Topic 1 - 1943-56- How did the cold war develop ? Flashcards
When was the grand alliance formed ? What countries did is consist of ?
1941
USSR, America & UK
When was the teheran conference & who were the big three who attended ?
28 - 1 Nov 1943
Churchill, Stalin & Roosevelt
Key features of the teheran conference
- The USA and Britain would open a second front to split the German defences and take some of the pressure off the USSR - Churchill did not want it to be in Poland
- The USSR would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
- Poland should be given more land from Germany, but lose some to the USSR
-points of disagreement ; roosevelt often sided with stalin against churchill e.g with he invasion of the balkans
When was the yalta conference ?
Who attended ?
4-11 feb 1945
Stalin, Truman, Churchill
Key features of the yalta conference
- Germany, when defeated, would be reduced in size, would be demilitarised and would have to pay reparations in the form of materials, goods and labour
- Plans were begun for how Germany would be divided after the war
- A United Nations Organisation (UN) would be set up to replace the League of Nations. It would meet for the first time on 25th April 1945
- The USSR would declare war on Japan three months after the defeat of Germany
- Poland (at present communist, under Soviet control) should be in the Soviet ‘sphere of influence’ but be run on a ‘broader democratic basis’.
Effects of yalta conference on poor relations
- Britain and USA reluctant to agree to Poland becoming communist
- America wished for communism to stop spreading west
- within 2 months Roosevelt died and Truman replaced him - he was less willing to compromise with stalin
When was the Potsdam conference ?
Who attended ?
July & August 1945
Truman, Stalin, Attlee
Why were tensions high between the big three during Potsdam?
- Truman had no relationship with Stalin
- Churchill was replaced half way through
- Trust built in previous conferences lost
- Truman delayed first meeting of conference for testing of atomic bomb ; increased stalin’s suspicion of his allies
- Stalin broke his word to set up both a communist and capitalist government in Poland
Key agreements of Potsdam
- Nazi party would be banned and surviving Nazis would be punished as war criminals
- Germany would be divided into four zones, to be administered by the USA, the USSR, Britain and France, with the aim of re-uniting it under one government as soon as possible
- Berlin, Germany’s capital, would be divided into four in the same way as Germany, despite it being deep in the USSR’s zone
- The USSR could have a quarter of the industrial equipment from the other three zones, because its zone was the least developed industrially, but had to provide the other zones with raw materials such as coal
When was the long telegram sent ?
Who received it and from who ?
What did it report ?
Sent in 1946 from Kennan to Truman
Reported that Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism causing Truman to adopt containment
When was the Novikov telegram sent ?
Who received it and from who ?
What did it report ?
Sent in 1946 to Stalin from Novikov
Reported that USA no longer wanted to co-operate with USSR and wanted to dominate the world
What did the two telegrams signify ?
The end of the grand alliance and the verge of the cold war especially after the release of the truman doctrine
What did Truman set out in 1947 ? And why ?
The truman doctrine because he worried that communism would spread in Europe - it resulted from political differences between the Great powers
What did the Truman doctrine state ?
- Communism should be contained and not allowed to gain territory
- America would help governments threatened by communism
- America wold fight for liberty wherever it was threatened
- The world had a choice between communist tyranny and democratic freedom
When was the Marshall plan devised ? And what did Truman describe it as ?
1947
“two halves of the same walnut” - along with the Truman doctrine
What was the marshall plan ?
A scheme to deal with communism and its containment through military force and weakening of communist attraction by committing $13 billion to rebuild shattered european economies so that people would not appeal to the idea of sharing resources if wealthy
Reactions to the marshall plan
- European leaders met a Paris conference of 1948 to discuss the offer ; USSR representatives walked out
- Stalin insisted that countries in the soviet sphere of influence should refuse America’s offer
- 16 countries (including UK & France) accepted the offer
- Stalin set up the satellite states
What is a satellite state ?
A country that is officially independent but controlled by another country
Countries turned into satellite states between 1947 and 1949
Czechoslovakia Hungary Poland Albania Yugoslavia E.Germany Bulgaria Poland Baltic States Romania
How did Yugoslavia become a satellite state ?
Communists led by Marshal Tito took over yugoslavia in 1945 but in 1948 relations worsened and Tito split form the USSR taking aid under the marshall plan
How did Albania become a satellite state ?
Communists took over in 1945 in WW2 - it had the least opposition to becoming a satellite state
How did the baltic states become a satellite state ?
Became part of soviet union after war - they were treated as part of the USSR
How did E.Germany become a satellite state ?
E.Germany was part of Germany administered to the USSR - in 1949 following ‘free’ elections it announced it was a separate country from the West
How did Bulgaria become a satellite state ?
In 1944 left wing parties including communists took over. In Nov 1945 ‘free’ elections were held which the communists won by intimidation - they abolished all political parties and killed opposers