cold war

Created by

Flo L-W

Cards (113)

what is a cold war?
a state of political hostility between countries
what is the difference between communism and capitalism?
communism:
- work for country not for self
- people only free when equal
- permission required to travel abroad, holidays provided by government
- people can only vote for one political party
- state owns all businesses/property
- censorship of the media
- fundamental belief of encouraging communism elsewhere
capitalism:
- free to vote
- no censorship
- people able to own property/businesses
- spread influence to other countries to encourage capitalism
both only safe when their own ideologies are the only one
what were USSR's/USA's concerns before WW2 
USSR:
- 1918, churchill said communist regime should've been strangled at birth
- stalin was convinced that the west had deliberately delayed the attack on nazis in 1944 so the soviets would have to do most of the fighting and left weak
- britain + france + us = less than 1 million deaths, soviets lost 11 million. stalin felt allies tried to destroy russia, and theu deserved more of a reward for damage suffered
USA:
- western powers greatly worried by russian revolution, sent troops to russia to help those trying to overthrow government
- stalin unpopular in america due to brutal leadership of russia, responsible for millions of deaths
- russia signed nazi-soviet pact with hitler (1939), triggered WW2 as allowed hitler to invade poland - betrayal to USA
both:
common goal of defeating hitler papered over enormous tension between superpowers
what was the grand alliance?
soviet union allied with britain and usa, stalin forced into this arrangement by german invasion of soviet union in 1941
what were the different attitudes of the superpowers in the grand alliance?
stalin: annoyed britain + usa delayed opening a second front, convinced british + american were waiting until soviet union was seriously damaged by germans, believed soviet control of poland essential to preven future invasionschurchill: staunch opponent of bolshevik revolution (violent communist revolution), suspicious of stalin's motives in eastern europe (especially poland in 1943 when german troops discovered mass grave of bodies of 10,000 polish officers murdered by soviets in 1939), convinced soviet troops would remain in countries liberated from germans, britain gone to war in 1939 to maintain independence of poland
what was the tehran conference?
- november 1943
- roosevelt unwell, tended to side with stalin so he mostly got his way
main agreements:
- britain and usa agreed to open up second front by invading france in 1944
- soviet union was to wage war against japan once germany defeated
- united nations organisation was to be set up after war
- area of eastern poland added to soviet union - churchill hated this as one of the reasons they went to war was to protect poland
what was the yalta conference?
- february 1945
- germany close to defeat, so met to consider what to do with germany + europe once victory achieved
- last meeting of big three: months late roosevelt died + churchill lost a general election
- stalin wanted germans to pay huge reparations, but roosevelt + churchill agreed this wasn't sensible, amount not agreed until next conference
- disagreements about poland: stalin wanted polish/german border much further to west + friendly polish government, western powers persuaded stalin to allow free elections
main agreements:
- soviet union would enter war against japan once germany had surrendered (same as before)
- divide germany + berlin into four zones: us, britain, french, soviet
- to allow countries that had been liberated from occupation by german army to have free elections
- join new united nations organisation to maintain peace (same as before)
- eastern europe to be a 'soviet sphere of influence
what were the changes between yalta and potsdam?
- soviet troops liberated countries in eastern europe but did not remove military presence
- stalin set up communist government in poland, ignored agreements of yalta, insisted it was defensive measures
- demilitarisation in west, but soviet union continued to expand armed forces
- roosevelt died april 1945, replace by truman who distrusted stalin
- 16th july 1945: americans succesfull tested atomic bomb, stalin furious he wasn't informed beforehand
- halfway through potsdam, churchill defeated in general election + replace by attlee
what was the potsdam conference?
- july 1945
agreements:
- germany + berlin divided as previously agreed
- germany to be demilitarised
- democracy to be re-established in germany, including free elections/speech/press
- germany had to pay reparations to allies, most of it would go towards soviet union
- nazi party banned
- full participation in un
- poland's frontier to be moved westwards to rivers oder and neisse (meant more control for stalin)
disagreements:
- stalin still wanted massive compensation for 20 million russians that died during war, but would permanently cripple germany
- refused by truman as he saw a revived germany as a possible barrier to future soviet expansion
- truman wanted free elections in eastern eruope but stalin refused, made truman furious
why did the potsdam conference increase tensions?
- soviet troops liberated countries in eastern europe but didn't remove military presence, worried america because there is threat of communism empire
- stalin set up communist government, ignored agreements at yalta, upset usa, made stalin seem untrustworthy + a threat
- red army biggest in world, stalin refused cut down his army even though there demilitarisation in west, usa wanted stalin to send army back to russia as stalin holds too much power
- truman replaced roosevelt, distrusted, opposing attitudes
- americans atomic bomb success upset stalin as he thought usa went behind his back
why was there soviet expansion after ww2?
- percentages deal: 2 countries would divide into spheres of influence, stalin and churchill reached this understanding
- strategic importance of poland: soviet unions' security depended on friendly polish government, poland 'corridor for attack' so wanted it to be under his control
- security: stalin wanted to create a zone of soviet-controlled states in eastern europe as a buffer future invasions
- usa, britain + france believe stalin's motives were political
how did communications increase tensions?
