The Cold War Edexcel GCSE

• The United States' policy of containment, aimed at preventing the spread of communism, clashed with the Soviet Union's goal of expanding its influence.
• Main Points of The Tehran Conference (1943)

  -The USA and Britain would open a second front on Germany to ease the pressure off the USSR-USSR would declare war on japan once Germany was defeated-Poland should be given more land from Germany, but lose some to the USSR
• Main Points of the Yalta Conference (1945)

  -Germany would be reduced in size, demilitarised and would pay reparations (which would be payed in material, goods and labour)-Plans had been started for how Germany would be divided after the war-The Nazi Party would be banned and war criminals tried in front of an international courtThe UN would be set up to replace the League of Nations-The USSR would declare war on Japan three months after the defeat of Germany-Poland should be under the soviet 'sphere of influence' but run on 'a broader democratic basis
• Main Points of the Postdam Conference (1945)


  -Council of Foreign Ministers would be set up to organise the rebuilding of Europe-Ban the Nazi party and prosecute surviving Nazis as war criminals in a special court run by the allies at Numerberg-reduce the size of Germany-Divide Germany into 4 zones i.e one for each of the Allies; USSR, USA, UK, France-Divide the capital of Germany into 4 zones despite the fact it was in the USSR's zone-Give the USSR a 1/4 of the industrial equipment from each of the other 3 zones, because its zone was the least industrially developed-The USSR had to supply the other zones with raw materials from its zone i.e coal
• Signs of tension in 'The Big Three'

  -Although they all agreed to work for democracy, there were disagreements democracy over what it meant-Stalin believed that a democratic government had to be a communist government because only the communists truly represented the working people-Roosevelt believed that democracy involved a number of different political parties competing to win the support of the people in free elections
• Contents of the Long Telegram (1946)

  -Stalin had given a speech calling for the destruction of capitalism-There could be no peace with the USSR while it still opposed capitalism-The USSR was building up its military power-The USA should seek to contain communism
• Contents of the Novikov Telegram (1946)


  -America desired to dominate the world-After Roosevelt died the American government no longer wanted to cooperate with the USSR-The American public was being prepared for war with the USSR
• Purpose of the Truman Doctrine (1947)


  Truman began this because he was scared that Stalin would encourage communist revolutions and gain territory. Communism would seem appealing to those devastated by the Second World War. The Truman Doctrine stated that:-the world had a choice between communist tyranny and democratic freedom-America had a responsibility to fight for liberty wherever it was threatened-America would send troops and economic resources to help governments that were threatened by communists-Communism should not be allowed to spread and gain territory
• Significance of the Truman Doctrine


  -It marked a reversal of the USA's traditional policy of 'isolationism' by which America had stayed out of international affairs
• Contents of the Marshall Plan (1947)


  -America committed $13 billion dollars to rebuild the shattered economies of Europe
• Why did Stalin set up the satellite states?

  -He believed that the Marshall Plan was "Dollar Imperialism" and that any country that accepted it was effectively an american ally. To prevent this he extended his control over Europe by creating a series of satellite states
• How did Stalin control the satellite states?

  -making sure the Communist Party in each state would actually obey Moscow-Creating an atmosphere of fear and mistrust so that it was difficult for people who opposed soviet rule to trust each other enough to work together-used police and army states to stamp on any kind of opposition-arranging economies so that they were dependent on the USSR by 'rationalising' industries to stop satellites being self-sufficient
• What was Comecon? (1949)

  Stalin's answer to Marshall AidIt had a lot of economic and political implications-Politically, it would minimise American influence in Eastern Europe and the USSR-Economically, it would ensure that the benefits of economic recovery in Eastern Europe remained within the 'sphere of influence'-It also meant that Eastern Europe did not have to access the prosperity of Western Europe
• What was Cominform? (1947)


  -Cominform was an international organisation that represented Communist parties across Europe and brought them under the direct control of the USSR.-Stalin used it to forbid the cominform countries from accepting Marshall aid-Communist Parties were encouraged to start demonstrations to reject Marshall Aid-2 million french workers went on strike in the winter of 1947, demanding that the French government reject Marshall Aid-Stalin also used it to ensure loyalty in these countries by investigating government ministers and employees and removing those who weren't loyal to him.
• What was Bizonia and when did it form?

  -In 1947-The American and British zones (of Germany) were essentially operating as one and they had a very good relationship with France so then they later became Trizonia
• What was the Berlin Blockade and how long did it last?

  It was a military blockade set up by Stalin around West Germany between 1948 and 1949. It's aim was to cut the West off from its capital so that the new government could not control its territory. He hoped that it would prove that a divided Germany could not work in practice.
• Why did Stalin decide to build the Berlin Blockade?

  -In 1948 the Western Allies started to develop new policies for Trizonia that were at odds with Stalin's plans:-A German assembly would be set up to create a new German constitution-There would be a new currency introduced - the Deutschmark - which would become the new official currency for TrizoniaStalin had not been consulted about these changes and believed these were the first steps to creating a permanently divided Germany. He opposed it because he...-was reluctant to all America to have further influence over Germany-did not want American troops to remain stationed in Germany-realised that Germany's most valuable resources were in the west and feared that they would be used to wage war on the USSR
• How did Truman respond to the Berlin blockade?

  He responded with the 'Berlin Airlift'. Allied planes transported supplies to West Berlin.Initially...-America had 70 cargo planes and airlifted between 600 and 700 tonnes of food and supplies everydayThen this increased within a couple of weeks...-America began airlifting 1000 tonnes a dayAt its height the airlift provided over 170,000 tonnes of supplies during January 1949
• What was GDR?

