The Iron Curtain and the evolution of East-West rivalry Flashcards
(30 cards)
How did the Soviets expand in Eastern Europe?
- the Red Army already occupied the land that they had taken from the Nazis, including Poland Hungary and Yugoslavia
- Communist was popular in Eastern Europe
- the Soviets made it very difficult for non-communists to gain power in these countries by rigging elections and arresting and executing opponents
How did the West respond to Soviet expansion?
- The Long Telegram
- Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
What was The Long Telegram?
- 22nd February 1946
- second in command at the US embassy in Moscow, George Kennan sent a report back to the USA on developments in the USSR
What was the impact of The Long Telegram?
It confirmed Truman’s fears and had a large influence on his future approach towards the USSR.
What did Churchill say in his Iron Curtain speech?
- the USSR was attempting to spread its influence across Europe and increase its power
- an invisible line had split Europe on two between the East and West which he called the Iron Curtain
What did Kennan say in The Long Telegram?
- he believed the Soviets wanted to spread their influence as widely as possible
- the USSR saw the USA as its enemy
- any attempt at cooperation between the USA and the USSR would fail
What was Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech?
- 6th March 1949
- during a visit to the USA
- Churchill made a speech about the sitiuation in Europe
- as Britains former prime minister and wartime leader, his views were to be taken serious
What was the impact of Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech?
The term “Iron Curtain” was widely used for the remainder of the Cold War.
Truman respected and shared Churchill’s view and was at his side during the speech.
The speech was viewed as a deliberate misrepresentation of the USSR’s aims in Moscow
When was the Truman Doctrine made?
March, 1947
What was the Truman Doctrine?
It refers to the American policy towards communism after WW2.
Truman outlined the policy in a speech to Congress.
What did the Truman Doctrine say?
- Communism posed a serious threat to the USA and the rest of the world
- the USA would support any country that was under threat from communism
- the focus must be in “containing communism” - keeping it within countries where it was already established
What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan?
- aid economic recovery in Europe in order to prevent people from turning to communism
- to support the containment of communism within Eastern-Europe
- to create a market for American goods in order to build up the American economy
What was the Marshall Plan?
- aid was given to the countries that were willing to accept aid
- aid was offered to all the countries in Europe, east and west
- aid was supplied in the form of money or resources (eg. machinery). all resources had to be bought from American suppliers
How much money was divided among the countries that were willing to accept the Marshall Aid?
$13.15 billion
What were the results of the Marshall Plan?
- Marshall aid was vital for the recovery of Western Europe as it allowed economies to be rebuilt and the standard of living to rise
- the American economy also benefited
- it demonstrated that the USA was committed to involvement just Europe for the long term
- communism became less popular in Western Europe
- the division between East and West became even more firmly established as Stalin forbade countries from behind the Iron Curtain from accepting aid
What was Stalin’s response to the Truman Doctrine?
- saw it as a direct threat to communism
- he created the Cominform to ensure unity in Eastern Europe
- all Cominform member countries would meet regularly in Moscow to ensure that they were all following the same policies
What was Stalin’s response to the Marshall Plan?
- saw it as an example of dollar imperialism (thought the USA gained power over the countries that accepted their aid and was fearful that they would use their power for world domination)
- made it clear that Eastern-European countries should not accept any aid from the USA
- created Comecon
What was Comecon?
- a Soviet alternative to Marshall Aid
- countries who signed up for it were agreeing to work together and share resources in what was officially a union of equal partners
- in reality all decisions were made in Moscow
Why was the relationship between Stalin and Tito (Yugoslavian leader) worsening?
- Tito was unwilling to follow Stalin’s instructions and saw Yugoslavia as an independent country
- Tito accepted Marshal Aid in 1948
- from this point on, Yugoslavias position was unique: a communist country that was not behind the Iron Curtain
Why did Tito have no particular loyalty to Stalin?
Yugoslavia did not owe its freedom from the Nazis to the Red Army.
What were the causes for the Berlin Blockade?
- the Western Allies were keen for Germany to be rebuilt and unified, but Stalin opposed this as he saw Germany as a potential threat
- tri-zonia & bi-zonia: March 1948, the Western Allies agreed to unify their sectors of Germany and Berlin and to introduce a new currency
- the USSR’s ultimate aim was for the withdrawal of alll Western officials from Berlin
What was the ‘mini-blockade’ and when was it?
From April 1948 it began and it included:
- blocking military supply routes
- traffic restrictions
- closing bridges for ‘maintenance’
When did Stalin launch a full blockade?
24th June 1948
What did the full blockade include?
- transport links into West Berlin were blocked
- no food, fuel or medical supplies could reach people in the non-Soviet part of the city
- electricity supplied from within the Soviet sectors was cut