GCSE Cold War 1943 - 1972

When was Tehran?✅

28th November - 1st December 1943

Who was at Tehran?✅

Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin

Aim of Tehran?

To make plans for the reconstruction of Europe after WW2

What was agreed upon at Tehran?

- The USA and Britain would open a second front
- The USSR would declare war on Japan
- Poland would be given more land from Germany but would lose land to USSR

Tensions at Tehran?

- Churchill wanted Germany to stop the Russian advance, opened second front
- Roosevelt sided with Stalin
- Roosevelt was critical of the British Empire

What was disagreed upon at Tehran?

The future of Germany

What did Stalin want to do to Germany?✅

He wanted to punish Germany (taking land and reparations) to ensure they were never a threat again

When was the Yalta Conference?✅

February 1945

Who was present at Yalta?✅

Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt

Key agreements at Yalta?

- Germany divided into four zones
- Germany to pay 20 billion in reperations
- East Europe communist sphere of influence

Tensions at Yalta?

- Stalin believed there was a delayed opening of a second front so the Soviets would suffer greater casualties and they would be weak
- West believed Stalin was encouraging communist revolutions
- Ideological disagreements

When was the Potsdam Conference?✅

July 1945 - August 1945

Who was at the Potsdam Conference?

Truman, Stalin, Churchill then Atlee

What was the aim of the Potsdam Conference?✅

- To determine the future of Germany after the war

Tensions at Potsdam?

- Truman was in the middle of trials for the atomic bomb which would gain leverage over the USSR as the USA had the capability to wipe out the USSR
- Stalin was determined for Germany to pay reperations
- Stalin wanted the Europen countries to act as a Buffer Zone, while Truman wanted free elections

Impacts of the Atomic Bomb?

- Increased Cold war tension, arms race
- USA wanted a monopoly over the state.
- USSR became secure with bufer zones
- Show of force wanted USSR to be weak

What was the Iron Curtain?✅

- A metaphorical separation between eastern and western Europe in Winston Churchill's speech that critisiced communism

What was the Truman Doctrine?✅

- It provide aid in personal and financial to anyone who was resisting communism and was setout to stop the spread of Communism in the European Region

What was Marshall Aid?✅

- It was economic assistance given to European countries to help them rebuild after WWII

What was Comiform 1947?

- The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties who set out to spread the communist ideals and discredit capitalism

What was Comecon 1949?✅

- The soviet response to Marshall aid, set out to support countries in eastern Europ. In reality it set out to controll the economies and access their resources

The Long Telegram?✅

- The message written by George Kennan in 1946 to Truman advising him to contain Communist expansion. Told Truman that if the Soviets couldn't expand, their Communism would eventually fall apart.

The Novikov Telegram?✅

- Sent to Moscow outlining how the USAwanted to dominate the world with military. Americans no longer wanted to cooperate with the USSR

Key Lines (1 + 2)?✅

- 'He who controlls Berlin controlls Germany, He who controlls Germany controlls Europe' Otto Von Bismark
- An island of Capitalism in a sea of communism

Berlin Blockade date?✅

- June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949

Causes of the Berlin blockade?

- Stalin wanted Germany to remain weak, as a strong Germany could represent a threat to the Soviet Union. The Western Allies disagreed and were encouraging Germany to rebuild in the Western sectors. This angered Stalin who decided to force the Allies out of Berlin. West Germnay was better stocked than the east and so made communism look weak

Why was Berlin important?✅

- It was the German capital
- It was the symbolic capital of Nazism
- It became a way of escaping into West Germany from Soviet East Germany

Results of Berlin Airlift?

Berlin and Germany remained divided
German Federal Republic (West Germany) created
German Democratic Republic (East Germany) created
First Victory of the cold war

Consequences of Berlin Airlift?✅

- Casualties because of flying conditions as pilots tried to keep Berlin stocked and not give up to communist opression
- Demonstrated that the allies would not just roll over from communist oppresion
- 275,000 flights and 1.5 million tonnes of valuables

Why did the Berlin Airlift happen?✅

It happened because the US used containment to stop the spread of communism so the Soviets built a wall separating west(allied) and east Berlin in an effort to reclaim Berlin

Berlin Wall (1961)✅

- Built by the Communists to stop the flow of refugees seeking to gain political asylum in West Berlin from East Berlin.
- It became the symbol of division between the East and the West.

