AQA GCSE History Cold War part 1

what happened at the end of the second world war

-wartime alliance wasn’t a strong brotherhood and purely based on opposition of hitler

what did britain and usa do before the war that angered stalin

-after communist takeover in 1917, they helped the enemies of the communists

-in the 1920s, us deported thousands of suspected communists

-in the 1930’s britain’s policy of appeasement convinced stalin britain was happy for hitler to rise in power to attack the soviet union

what lay behind these fears and suspicions of each other

-contrasting attitudes and ideologies where both tried to prove their way of life was better

what did the us and ussr emerge as after the war

-the two superpowers and they were both determined they wouldn’t be pushed around by one another

when was the yalta conference and who attended it

4th february 1945, with roosevelt(usa), churchill(uk) and stalin(ussr)

what were the main agreements held at yalta

-stalin agreed to enter the war against japan when germany surrended

-they agreed germany and berlin would be divided into 4 zones between the british, american, russian and french

-they agreed to hunt down nazi war criminals responsible for the genocide

-they agreed liberated countries would be able to hold their own free elections

-they agreed eastern europe could be seen as a ‘soviet sphere of influence’ to protect the ussr due to it’s heavy losses of 20 million during the war

-they agreed to join the united nations to keep peace after the war

what was the main disagreement at yalta

-stalin wanted to expand the border westward into poland and argued they could expand westward into germany

-churchill and roosevelt didn’t approve of the idea but couldn’t do much as the red army was already occupying those countries

-as long as if the ussr didn’t interfere with the british in greece

when was potsdam and who attended it

-july 17th, 1945 which was 3 months after the war ended and included truman, churchill/atlee and stalin

what did stalin do in eastern europe that caused tension at potsdam

-stalin’s armies occupied eastern europe after liberating them and didn’t withdraw their troops so there was a fear of a communist takeover as many refugees were leaving

what did stalin do in poland

-he setup a communist government despite the wishes of the polish but defended his actions by saying it was a defensive measure for future attacks

who was harry truman and why did this cause tension

-on 12th april 1945, roosevelt died and so truman took over who was much more anti-communist and suspicious of stalin and saw eastern europe as a communist takeover

what was the effect of the atomic bomb at potsdam

-americans successfully tested a nuclear weapon which would affect future relations between the superpowers

what were the disagreements at potsdam regarding germany

-they disagreed over what to do about germany as stalin wanted to cripple germany to prevent future attacks but truman didn’t want to remake the mistake of the treaty of versailles

-they disagreed at reparations as 20 million russians died and stalin demanded $10b in reparations and truman didn’t want to create a bitter, unstable germany

what were the disagreements at potsdam regarding eastern europe

-stalin won agreement that he could setup pro-soviet programmes in eastern europe to prevent the ussr from future attack

-truman saw it as evidence of building a soviet empire

what was the effect of building the atomic bomb

-trinity developed on 16th july 1945 but was developed in complete secrecy but stalin had spies informing him since 1942

-this showed mistrust between the 2 countries

what did the US do to japan

-hiroshima bomb on 6th august 1945

-nagasaki bomb on 9th august 1945

-japan refused to surrender

what was the iron curtain

-by 1946, there was a clear divide between eastern europe as countries fell into communism and the west grew fear of communist advance

what did stalin do after potsdam in eastern europe

-during the next.9 months he established control over most eastern european countries who owed their loyalty to stalin

which main countries fell into communism in eastern europe

-east germany, poland, czechoslovakia, hungary, yugoslavia, bulgaria, albania, romania

how did eastern germany fall into communism

-allies gave eastern germany to ussr and was under red army control until the creation of the german democratic republic in 1949

how did poland fall into communism

-communists joined a coalition government after the war

-in 1947, they forced non-communist leaders into exile

how did hungary fall into communism

-communists became the largest single party in 1947

-they imprisoned opposition and attacked church leaders

how did romania fall into communism

-in 1945, a prime minister was elected within a communist coalition

-in 1947, the monarch was abolished by the communists

how did bulgaria fall into communism

-left-wing coalition won elections in 1945

-communist members of the coalition then executed the leaders of other parties

how did albania fall into communism

-communists gained power immediately after the war with little opposition

how did yugoslavia fall into communism

-marshal tito led wartime resistance against the nazis and elected as prime minister in 1945 but applied communism in his own way

-this led to him being expelled from cominform in 1948

what were some problems with france and italy with communism

-both france and italy had strong communist parties which belonged to cominform

how did czechoslovakia fall into communism

-left wing coalition won elections in 1945 and communists became the largest party in 1946

