Flashcards
Yalta Conference
Feb 4 1945 - Feb 11 1945
Agreed:
1. Divide Germany into four zones of occupation
2. Agreed to the principle of reparations
Disagreed: Churchill rejected Stalin’s insistence on extracting massive reparations of (US$20billion) from Germany.
3. Poland: The British wanted to install the pro-Western government that was in exile in London, while the Soviets wanted to install the rival pro-Soviet government in Lublin, which they set up in 1945 when the Red Army defeated the Nazis.
Potsdam Conference
Jul 17, 1945 - Aug 2, 1945
(Named the bad tempered conference)
Agreed:
1. Occupation of Germany by the four occupying powers and run by Allied Control Council
2. Germany to be reshaped along democratic lines
Disagreed:
1. Reparations: Stalin insisted on reparations of not less than $10 billion from Germany. Truman and Byrnes insisted that reparations should be exacted by the occupying powers from their own occupation zone. The Soviets felt shortchanged as eastern Germany was mainly agricultural and therefore poorer.
End of WWII
Sep 2, 1945
This date marked Japanese surrender
German surrender
May 8, 1945
First atomic bomb test
July 16, 1945
US could now reduce American troop deployment and casualties in Japan
Roosevelt -> Truman
April 12, 1945
Roosevelt:
1. Had personal working relations with Stalin
- Had high regards for Stalin
2. Stalin grateful for Lend Lease programme
Truman:
- Ignorant of foreign affairs
- Tended to see things in clearly defined black and white terms, and lacked the patience to weigh the subtleties of argument.
- Drastic cut back on Lend Lease on May 1945
Churchill -> Attlee
July 16, 1945
Was a staunch anti-communist. Approached Stalin cautiously and warily.
Percentages agreement
October 1944
Churchill and Stalin outlined post-war spheres of influence, giving the Soviet Union significant influence in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, while Greece was deemed to fall in British American sphere of influence.
Sovietisation of Eastern Europe
1945 - 1947
Later months of 1945, Romania and Bulgaria established pro-soviet governments
Kennan’s Long Telegram
Feb 1946
The telegram was made in response to Stalin’s speech on the eve of elections to the Supreme Soviet, claiming that capitalism made war inevitable.
In the speech, Kennan predicted a life-and-death struggle between democracy and communism. He even suggested that the very existence of the Soviet Union and the security of the USSR would be achieved at the expense of America’s internal harmony and its international authority.
He reiterated that the US must adopt “a long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies”.
Iran
March 1946
During WWII, the Soviets and British jointly occupied Iran. They agreed to withdraw after the war.
In March 1946, the British withdrew but the Red Army did not.
Stalin only withdrew after a few weeks of negotiations with the Iranian government.
Iron Curtain Speech
March 12, 1946
“An iron curtain has descended across the continent”
Speech painted USSR as aggressive and a villain and underlining the divide in Europe
Turkey
April - August 1946
Turkey closed the Dardanelles Straits to USSR during WWII. The Soviet Union demanded access to the waterway after the war. When it was refused, the Soviets conducted naval exercises to pressure Turkey. USSR backed down after US and Britain declared support for Turkey.
Germany
September 1946
USSR continued to strip their zone of its resources and kidnapping useful people. The US recognized that there could be no economic recovery in Europe without Germany’s recovery. The three Western powers then combined their zones into Trizonia soon.
Greece
1945-1947
Most of the country was in the hands of communists after the war. Churchill sent British troops and a Civil War ensued. The communists looked to Stalin for support but it was not granted as Stalin wanted to honour his agreement with Churchill. However, the US still misunderstood and thought Stalin was helping the communists when it was Yugoslavia and Albania who did.
Britain’s post war difficulties
Post war
Unemployment rose to six million and the country was crippled by the harsh winter. As such, it could no longer provide aid to Greece and Turkey. Thus, the US had to step in.
Truman Doctrine
March 12, 1947
Truman addressed Congress to call for $400 million funding to aid Turkey and Greece. He painted a dichotomous picture of two ways of life. The funding was granted and the Greek successfully defeated the communists.
