The End Of Ww2, Why Did The War Develop

Question 1

Why was it called the “cold war”

Answer 1

“Cold war” refers to the state of hostility between the two superpowers without any actual fighting. The threat of new and even deadlier weapons such as nuclear technology prevented outright open warfare.

Question 2

What was the “cold war”

Answer 2

The “cold war” was the protracted economic and ideological struggle between the global superpowers of the USA and USSR as supported by their respective allies, that emerged after ww2. The war lasted 40 years until the decline and eventual collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR after 1989.

Question 3

If not an actual war, how did they fight?

Answer 3

Diplomatic manoeuvring, economic pressure, indimidation, propaganda, espionage and assassination.

Question 4

What was the basis of the ideological conflict?

Answer 4

Capitalism and democracy vs communism.

Question 5

Give reasons why the West would mistrust the soviets

Answer 5

Communism threatened western way of life.
During WW1 the Bolshevik government deserted Russia’s allies by making peace with Germany.
Disliked Stalin’s totalitarian policies which had led to forced labour, public trials, deaths and the purges of the 1930’s.
Stalin signed the Nazi-soviet Non-aggression Pact in August 1939.

Question 6

Reasons for Soviets mistrusting West?

Answer 6

We’re opposed to capitalism because the rich prospered at the expense of the poor.
When Bolsheviks took power in 1917 the Americans sent aid to the people they were fighting.
Allies gave away Russian land to other countrlike Poland.

Question 7

Why were tensions developing in the grand alliance?

Answer 7

Stalin suspected that the USA was purposely trying to weaken the USSR by not providing assistance when the USSR was battling the Nazis.
The USA stopped the Lend-lease program which sent resources to Soviets.
Stalin was suspect of the secrecy of the atomic bomb.

Question 8

Where can the cold war be most directly traced back to?

Answer 8

The wartime conferences of Teheran (43), Yalta (feb45) and Potsdam(july45).

Question 9

What key decisions were made at Teheran conference?

Answer 9

November 43. The bug three decided that there would be no English-American invasion of Germany, meaning that Soviet troops were left alone in clearing Eastern Europe of Nazi forces.
Stalin was convinced that because of this, the West would leave Eastern Europe to be governed by the Soviets exclusively.

Question 10

Key decisions of Yalta?

Answer 10

Feb45. The purpose was to decide what to do with Germany and areas it had usurped.
It was decided to divide Germany into 4 zones of occupation that would would each be governed by the big 3 and then France as well.

Berlin (deep in Soviets zone) was also subdivided according to the same scheme.
Poland (occupied by Stalin and ussr as result of the war) was set do have democratic elections dispite the pro-soviet provisional government that had been set up there.

Soviets wanted Germany to pay reparations but the big3 couldn’t decide on an amount and thus ni agreement was reached.

Stalin wanted to expand the border pf ussr into Poland, really didn’t want another German invasion.

Question 11

Key decisions of Potsdam?

Answer 11

July45. Zones of occupation finalised.
Polands border finalised.
Exiled Germans in Czech, Poland and Hungary to return to Germany.

They disagreed on the state of Germany, Stakin wanted to cripple them whereas the west did nkt want a repetition lf the treaty kf versailles
Same story with reparations, Stalin wanted Germany to pay up but Truman didn’t want to make the same mistakes as WW1
Although it was agreed that Soviet gorvernments could exist in East Europe, Truman wasn’t feeling it.

Question 12

How did the USSR gain control of most if Eastern Europe.

Answer 12

First with poland they already occupied some of it from the german invasion then when the war ended they took the whole thing. The red army freed many countries from nazi control and simply remained there, thus imposing Soviets will upon those areas. Soviet satellite states.

Question 13

Why did the Soviets wantnto take over so much of east Europe?

Answer 13

Ussr feared the west so they wanted to put a buffer between them and their surroundings in order to protect themselves against potential western invasion.

They would initially set up coalition governments in east european countries but then slowly uproot the non communists, this is hiw they gained control of so much.

