The Cold War Quiz

What was happening during WWII between the Soviet Union, the U.S., and Great Britain?

As they were in an alliance, their relationship slowly started disintegrating

Why were tensions rising between Soviet Union, the U.S., and Great Britain as they were in an alliance in WWII?

The tensions stemmed off of their differing vision on what post-WWII world would look like

What is the loose definition of the Cold War?

From 1945-1990 the tension that grew between the U.S. and the Soviet Union turned into a struggle that involved pitting liberal democracy and capitalism against international communism and one party rule

What were "hot spots" in the Cold War?

Tensions in places going to either democracy or communism that led to conflict (Namely Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and Afghanistan)

Who were the superpowers after WWII?

Soviet Union and US, who were two of the strongest country in the world

What was Stalin initially suspicious of the U.S. and Britain before the cold war?

They sided against the Bolsheviks and sided with Czar Nicholas and the "whites" during the Russian Revolution

What is a proxy war?

A war instigated by a major power that does not itself become involved

What are post-WWII goals for the U.S.?

Promote democracy and self-determination, fix global economy, promote internationalism (friendly cooperation through trade), and help rebuild Europe and Germany

What are post-WWII goals for the Soviet Union?

Promotes communism, control countries between Germany and Soviet Union, secure the border (Germany invaded twice), and keep Germany weak

Who were included in the Yalta Conference?

FDR (Later dies in April, U.S.), Churchill (Britain), and Stalin (Soviet Union)

What is some context to the Yalta Conference? (Feb. 1945)

The Allies began to push Germans back into Germany and know the end is near, and begin discussing what should happen after Germany surrenders

What does Churchill, FDR, and Stalin decide to do once Germany surrenders in the Yalta Conference? (PART ONE)

They decide to divide Germany up into 4 regions, and wrote the Declaration of Liberated Europe (Asserts the people's rights to choose their own govt. and have free elections)

What does Churchill, FDR, and Stalin decide to do once Germany surrenders in the Yalta Conference? (PART TWO)

Set Poland to have a TEMPORARY communist govt. with some democratic leaders and then allow people to have free elections to decide their govt., and the S.U. will help fight Japan

What does the S.U. do after the Yalta Conference?

Stalin does NOT have elections in Poland and makes it stay communist and Romania and Poland end up becoming communist

After Stalin keeps Romania and Poland communist which is NOT what they agreed to in the Yalta Conference, what begins?

LOTS of tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union

After Churchill, Stalin, and FDR splits Germany, who owns what?

Britain (Northwest), France (Southwest), and U.S.(Southeast) own WEST GERMANY, Soviet Union (Northeast) owns EAST GERMANY (Strips land of resources for reparations)

Who owns what when Churchill, Stalin, and FDR split Berlin as well?

Britain owns West Berlin, U.S. owns South West Berlin, French owns Northwest Berlin, and the Soviet Union owns all of East Berlin

What is the context to the Potsdam Conference? (July 1945)

Fighting in Europe has ended but there is still war against Japan

How does Truman treat Stalin in the Potsdam Conference?

He makes it VERY clear that he doesn't like Stalin or communism, which increases tension even more

What does Stalin declare he wants in the Potsdam Conference?

He wants reparations from Germany to pay for the physical destruction of the WWII fighting in Russia lands

How does Truman compromise with what Stalin wants in the Potsdam Conference?

Truman wants to help Germany economically, so Allies can take reparation ONLY from sectors of Germany (Mostly farming land, takes steel to be used but it isn't enough)

What does Truman say to Stalin which increases tensions even more?

He reminds them about the atomic bombs that they have to scare him

What does Stalin do in retaliation to the U.S. threatening him with atomic bombs AND not letting him reparations directly from Germany?

Stalin punishes the U.S. by cutting American access off of Eastern Europe (Can't sell them American products)

What becomes known as the "satellite nations" during the Potsdam conference?

