The Cold War, 1945-c.1975 Flashcards
why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?
- ACTIONS OF THE USSR (pushing limits of sphere of influence, setting up communist parties in Poland, disagreements about Germany)
- ACTIONS OF USA (threatening Stalin with atomic bomb, Truman doctrine, Marshall plan)
- PERSONALITY CLASHES (Truman wanted to wipe out communism, Stalin very pro-communist)
- MISUNDERSTANDINGS (we don’t really know Truman’s intentions over atomic bomb/ Stalin’s sphere of influence)
- INEVITABLE (USA AND USSR wanted different things, common enemy Hitler had been defeated)
what did Stalin want at the Yalta conference?
- security from German attack
- Eastern Europe to become a soviet ‘sphere of influence’
what did Roosevelt want at the Yalta conference?
- the USSR to join the war against Japan
- the USSR to join the United Nations
what did Churchill want at the Yalta conference?
- democratic elections in freed countries
- the USSR to join the UN
what were the agreements from the Yalta conference?
- the USSR joined the Japanese war
- Nazi war criminals were tracked down and made to pay for their crimes
- Germany was divided into 4 zones (USSR, USA, British and French)
- freed countries were allowed to choose their government in free elections
- the USSR could have a sphere of influence to protect from German attacks.
what were the disagreements from the Yalta conference?
- Stalin wanted Poland’s borders to be changed (USSR boarder westwards into Poland, and Poland westwards into Germany.
- Churchill and Roosevelt both disapproved but agreed as long as Stalin promised not to interfere in Greece, where the British were trying to prevent a communist takeover.
overall was the Yalta conference a success or failure?
SUCCESS!!
why was the situation at Potsdam different to Yalta? (July-august 1945)
- the war was almost over
- the USSR now controlled most of Eastern Europe, with a communist government in Poland (which Polish dislike)
- USA had a new president, Harry Truman, who was more suspicious of communism
- Britain had a new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee
- the USA had tested an atomic bomb (which Truman directly told Stalin about)
who was in the best position at Potsdam?
Stalin, as he controlled most of eastern Europe.
who was in the weakest position at Potsdam?
Attlee, as Britain gained nothing after Yalta, and were not a superpower like USA or USSR
what were the agreements from the Potsdam conference?
- new boundaries for Poland
- prosecute Nazi war criminals
- German reparations paid “in kind” = whole factories were transported to USSR
what were the disagreements from the Potsdam conference?
- Germany: USSR wanted to cripple Germany but Truman didn’t want to repeat the Treaty of Versailles
- Reparations: Stalin wanted compensation from Germany, Truman disagreed
- Eastern Europe: Truman was concerned by Stalin’s intentions and developed a “get-tough” attitude
- atomic bomb: Truman told Stalin about the atomic bomb which could be taken as a threat.
overall was the Potsdam conference a success or failure?
FAILURE :( - there were more disagreements than agreements.
How had the USSR gained control of Eastern Europe by 1948?
- Stalin pushed the limits of his “sphere of influence”
- he banned all other political parties and took power over Czechoslovakia
- he set up a communist government in Poland
- he arrested independently minded politictians
which countries were behind the iron curtain?
- east Germany (red army controlled)
- Poland (outright leaders in 1947)
- Hungary
- romanina
- Bulgaria
- albania
- Czechoslovakia
- Yugoslavia (communist but not by Stalin)
what is Cominform?
an organisation set up by Stalin in 1947 to control the communist governments he set up
what was the iron curtain?
- in Churchill’s tour of America, he gave a speech about the USSR’s iron curtain
- he used the metaphor of an “iron curtain” to describe how the USSR had SEPARATED THE Eastern European COUNTRIES FROM THE WEST and how no one really knew what was going on behind this impenetrable “curtain”
- many say this speech marked the start of the Cold War
what was the Truman doctrine?
- Truman was reluctant to get involved in European problems. However, he didn’t want Stalin taking over.
- in March 1947, Truman announced he would provide money, equipment and advice to ANY COUNTRY THREATENED BY COMMUNISM
- this was the beginning of the containment policy
what was containment?
trying to stop the spread of communism
why was Marshall aid introduced?
- Truman sent an army general, George Marshall to assess the situation in Europe
- he concluded that an aid program of $17 billion was needed to rebuild Europe
- at first, congress was reluctant, but when JAn Masaryk was killed and communists banned all other political parties in Czechoslovakia, US congressmen changed their minds and approved $13 billion of the plan in 1948
when was Marshall Aid introduced and how much?
1948, $13 billion
how was Marshall Aid seen as generous?
- offered money even to the USA’s enemies, like the USSR
- a lot of money to give away!
how was Marshall Aid seen as selfish?
- it developed allies for war
- it prevented the spread of communism
- it prevented another depression which would harm US economy
- it opened new trade markets
overall was Marshall Aid a success or failure?
SUCCESS!! Europe more than recovery and no countries became communist.
what was the Berlin blockade?
road and rail blocked by USSR in June 1948. When stein blocked supply lines, the western powers couldn’t reach their zones out of Berlin for resources like food, fuel, oil.
why did the USSR blockade Berlin?
- Stalin felt he had to show western leaders that he would fight back if they encroached on Soviet Sphere of Influence
- Stalin expected Truman to withdraw from Berlin, which would give the USSR control and a propaganda victory.
what happened with the Berlin airlift?
- the USA did not give in to Stalin as they were worried the western zones of Berlin may also fall to him
- Truman ordered that aircraft should fly supplies into Berlin
- everyone feared that the USSR may shoot the planes down but no shots were fired as this would have been an undeniable act of war.
- for the next 10 months western Berlin received all its supplies in this way until Stalin eventually lifted the blockade on May 5th 1949
what was the background to the Berlin Wall crisis?
- people began to resent the last of freedom of the communist regime of east Berlin/germany. they saw the freedom of the west Berliners and thousands travelled easily to West Berlin, and never came back.
why did the USA become involved (Berlin Wall crisis)?
- young, new president JFK, who recognised the significance of Berlin to the USA
- his presidency did not begin well with the failure of the Bay of pig invasion to try and remove cuban communist president.
- Khrushchev called on the US to remove troops from Berlin, thinking Kennedy would give in, but he stood firm
why did the USSR become involved (Berlin Wall crisis)?
- Khrushchev called on the US to remove troops from Berlin, thinking Kennedy would give in, but he stood firm
- he also accused Kennedy of provoking conflict, claiming that the USA and allies were using Berlin as a spy base.
- east Germany soldiers spent night and day of 13th August 1961 building a barbed wire fence (followed by concrete) along the east-west border
- Khrushchev claimed the wall was being built to protect Eastern Berlin from US spies, when really is was to stop the flow of people out of east Germany.