Stalin saw the rest of Eastern Europe as ussrs way out of poverty and into prosperity, they had cheap resources and would be forced to trade with the ussr

Question 14

How did the west react to the soviets control of Eastern Europe?

Answer 14

They grew increasingly alarmed and began to view Stalin as a dictator, eliminating capitalist opposition.
Churchill gave iron curtain soeech.
Stalin called Churchill a warmonger.

Question 15

What prompted the truman doctrine?

Answer 15

The civil wars in greece and Turkey, where in greece there was a battle for control between the monarchists and communists, the USA stepped in and provided aid to the monarchists out of the fear of the domino effect. Same thing in Turkey.

Question 16

What was the Truman doctrine

Answer 16

USA’s new foreign policy of containment, wherein they would provide economic and military aid to any country threateened by communism or any totalitarian ideology.

Question 17

What was the Soviet reaction to the Truman Doctrine?

Answer 17

The establishment of Cominform (the communist information bureau) in 1947, this linked communist parties around the world under strict instruction from the USSR to ensure that nobody was receiving foreign aid from the west.

Question 18

Explain the Marshall plan.

Answer 18

The Marshall plan was a plan for aiding European countries in economic recovery from WW2. Truman believed that communism thrived where there was poverty and a lack of economic structure and prosperity. This was essentially a poverty killer. They offered money, equipment and goods. A condition of receiving the aid was thatbthe countries had to engage in trade with one another, thus eliminating true communism.

Question 19

Consequences of the Marshall plan.

Answer 19

16 countries had applied for aid by 1947.
These countries set up the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to put the plan in motion.
US congress approved the spending of 17 Billion dollars to rebuild Europe.
The plan was a massive success and the hostility between Soviets and USA intensified.

Question 20

What was the USSR reaction to Marshall Plan.

Answer 20

Cominform

Comecon

Question 21

First Berlin crisis?

Answer 21

Berlin Blockade and airlift 48-49

Question 22

Consequences of the Berlin blockade?

Answer 22

The west saw the lifting kf the blockade as a victory
East west relations got worse
The arms race begun
In 49 the west set up NATO to counter against possible russian aggression.

Question 23

Did Berlin continue to be a feature of the war?

Answer 23

Yes via the Berlin crises

The east Berlin uprisings of 1953

The U2 spy plane incident of 1958-1960

The building of the Berlin wall 1961

Question 24

What was NATO?

Answer 24

The North atlantic treaty organisation 1948. Needed to keep large numbers of Americans troops i. Western Europe in krder to counter Soviet threat. Thus the organisation was formed.

Question 25

How was the Cuban missile crisis set up?

Answer 25

US had the facilities to murk the ussr but the ussr could only harm eaurope.

Nikita Krushchev put firward the idea of placing intermediate range missiles in Cuba, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, this would double the Soviet Strategic Arsenal and provide a real deterrent against a potential US attack.
Fidel Castro was looking for a way to protect American invasion since the failed Bay of pig’s invasion as he believed a second attack was inevitable. He approved Krushchev’s plan.

In the summer of 1962 the Soviet union worked quickly to set up its missile sites in Cuba, in October 62 American spy planes flew kver Cuba and took photos of the site, from this it was clear that the USSR had nuclear missiles capable of hitting the USA’s biggest cities and that the USSR was supplying castro.

Upon hearing about this, Kennedy organized the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (Ex-Comm) a group of 12 advisors to handle this crisis, the solution was a naval quarantine around Cuba, had to move carefully.

Kennedy announced to the US public that he would blockade the waters preventing soviet ships from delivering missiles, he said any missiles launched would be regarded as an attack by the soviets, demanded that soviet ships return and they take the missiles with them,

Krushchev backed downunder condition that the US would end the blockade and promise to nkt invade Cuba. Made USA remive their missiles from Turkey. Turkey belonged to Nato and bordered the USSR thus making it problematic for the USSR. Kennedy refused the Turkey thing.

Question 26

Consequences of Cuban missile crisis?

Answer 26

Both sides realized that such a crisis was a threat to world peace.

Kennedy p’s reputation was enhanced.

