Steps to the Cold War Flashcards
How were relations strained in the Grand Alliance?
- The delayed opening of the Second Front (finally opened in June 1944, Stalin thought Br and USA were waiting until USSR had been seriously damaged)
- Germany published details of the Katyn massacre in 1943 (execution of 10,000 Polish officers by the USSR in 1939)
- The Warsaw Uprising in August 1944 (Polish organised an uprising against German forces occupying the city, Stalin did not help the rebels after promising to do so and refused to allow Western support to reach Warsaw)
What happened at the Tehran conference? (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin)
November 1943
- Britain and USA agreed to open a second front by invading France in May 1944
- USSR was to wage war against Japan once Germany was defeated
- UN was to be set up after the war
- Area of Eastern Poland added to USSR
Disagreements:
-Churchill wanted the second front elsewhere
What happened at the Yalta conference?
Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
February 1945
- USSR would enter war against Japan once Germany surrendered
- They would divide Germany and Berlin into 4 zones (Br, Fr, USA, USSR)
- hunt down and try Nazi war criminals in an international court of justice
- Allow countries liberated from Germany occupation to have free elections
- Join UN to maintain peace after war
- Agreed that Eastern Europe would be a ‘Soviet sphere of influence’
Disagreements:
- Stalin wanted very large German reparations so they delayed the decision
- Stalin wanted Polish borders to be moved to the West. He also wanted a ‘friendly’ Polish government but the western powers persuaded Stalin to agree to free elections in Poland.
What happened at the Potsdam conference?
Attlee, Truman, Stalin
July 1945
- divided Germany + Berlin between them
- agreed to demilitarize Germany completely
- re-establish democracy in Germany (free elections, free press, freedom of speech)
- Germany had to pay reparations in equipment and materials (mostly to the USSR)
- banned the Nazi party, Nazis removed from important positions and leading Nazi put on trial at Nuremburg in 1946
- agreed to participate full in the UN
- agreed Poland’s border would be moved westwards
Disagreements:
- Stalin wanted huge reparations, but Truman (anti-Stalin) saw a revived Germany as a barrier for Soviet expansion = didn’t want a repeat of the TofV
- Stalin refused to allow free elections in eastern countries occupied by Soviet troops, as Truman wanted
- Truman told Stalin about the first nuclear bomb test (threat)
Why did Stalin want control of Eastern Europe?
- To spread communism
- Wanted more spoils of war as the USSR did most of the fighting
- concerned the US would gain influence in E europe through business, a ‘buffer zone’ of friendly countries would give the USSR early warning of a possible capitalist attack
- Stalin wanted to avoid German invasion just as in 1914 and 1941
- Stalin wanted control of Poland for access to Soviet controlled East Germany
How did Stalin take control of Poland?
June 1945- coalition government set up, dominated by communists of the Lublin group
Jan 1947- rigged elections so communists took control, London Poles leader (Mikolaczyk) fled Poland
How did Stalin take control of Romania?
1945- coalition govn set up, dominated by communists
January 1946- Stalin encouraged communists to disrupt the government
March 1947- Soviet army disarmed Romanian army and a Soviet politician (Vyshinsky) forced the king to appoint a Soviet controlled govn under PM Petru Groza
November 1948- Elections held and communist won 80% of votes
1947- Romanian monarchy abolished
How did Stalin take control of Hungary?
August 1945- Smallholders party won elections, because of economic crisis communists took control of the Ministry of Interior, which controlled the Police
1947- Communists arrested the Smallholders party leader (Bela Kovaks) and the President (Imgre Nagy)
August 1947- Communists took over the government in general elections and banned all other parties
How did Stalin take control of Czechoslovakia?
1947- Communist party was largest in the coalition government and they controlled the police and the armed forces
1948- Communists used army to seize control, with help from the USSR. They arrested many non-communists and held rigged elections. All other parties were banned. The foreign minister (Masaryk) was murdered.
How did Stalin take control of Bulgaria?
1944- Communist dominated govn set up
Nov 1945- rigged elections held. All other parties banned. Bulgarian monarchy abolished.
How did Stalin take control of Yugoslavia?
He didn’t really
- Marshal Tito (communist freedom fighter and national hero) was elected president after WW2
- Tito + Stalin were weary of eachother and Yug was expelled from the Comintem so Tito accepted help from the West
Why did the USA introduce the Truman Doctrine? (conflicts before)
- In 1946 the US criticized the Soviet occupation in Persia until Stalin gave in and withdrew his troops
- At the Council of Foreign Ministers in 1946 the American representative (Byrnes) blocked every Soviet proposal and criticised Soviet policy in Eastern Europe
- Turkey felt threatened by Soviet plans to set up naval bases in the Black Sea so in August 1946 the US blocked their plans
- The 1947 economic crisis in Western Europe meant that there were food and fuel shortages and unemployment. This led to more support of communist parties in France and Italy.
- The US govn were worried that communism would spread and realised they had to stop their isolationist policy.
What was the Truman Doctrine and what was the first example of the US policy?
Truman’s interventionist policy to support countries resisting communism.
1st example: Greece and Turkey
In February 1947 Britain announced it could no longer support the monarchists in the Greek Civil War so the Americans stepped in, offering financial support. By 1949 the communists had been defeated and both Greece and Turkey remained capitalist.
