Superpower relations History GCSE

What is the grand alliance?

* A group of countries who had fought together against Germany in the second world war.


* The grand alliance won the war against Germany, despite being alliances they had ideological differences.

Which countries were involved in the Grand Alliances

the Soviet Union

Britain

the USA

Why were the grand alliance a group?

To try and defeat a common enemy in the second world war

When was the grand alliance created, when did the grand alliance finish ?

1941 and 1945

What is a ‘cold war’

Each of the two ‘superpowers’ used propaganda, spying and the threat of war to try to force its views on the other.

Military alliances were formed and huge arsenals of conventional and nuclear weapons were developed.

Fortunately, those weapons were never used in any direct fighting between the superpowers themselves.

What were the relationships between the east and the west like before the war?

At the start of the war, the relations between the Soviet Union and the West had been poor and there was little trust between them.

That lack of trust can be explained by looking at the different sets of beliefs they had and the way that they had treated each other since the dramatic year 1917 when first the tsar was overthrown, and then a communist government was set up in Russia.

what were the political differences between the soviet union and the west

The soviet union had a single-party rule

The west has Free elections with a choice of parties to vote for

what are the social structure differences between the soviet union and the west

the soviet union has a classless society, everyone is equal

the west has people with power, such as family background, wealth, education or even just achievements

what are the economical differences between the soviet union and the west

in the soviet union all property is owned by the state, with no individual ownership

in the west they have private ownership and competition between businesses

what are the differences with the peoples rights between the soviet union and the west

in the soviet union rights of all workers are more important than individual rights

in the west individual freedoms valued but limited by majority opinion

why was there tensions between the soviet union and the west before world war 2

In the First World War (1914–18) Russia (Soviet Union) fought on the same side as Britain and France and the USA.

However, in **October 1917** there was a **revolution in Russia and a Bolshevik (later called communist)** government took over.

The **Bolsheviks faced opposition to their rule within Russia**. They could not fight both civil wars within their own country and war against Germany and its allies all at the same time. So they made a peace treaty with Germany and dropped out of the First World War.

Britain, France and the USA were furious that Russia had made peace with Germany and also **disapproved of the Bolsheviks’ political beliefs**. So they sent forces to Russia to support the Bolshevik opponents. **They wanted to defeat the Bolsheviks** and get Russia back into the war. T**hey failed on both counts**.

Allied forces returned home, but the **Bolsheviks were left in no doubt that the West wanted to see them overthrown.**

During the second world war, what were the tensions like ?

Churchill and Roosevelt **feared** that Stalin wanted to install **communism** in the Eastern European countries that Germany had conquered.

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Stalin **feared** that Churchill and Roosevelt wanted to see Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fight a long war, destroying the resources of both countries and making them both **weak** after the war.

Stalin saw this as the reason why Britain and the USA had delayed the opening of a second front until **1944**. This was needed to take the pressure off the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Stalin believed that the delay was deliberate so that the Soviet Union would be made **weaker** by having to fight the Germans on its own.

What happened with the Grand Alliance straight after world war 2

After the defeat of Germany, the Western Allies continued to fight together against Japan.

**In August 1945, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.** They had kept the news of these developments secret from Stalin until the very last moment.

He was worried that this was done because the Americans might be thinking of using such bombs against the Soviet Union in the future.

What type of bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945

Atomic bombs

Where was the first atomic bomb dropped in japan

Hiroshima

When was the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan

8;15 AM, August 6, **1945**

Where was the second atomic bomb dropped in Japan

Nagasaki

When was the second atomic bomb dropped in japan

11:02 AM, August 9, **1945**.

How many Japanese citizens were killed by the two atomic bombs

It is estimated that over 120,000 Japanese civilians were killed by the two bombs.

