1.1, 1.2 - Origins and Development of the Cold War

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the origins and development of the Cold War, including major conferences, telegrams, and military alliances.

USA (Ideological Stance)

Capitalist democracy

USSR (Ideological Stance)

Communist dictatorship

Tehran Conference ($November \, 1943$)

Meeting where USA (Roosevelt) and UK (Churchill) agreed to open the second-front, and Poland was set to gain land from Germany but lose land to the Soviet Union (Stalin).

Yalta Conference ($February \, 1945$)

Meeting where it was agreed Germany would be split into $4$ zones, the USSR would help the US with the war in Japan, and the UN would be established.

Potsdam Conference ($July-August \, 1945$)

Meeting where the Nazi party was banned, Berlin was divided into $4$ zones, new leaders Truman (US) and Attlee (UK) took over, and the US announced the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities where the US dropped atomic bombs on $6$ August $1945$ and $9$ August $1945$, respectively.

USSR's First Atomic Bomb

The first successful test of a Soviet atomic bomb which occurred on $29$ August $1949$, following the start of the arms race.

Long Telegram

An $8000$ word telegram sent by George Kennan in $February \, 1946$ stating the USSR was aggressive and expansionist and that communism had to be contained.

Novikov Telegram

Sent by Nikolai Novikov in $September \, 1946$ from Washington to Stalin, claiming that the US wanted world domination.

The Baltic States

Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, which were taken over by the USSR in $1940$.

Iron Curtain speech

A speech delivered by Winston Churchill in $March \, 1946$ regarding Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe.

Truman Doctrine ($1947$)

The official US policy stating that the USA would contain communism.

Marshall Aid

A program providing $\$13$ billion to $16$ European Countries in Western Europe, which Stalin referred to as dollar imperialism.

Cominform ($22 \, September \, 1947$)

An organization established to allow Stalin to direct and control Satellite States.

Comecon ($25 \, January \, 1949$)

An organization set up by Stalin in response to the Marshall Plan.

NATO ($4 \, April \, 1949$)

A military alliance consisting of the USA and its Western Allies.

Warsaw Pact ($14 \, May \, 1955$)

A military alliance between the USSR and Eastern Europe, in response to NATO

Berlin Blockade

Stalin's action on $24 \, June \, 1948$ to block access routes from East Berlin to West Berlin.

Operation Vittles

Also known as the Berlin Airlift, this involved $277000$ allied flights carrying $2.3$ million tonnes of supplies starting on $26 \, June \, 1948$.

$$12 \, May \, 1949$$

The date Stalin ended the Berlin Blockade after realizing the West would not give in easily, following an airlift that lasted $318$ days.