Origins of the Cold War Flashcards
(40 cards)
Define Capitalism
encouragement of competition to make profit
Define Communism
enforced equality & shared wealth regardless
What are the key differences between communism & capitalism?
1) democracy - capitalism supports vs communism doesn’t
2) religion - ditto
3) wealth; capitalism earn what you get vs communism shared wealth
What Marxist theory did Lenin support which worried the West?
the inevitable conflict of capitalism & communism until ‘one or the other must conquer’
Name 4 pre-wartime events which create distrust between the USSR & West & why
anti US sentiment
1) Russian revolution - US policy follows anti communist Riga Axioms
2) America initially refuses to formally recognize USSR
anti USSR sentiment
3) Russian civil war - communism attacked at birth
4) The Purges - reveals USSR as police state
What event saw the USSR & US briefly forge ties?
Great depression - workers went over to work in USSR & Roosevelt formally recognises the USSR
Who were the Riga Axioms
US officials who fled to Riga during the revolution - they were anti-communist & strongly influenced US policy
Who were the 2 sides in the Russian civil war
Reds - Bolsheviks
vs
Whites - Tsarists supported by France, UK & USA
What are the 3 main groupings of War time disagreements
1) Soviet expansionism
2) US policy
3) conferences
Why did the ‘Eastern European liberations’ upset the West & why couldn’t they do anything (2)
They were wary of the spread of communist influence - saw it as expansionism
1) But there was little they could do as the Red Army was already in place in Eastern Europe
2) And in the Italian liberation; the US & UK had prevented USSR involvement - giving the USSR an excuse to exclude them from Eastern Europe
What was the Comintern?
A Soviet organisation which
encouraged communist groups in other countries
Why were the USSR upset at US strategy
The US kept delaying the second front (d-day) which they saw as a deliberate attempt to weaken them
Name the 5 war time conferences chronologically
Atlantic charter Casablanca Tehran Percentages meeting Yalta
Atlantic Charter;
What happened?
Impact?
Set out post war world principles
Stalin not present, agreement looked like US & Britain v totalitarianism (USSR)
Casablanca;
What happened?
Impact?
Agrees the need for unconditional German surrender & delay D-day
No Stalin; thinks they’re stalling to damage Russia
Tehra;
What happened?
Impact?
discuss the fate of Germany, the future organisation of the UN & post war Europe (Stalin’s sphere of influence acknowledged),
All three met, US & UK don’t oppose USSR claim to EE (leads to future problems)
Percentages agreement;
What happened?
Impact?
Stalin & Churchill propose dividing South-Eastern Europe
Never happens bc Churchill knows it will upset the USA
Yalta;
What was discussed?
Accept Western Polish border & reimbursement of German land.
Discuss ‘declaration on Liberated Europe’ - the need for reparations and democratic elections across Europe
Agree to establish UN
Berlin placed under Four-power control
which was put into the , But it was vague and easily for Stalin to manipulate.
Yalta;
What was the impact?
No plan viable actually made. This vagueness meant it could be re-interpreted & manipulated
Annoyed the American people; seen as acceptance of communism & too much of a compromise
Potsdam;
what was discussed (basic headlines)?
Germany
Polish borders
Reparations
Council of ministers
Potsdam - what was discussed about Germany
It was to be De-Nazified, Democratised, Demilitarised and Decentralised (4 D’s)
It was to be placed under 4 power control
Reparations would be taken from each zone - the Western zones would then give the USSR 25% of this
Why did the USSR demand a larger portion of reparations & new border?
20 million Russians had died in WW2 & he wanted security (buffer zone) to ensure that the USSR couldn’t be attacked again
Potsdam - what was discussed about Polish Borders & why did they reach this conclusion
They were put at the Oder Neisse line - which was further than the USA wanted but they could do little as the Red Army was already present in Eastern Europe
What was the council of ministers?
A group from various countries set up to negotiate peace treaties with former Nazi allies