Who are the big 3

Churchill (England)

Roosevelt (America)

Stalin (USSR)

Why are the ‘big 3’ the ‘big 3’

Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin are often referred to as ‘the Big Three’, since it was their beliefs and ambitions that dominated world politics from 1941 until Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

What were the tensions like between the big 3 after the second world war

So, once the war came to an end, it was clear that relations between the three countries were likely to become strained. The ideological differences and loss of trust between them meant it was almost impossible to agree on how post-war Europe should be governed.

Who is ‘Roosevelt’

Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the president of the USA from 1933-1945

What did ‘Roosevelt’ believe (politics)

He believed strongly in democracy but compromised and formed an alliance with Stalin.

Why did ‘Roosevelt’ form an alliance with Stalin

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Roosevelt thought he would need Soviet support against Japan.

He wished for the soviet's support.

Roosevelt believed any long-term settlement would only be possible if the Soviet Union was accepted as a superpower and partner in peace.

Who is ‘Churchill’

Winston Churchill was the prime minister of Britain from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955

What did Churchill believe (politics)

Churchill was a conservative

He believed strongly in the British Empire

In stopping the soviet (communist) expansion

who was ‘stalin’

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the soviet union 1920s-1953

What did Stalin believe

A communist government

The west wanted to destroy communism

Keeping Germany weak

Creating a buffer zone between the soviet and the west

What caused the Tehran conference

A conference was held to discuss

* what would happen to Germany?
* Any countries that had been conquered by Germany and how they would be liberated.

EU politics after the second world war

When was the Tehran conference

Nov 1943

Who attended the Tehran conference ?

Churchill (Britain)

Roosevelt ( USA)

Stalin (USSR)

What was agreed at the Tehran conference

* The USA and Britain would open a **‘second front’** by launching an attack on Germany in Western Europe. This would ease pressure on the Eastern Front, where the Soviets were suffering heavy losses.
* Stalin would declare **war against Japan** and supply Soviet troops to help the USA with the war against the Japanese – but only once the war in Europe was over.
* The Big Three also discussed what would happen to Germany and the countries east of Germany after the war. There was no formal agreement, but it was agreed in general that the aim was **Germany should remain weak** after the war.
* It was also agreed that **Poland should receive land from Germany,** but the Soviet Union could keep the land it had seized from Poland in 1939. This was very important to Stalin, whose ultimate aim was to secure his western border after the war.
* There was a general agreement that an international body should be set up to settle disputes through discussion and negotiation, rather than war. This **laid the ground for the future creation of the United Nations.**

How did the Tehran conference impact the relations between Stalin and the west

Stalin had arrived in Tehran concerned that the USA and Britain were deliberately delaying a second front against Germany. So, he was pleased with the agreement to open a front in the West.

Churchill was less pleased because he had wanted to open the second front in the Balkans, not in the West.

However, Roosevelt sided with Stalin on this.

How did the Tehran conference effect relations between USA and Britain

There was some tension between the USA and Britain – especially as Roosevelt seemed at times to view British colonialism as more of a threat to world peace than the Soviet Union.

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How did Tehran effect relations between the Soviet Union and USA

It seemed that good relations between Roosevelt and Stalin might create a position where the Big Three was becoming the Big Two and, after 1945, the USA and the Soviet Union would be the only global superpowers.

What were the effects of the Tehran conference (summary)

Increase in tensions between the USA and Britain

Decrease in tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union

Opening a second front on the west of Germany

What had happened in between the conferences Tehran and Yalta

* the second front had been launched in France, and British and American-led forces were pushing the Germans back towards Berlin.
* The Soviets had defeated the Germans in the Soviet Union and now had control of most of Central and Eastern Europe.

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when was the Yalta conference

February 1945

Who was at the Yalta conference

* Winston Churchill
* Franklin Roosevelt
* Joseph Stalin

What was the cause of the Yalta conference

Two years after the Tehran Conference, the Big Three held a second meeting at Yalta in the Soviet Union.

Here they discussed how to bring the war against Germany to a successful conclusion and the government of post-war Europe.

