Unit 4 Flashcards
What happened to Europe after war (2)
Divided into 2 blocs
- SU bloc
- Western bloc (+NATO)
What were the ideological differences between US and USSR (4)
- Different views of how society should work
- Communist came to power
- Stalin believed they were letting Hitler expand east
- US were suspicious of USSR leaders
Why were the US suspicious of the USSR leaders? (2)
- communists would want to expand to central Europe (like tsars before them)
- Senior communists had said they wanted a worldwide revolution
Why did the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact end?
Germany attacked USSR (June 1941)
What is the Lend-Lease program?
US lent, leased and sold military equipment to counties fighting Germany, Italy or Japan
Why did the US-Soviet alliance collapse? (3)
Ideological differences
Wartime disagreements
Attitudes towards Germany after the war
Why was there tension between the Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill? (3)
- Stalin refusing to share battle plans
- Churchill unwilling to share knowledge about the ‘enigma code’
- Brit+US pilots and sailors treated disrespectfully at USSR stations
When and Where was Yalta Conference?
February 1945, USSR
What agreements were made in the Yalta Conference? (4)
- What to do with Germany once defeated
- Establishments of the United Nations
- Getting USSR to enter war against Japan
- The future of Poland
When and Where was the Potsdam Conference?
July 1945, Potsdam (near Berlin)
What changes were there between Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (2)
- Roosevelt had died
- Churchill had been replaced
–>New representative for US and UK
What did Truman tell Stalin the eve of Potsdam? (3)
Truman told staling about their successes in the atomic bomb
(in attempts to scare him)
Stalin was already aware
What were Stalin’s main priorities? (2)
- Get reparations out of Germany
- Make sure USSR doesn’t get invaded again
Why did Potsdam worsen the allies’ relations (4)
- allies couldn’t decide on the future gov of Poland
- disagreed over future of Germany
- USSR wanted access to the Ruhr
- Stalin wanted a foothold in Japan
What did the powers agree on in Potsdam? (4)
- The Polish-German border
- German denazified
- Germany to be governed by allied controlled council
- Germany + Berlin to be divided into 4
What were the different views for the future of Germany?
- USSR prioritized reparations- contribute to its own building
- West tried to build up Germany
Bizonia (January 1947)
Britain + US merge their zones and create one economic unit
(France joins a year after)
What countries did Stalin take over (Eastern Europe) (5)
- Poland
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
What was one of the main methods USSR used to takeover countries
Keep their troops in after ‘liberating’ the country from German power
Who is Tito?
Someone who established a communist state that was not apart of the Soviet Bloc
What two things Impacted Truman to take action against USSR?
George Kennan’s Long Telegram
Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech
What did the Policy of Containment include? (2)
- The Truman Doctrine
- Marshall Aid
What was the Truman Doctrine?
Commitment to help any country that was threatened by oppressive countries
What was the Marshall Aid? (+contextual information) (5)
A European Recovery Programme
–> funded mostly in grants
–> Lasted 4 years
–> 16 countries accepted
–> $13.3 billion in aid
What did Stalin think of the Policy of Containment?
Not worried about Truman Doctrine
Marshall aid- a serious threat
Communist Conference (September 1947) (3)
- discussed threats of Marshall Aids to communism
- Established the COMINFORM
- tightened control of Czechoslovakia
What was the main event that led to the Berlin Blockade?
New currency was created for all four zones (June 1948)
What was the Berlin Blockade? (3)
- Stopped all traffic moving west to east
- turned off gas + electricity
(Hoped the western powers would move out of Berlin)
Why was Truman stuck during the Berlin Blockade? (2)
- if he allowed it, his doctrine would look meaningless
- if he challenged USSR, he could provoke something
What was Operation Vittles? (3)
- West’s response to the Berlin Blockade
- Supplied the city with huge airlifts
- brought in resources (food, coal, petrol)
How long did operation vittles last?
11 months, 300,000 flights, 2 million tons of cargo
What was USSR’s response to Operation Vittles? (2)
jammed radios, shined spotlights to temporarily blind pilots
When was the Blockade lifted?
May 1949
Why was the Blockade lifted in May 1949?
- Stalin failed his goal of uniting and taking control of Berlin
- 3 western powers remained their control of the city
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade? (5)
- Broke down relations
- USA joined NATO (April 1949)
- Political unification of western zones (May 1949)
- USSR creates the German Democratic Republic (East-Germany)
- COMINFORM and COMECON established
When did West Germany join NATO?
May 1955
What was the Warsaw Pact? (4)
- USSR’s response to the developments made by the West
- 8 communist countries unified their armed forces
–> response to West Germany’s rearmament + NATO - USSR dominated this Pact
