The Cold War Flashcards
When was the Tehran conference and who attended it?
It was in 1943 from 28th November to 1st December and was attended by Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.
What was agreed at the Tehran conference?
The USA and Britain would open a second front to split the German defences and take some of the pressure off the USSR, the USSR would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated, Poland was to be given more land from Germany but lose some to the USSR.
What points of disagreement were there at the Tehran conference?
What side Stalin was on and Churchill wanted to invade the Balkans to stop USSR turning communist.
When was the Yalta conference and who attended it?
It was in 1945 from 4th to 11th of February and was attended by Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.
What was agreed at the Yalta conference?
When Germany was defeated, it was to be reduced in size, would be demilitarised and would have to pay reparations, along with plans for the country to be divided after the war ended. It was also agreed that the UN was to be set up to replace The League of Nations and the USSR would declare war on Japan three months after Germany had been defeated.
What points of disagreement were there at the Yalta conference?
Britain and the USA were reluctant for Poland becoming communist as Britain defended Poland during the war and the USA didn’t was communism spreading. They agreed on democracy but disagreed on what it meant as Stalin believed that it had to be a communist government.
When was the Potsdam conference and who attended it?
It was in 1945 from 17th July to 2nd August and was attended by Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill.
What was agreed at the Potsdam conference?
Germany was to be divided into four zones (USA, France, Britain and USSR would have a section), Berlin was also to be split into four zones even though it was USSR controlled, a council was to be set up to help the rebuilding of Europe and they would continue to prosecute Nazi war criminals.
What points of disagreement were there at the Potsdam conference?
USA wanted to rebuild Germany but the USSR wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations, The USA didn’t tell the USSR about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, they disagreed on Poland as Stalin wasn’t going to have a communist and capitalised government.
What were Stalin’s methods of control?
They agreed to have free elections in satellite states but, had leaders that would obey Moscow, the police and armies would stamp out any opposition and arranged the economies of them so that they were dependant on the USSR by “rationalising” industries, stopping satellite states becoming self sufficient. This created a buffer zone of communist countries.
How did the USSR cause the break up of the Grand Alliance?
Stalin’s speech in response to Churchill compared the USA to Hitler who was the common enemy which is the reason why the alliance existed. Also the Long Telegram stated that Stalin wanted destruction of capitalism and that it was building up its military power.
How did the USA cause the break up of the Grand Alliance?
They tried to dominate the world and prevent the spreading of communism.
What was the iron curtain?
A hypothetical wall between Eastern Europe and Western Europe, dividing communism and capitalism.
What three countries became part of the Soviet Union in 1940
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
What countries were taken over by the Red Army to become satellite states?
Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and East Germany
What two satellite states where never occupied by The Red Army so had more independence?
Yugoslavia and Albania
How did the USA prevent the Domino Effect and what was it?
In 1947 communists threatened to take control of Greece and Turkey, so Truman sent $400 million and American civilian and military personnel. They also installed ballistic missile sites along the boarder. Americans feared that all of Europe would turn to communism like dominos.
What was the Truman Doctrine and why did it exist?
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy to stop Soviet expansion. It existed because communism was becoming appealing to countries devastated by WW2 and Truman feared that the USSR had a second strategy to gain territory.
What did the Truman Doctrine state?
- The world had a choice between democratic freedom and communist tyranny.
- America had the responsibility to fight off liberty when it was threatened
- Communism should not be allowed to grow
- USA would send troops and economic resources to helped governments threatened by communists
What was significant about the Truman Doctrine?
- It suggested that the USA rather than the UN, had a responsibility to protect the world
- Divided the world according to ideology
- set a realistic goal for American foreign policy
What was The Marshall Plan?
It was the USA committing $13 billion of American money to rebuild the shattered economies of countries. In order to qualify, countries had to agree to trade freely with America.
What was Cominform?
It was the communist information bureau and it gave Stalin a new way of controlling and directing satellite states. The states had to concentrate on trading
When was Cominform set up?
It was set up on 22nd September 1947
What was Comecon?
It was the council for mutual economic assistance which helped Stalin organise industrial planning across satellite states, each state had a five year plan and trade with Western Europe and the USA was discouraged.
When was Comecon set up?
It was set up on 25th January 1949
Why was Germany “unfinished business”?
Because the USA and USSR were unable to agree about the future of Germany e.g. would it be capitalist or communist, would it be part of the Soviet “sphere of influence”…
What was Trizonia?
After Germany was split between the four powers, the three western zones (France, USA, UK) had a good relationship so were known as “Trizonia”.
When was Germany officially split into two countries and why?
The good working relationship between the three western zones and the opposition to the USSR caused Germany to be officially split into East Germany and West Germany on 23rd June 1948.
What was the Berlin Blockade? (Berlin crisis 1)
When Stalin set up a military blockade around West Belin, his plan being to cut West Germany off from its capital so that the new government based in Berlin could not control its territory in West Germany.
What were the three main causes of the Berlin blockade?
Stalin saw the prosperous west as a threat, Marshall aid and trizonia.
Why couldn’t the western powers back down after the blockade?
They would lose the territory and it makes capitalism look weak.
What was the west’s solution to the Berlin blockade?
The Berlin airlift from June 1948 to May 1949
What resources were brought into Berlin during the Berlin Airlift?
food, coal and other necessities of life.
How many trips were completed by Christmas during the Berlin Airlift and how many tons?
100,000 trips and 730,000 tons
When did the blockade end?
In May 1949
What was NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a military alliance between western European countries and the USA, that said, if any of the countries in the alliance came under attack, the other countries would come to their defence.
How was the Warsaw Pact similar to NATO?
It was a military alliance that virtually mirrored NATO except it was between eastern European countries and the USSR.
How did the Arms Race prevent war in Europe?
As neither side wanted to use them. This is because it would kill hundreds of thousands of people and would destroy both countries as if one attacked the other, then the other country would do the same in retaliation.
What happened in 1949 that caused the USA to start to develop hydrogen bombs?
The USSR developed and tested its own nuclear weapons.
What happened during the Arms race in 1955?
The USSR had tested the Sakharov’s third idea bomb which was as powerful as America’s hydrogen bombs.
What happened when America carried out the Marshall islands test?
On 1st March 1954 America tested a hydrogen bomb that was TWICE as big as expected, affecting two inhabited islands and 200 people which lead to a refugee crisis.
What was communism in theory?
- about equality
- government planned
- focuses on the rights of the working class
- controlled by the communist party
What was communism in Hungary?
- people were deprived of food
- Hungarian oil, coal and wheat were shipped to Russia
- Hungarian land was distributed between other Eastern European countries
- Cominform caused the execution of popular political leaders and its supporters
- Russian officials controlled the government , police and army
Who was Matyas Rakosi?
He was a Hungarian dictator who used “salami tactics” to deal with opponents “slice by slice”. He killed 2,000 people and imprisoned 387,000 people.
Who replaced Stalin when he died in 1953?
Nikita Khrushchev who believed in peaceful coexistence with the west.
What was Khrushchev’s secret speech about?
Destalinization- he described Stalin as an evil murderer and wanted to show people how he was different from Stalin. He wanted to demonstrate a new style of leader ship and win friends.
what did Imre Nagy do in response to Khrushchev’s secret speech?
Nagy asked Khrushchev to move the Russian troops out. Khrushchev agreed and on 28 October 1956, the Russian army pulled out of Budapest.
What did the new Hungarian government do after Soviet troops left?
The new Hungarian government introduced democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Cardinal Mindszenty, the leader of the Catholic Church, was freed from prison.
What caused the soviet invasion of Hungary?
Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the Warsaw Pact.