What was discussed at the Yalta Conference

* After the war, Germany would be split into **four zones.** They would each be controlled by a different power, the USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
* Germany would pay **$20 billion in reparations**, half of which would go to the Soviet Union.
* The Nazi Party would be **banned** and war criminals prosecuted.
* A **United nation**s would be set up, with its first meeting on 25 April 1945. All nations could join
* Stalin agreed to join in the war against **Japan**, 3 months after the defeat of Germany.
* Stalin agreed that the future governments of countries in Eastern Europe would be decided in **free elections.**

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Disagreements made at the Yalta conference and there outcomes

* (United Nations) The USA and France did not agree with Stalin’s suggestion that all **16 Soviet republics should be given individual membership.**

\- Instead, just Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus were admitted.

* **Poland** proved to be the major issue at the conference. It was agreed that the borders of Poland would be returned to their position in 1921 (which would give the Soviet Union significant gains) and that there would be free elections.
* However, Stalin expected those elections to bring about a pro- communist government, whereas the British supported the non-communist London Poles.

Tensions between USSR and Britain after the Yalta conference

increase, over poland

What happened in between the conferences Yalta and Potsdam

◼ Roosevelt died in April 1945 and was replaced by Harry S. Truman.

◼ Winston Churchill lost the 1945 British general election. The new prime minister was Clement Attlee.

◼ Germany surrendered in May 1945. (war ended)

◼ Scientists in the USA developed an atomic bomb (which they tested successfully the day after the conference began).

◼ The United Nations had been created in the Treaty of San Francisco in June 1945. Eventually, 51 members signed the treaty. The USA, the Soviet Union, France, Britain and China were made permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, with the power to veto resolutions they disapproved of.

Who was Harry S Truman

The American president from 1945 - 1953

Who was Clement Attlee

The British prime minister from 1945 - 1951

What was Trumans approach with stalin

He was much more suspicious about Stalin’s motives than Roosevelt had been and believed the Soviets were keen to spread communism worldwide and bring down capitalist democracy.

So, he took a harder line in discussions. He also deliberately delayed the date of the conference until the atomic bomb was ready. He thought this would give him an edge in discussions.

What were Attlee’s approach in the Potsdam conference

As a newly elected prime minister, Attlee’s main concern was to return to Britain to take charge and he did not want the talks to drag on.

What was the effect of the atomic bomb in international relations ?

The development of the atomic bomb worsened relations.

When was the Potsdam conference

July-August 1945

Who attended the Potsdam conference

* Clement Attlee
* Harry S Truman
* Joseph Stalin

What caused the need for the Potsdam Conference

Germany being defeated had meant that how Germany being ran was going to be discussed

What was discussed at the Potsdam conference

* Germany would be divided into four zones, administered by the Soviet Union, the USA, Britain and France.
* The German economy would be run as a whole.
* The German capital, Berlin, would also be divided into four zones, controlled by different countries, despite being based well inside Soviet-controlled Germany.
* The Soviet Union wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations, but Truman was concerned that this would make it harder for the German economy to recover. It was agreed that each administering country should take reparations from its own zone. As the Soviet Union controlled the poorest zone, it was allowed to take a quarter of the industrial equipment from the other zones.
* The agreement was not reached over the government of Eastern Europe. Truman objected to the control that the Soviet Union had over the countries it had liberated from German rule. He was beginning to think that, as Soviet forces were not leaving the countries they had liberated, Stalin was actually using them as an army of occupation. However, without risking further war, there was little Truman could do.
* Truman also objected to the arrangements for Poland and the borders that had previously been agreed. In addition, he wanted to see a new government with less communist influence.

After all of the conferences what were the main disagreements over

Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to ensure the security of the Soviet Union. In his view, getting control of Eastern Europe was a reasonable defensive measure.

Truman believed that Stalin was trying to spread communism and saw his ambitions as examples of communist aggression.

In the years 1945–46, this basic disagreement and suspicion turned the wartime alliance into peacetime hostility.

When had the soviet union made there first successful atomic bomb

29 August 1949

When did Britain France and China atomic bombs

1964

What was the effect of people having atomic bombs

The bomb dramatically increased Cold War tensions.

