History-Cold War

Why did the wartime alliance break down (2 Main catagories)

Ideological differences

Wartime disagreements

Why did the wartime alliance break down (ideological differneces)

USA was capitalist

USSR was communist

The Americans feared communism as they believed it would lead to countries gettin poorer and property being taken away from the people

The soviets feared the Americans as they thought that they looked to exploit other countries for financial gain and that capitalsm oppressed the poeple

Soviets thought the Americans wree imperialist (with colonies) which meant they wanted to increase control over other countries to deepen their own pockets

Why did the wartime alliance break down (Wartime disagreements)

It appeared like the Grand LAliance was strong as the USA agreed to extend the lend-lease to the SU and they trusted each other enough to meet in Tehran in November 1943

However, during the meeting in Tehran Stalin didn't share his battleplans and Chruchill did not share his knowledge of the enigma codes. FUrthermroe the sialors who rought supplies into the USSR were nto allowed to move freely showign their distrust in their allies

What was the Lend-Lease programme

From 1941, the USA lent, leased and sold military equiptment to countries fighting Germant, Italy or Japan

When was the Yalta Conference

Feb 1945 (During WW2)

Who met at Yalta

Winston Churchill

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Joseph Stalin

How did Yalta show that there were tensions between the big three (Churchill)

Tension with Stalin was high

Saw Britain's interests as being best served with the US

Anti-communist

Tension over poland

How did Yalta show that there were tensions between the big three (Roosevelt)

Tesnion over Poland, USA and Britain wanted it ot be Capitalist. Old polish Gov wanted to return

How did Yalta show that there were tensions between the big three (Stalin)

Stalin opposed Poland becomin capitalist- wanted a communist gov

Wanted all of Eastern Europe

Built a good relationship with other two despite his ideological differences

What was decided at Yalta

Germany and Berlin were divided into 4 zones (USA,France,Britain,USSR)

Liberated countries of West&Central europe (could hold free elections)

The UN would be formed to ensure future international co-opperation

What document was signed at Yalta

The declaration of Liberated Europe

When was the Potsdam Conference?

July-August 1945

How has the big three changed (Roosevelt-->)

Roosevelt--> Truman

Roosevelt wants to be cclose with RUssia, friendly with stalin

Truman unfriendly with Stalin

Truman kept the fact he had an atomic bomb to himself and Attlee not stalin- so he negotiated powerfully and confidently

Both wanted European countries to be run by their own Gov- Self determination

How has the big three changed (Churchill-->)

Churchill-Attlee

Both concerned by the USSR's expansion into Eastern Europe

Both wanted to be close iwth USA

Attlee more focused on developing England post war

How did Potsdam show that the Grand Alliance had broken down?

Stalin wanted Germany to pay reparation to the USSR but Truman and Attlee opposed this

Attlee and Truman both wanted self determination for hte European countries, Stalin wanted them to be communist, and Puppet gov's to the USSR

Truman held back his knowledge of the atomic bomb from Stalin proving their poor relationship

Who gained the most from the Potsdam Conference (opinion)

Russia as they gained some territory from Poland and Stalin while the rest only gained small amounts of Germany as previously discussed in Yalta. Moved Poland to the left to keep the Soviets happy as it gave them more land

When and where was the 1st atomic bomb dropped, nickname?

Little boy

Dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 on the 6th August 1945

How many people died instantly from Little Boy and from Fat man

70k (little boy, hiroshima)

40k (Fat Man,Nagasaki)

When was the second atomic bomb dropped and where

August 9th 1945 Nagasaki

How might the USA and the USSR report the bombing of Hiroshima differently? (USA view)

USA- May believe that it was necessary to end WW2 despite the human cost. Intimidated Soviets, stops the Russians from getting involved in Japan

How might the USA and the USSR report the bombing of Hiroshima differently? (USSR view)

URRS- May focus on the high human cost and may be worried that the USA has a WoMD that could instantly wipe out a whole city, posing a threat to the USSR

How did the Bombing of Hiroshima affect the relationship between the US and the USSR?

Who held the Power?

The power dynamic shifted with the USA holding power of the USSR and Britain.

Relationships turned sour while the USSR rushed to try to produce an atomic bomb. While tTruman wanted to stop Stalin's expansion into Eastern Europe and wanted USSR to not havve an atomic bomb.

