Modern History Unit 4

The Yalta Conference: Date of Conference and Publication

Conference: 4th - 11th February of 1945

Publication: 1946

The Yalta Conference: Rundown

A secret conference held in Yalta between the Big Three (Stalin, Churchill, and FDR) in order to develop the postwar world order in regards to Germany.

The Yalta Conference: 5 Decided Terms

• Control over Germany would be split between the West and the USSR

• The German people would only be given enough recourses to survive (subsistence living)

• German industry was to be confiscated or destroyed

• War criminals were to be prosecuted or executed

• Central and Eastern European countries would be allowed to elect representative governments (Stalin would later backtrack on this)

The Potsdam Conference: Date

17th of July to 2nd of August 1945

The Potsdam Conference: Rundown + Desires of USSR / US

Acted as a follow-up to Yalta in order to decide the fate of Germany in more detail. Russia wanted high reparations, whereas the US didn’t want this and wanted the help of the USSR to defeat Japan.

The Potsdam Conference: Terms (Acronym: TURDZ)

• Trial: It was solidified that Nazi officials and war criminals would be tried

• Ultimatum : A final ultimatum was issued to Japan

• Reparations10% of confiscated German industry was to be relocated to the USSR as reparations

• Deez: Germany was to be demilitarised, democratised, and denazified

• Zones: Germany would be split into four zones operated by the USSR, the US, France, and Britain

Bolshoi Speech: Date

February 9th 1946

Stalin quote from the Bolshoi speech regarding WW3

“Another World War is inevitable."

George Kennan’s Long Telegram: Date

22nd of Feb, 1946

George Kennan’s Long Telegram: Rundown

Analysed and criticised the foreign policy of the USSR, citing them to have expansionist goals. Advocated that the policy of containment should be achieved through political, economic, or even militaristic means.

Churchill’s Sinews of Peace Speech: Date

5th of March 1946

Churchill’s Sinews of Peace Speech: Quote

“An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent.”

The Tuman Doctrine: Date

March 12th, 1947

The Truman Doctrine: Rundown

Solidified the policy of containment and indicated a shift away from American isolationism, with Truman declaring that any countries under threat from Communism would receive direct assistance from the US

The Marshall Plan: Date

1948-1951

The Marshall Plan: What?

Involved the US providing direct economic aid to European countries to aid in recovery and prevent the spread of Communism

The Marshall Plan: Why?

Economists believed that economic vulnerabilitty would lead to capitalist countries falling to Communism, and the loss of international capitalist markets would be incredibly detrimental to the US economy.

The US provided ___ dollars to ___ Western European countries through the Marshall Plan

13.5 billion, 16

Comecon

The Soviet response to the Marshall Plan, involving the USSR providing economic aid to countries within the Eastern Bloc (after denying them access to Marshall Plan money). This made Soviet satellite states more dependent on the USSR and furthered the divide between East and West.

The process and development of the policy of containment

Outlined in the Long Telegram

Announced in the Truman Doctrine

Exercised in the Marshall Plan

The Germany Question: Opposing Plans of the USSR and the West for Germany

The US: Wanted Germany to recover whilst remaining under strict supervision from the West as it would be an invaluable trade partner

The USSR: Would do anything in their power to keep Germany weak after two successive invasions from them in WW1 and WW2

The London Conference: Date, 3 Terms, and Significance

Date: February 1948

Terms: 3 Western zones of German occupation were unified, new currency was introduced, Western Germany was to be democratised

Significance: The USSR weren’t given input in this decision, heightening tensions and divisions between the two halves of Germany

The Deutschmark: Date

23rd of June 1948

The initial exchange rate between the deutschmark and the reichsmark was ___, and it wiped out __% of private and government debt.

one DEM for every REM, 90%

The Deutschmark: Impact

People from East Germany were racing to exchange their reichsmarks, showing the inadequacy of the communist economy of East Germany. The USSR demanded to West Germany that the deutschmark be disbanded. It was the immediate cause of the Berlin Blockade

Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift: Date

June 1948 - May 1949

___ tons of ___, ___, and other basic necessities were carried into West Berlin every ___.

4,500, food, fuel, every day

Significance of the Berlin Blockade / Airlift

Made Germany into the main symbol of Cold War tensions, only reinforced through the erection of the Berlin Wall. Also indicated that the policy of containment was a success, leading to the US collaborating more with Europe.

