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Cold War Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the grand alliance

A

‘Big three’ (USA, Britain and USSR) united by the desire to defeat nazi germany, as the war ended tensions emerged

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2
Q

Tehran conference

A

The tehran conference in 1943 focused mainly on plans to defeat the nazis but also on what would happen to germany and europe after the war

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3
Q

What was decided at tehran (1943)

A

Winston churchill and roosevelt agreed that the USSR could claim a ‘sphere of influence’ in eastern europe after the war

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4
Q

Yalta conference

A

Yalta conference in febuary 1945 was to make decisions about the future of europe

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5
Q

What was decided at yalta (1945)

A
  • free elections would be held in previously occupied countries in easter europe but the USSR’s view of free elections was that all the partys running were communist which differed compelty to the US and Britains view.
  • the united nations would replace the failed league of nations
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6
Q

Potsdam conference

A
  • Potsdam was in may 1945 after germany surrendered
  • tensions were high. Truman new president because roodevelt died and truman was more suspicious of the USSR and less willing to compromise partly due to the US having the atomic bomb which gave truman confidence in discussions.
  • also clement atlee was the new prime ministeer
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7
Q

What was decided at potsdam(1945)

A
  • the new boundries for poland were agreed
  • the big three plus france would divide germany and berlin between them
  • nazi leaders would be trialed for war crimes at nuremberg
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8
Q

Why did the USA use the atomic bomb

A
  • they used the atomic bomb in august 1945 when they dropped two bo,bs on nagasaki and hiroshima
  • the bombs mesnt the USSR were not needed to defeat japan
  • truman did not reveal exact details to stalin but stalin got info from his spies and had started developing their own atomic bomb
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9
Q

What were the consequences of the USA developing the atomic bomb

A
  • boosted Status of US, for four years they were the only nuclear power
  • stalin saw the development as an attempt to intimidate the USSR
  • increased rivarly and started an arms race and the USSR created the atomic bomb in 1949
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10
Q

How did the USSR become influential in eastern europe during and after ww2

A
  • red army had ‘freed’ eastern europian countries from german occupation
  • between 1945 and 1948 stalin installed pro-soviet puppet governments in poland, hungary, romania, bulgaria and czechslovakia
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11
Q

What did churchhills speech say

A

In a speech in 1946 winston churchill warned there was an ‘iron curtain’ dividing europe, between countries that supported the US and countries that were under soviet influence

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12
Q

Why did the USA and USSR issue telegrams

A

By 1946 tensions between the superpowers were high snd each country issued secret telegrams about the other detailing the motivation and intentions of the other country

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13
Q

What was the long telegram

A

The long telegram (february 1946) was issued to truman about the USSR.

  • it said stalin had given a speech in favour of the destruction of captilism
  • it warned of the USSR trying to weaken and diviide western powers while builidng the strength of its own military
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14
Q

What was the novikov telegram

A

The novikov telegram (september 1946) was issued to stalin about the USSR.

  • the report claimed that the USA was pursuing world supremacy
  • it warned that the USA was trying to limit the influence of the USSR in europe
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15
Q

Why was truman worried about the spread of communism to western europe

A

Many countries were undergoing economic hardhsips which could make comminism look more appealling. The USA decided to intervene to try and contain the spread of communism

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16
Q

What was the truman doctrine

A

The truman doctrine, announced march 1947, was where the USA pledged to support any nation threatend by a communist takeover. This support could be diplomatic, military or financial. For example the USA gave $400 million aid to turkey and greece to stop communism spreading

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17
Q

What is the marshall plan

A

The marshall plan, announced june 1947, was an aid plan that promised $17 billion of aid to european countries to help rebuild their economies

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18
Q

What was stalins reactiom to the marshall plan

A

Stalin orderd all of his saterlite states to reject this plan, he beleived the US was using economic incentives to lure eastern european states away from the USSR

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19
Q

What was stalins response to the truman doctrine

A

Stalin felt threatend by the truman doctrine and replied by strengthening and unitinf its allies

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20
Q

What was cominform

A

The cominform ( communist information bureu) was set up in 1947. The organisation brought together all european communist parties and placed them under the control of the USSR

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21
Q

What was comicon

A

Comecon ( the council for mutual economic assistance) was established in 1949. It countered the marshall plan by nationlisimg industries, collectivising agrigculture and offering economic aid

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22
Q

What did stalin hope cominoform and comecon would do

A

Stalin hoped this would encourage economic development in eastern europe and discourage trade with the west. It also appeased the countries that had been ordered to refuse marshall aid

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23
Q

Why did the berlin crisis happen

A

Tension over the division of germany had been building since the potsdam conference and finally spilled over in the berlin criss in 1948. It resulted in an evem larger rift between the two great powers.

