WW2 Flashcards
(30 cards)
What was the purpose and outcome of the Bretton Woods Conference (1944)?
Created a new international monetary system after WWII.
Aimed to promote global economic stability and prevent future crises.
Led to the creation of the IMF (for exchange rate monitoring and lending) and the World Bank (for development loans).
What was the Bretton Woods exchange rate system and what happened to it?
Established fixed exchange rates: currencies pegged to the US dollar, and the dollar pegged to gold ($35/oz).
Collapsed in 1971 due to US inflation and the end of dollar-gold convertibility.
Despite its collapse, it laid the groundwork for today’s global financial institutions.
What was the League of Nations perceived as after WW1?
A European debating club
It did not become an interdependency forum.
What was the single cause of the rejection of Lenin and Wilson’s dreams?
Nationalism
What did France and Great Britain want after WW1?
To return to the 19th century
Define Particularist in the context of post WW1.
You don’t care about the rest of the world, you want what’s best for yourself.
What were the main interests of the US after WW1?
Economic development and the western hemisphere
How was WW1 viewed by the US?
As a mistake and intervention as a failure
What economic condition did the US suffer in the 1930s?
Economic depression
What did FDR focus on during the 1930s?
Economic depression and the gold standard
What happened to Lenin after his death?
Trotsky was defeated
What were Stalin’s Five-Year Plans focused on?
An industrialized base needed for national defense
What began to emerge under Stalin’s rule?
Paranoia and a police state
What was the consequence of Stalin’s grain tax and collective farming?
Millions died of starvation
What war did Japan engage in that is mentioned in the context?
Sino-Japanese war
What was a notable failure associated with Germany post WW1?
Failure of Versailles
What significant event occurred in 1939 related to Germany?
Germany invades Poland
What agreement did the Soviet Union sign related to WWII?
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
When did the US and Soviet Union enter the Second World War?
1941
What battle in 1943 changed the tide of the war?
Stalingrad
What did Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agree upon at their meeting?
To establish a balance of power in Europe
What was Churchill’s view regarding powerful countries in Europe?
They could be used to oppose the Soviet Union
What did Roosevelt oppose regarding European power after the war?
Leaving one powerful country, the USSR
What was clear to both sides by 1944-45 regarding the war?
It would be won and the US and USSR would be the most powerful nations