* A war that used atomic weapons could kill millions of people and destroy the world many times over. But, equally, the terrible consequences of using an atomic bomb may have made both the USA and the Soviet Union more reluctant to go to war.
* They entered an arms race, in which each side tried to make sure their nuclear weapons were more powerful and numerous than those of their rival.

What were the satellite states

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Countries freed by the Soviet Red Army (in 1944/1945) from the Nazis, mostly bordering Eastern Europe.

After the war, Stalin did not want to give these up as he viewed them as a buffer zone. They had communist governments and little independence from the Soviet Union.

What did Truman think to the satellite states

Truman saw this as evidence that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism worldwide, and relations between the USA and Soviet Union became worse.

How did Czechoslovakia become a communist country?

From 1919, Czechoslovakia was the only democracy in Eastern Europe.

After the Second World War, a coalition tried to restore pre-war democracy.

Stalin saw this as a threat to the security buffer zone he was trying to set up. Supported by the Soviet Union, **communists overthrew the Czech president, Eduard Benes, in February 1948** and a communist government was set up under **Klement Gottwald.**

How did Poland become a communist government

In **1944**, Poles rebelled against the German occupation in the Warsaw Uprising.

The Soviets had promised to help them, but, instead of doing so, the Red Army waited until the uprising had been crushed. Only then did they invade Poland to put a pro-communist government in place. At first, it included some of the London Poles, but after supposedly free elections in 1947, they were forced to flee or face being put in prison.

How did Hungary become a communist government

In the next election, in 1947, **voters were threatened** in a campaign supported by Moscow and a Communist Party government was elected. **By 1949, Hungary was a one-party, communist state.**

How did Bulgaria, Romania and the eastern parts of Germany become Communist

In 1944 and 1945, the Soviet Red Army took control of Bulgaria, Romania and the eastern parts of Germany.

As in Poland, there were ‘free’ elections, but, in reality, voters were frightened into voting for Communist Party candidates. Communist governments were elected in all three areas.

in 1946 how did both the USSR and the USA spy on each other

in 1946, both asked their embassies to report on attitudes in each other’s countries. These reports came in the form of telegrams.

What is the ‘long telegram’

George Kennan, the USA’s ambassador in Moscow, lived and worked in the Soviet Union as a diplomat.

He reported that Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism and felt the world outside the Soviet Union was unfriendly and looking to destroy communism.

Who wrote the long telegram ?

George Kennan

What was the effect of the long telegram ?

The American government agreed with what Kennan said and believed there should be a determined policy of ‘containment’ to stop communism from spreading.

increased tensions in the soviet and usa

Who wrote the Telegram to the soviet union about the usa

NIKOLAI NOVIKOV

who is NIKOLAI NOVIKOV

Nikolai Novikov was a Soviet diplomat working in Washington.

what did Nikolai Novikov’s telegram consist of

Novikov’s telegram said the USA wanted to use its massive military power to dominate the world.

He believed that, since Roosevelt’s death, the Americans no longer wanted to co-operate with the Soviet Union and the American people would support their government if this led to war.

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What did Novikov’s telegram effect

Such a view had a major impact in Moscow. If this was how the USA was thinking, it was vital to develop as much protection as possible in Eastern Europe. Stalin accepted what Novikov said and the telegram further encouraged him to take control of the countries on his border.

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Inc tensions

When did Churchill make the iron curtain speech

In March 1946,

Why did Churchill make the iron curtain speech

Winston Churchill was no longer British prime minister, but he still had enormous influence.

On a visit to Fulton, Missouri, in the USA, he gave a speech that is now seen as a defining moment in US–Soviet relations.

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**He chose to make this speech because communist governments had recently been set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.**

What did Churchill get across in his speech

* He made it clear that he thought the Soviet Union was a threat to freedom and world peace.

