The Origins Of The Cold War (1) Flashcards
Define the Cold War
Ideological conflict which took place between the two superpowers (US + USSR) between 1945 and 1991, but involved no direct fighting
What are some characteristics of the Cold War?
- Building up military/weapons
- Proxy wars
- Conferences
- Propaganda
- Espionage
Who was the leader of the US at end of WWII?
Harry Truman (April 1945-1953)
Who was the leader of the USSR at the end of WWII?
Joseph Stalin (1924-1953)
Who was the leader of Britain at the end of WWII?
Clement Attlee (July 1945-1951)
What were the two conflicting ideologies?
- Conflict between the colonic + political system of the West and the East
- West were capitalist
- East were communist
Define communism
Economic + political system in which production (land, labour, capital) are communally owned
Define capitalism
Economic + political system in which production (land, labour, capital) is privately owned
How did communism develop?
- Karl Marx, made Marxism, published The Communist Manifesto (1828), believed communism was the way + capitalism would eventually destroy itself to become communism
- Reformed by Lenin into Leninism, which adapted Marxism to practically fit Russia
- Stalin ruled using ‘Marxist-Leninism’
Who is Vladimir Lenin + what did he do?
- Head of Bolshevik party
- Lead the October Revolution to become the first Premier of communist Russia (1917-1922) then of the USSR (1922-1924)
- Reformed Marxism into Leninism so it could be applied to Russia
What are some features of communism?
- Opposed bourgeoisie’s exploitation of proletariats
- ‘Equality for all’ (wages capped)
- ‘No leader’
- Single party
- State ownership
- Centrally planned economy
- Generally lower living standards
What are some features of capitalism?
- Equal opportunities, but not necessarily equal outcomes
- Leader
- Multi-party politics
- Private ownership
- Free market economy
- Key freedoms of liberal democracy (e.g. freedom of speech)
- Generally higher living standards
What is a free market economy?
- Little/no gov intervention
- Prices set by supply/demand
What is a centrally planned economy?
- Government controlled
- Prices set by government
List the significant WWII meetings leading up to the Cold War + their dates + which leaders attended
- Atlantic Charter (Aug 1941) (Churchill + Roosevelt)
- Casablanca Conference (Jan 1943) (Churchill + Roosevelt + De Gaulle)
- Cairo Conference (Nov 1943) (Churchill + Roosevelt + Chiang Kai-Shek)
- Tehran Conference (Nov 1943) (Churchill + Roosevelt + Stalin)
- Yalta Conference (4th-11th Feb 1945) (Churchill + Roosevelt + Stalin)
- Potsdam Conference (17th July-2nd Aug 1945) (Churchill/Attlee + Truman + Stalin)
When was VE Day?
8th May 1945
When was VJ Day (official end of WWII)?
2nd Sept 1945
What are the three most important WWII meetings in regards to the Cold War + why?
Tehran + Yalta + Potsdam
- Most influential in determining the position of the powers at the start of the Cold War, as they negotiated on the post-war situation
What was the general outcome of the Atlantic Charter (Aug 1941)?
Churchill + Roosevelt informally agreed on their joint goal for the rest of WWII: to seek no territorial gains, simply hoping for self-determination + freedom for all
What was the general outcome of the Casablanca Conference (Jan 1943)?
Churchill, Roosevelt + De Gaulle (the Allies) coordinated their strategy for defeating the Axis
- Plans made to invade Italy
- Plans to seek unconditional surrender from Japan
What is unconditional surrender?
Surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party (they are completely at the winner’s mercy)
What was the general outcome of the Cairo Conference (Nov 1943)?
Churchill + Roosevelt + Chiang Kai-Shek discussed strategy for defeating Japan and post-war Asia
- Plans to seek unconditional surrender from Japan
- Plans to return lands annexed by Japan to appropriate owners (e.g. Taiwan - property of China)
What were the outcomes of the Tehran Conference (Nov 1943)?
G
- US + Britain agreed to open second front against Germans in June 1944
J
- Stalin refuses to open conflict with Japan until Germans defeated
P
- Start of negotiation for new Polish borders
EE
- USSR allowed to keep Baltic States, Finland, Romania (against Atlantic Charter)
UN
- Start of negotiation for a new world peace organisation to replace League of Nations
Did Roosevelt + Stalin work well together during Tehran Conference? Why?
- Worked well
- Bonded over anti-colonialism
When was the Yalta Conference?
4th-11th Feb 1945
Where is Yalta?
