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History cold war > The start of the cold war > Flashcards

The start of the cold war Flashcards

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1
Q

USA/Democracy/West

A
  • In democracy there is political choice, freedom of speech and freedom of religion
  • In democracy the economic system is capitalist- based on private ownership and busineess
  • Many in the west feared that communism would spread and it needed to be stopped- even overthrown as it threatens everything they believe in
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2
Q

USSR/Communism/East

A
  • In communism there is one party state / dicatrosip, no freedom of speech, censorship and control and religion was discouraged
  • In communism there is state control of land and business - there is greater equality in terms of income
  • Many in the USSR feared that the west would do all it could do to destroy communism
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3
Q

Yalta conference

A
  • In February 1945 Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill met at yalta
  • The war in europe ws coming to a close- time to make decisions about afterwards
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4
Q

Agreements at Yalta

A

Agreed that when the war ended:

  • That Germany would be demilitarised and split into 4 zones ( British, American, French and Soviet)
  • Germans accused of war crimes to go on trial
  • Eastern Europe to be under soviet influence
  • Countries freed from German control to choose own government in free elections
  • USSR to join war against Japan
  • To join UN
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5
Q

Disagreements at Yalta

A
  • The only thing that was disagreed about was Poland. Stalin wanted the border of USSR to move westwards into Poland.
  • Roosevelt and Churchill were not happy but accepted it as long as USSR agreed not to interfere in Greece where the British were attempting to prevent communism taking over
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6
Q

Potsdam conference

A
  • In May 1945 the war in Europe ended as Germany surrendered
  • The war against Japan was still going on
  • A second conference was arranged for July/August 1945
  • There was a new US president (Truman), a new British prime minister (Atlee) and Stalin
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7
Q

Agreements at Potsdam

A
  • Nazi party would be banned
  • A new border between germany and poland was agreed
  • Ussr not allowed to have a naval base in the mediterranean - stalin saw this as US/GB not trusting him
  • USSR to take 25% of industrial equipment from western zones of germany as reparations
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8
Q

Disagreements at Potsdam

A
  • USSR wanted US $10 billion in compensation from germany - US/GB reluctant to agree to this
  • USSR wanted weak Germany for the future: USA/GB want to rebuild Germany
  • Soviet policy in eastern europe - the influence that Stalin had been allowed at Yalta was seen as evidence of USSR spreading communism- Truman wanted to get tough with Stalin
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9
Q

Development of the Atomic bomb

A
  • The day before the Potsdam conference the first atomic bomb was tested successfully by US military
  • Truman kept details of this from GB and USSR
  • By keeping the weapons a secret and refusing to share information, Truman added to the idea that the Americans couldn’t be trusted nad angered Stalin
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10
Q

Dropping the atomic bomb

A
  • On the 6th of August 1945 USA dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan
  • 75,000 people died instantly and tens of thousands died fro radiation poisoning in the following years
  • The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later - 60,000 were killed
  • Within a week japan surrendered and ww2 was over
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11
Q

Impacts of the atomic bomb

A
  • Two bombs killed over 200,00 0 people and devastated 2 cities
  • It led to the japanese surrender and the end of ww2
  • It made USA the most powerful country in the world
  • It meant that Stalin’s huge conventional army ws far less important
  • It ,marked the end of the alliance between Usa and ussr
  • It increased stalin’s mistrust of usa
  • It eld to the nuclear arms race
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12
Q

Iron curtain

A
  • March 5th 1946
  • churchill spoke at Fulton, Missouri in USA
  • claimed an ‘iron curtain’ had descended on europe
  • the curtain separated communist from the non communist world
  • first open acknowledgement of the situation and criticism of soviet expansion
  • soviet response -churchill has declared war against ussr
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13
Q

Marshall aid

A
  • In Spring 1947, the American general George Marshall went to Europe. He said every country in Europe was so poor that it was in danger of turning Communist! Europe was ‘a breeding ground of hate’.
  • He said that America should give $17 billion of aid to get Europe’s economy going and stop Communism.
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14
Q

Why did the USA produce Marshall aid?

A
  • To provide markets for American goods and help US economy
  • To generously help Europe recover
  • To improve standards of living and make communism less attractive
  • To enable USA to gain influence in Europe and build support in the fight against communism
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15
Q

How did Marshall Aid contribute to the cold war?

A
  • The soviets saw marshall aid as America buying support and turning countries against communism - even though USA claimed it wasnt
  • It showed America using money - financial aid to stop communism from spreading- dollar imperialism
  • It made relations worse between USA and USSR - Stalin was angry at US’s attempts to bribe countries and undermine his power in eastern europe by offering help to them
  • Stalin strengthened his control over Eastern Europe by setting up COMECON and COMINFORM
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16
Q

What is containment

A

Stopping communism from spreading

17
Q

Truman Doctrine

A
  • The Truman doctrine made it clear that the USA would support free people under threat from external pressures
  • It marked a shift in american foreign policy; from isolation to involvement.
  • USA was committed to a policy of containing the spread of communism (containment), not just in Europe, but throughout the world, later including Korea and Vietnam.
18
Q

How did the Truman doctrine contribute to the start of the cold war?

A
  • It marked a change in US foreign policy - isolation to involvement
  • It was clear that US was not prepared to allow communism to spread any further
  • Although Truman did not mention USSR or communism it was clear that was what he meant
  • Increased tension between USA and USSR
  • It was seen by USSR as a declaration of war against communism - official start of the cold war
19
Q

Why did Stalin want to create a buffer zone?

A

Stalin wanted to create a buffer zone in Eastern Europe in order to prevent Russia from being invaded

20
Q

Soviet expansion

A
  • In the countries liberated by the Red Army, communist-dominated governments took power.
  • The Communists controlled the army, set up a secret police force, and arrested opponents.
  • By 1949, all the governments of Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia, were hard line Stalinist regimes.
21
Q

What did GB/France/USA do in 1948? And how did Stalin feel about this action?

A
  • They combined their zones to form one zone and reformed the currency
  • Stalin felt that it was provocative
22
Q

Reason for Berlin Blockade

A

-Stalin hoped that it would force the allies out of Berlin and make West Berlin entirely dependant on USSR

23
Q

Berlin Blockade

A

In June 1948 Stalin blocked all the supply lines cutting off the 2 million strong population of West Berlin from western help

24
Q

Berlin Airlift

A
  • The Western Allies were not prepared to risk armed conflict with the Soviets to open the way to West Berlin.
  • They decided that their sectors of Berlin would be supplied by air.
  • This became known as the Berlin Airlift and it lasted for eleven months until the Blockade was lifted in May 1949.
  • At the height of the Berlin Airlift, planes landed every 3 minutes.
25
Q

How did the Berlin blockade and airlift make the cold war worse?

A
  • It was the first real conflict of the cold war
  • USA and USSR faced each other in a direct confrontation - could have led to war
  • USA showed they were prepared to stand up to USSR and resist communism - value of Truman doctrine
  • Division in Germany/Berlin was permanent
  • Incident was seen as victory for West - USSR would want revenge
  • Increased tension between East and West
26
Q

NATO

A
  • In April 1949, 12 countries including USA, Britain and France signed the North Atlantic Treaty
  • They agreed that an attack on one member would be seen as an attack on all
  • They promised to coordinate their military forces and act together
  • USA agreed to support Western Europe if they were ever in danger, and would therefore continue to be involved in European affairs

History cold war (3 decks)

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