History: Cold War

• Why did a cold war break out after WWII?

  Although the USSR and the USA fought as allies against Germany, by 1945, the two world's superpowers and the defeat of Germany exposed key ideological beliefs. They were scared of each other expanding .
• What are some of the USA's ideological beliefs and features?

  - Capitalist

  -Democracy

  - World's wealthiest country, however has a large imbalance between the richest lifestyles and poorest lifestyles
• What are some of the USSR's ideological beliefs and features?

  -Communist

  -One party dictatorship

  -Poverty and unemployment were rarer in the USSR than the USA

  -General standard of living was worse than in the USA
• When was the Yalta conference?

  February 1945
• Who attended the Yalta conference?

  Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
• What were some agreements at Yalta?

  - Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan once Germany had surrendered

  - Agreed that Germany would be divided into 4 zones

  - Countries that were liberated from German occupation would be allowed to have free elections

  - The big three would join the new United Nations organisation

  - War criminals would be punished

  - Eastern Europe would be seen as 'Soviet sphere of influence' as they had suffered terribly, losing 20 million soviets
• What were some disagreements at Yalta?

  - Disagreements over Polish border and the movement westwards of the lines. (Stalin wanted the border of the USSR to move westwards into Poland, Churchill didn't approve)
• When was the Potsdam conference?


  July 1945
• Who attended the Potsdam conference?

  Truman, Attlee, Stalin
• What were some agreements at Potsdam?

  - Germany would be occupied by USA, France, Soviets, British as well as Berlin

  - Germany would be demilitarised and disarmed

  - Germany industry capable of being used for military purposes was to be dismantled and the country's educational and judicial systems to be purged of Nazi influence

  - German society was to be reshaped on democratic lines, in the meantime Germany would be run by the four occupying powers

  - Poland was to be compensated in the west by large areas of Germany (Polish borders were moved west)
• What were some disagreements at Potsdam?

  - Stalin wanted to cripple Germany, Truman didn't want to repeat the mistake at Versailles

  - Stalin wanted enormous economic reparations from Germany as compensations for the destruction wrought in the USSR, Truman disagreed, insisting reparations should be exacted y the occupying powers only from their own occupation
• When was the iron curtain speech?

  March 1946
• What was the iron curtain speech and what did it mean?

  Winston Churchill's speech in Fulton, Missouri when he said that the world is divided by "an iron curtain"

  
  

  - The term 'iron curtain' represented the ideological and political divide that separated the democratic and communist worlds during this period.
• How did Stalin tighten his grip on Eastern Europe?

  - Set up Communist governments in Eastern Europe

  - used secret police to arrest those who opposed Communism and in Hungary, they attacked church leaders

  - Cominform

  
  

  
  

  -Communists became the largest single party in the 1947 elections.
• What was Coniform?

  Oct 1947: Stalin set up the communist information bureau/ Cominform to coordinate the work of the communist parties of Eastern Europe.

  
  

  Cominform regularly brought the leaders of each communist party to Moscow to be briefed by Stalin and his ministers
• What is the Truman Doctrine?

  the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection.
• What was the Marshall Plan?

  the economic recovery package of aid from the United States to western Europe after World War II
• What did the Marshall plan involve?

  - Truman saw that post-war Europe was struggling with poverty, $11.5 billion of debt, coal shortages led to a difficult winter in 1947 which was perfect for communism

  
  

  - George Marshall came up with the Marshall plan to offer $17 billion in aid

  The US aim was containment but also to open up markets of US goods.

  
  

  -The USA offered the Marshall plan to the soviets, sure they could not accept it.
• How did the USSR react to the Marshall Plan?

  They was it as US imperialism, Stalin refused to allow Eastern Europe to accept it.
• When was the Berlin Airlift?

  1948-1949
• What was the Berlin Airlift?

  After the USA was sending supplies to Berlin by train, the USSR blocked the rail, road and water access, so the USA started flying in goods.