Ukraine
What were the aims of the USSR (Stalin) at Yalta?
- Maintain sphere of influence in E.Europe (via Red Army)
- Prevent losses for USSR (partially make up via high reparations)
- Keep Germany weak + unthreatening (dismember + reparations)
- Keep Lublin gov as leaders in Poland, not exiled gov in London
What was the Yalta Conference dealing with?
- Remainder of WWII (Axis needed defeated)
- Post-war situation
What was the Potsdam Conference dealing with?
- Remainder of WWII (Japan needed defeated)
- Post-war situation
What were the aims of the USA (Roosevelt) at Yalta?
- Achieve post-war peace
- Achieve self-determination for European countries
- Achieve post-war economic reconstruction worldwide (via free trade)
What were the aims of the UK (Churchill) at Yalta?
- Maintain influence agreed in 1944 Percentages Agreement
- Protect colonial interests
- Restore fair borders (for Poland)
- Achieve self-determination for European countries
What was the 1944 Percentages Agreement?
Informal agreement made between Stalin + Churchill, that divided up Europe into spheres of influence, by allocating balance of influence in percentages between USSR + UK
E.g.
- Romania - 90% USSR
- Greece - 90% UK
What were the main decisions made at Yalta?
G
- Demilitarised, de-nazified, country and Berlin both divided into Four Power Occupation, governed by ACC
- To pay reparations ($20 bill, 50% to USSR)
J
- USSR would join war against Japan 3 months after defeat of Germany + would receive South Sakhalin + Kurile Islands + economic privileges in Manchuria in return
EE
- Declaration on Liberated Europe (giving all people the right to “choose the form of government under which they will live”)
P
- Confirmed new Polish borders, shifting Poland West (‘Curzon Line’ in East - USSR gain + ‘Oder-Neisse Line’ in West - Germany lose)
- Free elections, NOT Lublin gov
UN
- Set date for Aug 1945 to have San Francisco Conference + finalise discussions on the UN
What is the ACC ?
Allied Control Council
- Used to coordinate the governance of Germany during 4 power occupation
- UK, US, USSR, France
What are the 5 areas on which decisions were made at the three key WWII conferences (Tehran + Yalta + Potsdam)
- Germany
- Japan
- E.Europe
- Poland
- UN
Why did Stalin accept the implementation of free elections in Poland during the Yalta Conference?
Satisfied by the confirmation of new Polish borders, which gave USSR territorial gains
When was the Potsdam Conference?
17th July-2nd August 1945
Where is Potsdam?
Germany
What were any new aims of the USSR (Stalin) at Potsdam?
- More expansionist - install loyal communist regimes in E.Europe
- More strong - not be intimidated by nuclear threat
What were any new aims of the USA (Truman) at Potsdam?
- End conference quickly without submitting to USSR
Why did Truman want to end the Potsdam Conference quickly?
Found out success about 16th July ‘Trinity Test’ of atomic bomb, so didn’t need to negotiate with USSR as they weren’t needed to defeat Japan
How did Churchill describe Truman after the news about the successful nuclear weapon was delivered?
“Changed man”
What were any new aims of the UK (Churchill, replaced with Attlee 10 days in when Labour won election) at Potsdam?
- Be resistant against Stalin’s expansionism
- Rebuild Germany (didn’t want repeat of 1919 Treaty of Versailles, when Germany had huge reparations for WWI and the poor economic conditions enabled Hitler’s rise to power)
What were the decisions made at Potsdam?
Focused on Germany
- Under Four Power Occupation, but treated as 1 economic unit
- Demilitarisation, denazification
- Restore freedoms (of speech, press, etc)
- Abandon fixed reparations (each power take from own zone, with USSR taking extra 25% from W zones, giving back via agricultural products)
- Nuremberg trials
What was the problem with the Potsdam Conference?
- Focused on Germany
- Short
- Harder to negotiate (Roosevelt, who had been a middle man between Stalin + Churchill, replaced with less friendly Truman)
This meant not enough decisions made about future of world + balance of future power globally
When were the atomic bombs dropped on Japan?
Hiroshima - 6th August
Nagasaki - 9th August
Why was Stalin angered by the atomic bombs dropped on Japan?
- Threat to Soviets, as the US (conflicting superpower) had better weapons
- Truman didn’t tell Stalin, but had told Churchill
Did Stalin complete agreement from Yalta about waging war on Japan?
Yes (despite USSR not being needed) - invaded Manchuria to liberate it from Japanese occupation on 8th Aug 1945 - trying to still reap the rewards
