Cold War Flashcards
What changed between the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference?
Roosevelt died in April and so his Vice-President took over, Harry S. Truman. He was inexperienced in dealing with international affairs and believed that Stalin should keep to the agreements made at Yalta.
Winston Churchill began the conference as the PM but there was a election and was replaced by Labour leader Clement Attlee.
The Soviet Union had taken over Eastern Europe and was installing governments while targeting political opponents.
A day before the Potsdam Conference took place, Truman informed Stalin that the USA had successfully developed an atomic weapon. The USA and Britain had kept their plans secret during the war. However, the Soviet agents on the Manhattan Project (the atomic weapon) already told Stalin about the weapon.
Stalin however, still remained leader and his top priorities were getting reparations out of Germany and making sure the USSR would not be invaded.
Definitions of democracy, dictatorship, capitalism and communism
Democracy: a form of political system based on popular consent.
Dictatorships: where one person or group holds power. There is no freedom of speech, religions are restricted / controlled and there are gross abuses of power (e.g. arrests of individuals with little or no evidence)
Capitalism: a form of economic system where most of the economy is privately owned.
Communism: an ideology which aims to create an equal society, where the economy is controlled by the people and private ownership does not exist.
Yalta Conference - the agreements made: What to do with Germany United Nations Organisation USSR war with Japan The future of Poland
Only unconditional surrender would be acceptable.
There was to be no separate peace
Germany would be temporarily divided into four occupation zones
Germany’s eastern border would be moved westwards
Reparations would be a total of $20 billion to be paid, half of it going to the USSR.
Initially it would consist of all the states at war with Germany
The Security Council would consist of five permanent members
Arrangements were made to assemble the UN which was held in San Francisco, June 1945.
Stalin agreed to intervene in the war against Japan after Germany was defeated
In return, the USSR was given territory lost to Japan during the war, would become Soviet ‘sphere of influences’ (a territory where one country has political or economic control).
A government would be established which would include members of the pro-Soviet (in favour of Soviet Union) “Lublin” government and the exiled “London” poles who fled from the German and Soviet armies in 1939.
Potsdam conference - who took part and when
The leaders of Britain, America and the USSR met again in Potsdam near Berlin in July 1945, two months after Germany’s unconditional surrender.
What disagreements took place because of the Potsdam Conference between the countries?
The Allies didn’t agree over the future government of Poland and the Soviet controlled government continued to run the country
They disagreed on the future of Germany. Stalin wanted to dismember Germany and prevent it developing its own industry.
The USSR wanted access to Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr but it was rejected
Stalin wanted to gain a foothold in Japan, a demand that Truman rejected
What did they agree on during the Potsdam Conference?
The Polish/German border was to be settled at the Oder-Neisse Line
Germany would be denazified and war crime trials were to be held in Germany and Japan
Germany would be governed by an Allied Control Council in Berlin where each decision required a unanimous verdict and the country would be treated as a single economic unit.
Each country was allowed to take reparations from its own zone of occupation in Germany. The USSR could also take some equipment from the industrialized western zones.
The Council of Foreign Ministers would be established to deal with the defeated European countries.
What happened after the Potsdam Conference straight after with the zones
In May 1946, the commander of the American zone, General Clay, stopped the delivery of reparations to the Soviets and two months later merged the American and British zones called Bizonia.
Divisions emerged in how the approached the political structure of their zones. The Soviets merged the Social Democratic and Communist parties into the Socialist Unity Party whereas in the western zones, a multi – party system which represented the USA, France and Britain.
Each country in Eastern Europe that Stalin took over and what methods he used to gain it: Poland, 1947 Romania, 1947 Bulgaria, 1947 Hungary, 1948 Czechoslovakia, 1948
SUMMARY: mainly these things happened: opposition leaders were arrested or murdered, elections were rigged, gradually took over the police and forces,
How did the USA react to the Soviet expansionism? What contributed to the debate over future American policy towards Europe and the USSR?
Truman first dismissed his Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace for arguing that USA must build bridges with the USSR.
However, two important contributions to the debate over future American policy towards Europe and the USSR had a significant impact on the President and provided him with a clearer sense of direction. The first contribution came from the “long telegram” written by George Kennan, an American diplomat based in Moscow and an expert on Soviet policy. Kennan provided Truman with an invaluable insight into Soviet attitudes after WW2 and provided guidance on how to manage the problem.
Truman listened to former British PM Winston Churchill deliver a powerful case for greater American intervention in Europe’s affairs. Churchill speech at Fulton was named ‘Iron Curtain’ which highlighted the extent of Russian control in Eastern Europe but the threat if action isn’t taken.
How did the USA react to Soviet expansionism? And how was Truman influenced to make these decisions?
- Truman first dismissed his Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace for arguing that USA must build bridges with the USSR.
