WW2 Flashcards
Containment
the action of keeping something harmful under control or within limits.
Cold-War
a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular.
Truman Doctrine
the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection. First expressed in 1947 by US President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey, the doctrine was seen by the communists as an open declaration of the Cold War.
Marshall Plan
A program by which the United States gave large amounts of economic aid to European countries to help them rebuild after the devastation of World War II.
NATO
is a military alliance of European and North American democracies founded after World War II to strengthen international ties between member states—especially the United States and Europe—and to serve as a counter-balance to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
Warsaw pact
A military alliance of communist nations in eastern Europe. Organized in 1955 in answer to NATO, the Warsaw Pact included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
Cuneiform
denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets.
Berlin Wall
Fortified concrete and wire barrier that separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was built by the government of what was then East Germany to keep East Berliners from defecting to the West.
Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was a politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War.
Mau Zedong
Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People’s Republic of China, which he governed as the Chairman of the Communist
Cuban missile crisis
A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba; one of the “hottest” periods of the cold war.
Arms race
a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Satellites states
is a political term that refers to a country that is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country. Term
Domino theory
the theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall.
East germany
Former nation in north-central Europe, officially known as the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1990, when East and West Germany were reunited. Its capital and largest city was East Berlin.
West germany
is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland or BRD; French: République fédérale d’Allemagne or RFA) in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.
The people’s republic of China
China is a populous nation in East Asia whose vast landscape encompasses grassland, desert, mountains, lakes, rivers and more than 14,000km of coastline. Capital Beijing mixes modern architecture with historic sites such as the Forbidden City palace complex and Tiananmen Square.
The Great Leap Forward
of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign by the Communist Party of China (CPC) from 1958 to 1962.
The cultural revolution
The Cultural Revolution was a chaotic mass movement in the People’s Republic of China. Mao Zedong launched it in 1966, claiming that elitists were undermining the government and Chinese society.
The gang of four
was a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes.
The reed gaurds
any of various radical or socialist groups, in particular a militant youth movement in China (1966–76) that carried out attacks on intellectuals and other disfavored groups as part of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution.
Bay of pigs
On April 17, 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolt that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Space race
the competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration.
The iron curtain
the notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989.
Sputnik 1
was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957.
Pri party
is a Mexican political party founded in 1929, that held power uninterruptedly in the country for 71 years from 1929 to 2000, first as the National Revolutionary Party, then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution.
Samosa
a triangular savory pastry fried in ghee or oil, containing spiced vegetables or meat.
Sandinista contrast
is a label given to the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing militant groups that were active from 1979 to the early 1990s in opposition to the left-wing, socialist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government in Nicaragua.
Guerilla
a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.
Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was a Chilean general, politician and the military ruler of Chile between 1973 and 1990; he remained the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 1998.
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008.
Batista
Cuban military leader: dictator of Cuba 1934–40; president 1940–44, 1952–59.
Juan peron
was an Argentine lieutenant general and politician. …… I thought that this should be the future political form, meaning, the true people’s democracy, the true social …
Eva peron
used her position as the first lady of Argentina to fight for women’s suffrage and improving the lives of the poor. … in 1945, she married Juan Perón, who became president of Argentina the following year. Eva Perón used her position as first lady to fight for women
Organization of American states
The Organization of American States (Spanish: Organización de los Estados Americanos, Portuguese: Organização dos Estados Americanos, French: Organisation des États américains), or the OAS or OEA, is a continental organization founded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation
Doomsday clock
is a symbol which represents the likelihood of a human-caused global catastrophe. … It has been set backward and forward 22 times since then, the smallest ever number of minutes to midnight being two (in 1953) and the largest seventeen (in 1991).
Sphere of influence
a country or area in which another country has power to affect developments although it has no formal authority.
Cooperatives
a farm, business, or other organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits.
synonyms:
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was an American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974, when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office.
Henry kissenger
A scholar and government official of the twentieth century. As an adviser and later secretary of state under President Richard Nixon, Kissinger prepared for the opening of diplomatic relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. During the Vietnam War
Operation bootstrap
is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one.
Prague spring
was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II.
Duvalier
Haitian politician who was elected president in 1957. … His son Jean-Claude (1951-2014), known as “Baby Doc,” succeeded him in 1971 as president for life, but was deposed in a coup d’état in 1986. … François, (“Papa Doc”), 1907–71, Haitian dictator: president 1957–71.
Salvador allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician, known as the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American
Détente
the easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between countries.
Dissidence
protest against official policy; dissent.
Helsinki accords
was an agreement signed by 35 nations that concluded the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Helsinki, Finland. The multifaceted Act addressed a range of prominent global issues and in so doing had a far-reaching effect on the Cold War and U.S.-Soviet relations.
