In Class Notes Pt. 1:

Question 1

The Nuremberg Trials:

Answer 1

The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials held in Nuremberg, Germany after World War II to prosecute Nazi war criminals. The trials took place from 1945 to 1946.

Question 2

The Manhattan Project and the Bomb:

Answer 2

The Manhattan Project was the top-secret US government program during World War II that developed and built the first atomic bombs, which were then used against Japan in August 1945, leading to the end of the war and ushering in the nuclear age.

Question 3

The Yalta Conference:
—–> Poland
—–> Germany and Berlin

Answer 3

POLAND:
At the Yalta Conference in 1945, the Allies agreed to establish a provisional government in Poland that included Communists. The agreement also called for free elections in Poland after the war. However, Stalin reneged on his promise to allow free elections, and Poland fell under Soviet communist control.
GER AND BER:
At the Yalta Conference, the “Big Three” (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) agreed to divide Germany and its capital, Berlin, into four occupation zones, controlled by the US, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, after Germany’s unconditional surrender.

Question 4

Tensions Begin to Rise:
—-> Soviet Goals
—-> American Goals
—-> Misconceptions between Soviets and the West

Answer 4

SOVIET:
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s primary goals were to expand communism, establish a buffer zone of friendly communist states in Eastern Europe, and counter the influence of the United States and its allies.
US:
During the Cold War, the US aimed to contain the spread of communism and Soviet influence globally, through a combination of military buildup, economic aid, and diplomatic efforts, while promoting democracy and free markets.
DISTRUST:
- Com vs. Cap
- Both thought the other wanted to take over the world

Question 5

The Potsdam Conference
- The Iorn Curtain

Answer 5

• The Potsdam Conference was a meeting of the Allied leaders in Potsdam, Germany from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The conference was held to negotiate the terms of World War II’s end and plan for the postwar world.
• The Iron Curtain was a political and ideological barrier that separated Western Europe from the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies during the Cold War. The term was first used in a speech by Winston Churchill in 1946.

Question 6

—-> The Marshall Plan
—-> The Berlin Airlift
—-> NATO

Answer 6

• The Marshall Plan was a US program that provided economic aid to Western Europe after World War II. The plan was named after Secretary of State George Marshall, who proposed it in 1947.
• The Berlin Airlift, a 15-month operation from June 1948 to May 1949, involved the Western Allies airlifting essential supplies to West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded all land access to the city.
• During the Cold War, NATO’s primary function was to deter Soviet expansion and defend Western Europe through collective defense, with its core principle being that an attack on one member is an attack on all, as outlined in Article 5 of the treaty.