Neither power was willing to risk nuclear war, east west relations got better and steps were taken to maintain better communication between them (the hotline between Kremlin and the Whitehouse).

The crisis lead to Krushchev implementation of the peaceful coexistence policy, this would ultimately cost him as he lost most of his supporters and was forced to step down in 1964.

Question 27

What was China like at the end of WW2

Answer 27

China was in a state of political disunity and weakness, no central government to maintain control.

Question 28

How did the CCP come to power?

Answer 28

ccp was established in 1921 with Mao Zedong as one of its leaders, they were fighting with the Kuomintang NP lead by Chiang Kai Shek. Civil war started in 27 and ended in 49. Ccp was initially weak and forced to retreat to remote regions but gained support from farmers and peasants there and thus came back stronger. The ccp then marched into Beijing and declared the PRC.

Question 29

Features of Maoism?

Answer 29

Promotion of an ongoing revolution until a classless society had been achieved.
Transformation of society focusing on rural development and small scale industry among the peasants.
Promotion of the value of manual labour over mental labour
The need to develop a collective identity and stamp out any sense of individuality.

Question 30

Describe the Great Leap Forward.

Answer 30

The actualisation of Maoism, people in communes of 25000, every adult hard at work, industry combined with agriculture. Was ultimately a failure, food production dropped amd there was a famine in which 30 million people died, Mao was forced to step down as president although he remained the chairman.

Question 31

Explain the cultural revolution.

Answer 31

66 to 69. Mao didn’t want to fail true Marxism like the Russians where the pay were nkt completely classless. He wanted to purify china of anything not communist.

Anything non communist was deemed revisionist and thus at danger by the red guard a student militia. Little red book, thoughts of Mao were preeched like the bible. Ccp lost many supporters here.
Mao wanted redemption after the failure ofnthe Great Leap Forward.

This revolutionary periended in 1976 when Mao died.

Question 32

China’s relations with the USSR

Answer 32

When the PRC was established in 49, Stalin said it was a victory for Communism, they signed a treaty of friendship and the USSR gave china aid. They were united by their dislike of the USA.

China stopped fw USSR after the whole peaceful coexistence thing and bs there were too many fundamental differences in their communism.

USSR didn’t fw the Great Leap Forward. China didn’t get any nuclear weapons from ussr.
In 1960 the USSR withdrew all advisors, sino soviet split.

Question 33

China’s relations with the USA

Answer 33

Initially hostile when the CCP rose to power in 49. Further hostility bc of the Korean war.

Question 34

China’s relations with Tibet.

Answer 34

Tibet snuck a Declaration of Independence beneath China’s nose in the 1920’s, after the ccp came to power they invaded Tibet once more and made it an independent region within the Chinese mainland. Failed Tibetan uprising lead to structer watch by china. Buddist temples and such destroyed by china during the cultural revolution.

Question 35

China’s relations with India

Answer 35

Troubled. Initially good as India recognised the PRC upon its establishment. Tension bc of their borders. India housed Tibetan refugees and this made China angry. In 1962 there was a 20 day war between China and India.

Question 36

China’s relations with Vietnam

Answer 36

Good in the oast but bad nkw because of the Vietnamese civil war between com nkrth and noncomsouth.

Question 37

China’s relations with Taiwan.

Answer 37

The exiled Chiang kai shek fled to Taiwan and called it the republic of china. They were supported by the states and thus China did nkt take military action against them

Question 38

To what extent was China a superpower by the time of Mao’s death.

Answer 38

Not really although they were definitely a power. After resurrection from hears of weakness, disunity and chaos.

China presented themselves as the premier communist nation, claiming that their method of communism is better than that of thr soviets in terms of large rural peasant populations. China had a sphere of influence in Africa after setting up the tan-zam railway between zambia and tanzania. China provided support to pan African liberation groups such as the pan African congress. After sino soviet split they began to establish themselves as a world power bc they were independent of Ussr and USA

Recognized as a majority power when they were made a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Question 39

China and usa after 1970

Answer 39

Simi soviet split meant that they could be friends now.