superpowers and cold war Flashcards
what were the two different ideologies in the 1940s?
USA: capitalism
USSR: communism
what was capitalism and who were the main capitalist countries in 1941
- everyone is free to own their own property and business to make money
- UK and USA
what are 4 key features of capitalism (economic, rights, politics & society)
economic: land and business owned by people and not the state
rights: individuals have freedom to their own life but impacted by what majority decides
political: elections held: people have a choice of different political parties
society: some people have more money and wealth than others
what is communism and who was the main communist country?
- an ideology where all property is owned by the state so everyone has a fair share
- USSR
what are the key features of communism? (economic, rights, politics, society)
economic: all land and business owned by the state
rights: workers rights are more important than the individual
politics: elections held: different choice of candidates of the the same party
society: no social class, everyone is equal
who was part of the grand alliance in 1941 (country + leader)
- USA: Roosevelt. 1945: Truman
- USSR: Stalin
- UK: Churchill. 1945: Attlee
what were Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchills attitudes to the Grand Alliance?
Roosevelt: accepted USSR as a partner to ensure peace
Churchill: suspicious of Stalin and communism
Stalin: believed the West was trying to destroy communism
When was the Tehran conference held?
November-December 1943
What was the focus of the Tehran Conference?
To defeat the Axis powers and win WW2
What were the agreements made at the Tehran conference?
- USA and UK open a second front by attacking France
- USSR would help US with war against Japan
- Poland gains German land but loses land to USSR
- International body should be set up after war to ensure peace
describe the impact the Tehran conference had on the USSR and USA’s relationship
- a positive impact
- Stalin was pleased that a second front had been agreed
- Roosevelt supported Stalin in attacking Germany from the West
- Stalin agreed to support the USA in its war against Japan
describe the Tehran conferences’ impact on the relationship between the USA and the UK?
- a negative impact
- Roosevelt worried that British colonialism was more of a threat than the USSR
- Churchill was disappointed that Roosevelt sided with Stalin
when was the Yalta conference held?
February 1945
what was the aim of the Yalta conference?
to win WW2 and discuss governing post europe
what were the agreements made at the Yalta conference?
- Germany would pay 20B in reparations and be divided into 4 zones
- ussr agreed to declare war on japan after germany’s defeat
- UN would be established
what impact did the Yalta conference have on relations?
- POSITIVE between US and USSR: ussr would aid usa in war against japan
- NEGATIVE between USSR and UK: Stalin wanted Poland’s government to be pro communist but Churchill supported non communist London Poles
When was the Potsdam conference held?
July-August 1945
What were the outcomes of the Potsdam conference?
- Nazi Party was banned and war criminals to be prosecuted
- Germany would be divided into 4 zones run by UK, USSR, USA and France
- Berlin was to also be divided
- USSR would receive 25% of the output from the other 3 zones
what impact did the potsdam conference have on relations?
- NEGATIVE on USA + USSR
- Truman had mentioned successful testing of atomic bomb
- Truman worried about communism spread
What was the impact of the atomic bomb?
- TENSIONS INCREASED.
- The USA not only wanted to end the war with Japan, they also wanted to scare Stalin and the Soviet Union
- The USA did not inform the grand alliance of their plans
- caused Stalin to distrust the USA and aim to defend USSR from capitalism and created a buffer zone
- causes the end of the grand alliance
What was Kennans Long Telegram about?
- Sent from USSR to USA
- Stalin saw capitalism as a threat
- There wouldn’t be peace between the two
- Communism could be ‘contained’
What was Novikovs telegram about?
- USA to USSR
- American people supported war against USSR
- America wanted to build military to achieve world domination
- No longer wanted to cooperate with the USSR
How did the Telegrams affect relations?
- Increased tensions between the USA and USSR, relationships breaking down
- Both sides believed to be untrustworthy and planning destruction
- Led to new policies (contain communism and spread communism)
What was the impact of the iron curtain speech?
- the iron curtain divided capitalism in the West and communism in the East
- led to an increase of tensions and led to a build of military strength
- Stalin believed it reflected beliefs of Truman
What were satellite states?
- 1945-1948
- countries that became under the control of the Soviet Union
- communist governments were created and elections were fixed to ensure communism won (intimidation and violence also used)
- they shut down opposing parties
What was the impact of the Satellite states? (USA reaction)
- worsened USA and USSR relations
- a lack of trust was created because Stalin promised free elections in those countries but the elections were clearly fixed to allow communist party to win
- worsened USA and USSR relations as USA became more hostile towards the USSR and USA saw this as Stalins attempt to spread communism whixh they wanted to contain
- led to creation of Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
What was the Truman Doctrine?
- Countries had a choice between the oppression of communism or the freedom of capitalism
- the USA must try to contain communism
- The USA must provide money and troops to governments to combat communism
What was the Marshall Plan?
- Marshall Plan provided poorer countries with economic aid because they had a higher risk of being taken over by communism
- around 13B was given from the USA
How did the Truman doctrine and Marshall plan increase tensions?
- drastically increased tensions
- Stalin saw these acts as a threat to communism
- Marshall Plan was described as “dollar imperialism” in an “evil empire”
- divided the West from the East
What was cominform?
- Cominform was set up as a response to the Marshall Plan because Stalin worried about the containment of communism
- Cominform allowed Stalin to directly control the satellite states and their governments
What was Comecon?
- Set up in response to the Marshall Plan in 1949
- Stalin was able to keep economic control of Europe
- Allowed Stalin to provide an alternative to the Marshall Plan and improve economies
What was the response to Cominform and Comecon?
- increased tensions
- Each country chose between the USA and the USSR- which caused competition and an increase of tensions
- NATO was created
Why was NATO created and what did it do?
- NATO created as a response to increasing tensions between the West and the East
- NATO was a military alliance, if one member attacked, all members defended and aimed to protect against the possible attack from USSR
What was the impact of NATO?
- increased tensions between USA and USSR
- created a divide
- Stalin worried about attack because NATO countries bordered Eastern Europe
Why was the division of Berlin significant to relations?
- The increase of tensions led to disagreements between USSR and USA as to how to treat Germany
- WEST wanted to strengthen Germany
- EAST wanted to weaken Germany
- Iron curtain centred in Berlin to separate East and West
Why was the division of Berlin significant to relations?
- The increase of tensions led to disagreements between USSR and USA as to how to treat Germany
- WEST wanted to strengthen Germany
- EAST wanted to weaken Germany
- Iron curtain centred in Berlin to separate East and West
What was Bizonia and Trizonia?
- Bizonia was USA and Britain merging their zones
- Trizonia was France merging its zone with USA and Britain
- created a new currency (Deutschmark)
- led to Stalin’s Berlin Blockade
What was the Berlin Blockade?
- USSR blocked Western access to Berlin
- USSR blocked all supplies to Berlin such as food, land routes, transport access
- allowed Stalin to have control on the capital
What was the Berlin Airlift?
- West responded to USSR’s blockade with an airlift, thousands of supplies were flown into Berlin daily
- Led to Stalin lifting blockades as it was humiliating for the USSR
- Huge success for West
- increased tensions
What was the creation of West and East Germany?
- After blockade, Germany was still divided into West and East Germany
- West Germany FRG
- East Germany GDR
What was the Warsaw Pact and its significance?
- created in 1955
- A military alliance with Eastern Europe
- Increased likelihood of war as both alliances
