The origins of the Cold War Flashcards
When was Yalta?
Feb 1945, Near when the war was finishing but wasn’t completely over
Who was at Yalta?
The big three - STALIN, ROOSEVELT, CHURCHILL
When did the big three agree to join the united nations?
At Yalta, feb 1945
Who didn’t trust each other at Yalta and what did they say about each other?
Churchill didn’t trust soviets
Church described them as a danger to the free world
Stalin didn’t trust Churchill
Describing him as ‘the kind of man who will pick your pocket for a kopeck’
How many disagreements were at Yalta?
1
What was agreed at Yalta about Germany?
That she’d be split into 4 zones and so would Berlin as it was in the USSR zone
What did they agree about countries that were previously controlled by Germany at Yalta?
That they could hold free elections
What did they agree about war time criminals and when did they agree this?
To punish ones responsible for genocide
Yalta feb 1945
What was agreed at Yalta regarding Eastern europe?
That they could be the soviet sphere of influence as Stalin was concerned about USSR safety
How many Russians were killed in the war?
20 million
What was the disagreement at Yalta over?
Poland
What did Stalin propose he wanted to do with Poland at Yalta? (It wasn’t agreed, they made a negotiation)
Move USSR border into Poland and Poland’s into german territory (his zone) & Churchill and Roosevelt weren’t happy with this
What did FDR and Churchill negotiate with Stalin over Poland at Yalta?
They said he could keep the whole of Poland as long as he didn’t interfere with Greece where British were trying to prevent a community takeover
Who was at Potsdam conference?
Stalin, Truman, Attlee
When was Potsdam conference?
July-August 1945
What were 3 disagreements at Potsdam?
- They disagreed over Germany
- They disagreed over reparations of Germany
- They disagreed over soviet policy of Eastern Europe
What did the big 3 disagree about Germany?
Stalin wanted to cripple Germany to protect future USSR but Truman didn’t want to repeat same mistake as Treaty of Versailles
What did Stalin want as reparations from Germany but was disagreed with by Truman?
Stalin wanted $10billion from Germany as 20 million soviets were killed but Truman didn’t want to repeat the same mistake as Treaty of Versailles
What did Stalin want the soviet policy in Eastern europe to be? And what was Truman’s response?
Stalin wanted eastern european to unite so nobody would ‘lay a finger on them’ but Truman saw this as Stalin trying to build a soviet empire
What were the differences at Potsdam from Yalta? (5)
1) Stalin had set up own government in Poland - said it was for defence measures
2) Stalin’s armies were occupying most of Eastern europe
3) Truman was new USA president - very anti communist
4) USA had developed atomic bomb, and dropped it days after the conference ended, which they had kept hidden from USSR but Stalin knew because of spies
5) No common enemy
When did Roosevelt agree to the creation of the atomic bomb?
1941
When and where was the 1st atom bomb dropped?
6th August 1945 in Hiroshima
What was the name of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima?
Little boy
How many people were killed instantly at Hiroshima?
80,000
When was the 2nd atom bomb dropped and where?
9th August 1945 on Nagasaki
How many people died instantly in Nagasaki?
40,000
Why did America drop the second bomb?
Because Japan hadn’t surrendered
What was the argument against America’s justification of the 2nd bomb being dropped being because Japan hadn’t surrendered?
Allegedly Japan HAD surrendered just before dropping of bomb on Nagasaki but America claimed they hadn’t received the message yet
What was America’s justification for the dropping of the bomb?
Retaliation for pearl harbour
To end SWW
So $8 million project wouldn’t go to waste
What did Stalin believe about the atomic bomb?
That America dropped it to intimidate the USSR
By what year was there a clear division between east and west Europe?
1946
Why by 1946 was there a clear divide between east and west europe?
Stalin had over taken 5 countries with communist governments (He claimed it was only for defence)
Who described the divide as an ‘Iron curtain’, when?
Churchill, in a speech he made in the USA MARCH 1946
Which 5 countries had Stalin over taken by 1947?
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary
Why did Stalin place his ‘Red army’ in much of Eastern Europe?