-in 1948, when they’re position was threatened, they banned other parties and made it a one-party state

what was the issue in greece

-british and us a supported the royalist side of a civil war between the communists

how did stalin tighten his control over eastern europe

-secret police imprisoned anyone who opposed communist rule

-cominform and comecon setup

what was cominform

-setup in october 1947, it co-ordinated the activities of the communist parties in eastern europe

-the leaders would meet in moscow and be briefed so stalin could keep a close eye on them and replaced leaders who wouldn’t obey him

-marshall tito of yugoslavia disobeyed this and was banned from cominform in 1948

what was the reaction of the west towards stalin’s rapid rise in eastern europe

-they didn’t expect complete communist domination despite agreeing it to be a soviet sphere of influence

-stalin saw it as defending himself but truman saw it as spreading communism

what was the situation like in eastern europe in 1948

-czechoslovakia and greece were the only countries that weren’t communist in 1948

-even france and italy had a rapid communist rise

what happened in greece

-nazis driven out of greece in 1944, and churchill sent troops in 1945 to defend the royalist side fighting the communist side to help restore order and free elections

-a civil war in greece broke out in 1946 and on 24th february 1947 the british withdrew their troops

-they faced the prospect of another country falling into communism

what happened in turkey

-stalin was trying to gain influence in turkey to get access to the mediterranean for soviet ships through the black sea traits

-truman was concerned that stalin may want to spread communism into the middle east where the us had major oil reserves

what was truman’s response to the greece and turkey situation

-truman talked up the scale of greece/turkey to convince congress and the american people

-congress passed the turkey and greece aid bill in march 1947 which was a package of $400 million in aid

-this secured turkey as an ally and propped up the monarchist government in greece

-by talking up the threat of the ussr, truman made relations with the ussr even worse

what was the truman doctrine and when was it

-march 1947 where the USA was prepared to send aid, equipment, advice, e.t.c. to countries perceived to be under the threat of communism

-truman’s new policy was on containment as he accepted eastern europe to be communist now

-others thought that containment could be met with military force

what was truman’s theory on communism and what did he do

-truman believed that communism succeeded when people faced poverty/hardship and sent george marshall to investigate the economic state of europe

what was the state of europe after the war

-they owed $11.5 billion to the US

-extreme shortages of all goods

-coal shortages and rationing

what was the marshall plan

-marshall suggested $17b worth of aid was needed to rebuild europe’s prosperity

-in december 1947, truman put his plan to congress and initially refused as the american population was concerned why truman was so interested in foreign affairs

how did american attitudes change to the marshall plan

-communists took over czechoslovakia in march 1948, where anti-soviet leaders were purged

-congress immediately accepted the marshall plan and $17b was made available over 4yrs

what were the motives behind the marshall plan

-act of generosity but also motivated by american self-interest as they wanted to create new markets for american goods following the great depression

what was stalin’s reaction to the marshall plan

-he forbade any eastern european countries to apply for marshall aid

-he tightened his grip by forming cominform and comecon

what was the situation with yugoslavia

-marshall tito didn’t follow stalin’s directions unlike other eastern european countries and the ussr kept up propaganda battles against tito but had no military action

what was comecon

-setup in 1949 to co-ordinate trade and industries of eastern european countries

-members of comecon traded with each other rather than the west

-comecon favoured the ussr with a market to sell its goods and guaranteed a cheap supply of raw materials, e.g. poland was forced to sell its coal to the ussr with 1/10 of the price

what happened in berlin in 1948

-britain, france and usa combined their zones together

-they reformed the currency and within months, there were signs germany was recovering rapidly

what was stalin’s views on the allie’s decisions in germany in 1948

-he felt it was provocative and so stamped his authority on berlin which was deep into soviet territory

what was stalin’s response regarding berlin in 1948

-in june 1948, he blocked all supply lines connecting west germany with berlin, cutting off 2 million in population from western help

-stalin felt like this would force the allies out of berlin and make berlin entirely dependant on the ussr

what was the american response to stalin’s decision in berlin in 1948

-they saw west berlin as a test case where if they gave up them then stalin may advance further into western germany and truman wanted to show how serious he was about containment

what was the berlin blockade

-in june 1948, allies airlifted supplies but everyone feared they’d get shot down but they didn’t

-over the next 10 months, west berlin was supplied with a constant stream planes bringing in food, clothes, e.t.c.

-there were still shortages and many berliners left the country altogether

-by may 1949, 10 months later it was clear the blockade wouldn’t make the western allies give up berlin so stalin reopened communications

what was the significance of the berlin blockade

-germany was firmly divided into 2 nations between the federal republic of germany and the german democratic republic formed in october 1949 where it would stay divided for another 41yrs

-us and ussr’s worries about what might happen in berlin affected their policies elsewhere

-the 2 allies showed how suspicious they were of each other and how they would obstruct each other in every way possible but also showed how they would not use military action