38th Parallel?✅

Dividing line between North and South Korea fought over in the korean war

Korean War dates?✅

June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953

Kim Il Sung?✅

- Communist leader of North Korea who attacked South Korea in 1953.

Causes of Korean War?✅

- Communist controlled North Korea invades non-communist South Korea in an effort to unite the two sides under a communist government but south Korean retaliates with Nato backing.

Who was part of the Nato force in south Korea?✅

Mainly lead by Douglas Mcarthur America and some other Nato forces.

Sygman Ree?✅

American backed south korean president.

How did the Korean war pan out?

The noth korean forces pushed back to pusan Perimeter, Nato then pushed back to the chinese border. China the pushed the americans back to the 38th parallel. Lands and Inch on

Fidel Castro?✅

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a communist state in 1959 after Batista.

Why was Cuba significant?✅

- 90 miles from US, location in the Caribbean, communism was now very close to the american homeland with the threat of nuclear missiles on americas door step. Embarrasment to America.

Bay of Pigs Invasion?✅

- Failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 when a force of 1,200 Cuban exiles, backed by the United States, landed at the Bay of Pigs.

Cuban missile crisis date?✅

1962

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?✅

- a Soviet attempted buildup of nuclear missiles in Cuba that prompted a U.S. response

What was the US response to the cuban missile crisis?✅

- naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security.
- He also removed missiles from Turkey.

Arms Race (Cold War)?✅

- US and USSR compete for technological and nuclear supremacy.

The space race?✅

- The competition to be the first person to put an object into atmosphere.
- The USSR placed Sputnik into orbit demonstrating how they could utilises space to their advantage

Reasons for Kruschev win in Cuba? (3 reasons)✅

- Cuba was a communist ally that the UssR could use
- Missiles were removed from Turkey
- The USA would not invade Cuba on Kruschev's orders

Reasons Kennedy won in Cuba? (3 reasons)✅

- US public liked that Kennedy outsmarted Kruschev
- He Stopped Nuclear weapons from being on the shores of America.
- Kennedy's hard line stance gave the sense that Kruschev could not outsmart Kennedy.

Impact of berlin wall?✅

- Ended refugee crisis
- Allowed Khrushchev to avoid war with US
- Powerful symbol of division between communism and capitalism

1961 events (Cuba) (4 reasons)?

- Kruschev offered weapons to Cuba to help defend them
- US sent U- 2 missiles to track weapons in Cuba
- Bay of Pigs (CIA) plan
- US breaks off diplomatic relations with Cuba

U-2 Incident year?✅

- 1960

Background information to the U-2 incident?✅

- Eisenhower ordered spy planes over USSR 23000m high with hi tech cameras and listening devices over soviet bases
- 1956

The Crash of U-2 (1960)?✅

- Flew from US base in Pakistan
- Gary Powers hit by Soviet Sam -2 missile in the Ural Mountains.

The Cover up of the U-2 incident?✅

* Gary Powers had Cyanide but did not kill himself
* Weather plan disapeered
* disappeared somewhere over turkey

Soviet Proof of U-2 incident?✅

- Pilot capured and shown on soviet TV
- Photo evidence of the plane
- Remains of plane searched by Soviet scientists

Hungarian Uprising?✅

- Hungarian nationalists staged huge demonstrations demanding non-communist parties be legalized; turned into armed rebellion and spread throughout the country

Berlin Wall Causes?

-Soviets and U.S. tension in Germany/Berlin
-East Berliners were fleeing to West Berlin and West Germany.Between 1949 and 1961 2.7 million left East Berlin.
-West Germany/West Berlin was a model of democracy.

Consequences of U-2 Incident?✅

* Kruschev walks out of paris summt May 1960
* Moscow trip cancelled
* Amerca Admit to spying
* Spy swap for Rudolf Abel

Leader of Hungary during Hungarian Uprising?✅

Imre Nagy

Hungarian course of action?✅

- They withdraw from the Warsaw pact
- Installed a new government
- However America did not offer the assistance when soviet troops marched back into the country