- kennan (usa's deputy chief of mission) saw ussr as aggressive and suspicious, recommended firm action by usa against soviet expanision
- sent telegram known as long telegram greatly influenced truman's policies (e.g. policy of containment) (1946)
- ussr knew about long telegram, relatilated in sept 1946 with novikov telegram, sent to stalin by novikov (soviet ambassador)
- telegram hardened stalin's attitude towards usa, worsens relations
how did ussr create satellite states?
1. hold 'free‘ elections (rigged)
2. force countries to become communists using military force/violence
3. use intimidation to spread fear/mistrust through media so no one knew who they could trust
4. arrange the economy to rely on ussr
how did the soviets take control in bulgaria?
1945
- communist-dominated government set up in late 1944
- nov 1945, communists won rigged elections
- went on to ban all other parties
how did the soviets take control in romania?
1947
- coalition government set up early 1945
- jan 1945: communist took part in demonstrations to disrupt government
- march 1945: soviet army intervened + disarmed romanian army , forced king to appoint communist-dominated government under groza
- nov 1946: elections, communists gained 80% on to abolish monarchy
how did the soviets take control in poland?
1947
- june 1945: coalition government set up in poland
- jan 1947: elections rigged to ensure election of a totally communist government
- leader of main opposition party (milokajcyk) fled to london
how did the soviets take control in hungary?
1947
- largest party in 1945 was smallholder's party, won over 50% of votes in aug election
- country began to experience econimc crisis, allowing communist party to seize control of ministry of the interior, used this control to great affect: arrested kovacs (leader of smallholder's party)
- nagy (prime minister) forced to resign
- aug 1947 general elections: communists get large share of votes, took over government + went on ban all other parties
how did the soviets take control in czechoslovakia?
1948
- communists already had great support in czechoslovakia
- by 1947: largest party in coalition government + controlled police/army forces
- 1948: used army to seize control of country: many non-communists arrested, masaryk (foreign secretary, non-communist) murdered
- rigged elections brought communist victory, and soon after all other parties banned
how did the soviets take control in yugoslavia?
they didn't!
- communist resistance fought bravely during war against germany
- leader (tito) elected president, however tito didn't want to take orders from stalin
- this meant yugoslavia was expelled from communist international buearu + other communist countries applied economic sanctions
- tito then accepted aid from the west to challenge stalin further
what was the impact of stalin's actions on us-soviet relation?
- usa + britain alarmed, not expected such complete soviet domination
- major differences began to develop: stalin believe hed could only ensure support of eastern europe countries by setting up soviet-controlled communist government but truman saw this as an attempt to spread communism
what was churchill's iron curtain speech?
- march 1946
- churchill no longer prime minster
- went to fulton in usa to give a speech
- suggested an alliance between usa + britain to prevent further soviet expansion
- worsened relations between sides as stalin saw it as deliberately provocative
what was the truman doctrine?
- 1947, truman began a us policy of containment
- using us influence + military resources to prevent expansion of communism into non-communist countries
introduced because:
- usa belived soviet union was trying to spread communism
- usa had atomic bomb + wanted to use this and superior economic strengths to put pressure on soviet union
- events occuring in greece
what was happening in greece? (1944-7) 
(agreed at yalta that britain would have influence in greece)
- since 1944, there had been a civil war in greece, britain helping royalist government to fight communist forces
- greek election of 1946: communists heavily defeated by royalists
- communists refused to give up, continued guerilla war against greek government, helped by neighbouring communist countries
- britain had 40,000 troops stationed in greece, gave money to government (as well as turkey)
- by early 1947, britain told usa they could no longer afford to support greece/turkey
- usa stepped in with necessary financial aid to prevent spread of communism
- truman announced support for greece in mach 1947, turning point as usa played little part in europe until now
what was the marshall plan?
- 1947, economic aid to europe
- officially called european recovery plan
- announced by general george marshall in june
introduced because:
- truman didn't want to commit us military to defence of western europe
- believed communism generally won support in countries with economic problems, unemployment + poverty (result of ww2), and that if usa could help with recovery there would be no need for coutnries to turn to communism
what aid did the marshall plan give?
- offered to all war-torn european countries to help re-equip factories + revive agriculture/trade
- usa offered money, equiptment, goods
- aid in the form of cash/machinery/food/technological assistance
- in return, agreeded to buy us goods + allow us companies to invest capital in industries
what were the consequences of the marshall plan?
- marshall invited countries to meet togetherand decide how to us us aid, 16 of these set up ooec to put plan into action
- by 1952, usa provided $17 billion to help european countries rebuild economy/raise standard of living, helped factories to recover/rebuild transport systems
- europe become more firmly divided between east + west, stalin initially involved however withdrew because he didn't trust usa/didn't want to show how weak ussr economic was, prevented eastern european countries from being involved
- stalin accused usa of using plan for own selfish interests
what were soviet reactions to the truman doctrine/marshall plan?
- tensions grow, both sides intent on being percived as more powerful: neither could go to war so had to win war of words/deeds
- retaliated by setting up two organisations: cominiform + comecon (in order to extend soviet political + economic control over eastern europe)
what was cominiform?