Poland, Romania, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria (nations that remained under the control of the Soviet Union after WWII)

Where does the term "iron curtain" come from?

Churchill says an iron curtain has fallen between the free Western side and the Communist East side of Europe as people in the East are no longer able to receive foreign products, and cannot travel outside their region

What has happened to Western Europe after WWII?

Eastern and Central Europe suffered greater losses than Western Europe, but Western Europe is now less influential and powerful

What is America to become after WWII ended?

As fighting didn't happen on American soil and because the govt. funded industries the U.S. is destined to become the most powerful country

What does the Soviet Union try to do to the U.S., as after the war, the U.S. is looking to become the most powerful country?

During the Cold War, the S.U. challenges the U.S. as the most powerful country and from there followed conflicts between the two powers

What is formed on October 1945?

The formation of the United Nations (U.N.)

What is the U.N.?

International peace keeping organization dedicated to keeping world peace and security (EX: Humanitarian activities, and diplomacy)

What does the U.N. include?

A powerful Security Council that is responsible for maintaining international peace

What consists of this "Security Council" in the U.N.?

Five permanent members being the U.S. USSR, France, Britain, and China, and must be unanimous in their decisions and six rotating members (This unanimous decision is difficult to achieve as the Soviet Union and U.S. are at odds, and China has become communist adding even more tension)

Who is George Kennan?

An American diplomat (and later ambassador) in Moscow

What does George Kennan decide to do in Feb. 22, 1946?

Based off of his experiences in the USSR, he sent George Marshall a long telegram providing reccomendations for foreign policies in the context of the growing Soviet Union/communism

What specific word ties in to what George Kennan recommended to the George Marshall?

"Containment"= meaning the U.S. should try and stop the spread of communism to other countries

After Truman has replaced FDR, what he is concerned about?

He is concerned about the spread of communism into Eastern Europe as now communism has spread to Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania, and Yugoslavia

What is the context to the Truman Doctrine?

Communism may spread to Greece and Turkey

What is the Truman Doctrine?

On March 12, 1947, a doctrine is issued by Truman saying that the U.S. is committed to fighting the spread of communism around the world (Based off of containment principle from Kennan's telegram)

What is the Marshall Plan? (European Recovery Program)

Linked to the Truman Doctrine, in 1948 George Marshall has the U.S. send money ($13 billion) to countries that are willing to fight communism, and some receive money to rebuild (Britain and France)

How do the Soviets respond to the Marshall Plan?

COMECON (Promoted trade and economic cooperation among communist states)

What does the Soviet Union do in 1948 to push Western powers out of Berlin?

They blockade all land and water routes to West Berlin, isolating it from Western Germany

What did this blockade that the Soviet Union sets up in West Berlin lead to?

The Berlin Airlift, the first Cold War Crisis

What was the Berlin Airlift?

American and British forces uses airplanes to supply food, fuel, medicine, and other necessities to people in West Berlin in around-the-clock missions for 11 months

What was the result of the Berlin Airlift?

It ended successfully in May 1949, with the Soviets lifting their blockade as the West proved that they were unwilling to backdown from Soviet control

What directly contributed to the formation of NATO?

The potential war breaking out during the Berlin Airlift

What is NATO?

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by another country, included US, Britain, France, Canada, and Western European countries

What does President Eisenhower create soon after the NATO?

In 1954, he was afraid of Soviet-controlled North Korea and created SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization), to stop the spread of communism in Asia (US, Britain, France, Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, New Zealand)

What does the Soviet leader Khrushchev do in retaliation to NATO?

He forms the Warsaw Pact, an alliance between the satellite nations and the Soviet Union

What was the result of SEATO in terms of the Cold War?

Pulled the U.S. deeper into SE Asia, especially the Vietnam and Korea war. It had a weak unity, closing in 1977, but aimed to block communism from spreading beyond Europe

After the Potsdam conference, what does Truman say to Stalin and what does this cause?