To make sure pro-USSR communists rose to positions of power within the governments
Why did Stalin want soviet expansion?
Wanted to create a buffer zone for Russia and he wanted to spread communism
Why did Stalin go against Yalta and Potsdam agreements with Soviet expansion?
He agreed he would just keep Poland and he said he wouldn’t unite eastern europe
What was ‘comECON’?
Set up to co-ordinate industries and trade of eastern europe countries
What was ‘comINFORM’?
Set up to co-ordinate and give info to governments in eastern europe
When was cominform set up?
1947
When was comecon set up?
1949
What did com inform allow Stalin to do?
Keep an eye on leaders and replace ones who were too independent minded
Why did Stalin expel Yugoslavia from Cominform?
As Tito resented being controlled by communists and accepted Marshall aid
When did Stalin expel Yugoslavia from Cominform?
1948
How did Truman respond to Soviet Expansion?
The Truman Doctrine
What was the Truman doctrine?
The policy of containment
How much did the USA send greece and turkey in the truman doctrine?
$400 million aid
What was the situation in Greece that America was trying to contain and Stalin said he wouldn’t get involved at Yalta?
There was a civil war between communists and monarchists
What were the events in Greece?
1944 - Civil war broke out when Nazi’s left greece
1945 - British troops went to help restore order and supervise elections and King was returned to power
1946 - Civil war broke out again
1947 - British withdrew their troops
When did Truman announce the doctrine?
March 12th 1947
Why did Truman send money to Greece?
As he was worried about another European country falling to communism
Why were the USA concerned the USSR were going to take over Turkey?
As Stalin would use Turkey as stepping stone to spreading his influence in Middle east
As Turkey was important for its oil reserves
Why did Stalin want Turkey?
Access to Mediterranean sea for soviet ships
What did General Marshall say about europe when he returned from his assessment? What date?
He said it was poor and feared it all might fall to communism, June 1947
Who received the most marshall aid?
Britain and France as they were most affected by war
What was Marshall aid?
Money and goods(fuel,food, raw materials) sent from America to provide economic support to Europe to rebuild
What was America’s benefit from Marshall aid?
The countries they helped created a market for American goods
How much money did Truman spend on Marshall aid?
$17 billion by 1953
How was the Marshall plan successful?
Economic recovery made communist parties less popular
US economy benefitted as they had prosperous countries to trade with
Was Marshall plan offered to Eastern Europe?
Yes
Which eastern european country accepted Marshall aid and how much were they given?
Yugoslavia, $150 million
How much did Truman originally receive from congress for the Marshall plan?
$13 billion
How did Stalin respond to the Marshall plan?(3)
He called it ‘dollar imperialism’
Forbade Eastern europe countries to accept as he thought countries that did would always be loyal to America
He set up comecon
When did the Berlin blockade begin?
24th June 1948
When did the Berlin blockade end?
May 1949 - Stalin gave up
Why did Stalin not like the west’s handling of Germany?
There was signs Germany was recovering which Stalin didn’t like as he didn’t want Germany to get powerful
What did the west do that led to Stalin doing the blockade?(2)
Combined their zones
Gave west Germany new currency
Why did Stalin block off Berlin?
As he wanted control and he hoped west and people would surrender out of Berlin or that the people would rebel against the west because they were hungry
How did Stalin block of berlin?
As berlin was in soviet zone he just blocked off roads, railways and canals
Why could America not send tanks to move the roadblocks? What did the west do instead?
As it would be seen as an act of war so instead they airlifted supplies in
When did the west start the airlifts?
26th June 1948
What could Stalin not to do the planes that were lifting supplies into Berlin?
He couldn’t shoot them down as it would be seen as an act of war and USA was a country with nuclear weapons at this point
How did the Berlin blockade and airlift increase tensions?
Break down in alliance
Break down in communication
Both sides were angry
Stalin was humiliated so he stepped up his actions - brought communism to Asia
First time both sides took action against each other
Divides Germany into east and west and stays that way for 41 years and leads to Berlin wall
What did the Berlin blockade and airlift show about each side?
Neither wanted to go to war
