MW 2023 Cold War

Test study guide

Hitler

Commits suicide before arrested

Herman Goring

Lead defendant in Nuremberg Trials and committed suicide before executed

Rudolph Hess

Hitler's deputy, received life sentence

Carl Donitz

10 years in prison, U-Boat commander

George Kennan

Father of the containment policy, wrote about the Soviet Union and American policy makers in the Cold War

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)

Harry Truman

Created the Truman Doctrine. 1948, Worried about the election because he was being called "soft" on communism

LeMay

In charge of Air Force during Berlin Airlift

Joseph Stalin

Blockaded Berlin and forced the U.s. to make a decision

Havel

1st president of Czechoslovakia after the collapse of communism in 1989

Winston Churchill

Iron curtain speech about soviet influence in Eastern Europe

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader who presided over the construction of the Berlin Wall

Gorbachev, Mikhail

Soviet Leader who made the USSR more capitalist

Lech Walesa

A Polish politician, a former trade union and human rights activist, also ran a labor union.

Robert Jackson

Supreme Court Justice that presided over the Nuremberg Trials

Douglas MacArthur

In charge of US occupation in Japan

In the election of 1948, Truman

Scared of losing because he was being soft about communism

Pope John Paul II

Activist conservative pope from Poland 1978-2005 who helped bring down European communism

Long Telegraph

Written by George Kennan; outlines the Containment Policy

Czechoslovakia after Cold War

divided peacefully into two nations: Czech rebublic and slovakia.

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control. Worried about smaller countries

Berlin Airlift, 1948

Civilians trapped in East Berlin under Soviet control

Containment

American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world

N.A.T.O.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

command economy

An economic system in which the government controls a country's economy.
Soviet's economy during the Cold War

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO. Soviet Union created a buffer zone between them and Germany

Mujahideen

Muslim Warriors that fought against the Soviet Union. Funded by the United States.

Detente

A period of relaxed tension during the Cold War, more agreement

Solidarity

Name of the first labor union inside the Soviet Union

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, used to limit defensive weapons

Glassnost

Spirit of openness which allowed for criticism of the government

Perestroika

restructuring of the Russian economy

ABMs

anti-ballistic missiles; missiles that could shoot down other missiles from hostile countries

United Nations

Two Parts: General Assembly and Security Counsel
Security Counsel: Decides where to send troops

Neutrality Assured Destruction

If one side used nuclear weapons the other would retaliate

Nuremberg Trials and why they were there

that is where Hitler and the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws

Downsides of President Trumans absence during the Berlin Airlift

1. It would've surrendered West Berlin to communism
2. He appeared soft on communism
3. Would've been responsible for the starvation of citizens in Berlin

Why the United States became the lead superpower post WW2

1. Had atomic weapons
2. Had the strongest economy in the world
3. Had an unmatched Navy and Air Force
4. suffered minimal casualties in WW2

Why the Soviet Union's power & influence diminished after the Cold War

1. Spent too much money on weapons
2. Workers had little incentive to work
3. It's economic system was inefficient
4. The population wanted to move away from communism

Why did the United States and Soviet Union dislike each other?

1. had different economic and political ideologies
2. Other nations had developed nuclear weapons without telling the Soviets
3. The other allies took a long time to open the second front against Germany in WW2
4. The Soviets partnered with Germany

Brain Drain

People were leaving East Germany

Soviets invasion of Afghanistan

1979 - Gorbachev removed troops