1941-58; the origins of the Cold War

When, and what happened at the Potsdam conference?

July 17 - August 2 1945-

• Who: Allied leaders - Harry S. Truman (USA), Clement Attlee (UK), Joseph Stalin (USSR)

• What: Conference to discuss post-World War II Europe and the administration of Germany

• Where: Potsdam, Germany

• Why: To decide on the post-war order, including the division of Germany and the handling of defeated Nazi Germany

AGREEMENTS	DISAGREEMENTS
Nazi Party banned and criminals put on trial	Stalin demanded harsh reparations from Germany - the West wanted to help rebuilt it
Germany would be divided into 4, as well as Berlin	America had the atomic bomb- Russia didn’t
	Attlee and Truman were angry that Stalin had set up a communist government in Poland
	Not united by a common enemy

When did Churchill deliver his famous 'Iron Curtain' Speech?

March 1946

Who wrote the Long Telegram, and when?

George Kennan (US ambassador to the USSR) on the 22nd February 1946

What did the Long Telegram contain?

It described the USSR's intentions as hostile and malicious, it suggested that the USA should spread their own ideologies in defence so that they could 'give the would their guidance'.

This lead to a policy of containment.

Who wrote the Novikov telegram, and when?

Nikolai Novikov (Soviet ambassador to the USA) on 27th September 1946

What did the Novikov telegram contain?

Novikov sent the telegram from the Soviet embassy in Washington DC, arguing that America was intent of taking control of the world- he wrote that 'US foreign policy has been characterised by a desire for world domination'

In response, Novikov suggested that the Soviet Union should spread communism in response, as well as developing their own atomic bomb

Stain responded by expanding his influence by spreading communism and increasing weapons spending

What were Stalin's steps in taking over Eastern Europe?

1. Poland
2. Romania & Bulgaria
3. Hungary
4. Czechoslovakia

The red army didn't leave after wwii

Soviet takeover of Poland

5th July 1945- the West admit defeat in Poland by recognising the Communist government

January 1947- Communist power is strengthened when rigged elections ensure that a communist government is in charge of Poland

Soviet takeover of Hungary

November 1945- free elections take place, a non-communist party wins

August 1947- rigged elections take place and an exclusively communist government takeover

November 1947- all communist parties are banned

Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia

1946- free elections, communists win 38% of the vote

mid-1947- economic crisis sweeps over and the communists fear that they won't win the election

armed forces ensured communists did take over, 1948

What and when was the Truman Doctrine?

12th March 1947 -

American congress pledges $400 million to Greece and Turkey to aid them in their fight against communism. They also promised military advisors, soldiers, and supplies

What and when was the Marshall Plan?

December 1947 -
US Secretary of State George Marshall recognised a greater popularity of communism in countries with economic issues.

Between 1948 and 1952, the Marshall plan gave $12.7 billion to countries in Europe

What did Stalin introduce as a response to the Marshall plan?

22th September 1947 -Cominform (inform)

It had 9 members and its purpose was to spread Stalin's ideas and communism, members were encouraged to trade with other Cominform members, and contact with non-members was discouraged

What did Stalin introduce 2 years after the Marshall plan?

25th January 1949 -Comecon (economy)

Stalin's alternative to Marshall aid so that communist countries would remain loyal to communism and the Soviet Union. The main activities were:
1>> arranging trade and credit agreements between
members
2>> (after 1953) organising industrial planning across
satellite states
3>> 5 year plan for nationalised industry and
collectivised agriculture

When, and what happened at the Tehran conference?

28th November - 1st December 1943

• Who: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin

• What: Allied leaders met to discuss strategy during WWII

• Where: Tehran, Iran

• Why: To coordinate military efforts and plan the opening of a second front in Europe

  
  LAND- Poland to be given more land from Germany, but lose some to the USSR
  OCCUPATION- Defeated nations would be divided into 'zones of occupation' between the 4 victorious nations (UK, USSR, USA, France)
  ORGANISATION- There were discussions of a post war peacekeeping organisation, the UN
  SECOND FRONT- Western allies would open a second front in Europe, it would happen in spring 1944

When, and what happened at the Yalta conference?

4th - 11th February 1945

• Who: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin

• What: Allied leaders met to discuss post-World War II Europe

• Where: Yalta, Crimea, Soviet Union

• Why: To plan the reorganization of Europe after the war

AGREEMENTS	DISAGREEMENTS
A sphere of influence in Eastern Europe would allow Stalin to have a buffer zone	West wanted to recover Germany, East wanted to keep Germany weak
They would all join the newly established UN	Stalin wanted a 'friendly government' in Poland, with capitalist and communist leaders, the West wanted free elections
Discussions began about dividing Berlin/Germany
Free elections would be held in countries liberated from Nazi rule
Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan

When did the UN meet for the first time?

April 1945

When was the atomic bomb created?

July 1945

When was the atomic bomb dropped?

August 1945

What policy change did the Truman doctrine and Marshall plan lead to?

From a policy of ISOLATIONSIM to INTERVENTIONISM

When was the Berlin crisis?

June 1948 - May 1949

Who made up the Grand Alliance?

Churchill - UK
Stalin - USSR
Roosevelt - USA

When was the atomic bomb first successfully tested?

16th July 1945-
Truman told Stalin at Potsdam but he's furious he wasn't told earlier

Changed between Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945

Roosevelt -April 1945- >>Truman
Churchill ->> Attlee

-Stalin sets up a communist government in Poland, against the wishes of the West and the Polish people
-The West has demilitarised but Stalin's red army remains the biggest in the world
-Truman is much less trusting of Stalin than Roosevelt was

What was a satellite state?