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24
Q

What happen with the zones in germany in 1947

A

In 1947 the usa and britian agreed to combine their zones to form ‘bizonia’ the next year the french agreed to add their zone.

The new western zone had a single government and in june 1948 introduced a new currency to help economic recovery

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25
Why did trizonia alarm stalin
Didn't want a unified western zone on his doorstep West berlins strong captalist economy made the ussr look weak
26
Why did stalin blockade west berlin
To try and force the west to withdraw from berlin
27
What was the berlin blockade
In june 1948, stalin ordere that all road, rail and canal links between west berlin and the outside world should be cut off
28
How did the west respond to the blockade
They flew in supplies and this became known as the berlin airlift and lasted for 318 days By 1949 8000 tons of supplies were flown in everyday Tegel airport was built to accomdiate for all the flights
29
Why did stalin end the blockad
It was clear the west were not going to withdraw from berlin so stalin lifted the blockade. It was clear that germany would stay divided
30
When was east and west germany formed
In 1949
31
Consequences of the belin blockade
It showed how unprepared the west would be in a conflict with the ussr
32
What was NATO
The western power decided to form a military alliance in 1949 All members of NaTO agreed to respond together if any members of the alliance were attacked
33
What did the USSR create as a repsonse to NATO
In 1955 the ussr made the warsaw pact and it included all saterlite states Its main aims were to improve thr defensive capability of eastern europe and strengthen relations
34
What did NATO and warsaw pact mean for europe
There were now two power blocs in europe
35
Why was there an arms rwce
Neither side wanted to use the weapons but felt they couldn't let the other gain a significant mikitary advantage because of the fear of war The arms race also led to the space rwce
36
When was the hydrogen bomb made
The usa detonated the hydrogen bomb in 1952 and the ussr in 1955
37
When was the IBCM made
In 1957 the soviets test fired the IBCM that could hit the usa from the ussr and was virtually unstoppable
38
When did the US make an IBCM
The US IBCM was launched later that year and they increased their stock of missiles to gain a significsnt advantage over the soviets but then as the US diverted their attention to vietnam, the ussr caught up
39
When did stalin die
He died in march 1953 and khrushchev took over
40
What did khrushchev say when he came to power
He said he wanted 'peacful co-existsnce' with the west and this brought hope that the cold war would die down But he khrushchev remained competitive with the west and wanted communism to spread and thought the best way was to show communism as superipr
41
What was khrushchevs speech about
When khruschev came to power he made a speech critisising stalins policies and brought in measures to 'de-stalinise' the ussr
42
Why did khrushcev's speech mean for saterlite states
The saterlite states hoped their countries would be de-stalinsied Khrushcev abolished the cominform meaning that states in eastern europe wokld have more politcwl amd economic freedom
43
What were the consequences of destalimisation
This allowed tension in saterlite states to rise as many countries did not want communism
44
What was the uprising in poland
In 1957 there was an uprising in poland and the ussr threatend to intervene but eventuallt allowed the new governemnt to follow their own version of communism. This encouraged other states to consider revolt
45
Why was the governemnt in hungary so unpopulsr
After ww2 the ussr helped to put mátyás Rakosi, a brutal stalinist, om charge of hungary. His authortarian regime became increasingly unpopular. In october 1956 the people of budapest protested against the governemnt
46
How did khrushchev try to fix the problem of the unpopular governemnt in hungary
Khrushchev allowed the liberal imre nagy to take over from rakosi as prime minister of hungary. Nagy hoped that hungary could be a neutral state
47
What did nagy do in hungry
In november 1956 Nagy announced that hungary were withdrawing from the warsaw pact and holding free elections- ending communism there
48
Why did the USSR feel they needed to act with force to the hungarian uprisjg
If hungary were allowed to turn away from communism other states might do the same.
49
Why did khrushchev react so harshly in hungary
He wanted to use the crisis to assert his authority
50
What hapoend in the hungarian uprising
Soviet tanks invaded hungary in november 1956. 20,000 hungarians were killed or injured . Nagy was arrested and hanged. János kádar became prime minister and ensured loyalty to ussr
51
How did the hungarian crisis affect international realtions
The crisis strengthend the ussr and discredited the west
52
What did khrushchev's repsonse to the hungarian uprising show
His brutal response showed other saterlite states that disloyalty wouldn't be tolerated and showed the western powers the ussr was still in control It also showed that khrushchev wasn't that different from stalin
53
What did the west's lack of response to the hungarian uprisijg show
The west condemmed the invasion of hungary but did not intervene The western power's reputation as upholders of democracy was discredidted. Their inaction showed the saterlite states that they wouldn't get any help to move away from communism
54
