Topic 4- The Origins Of The Cold war 1945-1960

Question 1

What happened in the Yalta Conference February 1945? 3 points

Answer 1

1. USSR, America and Britian agree the main ideas at how Europe would be divided and governed once the war ended.
2. Poland was problematic as it was the largest of countries arms the surrounding countries.Each side wanted Poland however Stalin had occupied most of the land since the beginning of the war.
3. One main decision was to make a policy of liberated Europe. All countries occupied by German would be freed. Countries could have their own governments

Question 2

What happened during the Dropping of the Atom bomb? 3 points

Answer 2

1. Atom was dropped in Hiroshima Japan
2. They wanted Japan to surrender as they were the only ones still fighting at the end of WW2.
3. The government had spent £2000 on a bomb and they wanted to make sure that they used it. By doing this they also wanted to alarm the USSR and show superiority over them in the Arms Race. This increased Tension dramatically.

Question 3

What happened in the Potsdam Conference July 1945?

Answer 3

1. Allies returned to the Principles of The Yalta Conference. They found Stalin was not actually doing what he said he would be doing.
2. Tension was caused between the countries due to the fact that the Big Three had changed. Roosevelt had died and replaced by Harry Trueman who was suspicious of soviet sans Churchill was replaced by Atlee.
3. There would be four zones of influence in Germany and again I’m Berlin. France, USSR, USA and Britain would all have control over a particular area and take taxes from the people that live there.

Question 4

The Munich Agreement. 3 points.

Answer 4

1. Chamberlain and Hitler met and Chamberlain tried to persuade the Czechsolvakions to agree to transfer some land to Germany. He wanted the Sudentland which was mostly German speaking.
2. 22nd Septemeber Chamberlain met Hitler and told him of the Czech agreement. Hitler told Chamberlain he wanted the whole of the Sudentland and threatened to go to war. Chamberlain refused this demand.
3. In the September meeting where Britain France and Germany meet (Czech was not invited) it was decided that the Sudentland would become part of Germany’s immediately.

Question 5

The Nazi Soviet Pact. 3 points.

Answer 5

1. 23rd August 1939 Germany and USSR signed the Nazi Soviet Pact where they agreed not to attack one and other but to attack Poland and divided it between them.
2. Stalin lost patience with Britian and France appeasing Hitler. He suspected that Britain and France were trying to divert attention away from the west and towards the east.
3. The Nazi Soviet Pact brought war closer and Hitler broke this pact in 1941.

Question 6

Statins Takeover of Eastern Europe 1946-1948. 3 points.

Answer 6

1. Stalin built an iron curtain down the middle of Europe.
2. Stalin needed countries next to the USSR as buffer countries. There were to protect the country in case of invasion. However some believe it was a stratigic plan to take over the rest of Europe.
3. Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechosolvkia, Bulgaria and East Germany were all in his buffer zone. These peaches of land were communist and ruled by Stalin. The USSR felt that they had sacrificed so much they deserved rewards.

Question 7

The long term reasons for Hostility since 1917. 3 points.

Answer 7

1. USA’s capitalists ideas and plans were seen as a threat to USSR’s communist ones.
2. The sides did not have a great relationship as there was always a sense of mistrust.
3. USA believed communism was evil and vice Versa.

Question 8

The Sudentenland Crisis and Munich agreement. 1938. 3 points.

Answer 8

1. Hitler wanted the Sudentenland to become part of Germany. This is because it was near Germany, had German speaking people in it, it was wealthy, it he gained more countries he would show more power.
2. He wanted Czech because it had a large army, had strong military defences’, had lots of factories and coal, had 3 million German speakers.
3. 12th September Nazis riots were crushed by Czech government.
   Hitler threatened her.

Question 9

The Trueman Doctrine. 3 points.

Answer 9

1. It aimed to help any Nation with a threat of communism to stop ‘Domino Effect’ of countries becoming communist and containing it. It was lead by Truman of USA.
2. It showed that the USA wasn’t going to isolate itself.
3. Greece was one of the first countries to be helped.

Question 10

The Marshall Plan. 3 points.

Answer 10

1. USA lent billions of $$ in resources and to countries damaged by war. The poorer countries were more vulnerable to communist attack.
2. Yugoslavia was the only Eastern country not under soviet control. A communist country accepting help and money from a communist country.
3. Britain, France and West Germany used the most.
4. Statins reaction to the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine was Cominform and Comecon.

Cominform meant ‘communist information’. It communicated and coordinated communist governments in Eastern Europe.

Comecon meant ‘Communist Economy’.
Cheap markets for goods between communist countries.

Question 11

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift.

Answer 11

1. Germany and Berlin were split into four zones of influence. Berlin was in the Soviet sector which meant that the Western parts of Berlin needed to get there supplies to and from the other zones of influence.
2. Stalin did not like how the western sector keep using transport to and from Berlin.
3. For just over a year he stopped all transport going to and from any parts of Berlin so the western side reverted to flying in their supplies by air.
4. The Berlin Airlift was a year of planes going to and from the western sector of Berlin flights taking off 24/7 every 3 minutes until Stalin finally gave in.

Question 12

The Nuclear Arms Race. Atom Bomb. 3 points.

Answer 12

1. As in August 1945 Japan still hadn’t surrender from WW2 like everybody else had in May 1945 USA felt it necessary to drop a very expensive bomb on Hirosima and then 3 days later Nagasaki to stop them fighting.
2. As the USA had built a very technical bomb they did not want to waste it.
3. Space race. USA and USSR had been fighting one and other to be the first into space. America one being the first ones on the moon in 1969.

Question 13

The formation of NATO. 3 points.

Answer 13

1. Stand for NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION.
2. Made by America to protect people however it caused tension between the Two sides.
3. The Warsaw Pact was the Russian version however was made 6 years later than NATO.

Question 14

The Korean War 1950-1953.

Answer 14

1. The Soviets are in the North. USA in the south. The competition insensitive because the Cold War had spread to Europe for the first time.
2. The Korean War was the End for McAruthers Military Career as he fought with Truman.
3. China bordered Korea and they were strict as they created a closer bond therefore strengthening communism. China showed that they were willing to stand western aggression.
4. The south did not fall to the North due to The Truman Doctrine and its policy of containment had been put into practice and upheld.

Question 15

The continuation of the Arms Race. 3 points.

Answer 15

Arms Race- a country needed to have so many weapons that if a enemy wanted to attract they would be deterred (put off by it)

Space Race- Kennedys goal was a mastery of space after the USSR had been successful in getting the first women to space, first flight without a spacesuit and a spacewalk. Both superpowers were involved in a race to the moon. Due to better financial resources USA could do better than the USSR and they were the first to put Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969.