Booklet One - The origins of the Cold War

• Cold War


  Conflict between USA and USSR, war of words and tension
• Proxy Wars


  Wars fought by allies of USA and USSR
• Differing Ideologies


  Conflicting beliefs in political and economic systems
• Capitalism


  Economic system with private ownership and free elections
• Communism


  Economic system with state-owned industry and one-party rule
• The Grand Alliance


  Alliance between USA, USSR, and Britain during WWII
• Operation Barbarossa


  Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941
• Declaration of Liberated Europe


  Agreement on post-war Europe's governance and division
• Soviet Sphere of Influence

  Areas under USSR's control acting as a buffer against invasion
• Potsdam Conference

  Meeting of the Big Three to discuss post-WWII Europe
• Atomic Bomb

  Nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• The Long Telegram

  Report urging containment of communism by the USA
• Novikov Telegram

  Report highlighting American desire for world dominance
• Satellite States

  Eastern European states controlled by the USSR through coercion
• Iron Curtain

  Term coined by Churchill to describe the divide between Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War.
• Buffer Zone

  Area created by the USSR in Eastern Europe to protect against Western influence.
• Truman Doctrine

  Policy to support countries resisting communism with aid, advisors, and weapons.
• Marshall Plan


  US initiative providing financial aid to Western Europe to prevent the spread of communism.
• Containment

  US strategy to prevent the spread of communism, notably in Europe.
• Cominform

  Organization created by Stalin to unify communist countries behind the Iron Curtain.
• Comecon

  Soviet response to the Marshall Plan, aimed at economic development in Eastern Europe.
• Berlin Blockade

  Stalin's attempt to cut off West Berlin, countered by a massive Western airlift.
• NATO

  Alliance formed by 12 countries to collectively defend against aggression, notably from the USSR.
• Federal Republic of Germany


  New state established in West Germany after WWII, separate from the German Democratic Republic.
• Truman

  US President who introduced the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.
• Stalin


  Soviet leader who responded to Western policies with Cominform and Comecon.
• Churchill

  British Prime Minister who coined the term 'Iron Curtain' during the Cold War.
• Yalta

  Location where agreements were made regarding post-WWII Europe, including free elections.
• Eastern Europe

  Region where communist governments were established by the USSR post-WWII.
• USA

  Country feared by the USSR for its atomic power and perceived aggression.
• Greece and Turkey

  Countries supported by the Truman Doctrine due to communist threats.
• Yugoslavia


  European communist state expelled from Cominform for seeking Marshall aid.
• Ernest Bevin

  British foreign secretary who praised the Marshall Plan as a lifeline to Europe.
• Iron Curtain Speech

  Churchill's address criticizing Soviet actions and coining the term 'iron curtain'.
• Berlin Crisis

  Tension and blockade in Berlin due to Western policies and Soviet fears.
• Western Europe

  Region where Marshall Aid successfully halted the spread of communism.
• Eastern Germany

  Region included in Comecon and under Soviet influence post-WWII.
• Truman's Policy


  Focused on supporting free peoples resisting oppression and communism.
• Stalin's Reaction

  Created Cominform and Comecon in response to Western policies and aid.