The Origins of the Cold War (1941-1958)

Question 1

Which countries were in the Grand Alliance?

Answer 1

The USA, USSR (Soviet Union) and the UK

They were known as the big three

Question 2

Who were the leaders of the big three at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences?

Answer 2

Joseph Stalin (USSR)
Franklin Roosevelt (USA)
Winston Churchill (UK)

Question 3

Who were the leaders of the big three at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 3

Joseph Stalin (USSR)
Harry Truman (USA)
Clement Attlee (UK)

Question 4

What date was the Tehran conference?

Answer 4

1943

Question 5

What was agreed on at the Tehran conference?

Answer 5

The USSR would join the war against Japan when Germany was defeated.
That Germany needed to defeated and weakened after the war.
That Poland would receive land from Germany
That an international body would be set up after the war

Question 6

What was disagreed about at the Tehran conference?

Answer 6

The location of the second front. Churchill wanted to invade the Balkans to protect Eastern Europe from the USSR after the war. Stalin and Roosevelt wanted to attack through France.

Question 7

When was the Yalta conference?

Answer 7

February 1945

Question 8

What was agreed on at the Yalta conference?

Answer 8

To divide Berlin and Germany into 4 zones
To punish Nazi war criminals
To allow free elections in countries liberated from Nazi control
To set up the United Nations

Question 9

What was disagreed on at Yalta?

Answer 9

Stalin wanted a much higher amount of reparations from Germany
Stalin wanted the Polish border to be further West and to be able to put a friendly government in charge (one he could control)

Question 10

When was the Potsdam conference?

Answer 10

May 1945 (after Germany had surrendered)

Question 11

What was agreed on at Potsdam?

Answer 11

That Germany would pay reparations with equipment and materials
That the Polish border would be moved further West
That Germany and Berlin would be split into 4 zones
That Germany would be ‘De-Nazified’

Question 12

What was disagreed on at Potsdam?

Answer 12

Stalin wanted to weaken Germany through high reparations, Truman (USA) wanted a strong Germany to help defend Europe from the USSR.
The UK and USA wanted free elections in all Eastern European countries occupied by the USSR, the Soviet Union did not.

Question 13

What caused tension between the USA and USSR between Yalta and Potsdam?

Answer 13

Truman replaced Roosevelt and was far more anti-communist.

The USA had tested the Atomic Bomb which Stalin thought had been done to try and threaten the USSR.

Question 14

What was the name of the speech made by Winston Churchill in 1946?

Answer 14

The Iron Curtain speech

Question 15

What was the message of the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 15

That Europe had been divided in two by the actions of the Soviet Union

Question 16

How did Stalin react to the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 16

He believed it was a declaration war and the start of a struggle between communism and capitalism

Question 17

What was the name of the countries whose governments were controlled by the USSR?

Answer 17

The satellite states

Question 18

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Answer 18

The policy of ‘containment’ where the USA would provide countries threatened by communism with aid.
This could be money, weapons or soldiers.

Question 19

What was the Marshal Plan?

Answer 19

$15 billion in loans given to rebuild Europe after WW2.

The USA believed that poorer countries were more likely to become communist.

Question 20

How did Stalin react to the Marshal Plan?

Answer 20

He felt threatened and called it dollar imperialism. He ordered the satellite states not to accept any of the money.

Question 21

What was COMECON?

Answer 21

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

An organisation that helped to organise trade and economic cooperation in Eastern Europe and the USSR

Question 22

What was COMINFORM?

Answer 22

The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers’ Parties
A organisation that coordinated the Communist Parties across Europe. It helped to control the satellite states and Stalin hoped it would cause disruption in Western Europe.

Question 23

What caused the first Berlin crisis (1948)?

Answer 23

Stalin blocked road and rail access to Berlin stopping supplies from reaching the city, he hoped this would force the USA to leave. This was called the Berlin Blockade.

Question 24

How did the USA solve the Berlin blockade?

Answer 24

By flying supplies into Berlin in what became known as the Berlin Airlift. By 1949 they were transporting 12,000 tonnes of supplies into Berlin 3 times more than Berlin needed.

Question 25

What was the result of the Berlin crisis?

Answer 25

By 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade as he realised he was unable to starve the city into submission.
The USA looked strong because it had protected Berlin.

Question 26

Why could the USSR not shoot down the planes taking supplies into Berlin?

Answer 26

Because it could start a war and they did not have an atomic bomb.
Truman moved B25 bombers (that could carry an atomic bomb) to Britain to threaten the USSR.

Question 27

What was the arms race?

Answer 27

Competition between the USA and USSR to build the most powerful weapons.
This included atomic, hydrogen and later nuclear bombs and missiles

Question 28

What does MAD stand for and mean?

Answer 28

Mutually Assured Destruction

The idea that both sides during the Cold War had the ability to destroy each other in the event of a nuclear war.

Question 29

What was NATO?

Answer 29

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

A military alliance created to defend Europe from the USSR

Question 30

What was the Warsaw Pact?

Answer 30

A military alliance between the USSR and Eastern Europe to defend themselves from NATO.

Question 31

When was the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 31

1956

Question 32

Why was the USSR and communism unpopular in Hungary?

Answer 32

They had been forced to pay $300 million in reparations
In 1947 any opposition politicians had been arrested
The communist leader Rakosi used terror and brutality to control the country (1948-53 2,000 people were killed and 200,000 put in prison)

Question 33

Who was Imre Nagy?

Answer 33

A moderate politician who replaced Rakosi in 1953. Khrushchev ordered Rakosi to replace him in 1955

Question 34

What happened in the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 34

Hungarians began to protest about their lack of political freedom, food shortages and fuel shortages.
There were riots in Budapest
Stalins statue was pulled down and dragged through the streets.

Question 35

How did Khrushchev respond to the rioting in 1956?

Answer 35

He ordered Nagy be reinstated as leader of Hungary

Question 36

What did Nagy want to change in Hungary when he was reappointed as leader?

Answer 36

Free trade with Western Europe
Freedom of speech
Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact

Question 37

How did Khrushchev react to the changes proposed by Nagy?

Answer 37

He sent 200,000 troops and 600 tanks into Hungary to crush the uprising.
Fighting lasted until 1947 and 20,000 Hungarians were killed in the fighting.

Question 38

What were the consequences of the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 38

Nagy was executed.
200,000 people fled as political refugees
Other satellite states would be intimidated and remain in the Warsaw Pact and under Soviet control

Question 39

How did the USA appear because of the Hungarian Uprising?

Answer 39

Weak because they failed to help Hungary to resist against the attack by the USSR.