Truman says to Stalin that the U.S. has atomic bombs, intimidating the Soviet Union leading to the Nuclear Arms Race,

What was the Nuclear Arms Race?

Competition between the US and the Soviet Union to build up their armed forces and weapons

After the Potsdam Conference, what does the Soviet Union make in 1949?

Soviets also develop an atomic bomb that was exactly like the one in the U.S. since they had spies telling them what the bomb looked like (US developed as part of the Manhattan Project)

What does the U.S. do in 1952 after the Soviet Union makes their own atomic bomb?

They create a much more powerful bomb, the hydrogen bomb

What does the Soviet Union then do in 1953 after the U.S. created the hydrogen bomb?

They ALSO test their first hydrogen bomb

What does the Soviet Union do in 1957 after creating their own hydrogen bomb?

They develop the first ICBM (Missiles that can travel large distances)

What is Nuclear Deterrence?

When two nations have the ability to inflict nuclear damage on each other, then neither nation is likely to use its nuclear weapons in the first place

What treaty was signed after the Nuclear Arms Race?

They both agreed to cut down spending on the nuclear weapons, but there was still concern about nuclear weapons being used so they sign the START treaty setting limits on nuclear weapons

What is MAD?

Mutually Assured Destruction, if the US or USSR was hit by a nuclear weapon they would respond with the same, resulting in destruction of the attacker and defender

How do the people back in the US feel about the Nuclear Arms Race?

People lived in constant fear of being bombed and poisoned from radiation, schools develop "duck and cover" (duck under desks and cover heads) drills and the govt. builds fallout shelters (Underground hideaways to protect against radiation)

How did the US justify them intervening in Asia to prevent communism ?

Used the Domino Theory as the US feared that the USSR and China would bring all of SE Asia under communist rule (Especially seen in Korea and Vietnam War)

What was the Domino Theory and who created it?

It was first used by President Eisenhower in 1954 saying that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will also fall like a row of dominoes (Supports the idea of containment)

What war did the U.S. become involved in through the justification of the Domino Theory?

The Vietnam War with it being North Vietnam (USSR and China) against South Vietnam (US), however it was unsuccessful and became a communist country

Was the Domino Theory true?

No, it proved untrue except for Laos and Cambodia

What presidents in the U.S. engaged in the Domino Theory?

Eisenhower (Sent military and economic aid to South Vietnam), JFK (Increased U.S. involvement in South Vietnam), LBJ (US officially entered in the Vietnam War)

What happens to China's govt. by the mid 1900s?

The ruling nationalist govt. led by Chiang Kai-shek, faced discontent

As the nationalist party in China was falling, what was rising?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under Mao Zedong gained popularity among the rural population through promising land reform, and a unified China

What occurred during the Chinese Civil War?

The Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA) started to win against the Nationalists, resulting in Mao Zedong winning

What begins on October 1st in China after the Chinese Civil War?

Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing (Rules as communist leader 1949-1976) (Big loss for the US since they used to be allies)

After Mao Zedong came to power, what did he do to transform China?

Created a version of communism involving the peasants rather than the working class leading the revolution

What was the "Great Leap Forward" in China?

FARM COLLECTIVIZATION (Like the Five Year Plan), pushed for more farming and steel production (Combined collective farms into people's communes)

How was the "Great Leap Foward" unsuccessful in steel production?

Backyard steel furnaces (backyards of the communes) were used to make steel, but since iron was unavailable Chinese people used every type of fuel to power the furnace (Pots, pans, farming equipment) and make steel. However, this steel cracked easy and was poor quality instead making 'pig iron'

What did the "Great Leap Forward" result in?

It failed since there was no incentive to work harder, caused a huge man-made famine that killed millions

What was "Cultural Revolution" in China?

Mao's plan to get rid of all old culture, traditions and customs (Confucianism, Buddhism, foot binding, schools) in China and instill revolutionary values in the younger generation to purge the communist party of his opponents

What did the "Cultural Revolution" in China result in?