  When the USSR's fraction of Germany became an independent state and became officially known as the German Democratic Republic.
• What was FRG?

  When Trizonia became an independent state and became officially known as the Federal Republic of Germany.
• What was the military alliance formed in 1949 and how was it significant?

  The Western European countries formed NATO to 'keep the USA in and the USSR out'. NATO members agreed that if any NATO country came under attack, all members of NATO would come to their defence. NATO had the specific aim of defending the West against communism.
• What was military alliance form in 1955 and how was it significant?

  The Eastern European countries form the Warsaw Pact. When the Eastern European countries formed NATO and West Germany joined it was too provocative to ignore.
• Describe the arms race between 1945 and 1955

  1945 USA became the first country to develop and use a nuclear bomb1949 USSR had developed and tested its own nuclear bomb1953 Both countries had hydrogen bombs (thought USA bombs were still more powerful than the USSR's)1955 the USSR developed and test a bomb called 'Sakharov's Third Idea' which was as powerful as America's hydrogen bombs1955 America developed the B52 Stratofortress with long range flight capacity1955 USSR was also in the process of developing the TU20 Bear
• Why was the arms race significant?

  It prevented war in Europe. Each side feared each other. For example the Soviets had 3 million troops and could easily capture West Germany. However, they feared nuclear retaliation from America because of the devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the USA had caused at the end of WW2.
• What was the communist regime imposed on Hungary in 1949?


  -Hungary land was redistributed to other Eastern European countries.-Hungarian coal,oil and wheat were shipped to Russia while Hungarian citizens were deprived of food.-Russian officials controlled the government, the police and the army.-Cominform began a reign of terror, executing popular political leaders and their supporters-Matyas Rakosi was appointed as Hungry's dictator.
• Who was Rakosi and what was he famous for?

  He was Hungary's dictator from 1949 to 1956. He developed what were known as the 'salami tactics'.
• What were the 'salami tactics'?

  Rakosi dealt with his opponents 'slice by slice', so bit by bit. His oppressive regime imprisoned 387,000 and was responsible for more than 2,000 deaths.
• When did Stalin die and what was the impact of his death?

  -1953Stalin's style of government, Stalinism, was extrodinarily oppressive. He was responisble for the deaths of over 20 million people. It was a turning point in the Cold War. Russia's new leader, Krushchev, had a way more liberal approach to governing the USSR and Eastern Europe.
• What did Krushchev do?

  He gave a secret speech in which he promised to end 'Stalinism'.
• What did Nagy promise to do as Prime Minister of Hungary?

  -Allow free elections-Allow Hungary to leave the Warsaw PactHe made these bold moves because he hoped for support from the West.
• How did Hungary hope to gain support from the West?


  -They asked the UN to recognise them as a neutral country. Meaning that if they were to get invaded by USSR troops they would be breaking UN rules and would be removed by UN troops.-The USA promised aid to those who dropped their communist regimes with military help. The USA encouraged the East by sponsoring the Radio Free Europe and urging people to stand up to their "communists oppressors".
• How did Krushchev respond to Nagy?

  -Krushchev believed that if Hungary was allowed to leave the Warsaw Pact other Eastern European countries would leave too. -Krushchev also had access to intelligence reports that indicated that other countries were unhappy too.-In November 1956, 200,000 soviet troops were sent to Hungary too crush Nagy's government.-After 2 weeks 20,000 Hungarians were killed and 200,000 fled to Austria and Nagy's government lay defeated.
• How was Nagy's trial and execution significant?

  Krushchev stated that Nagy's fate was 'a lesson to the leaders of all socialist countries'.Basically Nagy sought protection in the Yugoslavian embassy. They and Krushchev agreed that Nagy should be free to leave Hungary. As soon as he left Nagy was arrested by Soviet troops, accused of treason and hanged in June 1958.
• What did America and other UN countries do following Nagy's arrest?

  They:-(USA) offered food and medical aid worth $20 million to Hungary -(USA) allowed 80,000 Hungarian refugees to move to the USA-(Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands) boycotted the 1956 Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary
• How did Krushchev reassert Soviet countrol in Hungary?

  He appointed Kadar as the new Hungarian Leader. He published a new 15 point programme which included:-re-establishing communist control of Hungary-using Hungarian troops to stop attacks on Soviet forces-remaining in the Warsaw Pact-negotiating the withdraw of soviet troops once the crisis was over
• What were the refugee problems in Germany?

  Between 1949 and 1961 2.7 million East German refugees, of some who were highly valued in the workplace, fled to West Germany. West Germany was highly attractive as its citizens enjoyed much richer lifestyle.
• Why did Krushchev give the US troops a 6 month ultimatum to leave the city of Berlin?

  To prevent refugees escaping to West Germany.
• How did Eisenhower respond to Russia's ultimatum?

  He agreed to hold an international meeting to decide Berlin's future.
• What happened at the Geneva summit of 1959?


  -Only top officials attended-It was discussed that Krushchev should visit the USA to hold face-to-face talks with Eisenhower-No solution to the problem was agreed however it did lay groundwork for Krushchev to visit the USA and hold face-to-face talks with Eisenhower
• What happened at the Paris summit of 1960?

  -Krushchev and Eisenhower attended-An American spy plane had been shot down over Russia. Eisenhower refused to apologise.