- Development of the containment doctrine
How was he influenced:
- Firstly, a long telegram written by George Kennan, an American diplomat based in Moscow and an expert on Soviet policy. Kennan provided Truman an insight into Soviet attitudes after WW2.
- Truman listened to the former British PM Winston Churchill deliver a powerful case for greater American intervention in Europe’s affairs. Churchill speech at Fulton was named ‘Iron Curtain’ which highlighted the extent of Russian control in Eastern Europe but the threat if action isn’t taken.
Development of the ‘containment’ doctrine
Britain, France and Italy were experiencing terrible economic hardship after the war which meant a communist takeover would be likely.
In response to this, Truman introduced a policy of containment which consisted of two main elements: a commitment to help any country threatened by communism. It was known as ‘The Truman Doctrine’ and the creation of the European Recovery Programme (Marshall Aid).
The Truman doctrine was established in March 1947. Truman persuaded Congress to provide $400m in economic and military aid for Greece.
Marshall Aid was announced by Harvard University by Secretary of State George Marshall in June 1947. The aims of this were to stabilise the economies of Europe and prevent the growth of communism in Europe. It would be applied to the western zones in Germany. It lasted for four years and provided $13.3b for European recovery. Soviet states were not allowed to participate. It remained in place throughout the Cold War.
Stalin’s response to the policy of containment
Stalin didn’t appear too concerned by the launch of the doctrine but regarded the Marshall aid as a serious threat to Soviet. In response, Stalin convened a conference of Communist Party leaders in September 1947. The conference established COMINFORM (Communist Information Bureau) whose purpose was to maintain the unity of the assembled nations under Moscow’s control. Stalin also used this as an opportunity to tighten his control over Czechoslovakia.
Why did the Berlin Blockade happen?
In 1945, the USA refused to give the USSR a loan to cover the cost for occupying the eastern zone in Germany.
It was clear that while the western powers wanted to help Germany recover but Stalin was using German resources to rebuild the USSR.
In January 1947, Britain and the USA created a single economic unit out of their zones called Bizonia. France joined a year later. Stalin felt threatened by this and feared that they were trying to force him out of Berlin.
In March 1947, Britain, France and USA secretly agreed to unite their zones politically as well. Stalin knew about this through Soviet agents working in British Intelligence and the Foreign Office.
The USA decided to make Marshall Aid available to western zones. The Soviets reacted by inspecting all items coming through into West Berlin.
In June 1948, the western powers created a new currency for use in all four zones. The Soviets refused to allow it to be introduced in their zone.
The Berlin Blockade
Stalin responded to the introduction of a new currency by blockading West Berlin, turned off all gas and electricity supplies in which he hoped he could force the other three powers out of Berlin.
The three powers decided not to back down and instead pledged to supply the city’s people via a huge airlift.
The airlift is known as the Operation Vittles which lasted for 11 months. Coal, food, petrol and other resources which were transported by air. Although the Soviets did not fire directly at the incoming planes, they planned some tactics which included jamming radios and shining searchlights to temporarily blind pilots.
Stalin lifted the blockade in March 1949, having failed in his goal of uniting the city under Soviet control. The airlift was achieved but there was a significant cost, sixty five German, British and American lives were lost during the operation to keep the city alive.
The consequences of the blockade
In April 1949, the USA pledged to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It was formed after the Berlin blockade and was formed in 1949. It is an military alliance against the Soviet Union. Examples of states that joined include UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy and more. The western powers had encouraged political activity in their zones since elections were held to elect a mayor for Berlin in June 1947. It was won by a former communist, Ernest Reuter who didn’t like Soviet Union that much.
In May 1949, the unification of the western zones took place with the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The first elections took place in August 1949 and Konrad Adenauer became the first Chancellor of West Germany. However, the western powers still controlled Germany’s foreign policy until 1951
West Berlin was not part of Western Germany but Britain, France and America forces remained there to defend the city from future attack from the East.
The Soviets therefore in October created the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). All the positions were in the hands of communists. East Berlin therefore became the capital of East Germany.
As we know that COMINFORM was created in 1947 and in Jan 1949 the COMECON (Mutual Economic Assistance) was created to direct the national economies of the Soviet area.
The Berlin Blockade also highlighted the western’s vulnerability to Soviets however it stabilized the situation of Germany.
Before 1950, the aim for the US was to form bonds with the Western European states and also support the development of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was a common market for coal and steel for the powers who signed it (e.g. France, Italy and West Germany and more). The French didn’t like the rearmament of Germany but the US Secretary of State believed that this would affect the work of the ECSC.
In May 1955, West Germany joined NATO only if they didn’t use any atomic weapons while Britain and US wanted to in case anything happened. Shortly after this, USA and Britain and France needed their occupation of Germany.