NATO: Date

April 4th 1949

NATO: Countries Upon Inception

• Canada

• Denmark

• France

• Iceland

• Italy

• The Netherlands

• Norway

• Portugal

• Luxembourg

• The UK

• The US

The Western European Union (WEU)

A pact between the UK, France, and the Benelux Nations to prevent the resurgence of Germany. Led to the establishing of NATO after the WEU was deemed ‘too European’.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

A treaty of mutual cooperation and assistance between countries within Western Europe and the Atlantic. Made to prevent the spread of Communism and to prevent Western European countries from declaring themselves neutral in the conflict between East and West. Furthered the divide and tensions between East and West.

The USSR tested their first atomic bomb successfully in…

August of 1949

The People’s Republic of China (Communist China) was established in…

October of 1949

3 Impacts of the establishment of Communist China

• Fears of the domino effect worsened

• Another front for the fight against Communism developed

• The USSR was given another ally

Soviet Explanations for the Eastern Bloc / Iron Curtain

• Reinforcement of Russian security against invasion

• Protection against growing ‘American Imperialism’

• America was making Europe economically dependent on them, and the Eastern Bloc would prevent the entirety of Europe falling to the West

Reason for the Creation of the Warsaw Pact

NATO had been an implied threat to the USSR for some years now, and after West Germany joined NATO - right on the border of the Eastern Bloc - the USSR saw this as a direct threat + that the West was trying to restore the infamous Germany.

Warsaw Pact: Date

May 1955

Warsaw Pact: Full Name

The Treaty of Friendship,Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance

The Warsaw Pact: Impact

• Tightened control over Soviet satellite states, bringing them more officially under the control of Moscow

• Heightened tensions between East and West, making war even more likely with the explicit military divisions of NATO and WP

Nikita Khrushchev: Reign

1953 - 1964

Peaceful Coexistence

A policy enacted by Nikita Khrushchev. Stated that war between the superpowers would be greatly devastating, and that they should accept the divisions between capitalism and communism with full understanding that there could never be true cooperation between states.

De-Stalinisation

A policy of Khrushchev which denounced Stalin as a tyrant, aiming to stray away from his policies and political ideologies. The satellite states were encouraged to ‘find their own way to socialism’, whilst an effort was made to increase domestic quality of life and remove harsh Stalinist work policies.

East German Unrest: Date

1953

East German Unrest: Why + What?

• Weakened post-war industry due to reparations

• Harsh work targets and forced collectivisation

• Mass exodus of the population + widespread workers strikes

East German Unrest: US Involvement

The US welcomed the crisis, hoping it would destabilise East Germany and allow it to come under the control of the West. They sent out provocative radio broadcasts to heighten the situation.

The ___ were urged to sell East Germany to the west for ___.

Soviet Council of Ministers, 10 billion

Polish Unrest: Date

June of 1956

Polish Unrest

• Poland was the first to seek their ‘own path to socialism’

• After rioting broke out in protest to increased work targets the previously popular Prime Minister - Gomulka - was reinstated

• The Polish were granted permission to follow their own road to socialism, but they had to stay in the Warsaw Pact

The Hungarian Uprising: Date

October 1956

The Hungarian Uprising: Why?

• Inspired by the success of Poland

• Due to De-Stalinisation, the hardline Stalinist leader of Hungary was replaced by Imre Nagy

• Nagy’s reforms would catch the attention of Moscow who sent in troops to supress the intellectual uprising

The Hungarian Uprising: Imre Nagy’s Reforms

• Free elections

• Private ownership of farms

• Leaving the Warsaw Pact - this was the main point which frightened Moscow

____ Hungarians were killed in the uprising, and ___ fled across the border to Austria

3,000, 200,000

Why was Hungary Essential to the Warsaw Pact

• Geographical location: between Yugoslavia and the USSR

• Domino effect: the USSR didn’t want all countries leaving the Warsaw Pact

• Would signifiy a weakening of the USSR’s control over the East