How did the iron curtain speech effect international relations

So Stalin thought what Churchill said was reflecting American beliefs too. The speech, along with the Novikov Telegram, increased tension and led the Soviet Union to strengthen its forces and step up a campaign of anti-Western propaganda. Whether he intended it or not,

* Churchill’s speech made the hostility between East and West worse.
* west increased their forces and communist spread
* improve relations between the usa and britain because the usa-anglo relations were nescessary in preventing communism

When was the Truman doctrine set up

March 1947

What caused the need for the Truman doctrine to be set up

When the British government announced in 1947 that it could no longer provide military support to the Greek government against communist guerrillas, President Truman decided it was time for the USA to take action.

What was the Truman doctrine

The speech was officially given to announce an economic aid package to Greece and Turkey. Truman announced that the USA would provide $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey, and send American civilian and military personnel to the region.

How did Truman use the Truman Doctrine to reflect his political views

He spoke of two alternative ways of life between which every nation must choose.

The first way, he said, offered majority rule and freedom from political oppression.

The second was for the will of the minority to be forced upon the majority, which Truman said was what communism did.

Truman believed choosing democracy over communism was like choosing good over evil. He said communism should not be allowed to grow and that the USA was prepared to send troops and economic aid to those countries trying to resist it.

What were two effects of the Truman Doctrine

* increase in tensions between the USA and the USSR\\
* Prevent the spread of communism
* Dividing the East and the west further

What is the Marshall plan

the practical outcome of the Truman Doctrine

Between 1948 and 1952 how much money had the USA given in financial aid

13\.7 billion in addition to the 13 billion already given by the USA before the Marshall plan went into action

Which 17 countries recieved aid by the USA

1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Britain
4. Denmark
5. France
6. Greece
7. Iceland
8. Ireland
9. Italy
10. Luxembourg
11. Netherlands
12. Norway
13. Portugal
14. Sweden
15. Switzerland
16. Turkey
17. West Germany

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What was the condition the the Marshall plan

It was decided that it could be offered, but (as in Western Europe) countries would first have to agree to a thorough review of their finances.

How did the Truman doctrine and the Marshall plan effect international relations from 1947

* The grand alliance was completely broken as the USA had now set itself up in direct opposition to the communist Soviet Union – and invited other nations to join it.
* Stalin’s suspicions of the West were strengthened. He believed he now had evidence that the USA was trying to destroy the Soviet Union.
* Europe became divided into two economic and political camps.
* The history of Europe for the next 50 years became one of extreme rivalry between the two superpowers and attempts to win diplomatic and political victories over their opponents.

What is dollar imperialism

Stalin argued that the Marshall Plan was a way of using economic might to divide Europe in two and establish an American economic empire there. The Soviets called this ‘dollar imperialism’.

What did Stalin do in retaliation to the Marshall plan

he set up cominform

What was cominform

It was an association of Communist parties from all over Europe.

The new body gave Stalin a way of directing and controlling the governments of the satellite states.

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What did cominform do

At its first meeting, it rejected the Marshall Plan. Cominform spread propaganda and accused America of being no different from Nazi Germany. It was also responsible for ending opposition to Moscow and ensuring the loyalty of Eastern European governments.

When was cominform set up

September 1947

What is comecon

an aid package based on communist beliefs.

when was comecon established

January 1949

Who were members of comecon (8)

1. Soviet Union,
2. Bulgaria,
3. Czechoslovakia,
4. Hungary,
5. Poland
6. Romania.

The following year
7. East Germany
8. Albania

Which conference agreed that Germany would be split into 4 zones

Potsdam

What were the west’s aim with Germany

Western countries wanted to build up Germany’s economy. They hoped that, if Germany could become wealthy, it would not only be a better trading partner, but would also fi nd it easier to resist communism.

What was the soviet unions aim with Germany

The Soviets wanted to take as much material as possible back to help rebuild the Soviet Union,

What happened in December 1947 at the foreign ministers talks

the Soviets stormed out.

When was bizonia formed

1947

who formed bizonia

Britain and the USA