Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972 - Key terms

Apollo

The US programme to send a man to the moon

Appeasement

The British policy of allowing Hitler to get away with certain foreign policy decisions in order to avoid a war in the 1930s

Bay of Pigs

The site of a failed US-sponsored invasion of Cuba

Berlin Airlift

The US response to the Berlin Blockade, where supplies were delivered by plane to West Berlin

Berlin Blockade

Attempt by Soviet Union to prevent supplies reaching West Berlin

Boycotting

Refusing to take part or use something as a form of protest

Brezhnev Doctrine

Rules governing the Communist countries in Eastern Europe

Capitalist

A political and economic system with democracy and where people can make profit and buy what they choose

Checkpoint Charlie

The only place where people could cross between East and West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency: the US secret service

Coexistence

Two countries living together peacefully

Comecon

The USSR’s own version of the Marshall Plan

Cominform

An organisation to co-ordinate the work of the various Communist parties in different countries

Communist 

A political and economic system with a strong government which tries to guarantee equality for all people. The USSR was a Communist state

Containment

Stopping the spread of Communism. The Truman Doctrine was a policy of containment

Conventional weapons

Weapons that are not nuclear

De-Stalinisation

The process begun by Khrushchev, of addressing some of the problems of Stalin’s rule

Détente

Attempts to reduce tension in the Cold War from the late 1960s

Dictatorship

A system of government where one leader has almost total control

Diplomatic relations

The relationship between two countries who have representatives to communicate between their governments

Exiled

Forced to leave a country as a punishment

Federal Republic of Germany

West Germany (not controlled by the USSR)

German Democratic Republic

East Germany (controlled by the USSR)

Hydrogen bomb

An exceptionally powerful form of nuclear weapon

Ideology

Belief about how a country should be run

Intercontinental ballistic missile 

A missile which can be fired into space and then brought down on a target

Intelligence

Secret information

Iron Curtain

A term used by Winston Churchill to describe the division of Europe between the free, capitalist West and the area under the control of the USSR

Marshall Plan

A US programme to provide loans to rebuild Europe after the Second World War

Military bloc

A group of countries whose armed forces work together, for example NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Missile gap

The fear in the USA that the USSR had a greater number of nuclear missiles

Monarchist

Someone who supports a monarch. In the case of Greece, the monarchists wanted the return of the king

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration which oversees the USA’s space programme

Naval blockade

Using ships to block access to a port or country or to stop the movement of supplies

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

A group of countries including the USA and its allies who promised to support each other in case of an attack

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

An agreement between the USA, USSR and Britain to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons

One-party system

Where only one political party is permitted

Prague Spring

A period of increasing hostility in Czechoslovakia towards rule by the USSR in 1968

Purges

Mass murders of apparent enemies by Stalin’s regime

Soviet sphere of influence

Used to describe those countries in Eastern Europe which the USSR had some control over after the Second World War

Soviet

USSR stood for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The word Soviet was often used to refer to the USSR, for example ‘the Soviet armies occupied Eastern Europe’

Sputnik

The first man-made satellite, launched by the USSR in 1957

Stalemate

A situation where neither side can win

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks

Talks between the USA and USSR to agree limits on the number of nuclear weapons on each side

Suez crisis

The controversial British attack to defend the Suez Canal in Egypt without consulting its allies

Superpowers

Used to refer to the USA and the USSR as two countries with a powerful military and strong economy

Truman Doctrine

The policy of the USA trying to stop the further spread of Communism

U-2

A type of spy plane used by the USA

United Nations Organisation

A group of countries who would work together to keep peace after the Second World War

Viet Cong

Communist fighters in Vietnam who originally fought against French rule

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance between the USSR and other countries