Cold War

Question 1

State the 4 reasons that the US-Soviet alliance began to break down

Answer 1

1
History of uneasy relations between the West (USA, Britain, Western Europe and allies (always trying to defeat communism)) and Soviet union (the USSR)
Started back in 1917 (Russia became communist)
Soviet union were dictatorships (stalin)

2
Ideological reasons
Was the break down inevitable?
Capitalism vs communism; liberal democracy vs single-party state

3
War time disagreements and suspicions

4
Attitude towards Germany and who would have influence over the post-war world.

Question 2

what are the Ideological differences between the USA and the USSR.

Answer 2

USSR 
was Communist (controlled by state) as of 1917

USA
Capitalist

Question 3

explain the Ideological diffrences vetween the USA and the USSR

Answer 3

USSR
was Communist (controlled by state) as of 1917
One party rule
No political opposition
A constitution was produced in 1936 where soviets gained a few rights
Religious beliefs were not tolerated

USA
Capitalist
a democracy with free, multi-part elections
Free to hold any religious and political belief
Freedom of speech
Written by constitution

Question 4

State the agreements at Yalta

Answer 4

Japan

elections

war criminals

germany

united nations

eastern europe

Question 5

What were the Political beliefs of USA

Answer 5

Some american believed that other countries should also be run capitalist
Government was chosen in free democratic elections

Question 6

What were the Political beliefs of the USSR

Answer 6

One party dictatorship
Elections were held but all candidates were part of the Communist party
Communism taught the role of a communist state was to encourage communist revolutions world wide
Leaders made their decisions this way
USSR saw USA as a selfish country who wanted to increase their economic empire and political influence

Question 7

What were the economic beliefs of the USA

Answer 7

Business and property were privately owned (controlled majorly by individuals and firms)
Some people were wealthy others very poor

Question 8

What were the Economic beliefs of the USSR

Answer 8

All industry was publicly owned (run by the government)
Industries grew rapidly in 1920s and 30s
Living standards were very low compared to the USA
Unemployment = rare
extreme poverty = rare

Question 9

What were the Social beliefs of the USA

Answer 9

Generally saw their policies as ‘doing the right thing’ rather that serving their own interests
Free of the Government was more important than equality
Idea of communism was intimidating

Question 10

What were the Social beliefs of the USSR

Answer 10

Rights of individuals were seen as less important than the good of society as a whole
Lives were tightly controlled
Other countries should also be run communistly

Question 11

Why were relations between western powers (USA, Britain and others) and the USSR were not good before the Second World War

Answer 11

1917 russia became communist
Fear of USA and capitalist attacks
Nazi-soviet pact for protection (august 1939)
Western political leaders were suspicious of soviet union
Fear communists had same opinions as tsars who wanter to expand into central europe and eastern mediterranean
Senior communists talked about a world wide revolution
Increased likelihood of conflict (capitalists vs communists)
Created tension and uneasy relationship during WW2

Question 12

Positive relations between the western powers and the USSR during the war.

Answer 12

Positives
British merchant ships risked their lives to supply the USSR with essential materials
Britain agreed to extend to Lend-Lease programme to soviet union
Also sent airforce to deliver necessary resources
No more appeasement of dictators
every comunist action would meet an american reaction

Question 13

Negative relations between the western powers and the USSR during the war.

Answer 13

Negatives
Tension and trust
Stalin was very secret and hard to gain his trust
Did not share battleplans with either Britain or USA
British and American pilots complained of Russians not trusting them
Sailors bringing supplies to USSR weren’t given much money and had little to no freedom around soviet ports
Churchill wouldn’t share knowledge of Enigma codes with USSR

Question 14

state the disagreements at Yalta

Answer 14

poland

Question 15

Why did the US-Soviet alliance begin to breakdown in 1945?

Answer 15

By end of 1944:
Culture
Uneasy relationship
Communist vs Capitalist
Each country feared the other
Capitalist attacking communist and vise versa.
Trust
US, Britain and USSR couldn’t trust each other
Britain didn’t share their knowledge (Enigma codes)
USSR did not share Battle plans with either countries
Difficult to make plans and decisions collectively
Was at a political level
Suspicion of the conduct of allies were voiced in Moscow, Whitehall and Washington

Question 16

Describe the agreement dealing with Japan

Answer 16

-stalin agreed to enter the war against japan once germany had surrenderd

Question 17

describe the election agreement at Yalta

Answer 17

agreeed that countries were liberated from occupation by the german army
would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the governmetn they wanted

Question 18

Describe the War criminal agreements at Yalta

Answer 18

as allied soldiers advanced through germany they were revealing the horrors of concentration camps
big 3 agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals who were responsible for genocide

Question 19

Describe the Germany agreemetns made a t Yalta

Answer 19

agreed that germny would be divided into 4 zones

American ,b,f,USSR

Question 20

Describe the United nation agreements made in Yalta

Answer 20

3 all joined UN which aimed to keep the peace

Question 21

describe the Eastern Europe agreemtn made in Yalta

Answer 21

USSR lost 20 million
stalin = concerned about future and security of the USSR
- risk of another invasion
3 agree that europe should be seen as a soviet sphere of influence

