The Cold War Flashcards
What were the three main conferences? (1943-1945)
Tehran
Yalta
Potsdam
Who were the three leaders in the grand alliance?
Churchill
Roosevelt
Stalin
What was the outcome of the Tehran conference?
USA and britain invaded nazi-occupied Europe
SU would declare war on Japan when germany was defeated
Boundaries of Poland moved westward
International body (would be united nations) set up
What were the outcomes of the Yalta conference?
Germany (when defeated) would be reduced, divided, demilitarised and have to pay reparations
The UN would be set up
Poland would be in the Soviet sphere of influence but run on a democratic basis
What were the outcomes of the Potsdam conference
Nazi party banned and war criminals prosecuted
Germany to be divided up into zones occupied by Britain, France, US and SU
Berlin also to be divided up into occupied zones
Soviet union to recieve 25 percent of output from other zones
Why did the grand alliance end?
Roosevelts death put Truman in charge but Truman didn’t trust Stalin and Stalin didn’t like Truman so tentions increased between the economic superpowers. Britain wasn’t strong enough to stand on it’s own so allied with the United States.
When were the Long and Novikov telegrams?
1946
What did Kennan report about the Soviet Union in the Long telegram?
They saw capitalism as a threat that had to be destroyed
They were building their military power
Peace between a communist Soviet Union and capitalist USA was not possible
What was in the Novikov telegram about the USA?
The USA wanted world domination and was building its military strength
The Soviet Union was the only country powerful enough to stand up to the US
The USA was preparing its people for war with the Soviet Union
What had made relationships between the USA and Soviet Union worse by 1946?
Idiological differences
The development of the atom bomb
The US saw the USSR as a threat to economic interests in europe.
The USSR feared the USA’s nuclear monopoly
What are salami tactics?
Fixing elections (rigging them) and then shutting down any political opposition (parties)
Who were the communist satallite states at the end of the second world war?
Bulgaria
Poland
Romania
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
East Germany
What (and when) was the truman doctrine?
1947
The United States would be prepared to provide economic and military aid to any country in order to prevent a soviet takeover and the spread of communism
What (and when) was the marshall plan?
1947
$13,000,000,000 in aid (13 billion dollars) from the US to help rebuild Europe
What were the aims of the Marshall plan?
To stop people accepting communism (because it appealed to the poor)
To get countries trading again (they needed to trade with the US to get the money)
Give 2 consequences of the Marshall plan
Sixteen west Europe countries incliding Britain, France and West Germany took the money
The Soviet Union criticised the plan as an attack on them as it threatened communist control of Europe.
What and when was cominform?
1947
The communist information bureau organised and arranged communist parties in Europe so it better worked for Moscow.
What were the 2 effects of cominform
Cominform got rid of any opposition to Soviet control in satellite states.
It encouraged communist parties in west Europe to block marshall plan assistance.
What and when was comecon?
1949
Stalins response and alternative to the marshall plan.
What were the key points of comecon?
It built up trade links between comecon countries (Bulgaria, Czech, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania and East Europe).
Prevented comecon parties from signing up to the marshall plan.
What were the consequences of cominform and comecon?
The two establishments brought East Europe much closer together and meant they reloed om each other. It also left western Europe to the the marshall plan and the United States plan lf communist containment.
When was NATO set up and why?
1949
It provided all the strength of the United States to all the other members by saying if any of them got attacked, all the other members would interfere. It was direceted at a possible attack from the Soviet Union
What was the significance of NATO?
It showed that western states were not prepared to accept soviet control of Europe. It also led to the creation of the warsaw pact in 1955 following west Germany joining NATO shortly beforehand. This led to two military superpower alliances fighting over the iron curtain.
What were the main differences in the US and USSR attitudes towards divided germany in 1948?
The US wanted a unified Germany that could trade and push away communism.
The USSR wanted a weak and divided Germany that could not attack them again.
What was the significance of the Berlin blockade?
It made Stalin look like the agressor and the one thretening the west.
When was the berlin blockade?
June 1948
What was the main consequence of the berlin blockade?
The berlin airlift
What was the significance of the Berlin airlift?
It made the US appear peaceful and generous byt the Soviet union aggresive and threatening. It caused the formation of east and west germany. Aided to the decision of the creation of NATO and the warsaw pact.
What were the effects of bizonia/trizonia?
Led to east and west germany
Led to the berlin blockade
Causes of the iron curtain speech
USSR, USA, UK more suspicious and satellite states
Effects of the iron curtain speech
Stalin called churchill a warmonger
Greater tensions
Effects of destalinisation
Krushchev a more loberal, less oppresive approach to ruling
Short term cuban missile crisis effects
USSR looks weak
USA advisors who advised peace look good
Long term cmc effects (4)
Nuclear test ban treaty
Kenney gave speech about ‘common interests’
USSR determined to catch up in the arms race
Krushchev forced from power in 1964
Hungary revolution causes (2)
Destalinisation and Krushchevs ‘secret speech’ gave hope of reforms in Hungary.
Mtyas Rakosi was a cruel leader
Key features of Hungary uprising
Hungary remained communist and Nagy executed
USa condemned invasion but didn’t include milotary support.
Causes of the cuban missile crisis
Cuban revolution
Fidel Castro put into power. He was communist.
