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The Cold War Flashcards

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1
Q

When was the Tehran conference and who attended it?

A

It was in 1943 from 28th November to 1st December and was attended by Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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2
Q

What was agreed at the Tehran conference?

A

The USA and Britain would open a second front to split the German defences and take some of the pressure off the USSR, the USSR would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated, Poland was to be given more land from Germany but lose some to the USSR.

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3
Q

What points of disagreement were there at the Tehran conference?

A

What side Stalin was on and Churchill wanted to invade the Balkans to stop USSR turning communist.

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4
Q

When was the Yalta conference and who attended it?

A

It was in 1945 from 4th to 11th of February and was attended by Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill.

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5
Q

What was agreed at the Yalta conference?

A

When Germany was defeated, it was to be reduced in size, would be demilitarised and would have to pay reparations, along with plans for the country to be divided after the war ended. It was also agreed that the UN was to be set up to replace The League of Nations and the USSR would declare war on Japan three months after Germany had been defeated.

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6
Q

What points of disagreement were there at the Yalta conference?

A

Britain and the USA were reluctant for Poland becoming communist as Britain defended Poland during the war and the USA didn’t was communism spreading. They agreed on democracy but disagreed on what it meant as Stalin believed that it had to be a communist government.

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7
Q

When was the Potsdam conference and who attended it?

A

It was in 1945 from 17th July to 2nd August and was attended by Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill.

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8
Q

What was agreed at the Potsdam conference?

A

Germany was to be divided into four zones (USA, France, Britain and USSR would have a section), Berlin was also to be split into four zones even though it was USSR controlled, a council was to be set up to help the rebuilding of Europe and they would continue to prosecute Nazi war criminals.

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9
Q

What points of disagreement were there at the Potsdam conference?

A

USA wanted to rebuild Germany but the USSR wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations, The USA didn’t tell the USSR about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, they disagreed on Poland as Stalin wasn’t going to have a communist and capitalised government.

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10
Q

What were Stalin’s methods of control?

A

They agreed to have free elections in satellite states but, had leaders that would obey Moscow, the police and armies would stamp out any opposition and arranged the economies of them so that they were dependant on the USSR by “rationalising” industries, stopping satellite states becoming self sufficient. This created a buffer zone of communist countries.

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11
Q

How did the USSR cause the break up of the Grand Alliance?

A

Stalin’s speech in response to Churchill compared the USA to Hitler who was the common enemy which is the reason why the alliance existed. Also the Long Telegram stated that Stalin wanted destruction of capitalism and that it was building up its military power.

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12
Q

How did the USA cause the break up of the Grand Alliance?

A

They tried to dominate the world and prevent the spreading of communism.

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13
Q

What was the iron curtain?

A

A hypothetical wall between Eastern Europe and Western Europe, dividing communism and capitalism.

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14
Q

What three countries became part of the Soviet Union in 1940

A

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

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15
Q

What countries were taken over by the Red Army to become satellite states?

A

Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and East Germany

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16
Q

What two satellite states where never occupied by The Red Army so had more independence?

A

Yugoslavia and Albania

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17
Q

How did the USA prevent the Domino Effect and what was it?

A

In 1947 communists threatened to take control of Greece and Turkey, so Truman sent $400 million and American civilian and military personnel. They also installed ballistic missile sites along the boarder. Americans feared that all of Europe would turn to communism like dominos.

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18
Q

What was the Truman Doctrine and why did it exist?

A

The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy to stop Soviet expansion. It existed because communism was becoming appealing to countries devastated by WW2 and Truman feared that the USSR had a second strategy to gain territory.

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19
Q

What did the Truman Doctrine state?

A
  • The world had a choice between democratic freedom and communist tyranny.
  • America had the responsibility to fight off liberty when it was threatened
  • Communism should not be allowed to grow
  • USA would send troops and economic resources to helped governments threatened by communists
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20
Q

What was significant about the Truman Doctrine?

