Superpower relations and Cold War

• The Grand Alliance

  The Grand Alliance was created in 1941 with the sole purpose of defeating Nazi Germany and the other Axis powers including Japan.
• Grand Alliance

  It was a marriage of convenience (practical partnership) between three very different countries:

  • Britain
  • The USA
  • The Soviet Union (the USSR).
• The Tehran Conference, 1943 


  USA and Britain agreed to invade Europe from the West through Nazi-occupied France. The Soviet Union agreed to invade Germany from the East. The Soviet Union also agreed with the Americans that it would declare war against Japan.
• Who was the Grand Alliance a 'marriage of convenience' between?

  • USA
  • Britain
  • Soviet Union
• What did the Grand Alliance agree at the Tehran Conference?

  • USA and Britain invade Europe from the west through Nazi-occupied France
  • USSR invade Germany from the East
  • USSR declare war on Japan
• Reactions to the conference

  For Stalin, the Tehran Conference was a success. He would gain Polish territory after the war. 

  Churchill was less pleased.
• When was the Grand Alliance created?

  1941
• What was the aim of the grand alliance?

  to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies.
• When was theTehran Conference?

  November 1943
• When was the Yalta Conference?

  February 1945
• Which agreement at Yalta was designed to aid people freed from Nazi control?

  The Declaration of a Liberated Europe.
• According to Yalta, which sphere of influence would Poland exist under?

  The Soviet sphere of influence.
• Who became the President of the US after Roosevelt's death?

  Harry S. Truman
• Which four nations would control Berlin and Germany after Potsdam?

  • The USA
  • Great Britain
  • France
  • The Soviet Union
• Which two leaders came to power in 1945?

  Harry Truman, Clement Atlee
• After Potsdam, what proportion of all output in British, American and French zones of Germany would the Soviets receive?

  1/4
• What was the domino effect (which Truman feared)?

  As more nations got communist governments, they would then support communist revolutions in nearby countries funding populist uprisings. In other words, If one country fell to Communism, more countries would fall to communism.
• When was Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech?

  March 1946
• When was the Truman Doctrine initiated?

  1947
• Poland, Romania and Bulgaria already had communist governments. Truman feared this may spread to countries like Greece and Turkey, who struggled to fight off communist revolutions. He feared a ' domino effect'. If one country fell to Communism, more countries would fall to communism.
• What was the Truman Doctrine?

  Truman committed to giving political, military and financial aid to countries to stop the spread of communism.
• How much aid did the USA send to Europe through the Marshall Plan?

  • European nations - $12.7bn. 
  • Britain - $2.7bn. 
  • West Germany - $1.7bn. 
  • Turkey - £137 million.
• What was the policy of 'containment'?

  Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, the USA sought to contain communism through military and economic assistance to primarily Western European countries.
• How did the Soviet Union interpret the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan?

  • The Soviet Union saw both the 1947 Truman Doctrine and the 1947 Marshall Plan as a threat to Eastern Europe. 
  • The Soviet Politburo (leadership board of the communist party in Russia) viewed the Marshall Plan as an example of America's 'economic imperialism'.
• How much aid did the USA send to Europe through the Marshall Plan?

  $12.7 billion
• The USA sought to contain communism through military and economic assistance to primarily Western European countries. What was this policy called?

  The policy of 'containment'
• Between 1952 and 1961, how many East Germans migrated to West Germany?

  3.5 million
• Why were East Germans attracted to West Berlin?

  • Living conditions were better.
  • Wages were higher.
• When did Khrushchev issue his first ultimatum over Berlin?

  November 1958
• Why was the Paris Summit in May 1960 unsuccessful?

  The USSR shot down an American 'U2' spy plane in Russian airspace.
• When did the USSR begin to build the Berlin Wall?

  13th August 1961
• The U2 Spy Plane Crisis undermined all progress at the 1960 Paris Summit. Talks broke down after the USSR shot down an American 'U2' spy plane in Russian airspace.
• Who controlled West Berlin after the Berlin Wall was erected?

  The Allies (Britain, France, and the USA)
• How many people are estimated to have been killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall?

  Between 80 and 200 people
• Which US president visited West Berlin in 1963, calling himself a Berliner?

  John F. Kennedy
• On a visit to West Berlin on the 26th June 1963, John F Kennedy, the US President who would be assassinated in November 1963, described himself as a 'Berliner' in a symbolic speech.
• When did Alexander Dubcek became the leader of Czechoslovakia?

  January 1968
• What did Dubcek want to do for the communism in Czechoslovakia?

  Dubcek wanted communism to have a ‘human face’, introducing reforms that improved the lives of the Czechoslovakian people.
• Which reforms did Dubcek allow in April 1968?

  • Censorship was relaxed.
  • More criticism of communism was allowed.
  • Other political parties were permitted.
  • The secret police had their powers reduced.
  • Arresting and detaining without trial was restricted. 
  • Some capitalist elements were even allowed in the economy to create a form of “market socialism”.
• What was Dubcek's series of reforms known as?

  The Prague Spring