Events 45-49 Flashcards
(28 cards)
What were trumans concerns about a post war europe
- Europe had been left devastated by the war . Many people had no jobs and no money so communism was attractive to them as it meant everyone had enough , this concerned Truman
- Many eastern european countries had been liberated by the soviets from the nazis so felt loyalty to soviets
- In some countries e.g Bulgaria communist governements had already been forced on them . This concerned Truman as he did not want this to happen in lots of countries
- In some countries the goverments were too poor to stand up to communist uprisings again concerning Truman
What year was the Truman Doctrine
1947
What did Preident truman say in the Truman Doctrine
President Truman outlined why the US should get involved against the communists
- He said countries faced a choice between capitalism and communism and that communism was bad because it meant people could not be free
- He said the US must try and contain the spread of communism
- He said the US would send in troops and money to help free governments to combat communist takeovers
What was the significance of the Truman Doctrine
- The Truman Doctrine was linked to the Marshall plan as the marshall plan also had the deep motive of stopping the spread of communism
- The Truman Doctrine sent clear message out to Stalin that the US would not let europe become communist
What year was the marshall plan
The marshall plan was also in 1947
What was the marshall plan
- The marshall plan was a pledge of $13 billion dollars to help rebuild europe
- Communism appealed to people with nothing to lose , so the US hoped with the marshall plan that by giving people a stake in capitalism people would be less attracted to communism
- The condition for the marshall plan was that the countries that accepted it had to trade with the US
- 16 western countries accepted it including France , britian and west germany. No soviet sattelite states accepted the money
What were the consequences of the marshall plan
- The marshall plan was a propaganda victory for the US as it made them look like heroes for pledging all this money to help rebuild europe
- The marshall plan put all the countries that accepted it in one bubble with the US as they were linked through the plan
- The marshall plan concerned the communists as it threatened communist control in eastern europe due to its appeal to the poor eastern european countries
- It led to Stalin setting up Comecon
What was Cominform
Cominform was the communist information bureau , it was set up in 1947 by Stalin. It organised all the communist parties in europe arranged the leadership of all the communist parties in europe so the parties would do what moscow told them to
Why was Cominform important
- Cominform was important as it got rid of any opposition to soviet control in satellite states by organising leadership
- Cominform encouraged communist parties in western european countries to block the marshall plan
What was comecon
Comecon was the council for mutual economic assistance. It was set up by Stalin in 1949. It was the soviet unions alternative to the marshall plan
What were the impacts of comecon
- Comecon built up trade links with countries involved in it
- It encouraged economic development in eastern europe
- It further divided europe by tying comecon countries to the soviets
- It prevented comecon countries taking the marshall plan which ensured the soviets control of eastern europn
Why did tensions begin to rise after the war
- Tensions began to rise after the war because of the differences in ideology between the two superpowers
- The soviet union belived in communism amd believed capitalism was bad as it exploited the workers to make the rich even ricjer
- The US believed in capitalism and believed that communism was bad as it enslaved people to the state
What was the Long telegram and what did the Long telegram say ?
The Long telegram (1946) was a report from the US ambassodar Kennan in Moscow that told President Truman that
-The soviets saw capitalism as a threat to communist that needed to be destroyed
- The soviet union was building up its military power
- There could never be peace between the capitalists and the communists
What was the Novikov Telegram ? What did it say?
The Novikov telegram was a Telegram from the soviet ambassodor in the US, it told stalin that :
- The US was building up its military strength and wanted world domination
- The Soviet Union was the only country after the war that could stand up to the US
- The US was preparing its people for war with the soviets
What was the impact of the telegrams
- The telegrams confirmed fears that ecah side had about the others actions
- It widened divides between the soviet union and the US and made the sides see each other increasingly as enemies
What was the Iron curtian speech and what was its impact
The Iron curtain speech was a speech given by Winston Churchill in 1946 in America that warned of the threat of communism . It heightened fears in the US about the threat of communism and hoped to make the US take action in europe
What was the importance of the Atomic bomb
- When the United states dropped the atmoic bombs on Japan in 1945 it won them the war and gave them a huge military advantage over other countries
- At Potsdam in 1945 , Truman thought he could use the fact that the US had the A bomb to push Stalin around. This angered Stalin and led to increased tension between the sides
- Up to 1949 the US thought the atomic bomb would deter attack from the soviets and if they were attacked the stratergy was to use the bomb
- When the USSR developed an atomic bomb of their own in 1949 it led to the start of the arms race because the US became eager to gain back the military advantage they had had before and develop a better weapon
What were the causes of Stalin putting up the Berlin Blockade
- Stalin put up the blockade as he was unhappy about the formation of trizonia(where france , britian and the US merged their zones of Germany ). He felt it was part of the US plan to permenantly divide Germany into the poorer east and the richer west .
- Stalin also put up the blockade as he was unhappy about the US implamenting a different currency for west Germany, the deutschmark. He believed it also signalled that the division of Germany was a permenant one which was not favourable for stalin as the soviet union had control of the poorer more industrial east
- Stalin also put up the blockade as he wanted to force the western allies out of Berlin as Berlin was deep inside the Soviet zone and he did not like the idea of a pocket of capitalism within soviet sphere of influence
What were the main events of the Berlin Blockade
- In June 1948, Stalin blocked all road, rail and canal links into west Berlin in an attempt to force the western allies out of Berlin.This blocked all supplies into west Berlin . Aswell as wanting to force the troops out he also wanted to show that the soviets had the power to stop a divided Berlin working
- West Berlin couldn’t last for many days without supplies and it would look weak for the western allies to pull out of Berlin. It would particularly damage the US image abroad. So the western powers responded with an airlift -Between 26th June 1948and 30th september 1949 the US and the west flew in 2.3 million tonnes of supplies daily into west berlin
- In may 1949 Stalin called off the blockade due to the airlifts
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade
- The Berlin Blockade was a great propaganda victory for the US as it made them look like heroes
- The Berlin Blockade made Stalin and the soviet union seem aggresive
- The problem of the western presence in Berlin had still not been solved as the only other way to remove the allies would have been to use force which would have caused war
- After the Berlin Blockade the US took a more agressive stance with the soviets
- As a result of the blockade in september 1949 , west germany was officially formed with the support of the US
- In october 1949 , East Germany was officailly formed as a soviet state
Why did soviet rule become so unpopular in Hungary
- Hungary had suffered alot under soviet control
- Any food or industrial products made in Hungary were shipped off to Russia
- The leader of Hungary Matyas Rakosi was brutal and was called the ‘bald butcher’ or ‘mini Stalin’
- Any opposition to soviet rule in Hungary was ruthelessly wiped out
- All this led to the soviets and communism becoming very unpopular in Hungary
What happened when Khrushchev came to power
When Khruschev came to power in 1956 after Stalin died , he hinted that soviet control would relax . He siad this in his secret speech
What events led up to Imre Nagy being appointed as leader of Hungary in 1956
-In October 1956, Short term factors such as poor harvests and bread shortages combined with long term factors (see soviet control card) meant that hungarians started demostrating against communist control. Hungarians tore down statues of Stalin and attacked local communists . In response, Khrushchev appointed a more liberal prime minister for Hungary , Imre Nagy, to try and calm the situation down
What reforms did Nagy want for Hungary
- Nagy wanted Hungary to leave the warsaw pact and become a neutral country
- Nagy wanted Hungary to hold free elections leading to a non communist government
- Nagy wanted UN proction from the soviet union for Hungary