A
  • It suggested that the USA rather than the UN, had a responsibility to protect the world
  • Divided the world according to ideology
  • set a realistic goal for American foreign policy
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21
Q

What was The Marshall Plan?

A

It was the USA committing $13 billion of American money to rebuild the shattered economies of countries. In order to qualify, countries had to agree to trade freely with America.

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22
Q

What was Cominform?

A

It was the communist information bureau and it gave Stalin a new way of controlling and directing satellite states. The states had to concentrate on trading

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23
Q

When was Cominform set up?

A

It was set up on 22nd September 1947

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24
Q

What was Comecon?

A

It was the council for mutual economic assistance which helped Stalin organise industrial planning across satellite states, each state had a five year plan and trade with Western Europe and the USA was discouraged.

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25
When was Comecon set up?
It was set up on 25th January 1949
26
Why was Germany "unfinished business"?
Because the USA and USSR were unable to agree about the future of Germany e.g. would it be capitalist or communist, would it be part of the Soviet "sphere of influence"...
27
What was Trizonia?
After Germany was split between the four powers, the three western zones (France, USA, UK) had a good relationship so were known as "Trizonia".
28
When was Germany officially split into two countries and why?
The good working relationship between the three western zones and the opposition to the USSR caused Germany to be officially split into East Germany and West Germany on 23rd June 1948.
29
What was the Berlin Blockade? (Berlin crisis 1)
When Stalin set up a military blockade around West Belin, his plan being to cut West Germany off from its capital so that the new government based in Berlin could not control its territory in West Germany.
30
What were the three main causes of the Berlin blockade?
Stalin saw the prosperous west as a threat, Marshall aid and trizonia.
31
Why couldn't the western powers back down after the blockade?
They would lose the territory and it makes capitalism look weak.
32
What was the west's solution to the Berlin blockade?
The Berlin airlift from June 1948 to May 1949
33
What resources were brought into Berlin during the Berlin Airlift?
food, coal and other necessities of life.
34
How many trips were completed by Christmas during the Berlin Airlift and how many tons?
100,000 trips and 730,000 tons
35
When did the blockade end?
In May 1949
36
What was NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a military alliance between western European countries and the USA, that said, if any of the countries in the alliance came under attack, the other countries would come to their defence.
37
How was the Warsaw Pact similar to NATO?
It was a military alliance that virtually mirrored NATO except it was between eastern European countries and the USSR.
38
How did the Arms Race prevent war in Europe?
As neither side wanted to use them. This is because it would kill hundreds of thousands of people and would destroy both countries as if one attacked the other, then the other country would do the same in retaliation.
39
What happened in 1949 that caused the USA to start to develop hydrogen bombs?
The USSR developed and tested its own nuclear weapons.
40
What happened during the Arms race in 1955?
The USSR had tested the Sakharov's third idea bomb which was as powerful as America's hydrogen bombs.
41
What happened when America carried out the Marshall islands test?
On 1st March 1954 America tested a hydrogen bomb that was TWICE as big as expected, affecting two inhabited islands and 200 people which lead to a refugee crisis.
42
What was communism in theory?
- about equality - government planned - focuses on the rights of the working class - controlled by the communist party
43
What was communism in Hungary?
- people were deprived of food - Hungarian oil, coal and wheat were shipped to Russia - Hungarian land was distributed between other Eastern European countries - Cominform caused the execution of popular political leaders and its supporters - Russian officials controlled the government , police and army
44
Who was Matyas Rakosi?
He was a Hungarian dictator who used "salami tactics" to deal with opponents "slice by slice". He killed 2,000 people and imprisoned 387,000 people.
45
Who replaced Stalin when he died in 1953?
Nikita Khrushchev who believed in peaceful coexistence with the west.
46
What was Khrushchev's secret speech about?