Question 22

Describe the dissagreement regarding poland

Answer 22

Stalin wanted the border of the USSR to move westwards into poland
Stalin argued that poland in turn could move its border westwards into german territory
Churchill did not approve of stalin’s plans
Wasn’t much he could do
Stalins ‘red army’ was in total control of both poland and eastern germany
Roosevelt was unhappy about stalin’s plans
Churchill persuaded roosevelt to accept it
As long as the USSR agreed not ti interfere in greece where british were attempting to prevent the communists taking over.
Stalin accepted this

Question 23

Explain what Stalin gained from Yalta?

Answer 23

gained land 
Gained Poland
total control
 eastern germany
 total control
Gained eastern europe
Security (feared  war

Question 24

Explain what western powers gained? [2]

Answer 24

Joined united nations
Had a chance to actually keep the peace after war
Insight on the german concentration camps
Allowed the hunting of war criminals

Question 25

Explain western concerns/worries after the Yalta conference [2]

Answer 25

Stalin would try and take more Interference with greece Concerned about communists taking over

Question 26

The impact of Yalta decisions on Poland [1]

Answer 26

moved poland further west expanded boarder into east prussia Stalin moved USSR borders into Poland

Question 27

impact of Yalta decisions on Germany

Answer 27

Lost eastern europe Was divided into 4 zones (american, british, french, soviet) Concentration camps were exposed and war prisoners were hunted Lost control of any country that their army ran

Question 28

Describe the Posdam Confrence {4}

Answer 28

``` consisted of big three took place in suburb of berlin potsdam after july 1945 germany had surrendered war with Japan was still going on big 3 = USSR - joseph stalin USA - harry truman UK - winston churchill ``` since yalta stalins armies had occupied most of eastern europe america had a new president (Harry truman) moch more anti-communist than roosevelt suspicius of stalin the allies had tested an atomic bomb 16 july 1945, american succesfull tested an atomic bomb at a desert site in the USA

Question 29

List the agreements made in Potsdam

Answer 29

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 G+J Germany would be governmed by allied control council in Berlin each decision reuqires a unanamus erdict country would be treated as a single economic unit

Question 30

List the dissagreements at Potsdam

Answer 30

future gov. poland and soviet controlled gov. at lublin continued to run the country disagreed over future of germany stalin wanted to dismember germany wanted to prevent germ. insustry develpment USSR wanted access to g. industrial heartlland in Ruhr rjected stalin wanted to gain foot hold in japan rejected g stain wanted to protect USSR against future threats wanted g. destroyed truman didnt want repeat of TOV reparations 20 mill russians perished in war stalin wanted compensation from g. truman didnt want to repeat mistakes of WW2 rejected demand eastern europe at yalta stalin signs agreement from allies to set up pre-soviet gov. in eastern europe truman adapts stren attitude towards stalin unhappy with russian actions

Question 31

USSR used force or threat to gain control of eatern europe by 1948

Answer 31

poland Soviet troops stayed after liberation Arrested and murdered opposing leaders Romania Soviet troops remained after liberation (again) Soviets accepted a coalition government in 1945 Accepting key positions for communists First step to gradually take over police and security forces ``` Bulgaria Soviet troops remained after liberation Monarchy was abolished in 1946 New constitution 1947 Effectively destroyed parliament democracy COpposition parties were disbanded ``` Czechoslovakia Foreign minister Jans Masaryk, (popular and non-communist politician) was murdered in may 1947

Question 32

The USSR used political manipulation and election fraud to gain control of Eastern Europe by 1948

Answer 32

Poland Rigged elections 1947 (soviets established control) Communists gain 80% of vote ``` Romania Accepting key positions for communists First step to gradually take over police and security forces Rigged elections 1946 Communists got 90% of vote ‘Show trial’ of main opposition leader Oct 1947 ``` Bulgaria Purged rival groups from Fatherland Front Monarchy abolished in 1946 New constitution 1947 Destroyed parliamentary democracy and opposition parties were disbanded Czechoslovakia Gradually assumed control of key government ministries allowing them to arrest political opponents Hungary Used secret police to discredit and persecute rival politicians and paries Rigged elections in 1947 gave communists control of a coalition government Social democratic party and communist party merged in 1948

Question 33

What was Comecon

Answer 33

stands for Council for Mutual Economic Assistance set up in 1949 to co-ordinate the industries and trade in eastern europe idea members of comecon traded mostly w/ one another rather that tradeing with the west favoured USSR provided a market to sell their goods guarenteed a cheap supply of raw materials e.g. Poland was forced to sell its coal to USSR at 1/10 price set up a bank for socialist countires

Question 34

What was cominform

Answer 34

Communist Information Beuro Stalin set up Cominform in 1947 as an organisation to co-ordinate the various communist governments in eastern europe office originally based in Belgrade in Yugoslavia but moved to Bucharest in Romani in 1948 after Yugoslavia was expelled by stalin wouldent do what USSR told them to do cominform ran meetings and sent out instructions to communist governments about what the soviet union wanted them to do

Question 35

Describe the impact of Soviet rule on the people of Eastern Europe. [4]

Answer 35

Communism sometimes brought hope Easier to achieve faster industrial growth before WW2 Freedom Freedom of speech + democratic government Lost the right to criticise the government Non-communists Imprisoned fro criticising the government Forbidden travel to countries in western europe Protests were crushed by security forces Wealth Between 1945 and 1955 Eastern european countries recovered Wages in eastern europe fell behind other countries Short of coal for heating Prices became very high Consumer goods No longer available (radios, electric kettles, TVS) in West Economies of eastern europe aimed towards helping the USSR Factories produced what consumers DID NOT want

Question 36

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956? [6]

Answer 36

Reason 1: Resentment of Soviet rule and unpopular communist policies (use the second attachment)

Question 37

Reason 1: Resentment of Soviet rule and unpopular communist policies (use the second attachment)

Answer 37