What happend woth superpower relations in the 1950s
More communicatiom between the superpowers but underlying tensions revealed
55
Why was there an opportnity for a fresh start in 1953
President eisenhower suceeded truman in january 1953, while khrushchev came to power in september 1953.
56
What was decided in geneva in 1955
- the US and USSR agreed to communicate more openly - in 1955 the ussr officially recognised the federal republic of germany as a state (west germany). - khrushchev also freed some prisoners and reduced censorship in the USSR
57
What was the situatiom in west berlin after the berkin crisis
West berlin was a unified zone and continued to develop economically, benifiting from a new currency and marshall aid
58
What was the situation in east berlin after the berlin crisis
The sitiuation was a lot worse than in the west. The USSR had drained it of its resources and its economy was slow to develop. By 1961 at least 3 million east germans had emigrated from east to west berlin
59
Why was the regugee crisis in berlin embarrassing for the USSR
It sugested that people would chose captalism over commumism It also threatend the economy of east germany as many of those who left were skilled workers
60
What did khrushchev do because of the refugee crisis
Led khrushchev to issue his berlin ultamatum in 1958. He demanded that US, french and british troops leave west berlin within 6 months
61
How did eisenhower respond to the berlin ultamatum
He refused the ultamatum and khrushchev took no further action
62
What were the soviet attitudes toward berlin in 1958
- the USSR felt threatend by the economic sucess in west berlin. - east berlin had become dependant on trade links witn west berlin - the USSR worried the west was trying to use its strong economy to interfere with eastern europe
63
What were the western attitudes toward berlin in 1958
- after the berlin airlift, west berlin became a symbol of democracy- it had to be supporyed or the west would lose credibility - people fleeing fleeing from east berlin suited the west- it was good propaganda made commumism look weak and the west gained skilled workers
64
Why was the meeting in the USA in 1959 significant
Khrushchev became the first soviet leader to visit the US. The meeting symbolised a new spirit of co-operation and communication between the two powers
65
What was discussed in the meeting in the US in 1959
They discussed berlin but eisenhower still didn' agree to withdraw from west berlin but agreed to discuss the matter more deeply The leadees decided to meet in paris the following year .
66
Why did khrushchev build the berlin wall
In 1961 around 2000 germans crossed over from east to west every day. When it became clear that the situation wasn't going to be resolved diplomatically, khrushchev contructed the berlin wall
67
What happend just before the paris summit
Days before the paris summit, the USSR shot down a u2 american spy plane over soviet territory
68
How did eisenhower repsond to the u2 plane being shot down over soviet territory
Eisenhower denied it was a spy plane but the USSR produced the pilot alive and the wreckage as evidence, when the US refused to apologise, khrushchev walked out the paris summit
69
How did the U2 plane being shot down over soviet terriotory affect negotiations
It hindered further negotiations about belin. Both countires met again at vienna in june 1961- by this time john f kennendy had replaced eisenhower as president
70
What was kennedys approach to international relations
Kennedy vowed to take a tougher approach towards commumism. He refused to compromise over berlin and no resolution was reached
71
What was the berlin wall
Khrushchev felt he had to stem the flow of refugees out of east berlin. On 13th august 1961, a 27 mile barrier was built across the city of berlin overnight. It was fortified with barbed wire and machine gun posts and was later strengthend and made into a more permanant barrier. Military checkpoints policed any movement in and put of east berlin
72
How did the berlin wall affect the citerzens
Before the wall east berliners had entered west berlin freely. After the wall they could no longer go to work in the west and were sepersted from family and friends People from the east were rarley let through checkpoints and anyone who tried to escape were shot
73
How did the berlin wall affect relations
Cold war tensions over berlin stablised
74
What was the west's repsonse to the building of the berlin wall
The west condemned khrushchev but were actuallt relieved
75
What was the imeadite reaction to the wall
Soviet and western troops were positioned either side of the wall but then both sides agreed to back down
76
How did the US react to the berlin wall
The USA condemned the building of the berlin wall but took no futher military action Kennendy was actuallt relieved as he was preparing for some sort of confrontation
77
How did the wall affect east berlin and the USSR
The wall suceeded in stopping mass immigeration to west berlin. It also gave east berlin the opportunity to rebuild its economy and strengthen itself as a communist state
78
How was the berlin wall viewd
In the west the wall becsme a symbol of oppression and the failure lf commumism, in the ussr it was seen as a sign of strength
79
What was signifcsnr about kennedys visit to berlin
Kennedy visited berlin in 1963 and gave a famous speech stating his solidsrity with west berlin and its people. He declared "ich bin ein berliner"

History Gcse (1 decks)

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