The End of the Second World War

Question 1

Describe the political and economic ideologies of the USA.

Answer 1

• private businesses and making profits are allowed
• usually multiple politcal parties in elections
• government usually elected by the people
• free economy
• great differences in wealth but most have a reasonable standard of living
• based on the idea of ‘opportunity for all’

Question 2

Describe the political and economic ideologies of the USSR.

Answer 2

• based on the ideas of Karl Marx and developed by Lenin in Russia
• all business are owned by the state and all profits go to the state
• one party state, other parties banned
• economy controlled by the government
• lower average standard of living, but wealth more equally shared
• based on ideas of fairness and equality

Question 3

What overall reasons were there for mistrust between the USA and USSR before WW2?

Answer 3

• ideological differences
• propaganda
• the Russian civil war
• the Nazi-Soviet pact
• Stalin’s regime
• WW1

Question 4

Describe how ideological differences created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 4

• USA was a capitalist system and placed greater emphasis on the ‘American Dream’
• USSR was communist and Lenin called for the overthrow of capitalism worldwide

Question 5

Describe how propaganda created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 5

• In the West, governments and media spread fear about the communist threat to society’s way of life
• In the USSR, Western governments were seen as a threat to the revolution and as the oppressors of workers worldwide

Question 6

Describe how the Russian civil war created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 6

• following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Reds (communists) and the Whites (anti-communists) fought in a brutal civil war for control of the country
• Western countries sent troops to support the Whites

Question 7

Describe how the Nazi-Soviet Pact created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 7

• Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact in1939
• in return for avoiding an invasion and securing territory in Poland, STalin entered into an agreement with a government that has persecuted communists
• the West saw this as further evidence that the USSR could not be trusted

Question 8

Describe how Stalin’s regime created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 8

• Stalin was brutal and ruthless in his rule of the country
• the secretive nature of the regime along with the disappearance, arrest and murder of high profile figures led many in the West to mistrust Stalin’s government

Question 9

Describe how WW1 created mistrust between the USA and USSR.

Answer 9

• Russia had fought on the side of the Allies
• following the revolution in 1917, its new leaders withdrewfromt he war
• Britain and France would find it hard to trust the Russians in future

Question 10

What were the West’s aims at the Yalta conference?

Answer 10

• East-West cooperation should continue
• Germany should be rebuilt as an independent democratic country
• countries in Eastern Europe should have the right to self-determination and be free from outside influence
• the UN should be formed to help avoid conflicts
• there should be economic cooperation through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Question 11

What were the USSR’s aims at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 11

• East-West cooperation should continue
• spheres of influence should be created to guarantee security
• Germany should remain weak
• German industry should pay for the rebuilding of the USSR
• the World Bank and IMF should have no authority of the USSR by they would be prepared to work within the UN

Question 12

What was the ‘percentages agreement’?

Answer 12

• October 1944
• Stalin and Churchill met in Moscow
• Churchill wrote his idea about how to split Eastern Europe after the war on a napkin which Stalin ticked to show his approval

Question 13

Which leaders were at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 13

Stalin, CHurchil and Rooselvelt

Question 14

What were Churchill’s aims at Yalta?

Answer 14

• aware of Satlin’s aims and wanted to protect British interests
• wanted a close relationship with the USA
• struggled to understand Stalin’s point of view
• as a strong anti-communist, he was naturally mistrustful of Stalin

Question 15

What were Roosevelt’s aims at the Yalta conference?

Answer 15

• committed to working with the USSR and got on well with Stalin
• believed that only capitalist Europe would prevent a future war
• some argue that he misunderstood Stalin’s aims and assumed they wanted the same thing

Question 16

What were Stalin’s aims at the Yalta conference?

Answer 16

• wanted to ensure that the total devastation suffered by the USSR during the war could never happened again
• believed that creating a sphere of influence around the USSR was the best way to ensure security
• recognised the need for cooperation with the West

Question 17

How was Germany agreed to be divided after WW2

Answer 17

• divided into 4 zones
• one for the USSR the USA, Britain and France each
• Berlin, which was within the Soviet zone, would also be divided in the same way

Question 18

What the key agreements made at Yalta?

Answer 18

• the division of Germany
• the liberated countries of Eastern Europe would be allowed to hold free elections
• the UN would be formed to ensure future cooperation
• ‘The Declaration of Liberated Europe’ was signed, although there were differences in how this document was interpreted by the 3 leaders particularly when it came to Poland

Question 19

When was the Yalta conference?

Answer 19

February, 1945

Question 20

When was the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 20

July, 1945

Question 21

Which leaders were at the Potsdam conference?

Answer 21

Stalin, Attlee, Truman

Question 22

Why had the Grand Alliance begun to dissolve by Potsdam?

Answer 22

• Stalin’s desire to make Germany pay reparations was completely opposed by Truman and Attlee.
• Truman and Attlee wanted independence and self-determination for the countries of Eastern Europe. Stalin wanted them to remain under Soviet influence.

Question 23

What were Attlee’s aims at Potsdam?

Answer 23

• more focused on domestic plans
• worried about Soviet expansion
  -wanted a secure Germany
• saw Britain as weaker and needing American friendship

Question 24

What were Truman’s aims at Potsdam?

Answer 24

• wanted self-determination for the countries of Europe
• distrusted Stalin and his intentions
• thought America had the upper hand because of the atomic bomb

Question 25

What were Stalin’s aims at Potsdam?

Answer 25

• saw America as a rival and wanted security for the USSR
• thought he was in a powerful position occupying Eastern Europe
• distrusted America now they had the atomic bomb

Question 26

Outline the impacts of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Answer 26

• needed the war in the Pacific
• although Stalin had been informed by his spies of the bomb’s existence, Truman did not inform him officially - adding to tension and distrust
• the surrender of Japan removed the need for Soviet troops in the Pacific and therefore the need for the Grand Alliance to continue

Question 27

When were the atomic bombs dropped on Japan?

Answer 27

August, 1945

Question 28

Summarise the impacts the events at the end of WW2 has on East and West relations.

Answer 28

Before the Second World War, the relationship between the USSR and the West was one of mistrust.
• The existence of a common enemy, in the form of Nazi Germany, brought the two sides together in a Grand Alliance.
• Tensions began to arise at the Yalta Conference, although some agreements were made, most notably on the issue of Germany.
• By the time of the Potsdam Conference, the Grand Alliance had disintegrated.
• The use of the atomic bomb on Japan ended the war and the Grand Alliance. It also drastically added to the growing tension and mistrust between the USSR and the West.