``` Patriotism Hungarian = proud and patriotic Aware of traditions and long history Didn't want to cooperate with soviets Education Thought communist versions of history and ignored hungary’s close links with western europe Religion Hungarians were strongly christian Communism discouraged these beliefs and penalized the catholic church Cardinal Minszenty was imprisoned Leader Standard of living Food shortages Blame placed on collective farming Industrial workers Poorly paid Many goods shipped to USSR Censorship No freedom of expression Government controlled press, theatre, art and music Secret policies State protection group (AVO) Used terror and torture to surpress criticism of governemnt, communism or USSR Soviet troops Hungairans objected to extended presence of soviet troops Reminder of soviet control ```

Question 38

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956? [6]

Answer 38

Reason 2: Hope for the possibility of change or reform in 1956

Question 39

Reason 2: Hope for the possibility of change or reform in 1956

Answer 39

1956 Yugoslavia successfully became independent communist country under the leadership of Tito New soviet leader (khrushchev) Supported independence and non-interference Hungarians thought UN or new American president (Eisenhower, would help them after he made supportive comments in speeches) Stail dies in 1953 Russia tried to move away from some of his policies Including brutal aspects New leader Nikita Khrushchev Refused to allow arrest of 400 political opponents in hungary June 1956 Polish workers risen against soviet rule and wanted change Russia eventually gave into some demands Gave hungarians hope that it could happen there

Question 40

Describe the impact of Soviet rule on the people of Eastern Europe.

Answer 40

Communism sometimes brought hope Easier to achieve faster industrial growth before WW2 Freedom - Freedom of speech + democratic government - Lost the right to criticise the government - Non-communists - Imprisoned fro criticising the government - Forbidden travel to countries in western europe - Protests were crushed by security forces Wealth - Between 1945 and 1955 - Eastern european countries recovered - Wages in eastern europe fell behind other countries - Short of coal for heating - Prices became very high Consumer goods - No longer available (radios, electric kettles, TVS) in - West - Economies of eastern europe aimed towards helping the USSR - Factories produced what consumers DID NOT want

Question 41

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956? 1

Answer 41

Reason 1: Resentment of Soviet rule and unpopular communist policies

Question 42

Reason 1: Resentment of Soviet rule and unpopular communist policies

Answer 42

``` Patriotism Hungarian = proud and patriotic Aware of traditions and long history Didn't want to cooperate with soviets Education Thought communist versions of history and ignored hungary’s close links with western europe Religion Hungarians were strongly christian Communism discouraged these beliefs and penalized the catholic church Cardinal Minszenty was imprisoned Leader Standard of living Food shortages Blame placed on collective farming Industrial workers Poorly paid Many goods shipped to USSR Censorship No freedom of expression Government controlled press, theatre, art and music Secret policies State protection group (AVO) Used terror and torture to surpress criticism of governemnt, communism or USSR Soviet troops Hungairans objected to extended presence of soviet troops Reminder of soviet control ```

Question 43

Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956? 2

Answer 43

Reason 2: Hope for the possibility of change or reform in 1956 (use the third attachment) 1956

Question 44

Reason 2: Hope for the possibility of change or reform in 1956

Answer 44

1956 -Yugoslavia successfully became =independent -communist country under the leadership of Tito New soviet leader (khrushchev) -Supported independence and non-interference -Hungarians thought UN or new American president Eisenhower, would help them after he made supportive comments in speeches) Stail dies in 1953 -Russia tried to move away from some of his policies - Including brutal aspects New leader -Nikita Khrushchev -Refused to allow arrest of 400 political opponents in hungary June 1956 - Polish workers risen against soviet rule and - wanted change - Russia eventually gave into some demands -have hungarians hope that it could happen there