The Truman Doctrine called for global containment of communism. It also showed readiness to view all foreign conflicts within the bipolar, Cold War framework.
Marshall Plan
June 5, 1947
The US believed that appalling economic conditions could provide fertile ground for communism to take root. A strong global economy was also beneficial for US trade.
The US called for countries to come up with their own plan for recovery and the US would then provide the necessary resources.
Treaty of Brussels
May 1948
signed by Britain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Netherlands, establishing a 50-years military alliance.
NATO
April 4, 1949
Stalin imposed a blockade of Berlin; this increased military insecurity among the Western European allies. These countries needed American troops to be stationed in their countries.
West Germany joined in 1955
Cominform
September 1947
Revival of Comintern which was dissolved in 1943 due to the war alliance. Cominform used to consolidate his influence over Eastern Europe.
Used to facilitate exchange of information between Satellites.
Soviet-styled communism imposed and states to trade primariy with Cominform members
Two rival camp theory
Proclaimed by Andrei Zhdanov. Similar to Truman Doctrine. Called the West ‘imperialist and anti-democratic’
Molotov Plan & COMECON
1947
A plan to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe by coordinating resources and trade, and provision of aid.
Jan 1949
An economic alliance to exchange economic experiences, extend technical aid to one another, and to render mutual assistance with respect to raw materials, foodstuffs, machines, equipment, etc.
Trade increased 400% for first 15years but declined after that.
Sovietisation of Poland
1947 (Officially became pro-soviet state)
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact soured relations between Poland and USSR. In 1940, Soviet troops massacred over 20,000 Polish soldiers in Katyn Forest.
1947: Rigged an election
1948 & 1949: military courts sentenced more than 30,000 people.
Sovietisation of Czechoslovakia
1947 - March 1948
1947: With bad harvest, Czechs appealed to US for Marshall aid. Czech was told that no aid would be given until they changed its political stance
Communists took advantage of the poor economic situation to call for radical programmes. Show trials were also held.
Communist party used a coup to depose non-communist political leaders and seized power in Feb 1948.
By mid-1948, the communists had completed their coup
Berlin Crisis
Jun 1948 - May 1949
Stalin wanted left-wing, democratic and anti-fascist state ruled by communists and the extraction of reparations to aid Soviet Union’s war recovery.
Western powers wanted German economic revival
Creation of Bizonia & Trizonia
January 1947 ( Bizonia) Facilitate German economic recovery by political and economic integration June 1948 (Trizonia) British and US persuaded France to
End of the Allied Control Council
March 20, 1948
During a regular ACC meeting, when questioned about the London Conference (In Feb 1948 where Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg met to plan West Germany’s economic recovery) was raised, the Americans refused to reveal any detail, the Soviets walked out of the meeting.
Berlin Blockade (Currency reforms)
June 21, 1948 - Western powers replaced Reichsmark with Deutschmark in West Germany
June 22, 1948 - Soviets introduced Ostmark in their zone
June 23, 1948 - Deutschmark introduced in West Berlin
June 24, 1948 - Stalin stopped all traffic between the Western zones and West Berlin
Stalin was afraid captitalist ideas would infect East Germany through West Berlin. He wanted to force to get out of Berlin or change their policies.
“What happens to Berlin happens to Germany; what happens to Germany happens to Europe”. - Molotov
Counter Blockade & Berlin Airlift
June 24. 1948 - The West stopped all rail traffic into East Germany from British and US zones.
June 25, 1948 - The Airlift began: 6,000 tons of supplies were flown into Berlin each day.
End of the Blockade
May 11, 1949
After being outplayed by the West and that Eastern Germany was hurt more, Stalin called off the blockade.
Implications of page 15
Formation of Warsaw Pact
May 14, 1955
After West Germany’s inclusion into the NATO and its remilitarization, Stalin soon came up with an agreement between 8 other countries: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Albania.
Countries were bound by a mutual defence treaty and had to respect other member’s sovereignity.
