Cold War Flashcards
What happened at the Yalta Conference and what date was it?
February 1945
It was agreed between the big 3 (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) that…
Germany would be divided into 4 zones (French, British, USA and USSR)
Berlin would also be divided
Eastern Europe would hold free elections
USSR would join the war against Japan
What happened at Potsdam and why had it changed?
July 1945
Roosevelt had died and replaced by Truman
Churchill had been replaced by Attlee
They had no common enemy - Hitler had been defeated on 8 May 1945
Truman had discovered the Atom bomb and wouldn’t tell Stalin how to make it
THEY AGREED ON
Nazi party would be banned
The border of Poland moved
THEY DISAGREED ON
Stalins naval base in the Mediterranean
The reparations Germany would have to pay
And the communist government set up in Poland
Iron Curtain
Said by Churchill
March 1945
Divided between Eastern and Western Europe
Cominform
1947
Set up by Stalin as a response to Marshall aid
Promoted communism
Tightened Stalins hold on communists
Restricted communists communications with the west
Comecon
1949
Set up to promote trade between communist countries
Favoured USSR
Response to Truman doctrine
Truman doctrine
1947
T = Troops
Aim was to contain communism - policy of containment
Provided economic and military aid to Turkey and Greece
Marshall aid
1947
M = money
Truman believed hardship and poverty were a breeding ground for communism
Wanted to stop the spread of communism and help Europes economy recover
$17 billion was spent to help Europe recover
Stalin refused aid for the USSR and banned Eastern European counties from getting aid
Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
1948
Only Eastern European country that accepted Marshall aid
In Czechoslovakia communists weren’t fully in control
In the 1948 elections, it seemed likely that communism would do badly but they organised protests and marches and the foreign minister died suspiciously
May 1948, Czechoslovakia became communist
Berlin blockade causes
Britain and USA wanted Germany to recover - they couldn’t afford to keep supporting it
The French were unsure
USSR wanted to keep Germany weak and were suspicious about Britain and Americas intentions
1948 French, America and Britain’s zones became a ‘trizonia’ with the help of Marshall aid , west Germany began to recover and prosper where east Germany was in poverty
Stalin thought they were building up western Germany to attack him, when they introduced the new currency - Deutsch Mark - it was the last straw
Berlin blockade
June 1948
Soviet troops blocked train lines and roads to prevent any goods reaching Berlin
He hoped that the allies would withdraw
Berlin airlift
The Berlin airlift was the allies response
They flew goods in by plane
This went on for 10 months
1 plane landed every 3 minutes - day and night
May 1949 - Stalin reopened communications
NATO
1949
Military alliance
Most states in Western Europe as well as USA and Canada
Main aim was to defend its members from attack
Warsaw Pact
1955
In 1955 west Germany joined NATO
The Soviet response was to set up the Warsaw Pact - a communist version of NATO