Destalinization- he described Stalin as an evil murderer and wanted to show people how he was different from Stalin. He wanted to demonstrate a new style of leader ship and win friends.
47
what did Imre Nagy do in response to Khrushchev's secret speech?
Nagy asked Khrushchev to move the Russian troops out. Khrushchev agreed and on 28 October 1956, the Russian army pulled out of Budapest.
48
What did the new Hungarian government do after Soviet troops left?
The new Hungarian government introduced democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Cardinal Mindszenty, the leader of the Catholic Church, was freed from prison.
49
What caused the soviet invasion of Hungary?
Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the Warsaw Pact.
50
What was the Hungarian reaction to the Soviet invasion?
They fought back in anger even putting their own children at risk. They made weapons and stole guns in order to fight off Soviet troops.
51
How did the Soviets react to the Hungarian uprising?
They sent in 1000s of tanks into the country to crush the revolution and destroyed entire buildings if one person was suspected as being part of the revolution lived there.
52
What happened to Nagy and the Hungarians?
The Hungarians who fought against the Soviets and Nagy were executed.
53
What is nuclear fallout?
The radiation given off by nuclear bombs that affect a greater area than the initial blast zone.
54
What was the Tzar Bomba?
It was the largest ever nuclear weapon to be tested. Tested in October 1961, it was around 50 megatons in size.
55
Why did people from East Berlin flee to the west?
- West Germany had Marshall aid whereas the East received little aid from the USSR - The West had a much higher standard of living - The communist regime was becoming increasingly unpopular
56
How many people fled from East Berlin to West Berlin?
2.7 million
57
Why was the refugee problem a propaganda disaster for Khrushchev?
It showed people preferred capitalism to communism
58
What was Khrushchev's initial response to the refugee crisis?
He declared that all of Berlin was part of East Germany and made an ultimatum, giving the USA six months to withdraw all troops.
59
What meetings took place in 1959 and what did they lead to?
The summits took place and Khrushchev agreed with Eisenhower to drop the ultimatum but after an American spy plane was shot down he stormed out of one of the meetings.
60
What happened when Kennedy became president?
Khrushchev brought back his ultimatum in thinking that Kennedy was too young and inexperienced to do anything about it.
61
What was Kennedy's response to the ultimatum?
He refused to remove American troops from west Berlin and began to prepare for war, spending $3.2 billion for defence.
62
IN knowing the USA would not win a nuclear war, what was Khrushchev's next response to the refugee problem?
He built the Berlin wall overnight, dividing East and West Berlin.
63
What was the impact of the Berlin wall?
It prevented East Germanys fleeing to the west and allowed Khrushchev to avoid war with the USA and the wall became a powerful symbol of the division of Europe.
64
What did Kennedy do after the wall was made?
He made a speech in west Berlin where he expressed feelings of solidarity.
65
Why did the location of Cuba cause problems? (Cuban missile crisis)
It is close to the USA, meaning that a midrange missile would be able to hit Washington DC and an IRBM would cover the entire USA
66
How did the Arms race cause the Cuban missile crisis?
The USSR had created the biggest bomb ever tested (Tzar bomba) now located in Cuba
67
Why did Cuba turn communist?
America banned the import of Cuban sugar because of Castro's government taking over American property in Cuba. This bankrupt the Cuban economy and caused them to go communist
68
What was the bay of pigs and what was planned to happen?
It was an invasion by the USA in hope that it would cause a revolt in Cuba and turn Cubans against Castro.
69
1) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 16th October?
Kennedy is made aware of Khrushchev's plans to place nuclear weapons in Cuba
70
2) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 20th October?
Kennedy imposes a navel blockade around Cuba to stop missiles reaching Cuba
71
3) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 22nd October?
Kennedy declares the blockade and calls on Khrushchev to recall his ships
72
4) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 23rd October?
A letter was sent to Kennedy saying that Soviet ships will break through the blockade
73
5) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 24th October?
Khrushchev is prepared to launch nuclear weapons if USA goes to war
74
6) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 25th October?
Armed forces from both sides are told to prepare for war
75
7) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 26th October?
Khrushchev says the USSR would withdraw missiles if the USA does not invade Cuba
76
8) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 27th October?
The USA accepts the deal but demands that the withdrawal of US missiles from Turkey is kept secret
77
9) The Thirteen Days | What happened on the 28th October?
Khrushchev accepts the secret deal
78
What were the immediate consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The secrecy of the removal of missiles from Cuba made it seem like Khrushchev had betrayed allies in Cuba, the hotline was introduced between the US president and soviet premier and the limited test ban treaty meant that the testing of nuclear weapons in space, sea and space was banned.
79
What happened to France after the Cuban Missile crisis?
France decided to leave NATO due to the nuclear war between the USA and USSR and developed its own nuclear weapons.
80
What was the 1967 Outer Space Treaty?
It was a treaty that stopped the arms race spreading to outer space as it pledged that no nuclear weapons could be placed in space by either side.
81
What was the 1968 Nuclear non-proliferation treaty?
It was a treaty that agreed that neither superpower could supply nuclear weapons to other states or help other states to develop nuclear weapons.
82
What was Prague spring?
It was liberal changes in Czechoslovakia brought about by Dubcek.
83
What was like in Soviet Czechoslovakia?
- It was run by secret police which crushed all opposition - The economy was struggling causing a declining standard of living - Communism had few benefits for Czech people - There was censorship and a lack of freedom
84
Who became the Czechoslovakian communist party leader?
Alexander Dubcek
85
What were Dubcek's aims?
He wanted to form a popular form of communism called "socialism with a human face", remove the repressive aspects of communism, to reform the economy and allow for cultural freedom.
86
What were Dubcek's reforms?
- a relaxation of press censorship - the legalisation of political opposition groups - more power given to regional governments - more power given to the Czech parliament - introduce capitalist elements to the Czech economy - government toleration of political criticism
87
What was the reaction to Dubcek's reforms from Czech people?
They were welcomed enthusiastically by intellectuals, workers and younger members of the Czech communist party but older communists were shocked by it along with the soviet premier Brezhnev and his eastern allies.
88
What was Brezhnev's dilemma?
On one hand Dubcek was an ally who had made no attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact or damage the USSR, but on the other hand his reforms could lead to a weakening of Soviet control and therefore threaten the Eastern Bloc.
89
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?
According to the doctrine, the USSR had the right to invade any country in Eastern Europe whose actions threatened the security of the Eastern Bloc.
90
What happened during the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia?
On the 20th August 1968, Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia to put a stop to it, Dubcek ordered his people not to respond with violence and was arrested.
91
What happened to Dubcek?
He was arrested and taken to Moscow where Brezhnev told him that he had betrayed communism o he was forced to sign the Moscow protocol which meant reintroducing censorship and removing political opposition.
92
What was the international response to Prague spring?
America had no military response against it making the USA look weak but western communist parties were outraged by it, declaring themselves independent from the Soviet communist party.
93
What was Détente?
It was a period of peace between the USA and USSR
94
Why did Détente happen?
MAD, the arms race was becoming expensive, the USA needed to end the Vietnam war and address social problems and the USSR had poor living standards and an economy that wasn't developing.
95
What does SALT stand for?
Strategic arms limitations treaty
96
What were the SALT 1 agreements?
The Antiballistic Missile Treaty, stating that ACBMs were allowed at only two sites with a maximum of 100 missiles, The Interim Treaty restricting the numbers of ICBMs and SLBMs and the Basic Principles Agreement laying down the rules for the conduct of nuclear warfare.
97
What was signed at SALT 2?
president Carter and Brezhnev signed a highly complex technical agreement
98
What were the problems SALT 2 faced?
The USA did not believe that the USSR could be trusted and Islamic militants captured the American embassy in Tehran, publically humiliating American diplomats and more than 60 were held hostage for 444 days.
99
What was the Apollo Soyuz mission?