Intellectual development was destroyed as schools were closed, education and cultural heritage is wrecked

What happened as a result of these policies in China?

It weakened China and caused suffering among the people, after Mao's death leaders stopped the policies

How did the Allied powers split Korea after WWII?

The northern section would be occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Southern section would be owned by the U.S.

What type of govt. was in North Korea vs South Korea?

North Korea set up a communist govt. while South Korea set up a democratic govt. w/ principles similar to the US like capitalism

What led to the outbreak of the Korea War?

Both governments in North and South Korea claimed to be the rulers over the entirety of Korea, leading to an escalated conflict

Who was Kim Il-Sung?

Communist leader of North Korea, his attack on South Korea in 1950 started the Korea War (Remained leader till 1994)

Who did the UN side with in the Korea War?

United Nations (primarily the US), sided with South Korea

When does China join the Korea War?

They send troops to the NK side because they were afraid that the UN forces would attempt to invade China as well (Had a stalemate)

How does Korea represent a hot spot in the Cold War?

It was a direct conflict between a communist and non-communist force (Results in a proxy war as the U.S. and Soviet Union support opposing sides increasing tension)

What two presidents engage in the Korea War in the US?

President Eisenhower and Truman sent American troops in South Korea to resist communism

What did the Korea War symbolize?

Containment is not working

What happens after the Korea War?

Both sides agree to ceasefire, but since they signed no peace treaty or agreement Korea remains divided with the DMZ separating them

What was the Red Scare?

The widespread fear of communism in the 1950s in the U.S. where there was intense suspicion of communists infiltrating the govt and society

What is McCarthyism?

It was the accusations of being a communist named after Senator McCarthy who claimed many citizens were communists without any real proof ruining peoples lives

What was the HUAC? (House Un-American Activities Committee)

Congressional body that involved investigating and prosecuting suspected communist influence inside and outside the US

What would happen if you were accused of sympathizing or favoring communism during the Red Scare?

You were blacklisted and your reputation would be ruined

What was the Hollywood Ten?

A group of people who were blacklisted from Hollywood after they refused to testify before HUAC

Who were the Rosenbergs?

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of spying for the Soviets and giving them US bomb plans, they were given a short trial and immediate electric chair becoming symbols of the extremes of the Red Scare

What was the impact of the Red Scare in the US?

Thousands of people lost their jobs for being accused of being communist without any real proof, many Americans were afraid to speak out in fear of being accused (HUAC and McCarthy lost respect and credibility overtime)

Who rose to power in the SU after Stalin died?

Nikita Khrushchev (communist official), he is unlike Stalin in that he wanted to reform the SU through destalinization where he would eliminate oppressive policies

What involved destalinization?

Promoting economic reforms, reducing political repression, and providing more freedoms to Soviet citizens (Removed imprint of Stalin from every-day Soviet life)

What was the Destalinization Initiatives?

When Khrushchev publicly denounced Stalin's tyranny during his "Secret Speech", criticizing Stalin's oppressive rule setting the tone for reforms

What were the political and social changes made under Nikita Khrushchev's rule?

The govt. released many prisoners from labor camps, decreased censorship, gave people more civil rights, and reduced the concentration of power

What did Khrushchev bring to the Russian people?

He allowed them to have greater social freedom and political openness (Showed a shift in policies noted by the global community)

What was happening between 1949-1961 in East Germany under Soviet rule?

2.5 million East Germans fled to West Berlin attracted by its prosperity and freedom

How did Nikita Khrushchev respond to the East Germans fleeing to West Berlin?

On August 13th 1961, he ordered the borders around West Berlin to be sealed, first with barbed wire than concrete, soldiers killed over 150 people who tried to climb over it

After the construction of the Berlin Wall, what happens in East Germany on November 4th?

There was a mass protest where people gathered in East Berlin, eventually the boarder comes down in '89