week 7 Flashcards
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Led the U.S. during the Great Depression and World War II, established the Lend-Lease program to aid allies, including the Soviet Union. President from 1933-45.
U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, played a role in early diplomatic relations during the Nazi-Soviet Pact and early U.S.-Soviet cooperation.
Laurence Steinhardt (1939-41)
U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, critical of Soviet secrecy and perceived lack of gratitude for Lend-Lease aid.
William Standley (1942-43)
U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, key figure in wartime diplomacy, facilitated cooperation but later warned of Soviet expansionism, very wealthy, had more access to top Soviets.
W. Averell Harriman (1943-1946)
U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, known for his favorable view of Stalin’s government, wrote “Mission to Moscow.”
Joseph Davies (1936-38)
U.S. diplomat and Soviet expert, played a key role in shaping U.S. policy toward the USSR, interpreter at major wartime conferences.
Charles Bohlen
Soviet Foreign Minister (1939-1949), key architect of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact and Soviet diplomatic efforts during WWII.
Vyacheslav Molotov (1939-1949)
U.S. Secretary of State (1933-1944), played a significant role in U.S. foreign policy and early wartime diplomacy with the USSR.
Cordell Hull
U.S. diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State, involved in discussions about post-war planning and relations with the Soviet Union.
Sumner Welles
Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, marking the beginning of the Eastern Front in World War II.
Operation Barbarossa (June 1941)
Agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union not to attack each other, included secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, August 23, 1939)
U.S. program providing military aid to Allied nations, including the Soviet Union, to support the war effort.
Lend-Lease Act 1941
First meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, focused on opening a second front in Europe and post-war plans.
Tehran Conference 1943
Allied leaders met to discuss post-war Europe, leading to agreements on Germany’s division, Soviet entry into the war against Japan, and the formation of the United Nations.
Yalta Conference 1945
Turning point on the Eastern Front, Soviet forces defeated the German 6th Army, marking the beginning of Nazi retreat.
Stalingrad Battle (August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943)
Soviet NKVD executed thousands of Polish officers and intellectuals, later denied by the USSR until 1990.
Katyn Massacre (1940)
Temporary Soviet capital during the German advance on Moscow in 1941.
Kuibyshev
Republican politician and unofficial envoy to the USSR, supported U.S.-Soviet cooperation.
Wendell Willkie
U.S. military figure involved in coordinating wartime logistics and supply efforts.
General James Burns
First U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union (1933-1936), later critical of Stalin
William C. Bullitt
Head of the NKVD, key figure in Soviet security
Lavrentii Beria
Soviet pilot attempting a transpolar flight from Moscow to New York
Vladimir Kokkinaki 1939
Soviet ambassador to the U.S. in 1939
Konstantin Umanskii
Soviet Foreign Minister, replaced in May 1939
Maksim Litvinov