Leading to distrust worsening their relationship

What alarmed politicians in the West about the situation in Europe past 1945

Worried about the spread of the Russian influence in Europe

Churchill in hisi vitis to the US, March 1945, was worreid that the gov and country leaders were subject to the influence of the USSR and their ideology

What did churchill anounce as the result of the worry of the spread of Russian influence,

That an 'iron curtain' would be descended across Europe separating Eastern from Western Europe to make sure Stalin wouldn't expand his influence any further.

March 5th 1946

When did Churchill anounce the 'iron curtain'

March 5th 1946

When was the Long Telegram sent

22nd February 1946

What did the Long Telegram say?

It outlined Keenan's fears of Soviet amnitions. He believed that the USSR wished to spread their influence and saw the US as the enemy.

Believed any kind of attempted co-operation between the East and West was doomed to fail

Who wrote the Long Telegram

George Kennan

How many words was in the long telegram

8000

Who was George Keenan

The second in command at the embassy in Russia

Why would the Churchill's Iron Curtain speech impact relations between the superpowers?

Stalin saw the speech as a deliberate and unfair attempt to paint the USSR in an aggressive an untrustworthy light

Stalin believed Churchill was working with the USA to affect how the world percieved the SU

Stalin agrued that the speech deliberatly misunderstood the Soviets actions in Eastern Europe

Souring relationships

What were salami tactics from the soviets

To remove leaders from puppet governments with people that the soviets supported which was then repeated

What countries were in the Eastern Bloc

Soviet Union (USSR)

East Germany

Poland

Czechoslovakia

Hungary

Bulgaria

What was Cominform

It was an orginisatino set up to co-ordinate the work of the COmmunist parties of eastern europe.

It regularly brought the leaders of each COmmunist party to Moscow to be brieft by Stalin and his miniters.

Allowed Stalin to keep a close eye on them.

When was Cominform set up

October 1947

What was the event that lead to Yugoslavia becoming independent of soviet control

In 1948 Tito was expelled from Cominform for his hostility

What countey did the REd army get up to before the Iron Curtain was put down

Czechoslovakia, in 1948 it was the LAst eastern Block nation to be taken over by the soviets

When was the Truman Doctrine

March 12th 1947

What did the Truman Doctrine say

That the USA would help primarily through economic and financial aid, BUT did NOT rule out MILITARY INTERVENTION

How did the Truman Doctrine (March 1947) mark a shift from isolationism to an interventionist foreign policy?

It formally ended the US policy of staying out of foreign affairs (isolationism) by committing the US to actively intervene worldwide with financial, economic, and military support to contain communism.

What was the first real-world application of the US interventionist foreign policy in 1947?

Providing $400 million in economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent communist takeovers after Great Britain announced it could no longer afford to support them.

What was the Novikov Telegram sent

September 1946

What did the Novikov Telegram say

Argued that the USA were imperialist and wanted to dominate the world

Argued that the USSR needed Eastern Europe as a buffer zone

Who send the Novikov telegram and from where

The Soviet Ambassador in America

Why was the MArshall Plan introduced?

TO prevent European governments from turning to Communism, as if the USA could help them recover economically, provide employment and reasonable prosperity there would be no need to turn to communism

When was the Marshall Plan introduced?

June 1947

What was the official name of the Marshall Plan, who created it, and when was it announced?

The European Recovery Program (ERP), announced by US Secretary of State George C. Marshall in June 1947.

What was the primary political motive behind the Marshall Plan?

Containment of Communism. The US believed poverty, unemployment, and destruction left after WWII created fertile ground for communism to spread (especially in vulnerable Western nations like France and Italy).

What was the economic motive for the United States to fund the Marshall Plan?

To rebuild Western European economies so they could buy American goods and machinery, securing foreign markets and preventing a post-WWII economic depression in the US.

How much financial aid did the Marshall Plan provide, and which countries received the largest amounts?

$17 Billion to European Countries

UK,France,West Germany

Why did Stalin label the Marshall Plan as "Dollar Imperialism"?

He believed the US was using its vast financial wealth to bribe European countries, making them economically dependent on America and creating an anti-Soviet bloc.

How did Stalin prevent Eastern Bloc countries from participating in the Marshall Plan?

He forbade all satellite states from applying for or accepting US funds, physically forcing countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland to withdraw their applications.

What two key organizations did Stalin create in direct response to the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine?

Cominform (1947): Coordinated political control and propaganda across communist parties in Europe.

Comecon (1949): A Soviet-led economic trade union created to offer an alternative to Marshall Aid in Eastern Europe. Trade with the west banned. SU sells goods to EE at a high rate and buys their goods cheaply

Example of EE countries selling their goods to SU for cheap

Poland sells it coal at 1/10 of the price to the Soviets