The Origins of the Cold War Flashcards
Describe Total war
A war where civilians are involved
Describe War by proxy
A war fought on someone or somethings behalf
Describe Cold war
Countries stop relations and there is more tension and less action
Who is uncle Sam
The USA
Is the USA capitalist or communist?
Capitalist
Is the USSR communist or Capitalist
Communist
Did the USSR prefer a democracy or dictatorship?
Dictatorship
What were two of the USSR’s aims
Reparations and buffer states
What was the main aim of the USA?
To protect democracy
Who was the leader of the USSR in the 1930’s
Joseph Stalin
What was the main reason for the Grand alliance?
Working together to defeat Hitler
Which three countries were involved in the Grand alliance?
Britain
USA
USSR
Who were the three presidents in the grand alliance originally?
Josef Stalin
Winston Churchill
Franklin Roosevelt
Overall which country defeated Hitler?
The soviet union
What are allies?
Countries working together
What is communism?
The belief that all industry should be state owned
What is capitalism?
The belief that industry should be privately owned
What did Britain and the USA try to do in 1918?
Destroy the Russian revolution
In 1939 what did Germany and Russia do?
Signed the soviet pact
When was the Yalta conference?
February 1945
What was the official aim of Yalta?
To decide what to do with the world after the war
Which part of the world was Stalin more concerned about during Yalta?
Eastern Europe
What was Roosevelt’s main aim at Yalta?
- To build peace
- Build a future with the united nations
What was Churchill worried about at Yalta?
The USSR taking control of Eastern Europe
What were the four areas of agreement at Yalta?
- They set up the UN
- Stalin reduced his demand for seats in the UN (from 2 or 3 rather than 17)
- Stalin agreed that the USSR would enter the war against Japan.
- They decided to divide Germany into different parts
What were the three areas of disagreement at Yalta?
- The USSR wanted 20 million in compensation for defeating the Nazis but the USA and UK thought that was too high.
- Stalin wanted more control over Poland, because the USSR had been invaded twice through Poland in the last 30 years and he wanted a communist based govt there,
- Churchill was worried that Stalin would take over Eastern Europe
At the Yalta conference had Germany been defeated yet?
No
When did Roosevelt die?
April 1945
When did Hitler commit suicide?
April 1945 (Then Germany has been defeated)
What did Churchill describe the USSR as to Roosevelt after the conference?
‘a danger to the free world.’
When was the Potsdam conference?
July 1945
Who had replaced Roosevelt as president of the USA?
President Harry Truman
Has Germany been defeated by Potsdam?
Yes
Why wasn’t Churchill at Potsdam?
He lost the 1945 elections
Why didn’t Truman want to build a relationship with Stalin?
He said “Force is the only thing the Russians understand”
What did Truman discover at the Potsdam conference/
That the atomic bomb was ready
In response to the atomic being developed what did Stalin do/
He invested big money into the development of atomic bombs instead of addressing Russia’s poverty
Who was Churchill replaced by at the Potsdam conference?
Clement Atlee
What was the official aim for Potsdam?
To decide what to do about Germany
What did they decide to do with Germany?
Split it into four parts (French, Soviet, British, American)
What zone was the soviet zone?
East Germany
When and where did the USA test the atomic bomb?
August 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
When did Japan surrender?
May 1945
Why was the bomb dropped on Japan?
To show that the USA were in a strong position and were not to be messed with.
When did Churchill make his “Iron curtain” speech?
March 1946
During 1946-1947 what was Stalin doing?
Making sure that communist governments were coming to power in all of Eastern Europe
Explain Churchill’s iron curtain speech. (2 marks)
The iron curtain was a metaphor for the soviet expansion in Eastern Europe (1 mark)
Churchill said Soviet power was growing and needed to be stopped (1 mark)
What was comintern?
An alliance of communist governments to make sure they obeyed Soviet rule.
When was comintern set up?
1947
By 1946 which two countries were the only two countries in Eastern Europe that weren’t communist?
Greece and Turkey
In Greece who was the govt. supported by?
British soldiers
What were British soldiers helping the Government of Greece with?
Fighting a civil war against communists
When did the British declare that they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece?
Feb 1947
Which president stepped in and helped British soldiers stay in Greece?
Truman
How did Truman help British soldiers stay in Greece?
He paid for it
Which country was also in danger from Soviet expansionism?
Turkey
What did the USA do in response to the Soviet expansionism in Turkey?
They gave Turkey aid like they did in Greece
What is a doctrine?
A set of beliefs held by a certain group
What was Truman’s new foreign policy called?
Truman doctrine
What was the Truman doctrine based on?
Containment - Containing the spread of communism
What was the aid in Greece described as?
A “Litmus test” for the takeover of communism
When was the Truman doctrine announced?
March 1947
After WW2 who had the most powerful economy on Earth?
The USA
Why was the Marshall plan introduced? (4 marks)
At the end of world war two most of Eastern Europe was in ruins. (1 mark)
Many countries faced poverty and homelessness (1 mark)
Truman feared if those problems were not solved the countries would turn to communism (1 mark)
He offered financial aid to fix these problems (1 mark)
What was the condition to Marshall Aid?
The USA decided that Marshall aid would only cover democratic countries
Who was Marshall aid named after?
George Marshall
Who was George Marshall?
The secretary of state for the USA
What event in History was the Marshall aid the opposite of?
The treaty of Versailles in 1919
By building up the west financially, what were they hoping to persuade the East to do?
Change to democracy and capitalism to live a better life, the American way with the American dream
What was the overall sum of money that the USA gave as part of Marshall aid?
13 Billion dollars
What percentage of Marshall aid was loans and grants?
20% Loans
80% Grants
In response to Marshall aid what did Stalin say to countries in Comintern and Eastern Europe?
That he forbids any country in Eastern Europe to take Marshall Aid
What year does Stalin threaten Czechoslovakia?
1948
What was Thomas Masaryk’s (Czech politician) quote about Stalin?
“I went to Moscow as a head of a free state and I came back as Stalin’s slave”
Did the Czech govt. want to take Marshall Aid?
Yes
What did Stalin say he’d do if the Czech govt. took Marshall aid?
He said the USSR would take action
Did the Czech Govt. take Marshall aid?
No