They had their own governments, but their leaders were controlled by the Soviet Union.

Stalin's reaction to the Marshall plan?

Money was offered to Satellite states, but Stalin refused

What did the British and Americans do in West Germany?

1. Introduced the Deutschemark - 20th June 1948

2. Sent Marshall aid to Germany

3. 1947 - British and American zones form to become Bizonia, 1948 - French zone joins to become Trizonia

Why did Western aid to West Germany/Berlin worry Stalin?

It was becoming self-dependent, with economic prosperity and the support of 3 countries, to Stalin, they were ganging up on him

Stalin was worried that a non-communist government in the Soviet zone would increase the risk of another German attack

What did Stalin in June 1948?

24th June 1948- Stain blocked all routes in and out of Berlin, cutting of supplies to 2 million people living in West Berlin - this was known as the BERLIN BLOCKADE

What, and when, was Operation Vittles?

June 1948- the Western allies launched Operation Vittles (the Berlin Airlift)

They flew supplies into Western Berlin through air corridors, but they were never 100% sure that Stalin wouldn't shoot them down
The people of Berlin and troops joined forces to build airports and runways

When did the Soviets lift the Berlin Blockade?

9 May 1949

How often did planes land at the height of the Berlin Airlift?

At the height of the Berlin Airlift, a plane landed at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport every minute

What was formed 3 days after the Berlin Blockade?

23rd May 1949 - Britain, France and the USA announced the unification of their zones to become the Federal Republic of Germany, known as West Germany

14th August 1949 - Germans in this new country elect their own parliament called the Bundestag

What, and when, did Stalin create in response the the Federal Republic of Germany?

October 1949- Stalin created the German Democratic Republic (GDR), known as East Germany, but only communist nations recognised it as a nation

What organisation was created after the Berlin Crisis?

April 1949 - NATO is formed between 12 Western nations

When did the Federal Republic of Germany join NATO?

6th May 1955

What did Stalin create within a week of the Federal Republic of Germany joining NATO?

14th May 1955- the Warsaw pact was formed, made up of countries in the Eastern bloc

When were the first atomic bomb dropped?

6th August 1945- Hiroshima
9th August 1945- Nagasaki

When did the Soviets explode their first A-Bomb?

29th August 1949

When did the USA and USSR drop their own Hydrogen bombs (1000x more powerful than A-bomb)?

1st November 1952 - USA H-bomb
20th August 1953 - USSR H-bomb

When was the first Intercontinental ballistic missile made? (could carry H-bomb 4,500km)

11th June 1957

When did the USSR test their first successful ICBM?

21st August 1957

What was the MAD theory?

Mutually Assured Destruction - during the cold war both super powers had enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other.

acted as a deterrent because neither side would act first

When was sputnik launched?

October 1957

When did America launch their first satellite?

31st January 1958- Explorer I

When was Yuri Gagarin the first man in space?

April 1961

When did Niel Armstrong land on the moon, with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins?

20th July 1969- Apollo II

When did Jospeh Stalin die?

March 1953 (same year as Truman's political defeat)

Who took over from Truman? When?

Eisenhower- 1953

What process did Nikita Khrushchev introduce?

de-Stalinisation -- Statues/pictures of Stalin were removed, the secret police's role was reduced

When was the Hungarian Uprising?

October-November 1956

Who was Hungary's leader, what tactics did he use?

Matya Rakosi - 'Stalin's best pupil'- adopted salami tactics

What was Hungary like under Rakosi?

-he had killed around 2,000 people who had opposed him
-no freedom of speech or religion
-couldn't trade with the West so had to rely on out of date goods from the USSR

When did Hungarian students begin demonstrations in Budapest? Why now?

October 1956- they demanded free elections, freedom of press, the removal of Soviet troops. They believed that Khrushchev would be less harsh than Stalin was

Why did the USA look weak after the Hungarian uprising in 1956?

The US pledged that 'you can count on us', but Eisenhower didn't want to fully commit

What was Khrushchev's secret speech?

February 1956- Khrushchev, made a speech to leading communists at a closed meeting, denouncing many of Stalin's crimes and human rights abuses and outlined his de-Stalinisation policy - that is that he would be less hard-line than Stalin had been and would use diplomacy, not force, in his dealings with other governments. This encouraged people in the Eastern Bloc to think that greater freedoms might be possible.

When does Imre Nagy become prime minister of Hungary? What reforms did he bring in?

October 1956- he brought in freedom of speech and press, free elections, and trading with the West

When did Nagy announce that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact?

1st November 1956

When did the USSR invade Hungary?

4th November 1956
- 200,000 Soviet troops
- 6,000 tanks

Nagy called for help from Western powers, why did they not aid Hungary against Soviet invasion?

They didn't want to start a war

The aim was to stop the spread of communism, not intervene with existing communist states

Attention was on the trouble in the Suez canal- world attention was diverted from Hungary

How long did it take the Soviets to crush the Hungarian rebellion after they invaded? How many Hungarian were killed or fled?

2 weeks for the Soviets to put down the rebellion

20,000 are killed

200,000 fled

What happened to Imre Nagy?

He was executed

who replaced Imre Nagy?

Janos Kadar - a hardline communist

What were the consequences of the Hungarian uprising?

Khrushchev had greater control of Warsaw pact countries and felt more confident dealing the USA as he knew that they wouldn't interfere- the USA looked weak