IT was a joint space mission launched in which an American Apollo spacecraft and Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked high above the earth.
100
What were the three main issues at the Helsinki agreements?
security, cooperation and human rights
101
What was the One Kabul Revolution?
It was the revolution in Afghanistan in 1978, when the government was overthrown and the country became communist.
102
who led the One Kabul Revolution?
Mohammad Taraki who became an ally of the USSR
103
What did the government reforms in Afghanistan cause?
They caused civil war to break out between government and civil war fighters. President Taraki accepted Hafizulla as prime minister but they became bitter rivals.
104
What happened to Taraki?
He was assassinated by Amin's supporters (Amin was the former head of the army) and Amin clamed presidency of the country
105
Why did the Soviets invade Afghanistan?
They invaded because they were worried that other countries would become Islamic and have no reason to make alliances with the USSR and they thought that Amin was an American spy despite being communist.
106
What was the Carter doctrine?
It was a policy from president Carter which stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf.
107
What did Carter do in response to the invasion of Afghanistan?
He formed an alliance with China and Israel to support Afghan rebels, he then imposed economic sanctions stopping trade with the USSR and ended diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. He also withdrew his support for the SALT 2 agreement and finally led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
108
What were the main focuses of Reagan's evil empire speech?
The USSR is evil for having no religion, the USSR meant to start the arms race and he would rather die than be communist.
109
What did Reagan think about the cold war?
He wanted to win the cold war and thought that the USA should start fighting again. He thought that détente was a disaster that made the USSR look strong and the USA look weak and he argued that it was a fight between "good and evil" as the USA had God's blessing. What a twat.
110
What did Reagan do to boost forces spending?
He persuaded congress to increase spending on arms with an additional spend of 13% by 1982.
111
What was the Reagan Doctrine?
It was a strategy of the USA to provide aid to anti-Communist movements especially to overthrow communist governments.
112
Who became the new Soviet premier in 1985?
Mikhail Gorbachev serving from 1988 until the collapse of the USSR.
113
what was Gorbachev's main aim
To be communism's saviour
114
what did Gorbachev think about Reagan?
He thought that Reagan was "not just a class enemy, he is extremely primitive. He looks like a caveman and is mentally retarded."
115
What were Gorbachev's reforms?
His reforms were Perestroika which were economic reforms designed to make the soviet economy more efficient and Glasnost which meant that censorship of the press was relaxed.
116
What was significant about the Malta summit?
Both the USA and the USSR saw the meeting as the end of the cold war.
117
What led to the opening of the checkpoints on the Berlin wall?
A member of the East German government said that the checkpoints would be opened immediately.
118
how did people react to the opening of the checkpoints on the Berlin wall?
The guards were confused as they weren't informed about what had happened and many people were trying to get through. Eventually the chief guard allowed them to go through.
119
What happened after the fall of the berlin wall in Czechoslovakia?
The velvet revolution overthrows the communist government and Vaclav Havel is elected.
120
What happened after the fall of the berlin wall in Romania?
There were demonstrations against the communist government and the communist leader is overthrown and executed.
121
What happened after the fall of the berlin wall in Bulgaria?
Communist leader Mladenov resigns live on national television, then free elections are held the following year.
122
What removed Gorbachev from power?
A group of senior communist government officials known as the "gang of eight" organised a coup removing Gorbachev from power. This happened because people believed that Glasnost and Perestroika had weakened communism rather than strengthened it.
123
What did Gorbachev do when he returned to Moscow?
He introduced a new constitution due to Boris Yeltsin damaging Gorbachev's authority.
124
What caused the official end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?
Gorbachev's constitution was not accepting causing Gorbachev to officially announce the dissolution of the Soviet Union and his resignation as president on 25th December 1991

History (13 decks)

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