the cold war Flashcards
superpower definition
country that has great military and political power making it able to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world as to attain global hegemony
the cold war definition
the conflict of ideologies between western capitalist powers (especially USA) and the USSR and other communist countries
proxy war definition
battle between ideologies fought using other countries
origins of tension between ussr and usa
-division of Germany after WW2
- mistrust between soviet union and the West in Bolshevik Rev. of 1917
-west concern w USSR over Hitler
-west worried w USSR being totalitarian regime
tension-mistrust between soviet union and the West in Bolshevik Rev. of 1917
-Western powers anxious abt threat of worker’s revolution spreading to other countries- threat to capitalism
-western powers helped white armies in russian civil war —>communist distrust of west
USSR
communist power
gov. exerted iron control over the lives of the people
totalitarian regime
tension- west concerned w ussr rather than hitler
-stalin feared the west was more concerned w the ussr than w hitler
-nazi germany and soviet union signed secret pact before ww2
-ussr joined hitler in invasion of poland
-hitler invaded ussr- west became allies - common enemy -improved relations
-soviet armies and US supplies - defeat of hitler
-after defeat of Germany alliance put under strain
-stalin suspected america wanted ussr to be weakened by germany
yalta conference
february 1945
roosevelt (usa) , churchhill( britain) and stalin (ussr) met at yalta in the crimea to plan a post war settlement
roosevelt’s agenda at yalta conference
wanted soviet support in the US pacific war against japan (specifically for the planned invasion of japan) and soviet participation in the UN
churchill agenda at yalta conference
wanted free elections and democratic governments in eastern and central europe (specifically poland)
ussr agenda for yalta conference
wanted soviet sphere of political influence in eastern and central europe (ussr national security strategy)
would keep polish territory it annexed in 1939 but promised to compensate poland w land from germany
results of yalta conference
germany would be divided into 4 zones of occupation us,uk,ussr and last minute france (from us + uk zones)
no agreement on how zones would be controlled
allied control council representing all 4 occupying powers in berlin
berlin despite being in soviet zone would also be divided in 4
not agreed how much germany would pay in reparations
points of tension in yalta conference
berlin becomes symbol o& cold war
elections
territory
reperations
potsdam conference
july 1945
potsdam in south of berlin
differences between ussr and other powers become more clear
roosevelt died-replaced by harry truman
churchhill lost -replaced by clement atlee
results of potsdam
occupation zones of germany finalised- each power would take reparations from its own zone
soviet zone very rural- to receive industrial equipment from 3 western zones (has to depend on others)
stalin declared war on japan and soviet troops invaded manchuria+korea
areas of disagreement w potsdam conference
-stalin wanted to cripple germany w repayments but Truman did not want to see a repeat of the treaty of versailles and sow seeds of future resentment which would be dangerous if germany recovered
- truman+churchill see that no democratic election would take place in poland, believed stalin set on communist expansion
-stalins mistrust of capitalist west confirmed by secrecy of atomic bomb
creation of spheres of interest
-red army liberated large parts of Europe from nazis + promoted+worked w local communists while imprisoning other party leaders
-installed soviet-friendly governments in satellite states- securing interests
-buffer zone -ussr protected from invasion w protective curtain of soviet friendly states
iron curtain speech
-made by winston churchhill in Fulton,Missouri 1946.
-intended to warn of creation of satellite states + “buffer zone” by soviets
-mobilise western governments
-discussed worlwide
-outraged stalin- viewed it as declaration of war
greek civil war
-german forces retreated from greece in 1944
-greek communists and monarchists fought each against each other for control of country
-britain tried to aid monarchists but exhausted from war
-greek communists had support from albania +yugoslavia
- Feb 1947 - britain informed US they could no longer afford to continue in greece- asked US to take over
- truman stepped in
-march 1947 - truman asks congress to approve aid for greece
-aid approved + communists where defeated in greece