- set up in 1947 to enable soviet union to coordintate communist parties throughout europe
- soviet's response to truman doctrine
- introduced to ensure states in eastern europe followed soviet aims in foreign policy, such as collectivisation of agriculture/state control of industry
- ussr used organisation to purge members who disagreed with moscow (e.g. tito)
what was comecon?
- set up in 1949, soviet response to marshall plan
- supposed to be a means by which soviet union could financially support countries in eastern europe (in reality it was used by ussr to control economies of states/give ussr access to resources)
what was the berlin blockade?
- soviet attempt to starve allies out of berlin
- ussr closed all road/rail/river transport links into west berlin, stopping all supplies getting into city
what were long-term causes of berlin crisis?
during conferences, allies agreed to divide germany + berlin into 4 zones, however there were almost immediately differences in attitudes:
- ussr ensured that minority communist group took control of eastern zone, tried (unsuccessfully) to secure communist control of berlin city council but scialist majority resisted
- west want to speed up economic recovery of germany, but ussr wanted opposite to secure itself from future attack: wanted to keep it weak and refused to allow own zone to trade with others
- berlin was the heart of soviet-controlled east germany, stalin didn't want allies inside berlin as he realised the capitalist way of life would be on show
what were short-term causes of berlin crisis?
- western allies forged ahead by encouraging economic recovery of zones
- western zones received large quantities of marshall aid
- free elections set up to establish democracy
- sharp contrast to ussr policies as stalin feared strong/democtratic germany on borders of soviet union
- end of 1947: tensions began to rise over how different zones were being administered
- creation of bizonia in jan increased tensions further
what was the berlin airlift?
- after berlin blockade, the only way into berlin was by air so allies decided to airlift supplies from bases to west germany
- airlift began on 28th june 1948, lasted 10 months
- codenamed 'operation plainfare', biggest airlift in history
- soon planes flying day annd night along air corridors, each given an exact time to land at 90sec intervals
- (warning to ussr) truman ordered b-29 bombers which could carry atomic bombs to be sent to britain: soviet union now in us bombing range
- by sept, planes flew 4600 tones of suppies a day
- ussr tried to persuade people to move from west to east berlin: 3% took offer
- airlift continued through spring, peaked on 16-17th april 1949 when 1398 flights landed nearly 13,000 tons of supplies in 24hrs
- total of 275,000 flights, avergae of 4,000 tones each day
- 12th may 1949: stalin called off blockade, failed to starve allies out of berlin
what were the consequences of the berlin crisis?
- confirmed divisions of germany + berlin: may 1949, western allies announced that their former occipation would join together to form the frg. stalin responded in oct 1949 with the gdr
- greatly increased east-west rivalry: victory for truman, defeat (+humiliation) for stalin
- led to creation of nato
what was nato?
- north atlantic treaty organiztion, 1949
- western european states no match for ussr, so needed help from usa
- mean purpose to prevent soviet expansion
- stalin saw nato as an aggressive alliance, especially when decisions to make west germany a member of nato + allow nation to remilitarise were made
what were the consequences of setting up nato?
- usa now committed to defence of western europe
- stalin believed it was aimed against ussr
- intesified arms race between two side and development of ever more powerful weapons of destruction
- within six years, ussr set up warsaw pact (military treaty/association formed in 1955)
what was the warsaw pact?
- set up in 1955, military alliance of eight nations headed by ussr
- designed to counter threat of nato
-played an important role in czechoslovakian crisis of 1968 (prague spring)
- existence of two rival alliance systems in cold war increased rivalry betweeen the usa and ussr, intensified arms race
how did the atomic bomb make arms race develop?
- stalin shocked in 1945 by usa successfully testing atomic bomb
- ussr atomic resarch programme transformed over next years and in 1949 news of first ussr atomic bomb also shocked usa
- truman ordered new powerful weapon to be built: h-bomb (defence spending massively increased)
- ussr retaliated by increasing their defence spending
- 1953: ussr tested h-bomb few months after first usa test
- by 1953 both sides had h-bomb
- 1st march 1954: usa tested biggest h-bomb, power = 15million tons of tnt
- by mid 1950s, american b52 bombers could hve wiped out moscow
- ussr behind usa in nuclear development but could still have destroyed usa: 'balance of terror' (-churchill)
what was the impact of sputnik?
- 1957: soviet rocket launched sputnik, a satellite that could orbit the earth in one and a half hours
- usa saw this launch as a military threat
- 1957-59: usa increased spending on missiles by 20%, president eisenhower founded nasa
- americans concerned ussr was overtaking usa in arms development, so usa expanded training programme for engineers/scientists + us air force increased number of b-52 bombers + us navy equopped some submarines with nuclear weapons
- usa also placed missile bases in some european countries (especially west germany)
what happened after stalin died in 1953?
- little change in soviet policies
- malenkov (deputy leader) became new leader
- after 2 years, khrushchev became leader, criticized stalin's policies, marked start of 'de-stalinization'
- khrushchev believed in peaceful co-existence, brief thaw in cold war, but remerged when ussr brutally supressed a rebelliion in hungary (1956)