The Cold War

• Tehran Conference


  1943 - Roosevelt, Churchill , Stalin

  - Creation of the western front

  - start of the UN

  - USSR would declare war on Japan
• Yalta Conference


  February 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill , Stalin

  - Germany would be split into 4 zones controlled by major powers

  - UN set up

  - Half of Germanies reparations would go to the USSR

  - USSR declares war on Japan
• Potsdam Conference


  July 1945 - Truman, Attlee, Stalin

  - Germany split into 4 zones but economy functioned as one

  - Berlin split into 4 zones

  - Each country would take reparations from their zone

  - Truman disagreed with Soviet control over eastern europe
• What was the USA's super weapon?


  Development of nuclear bomb by USA

  - bombs were dropped on 6th and 9th of August in Japan killing 120,000 civilians

  - increased tensions between USA and USSR

  - by 1949 USSR, Britain, China and France had nuclear weapons
• What was the Iron Curtain?


  A metaphorical separation between eastern and western Europe
• What was the Truman Doctrine?

  Truman's belief that communism was 'evil' and that stopping it from spreading across the world was a top priority.
• What was the Marshall Plan?

  Financial aid to war torn countries across Europe. Between 1948 and 1952, $12.7 billion was given in aid. Many countries in Eastern Europe refused the offer under Stalin's orders.
• COMINFORM


  September 1947

  - A political group that gave Stalin more control over his satellite states.
• COMECON


  January 1949

  - To provide economic aid to communist countries as an alternative to the Marshall plan.

  - Later it was used for industrial planning and to encourage trade between members.
• What was Trizonia?


  1948 - The unity of the Western German zones (UK, USA and France).

  
  

  - Single currency created called the Deutschmark
• Berlin Blockade


  June 1948

  - Stalin decided to shut off land routes across the Soviet-controlled zone of Germany into the Western-controlled areas of Berlin. The Western zone of Berlin was now cut off from the Western part of Germany, with no communication and food running out
• Berlin Airlift


  June 1948 to May 1949

  - Joint effort by the US and Britain to fly food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet blocked off all ground routes into the city.

  -West had responded peacefully and now Stalin was portrayed as unwise and aggressive
• Consequences of Berlin Crisis - The creation of East and West Germany


  - Federal Republic of Germany was created by America, France and Britain.

  
  

  - In October 1949, Stalin responded by created the German Democratic Republic.
• What was NATO?


  April 1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created to defend against the communist threat

  
  

  - members were Western Countries
• What was the Soviet response to NATO?

  May 1955 - Warsaw Pact was created in response to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) joining NATO.

  
  

  - Members were communist Eastern Countries
• What was the arms race?

  The Soviet Union seemed to always be playing catch-up with their development of nuclear weapons between 1950 and 1958. The USA had a near constant advantage in terms of technological capability and the power of their nuclear weapons. However, the Soviet Union was not far behind as it wanted to maintain equal capabilities to ensure the likelihood of war was reduced through the idea of the nuclear deterrent.
• Korean War


  1950 - 1953

  
  

  - Conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the United Nations (primarily the United States) allying with South Korea and the People's Republic of China allying with North Korea.

  
  

  - 1,550,000 total casualties

  
  

  - the 38th parallel created, the border between North and South Korea
• Reasons for reduction in tensions

  - New leaders: Eisenhower become president and had strong anti-communist beliefs.

  
  

  Stalin died and after a 3 year long power struggle Khrushchev came to power. He had anti-Stalin policies.

  
  

  - Korean war ended in 1953, USA and Soviets had been on opposite sides (PROXY WAR)

  
  

  - reduction in defence spending , both sides new that less money on the arms race would help the economy and resolve internal issues.

  
  

  - Geneva summit 1955
• what is a proxy war?


  a war instigated by one or more major power(s) that does not itself become involved.
• Hungarian Uprising


  1956

  - Hungarian protests about poor living conditions and food shortages were answered by Khrushchev sending in troops to restore order and replace the current leader Rakosi, with popular former Prime Minister Emre Nagy.

  
  

  - Nagy introduced a number of reforms that ended the one party rule and the removal of Soviet troops from Hungary.

  
  

  - Although Khrushchev accepted these reforms as long as they calmed unrest, he would not accept Nagy reforms in November 1956 that Hungary would be leaving the Warsaw Pact.

  
  

  - on the 4th November Soviet troops invaded Hungary and crushed the uprising. Over 20,000 Hungarians were killed .

  
  

  - Nagy was replaced by pro communist Janos Kadar.
• International reaction to Hungary

  - Hungary had expected support from Western powers like the USA.

  
  

  - Eisenhower was not prepared to interfere with countries in the Warsaw Pact as it could lead to nuclear war.

  
  

  - The USA's failure to intervene strengthened Khrushchev's position in the Warsaw Pact. Members knew they could not rely on Western support.
• What was the Berlin refugee problem?


  1958

  - 3 million East Germans had left for West Germany as living and working conditions were better.

  - Skilled workers left for the West.
• Building of the Berlin Wall

  August 1961: 40,000 EG crossed to the west

  
  

  - 12th Aug: East German troops built a barbed wire fence around Berlin and in between Eastern and Western parts

  
  

  - concrete wall was then built to separate them
• International relations after Berlin Wall


  - Tensions between USA and USSR increased and the wall became a symbol for the stark difference between the East and West.

  
  

  - liklihood of 'hot' war decreased
• What was the Cuban Uprising?

  January 1959

  
  

  - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew the pro-American government

  
  

  - They were angry at the extent of American control in Cuba

  
  

  - Castro and Guevara were nationalists
• What was the deal between Cubans and Soviets?


  1960

  
  

  - Castro made a deal with Khrushchev, agreeing that the soviets would buy Cuban sugar and provide economic aid

  
  

  - There was a secret clause that Cuba would receive weapons from the USSR
• What was the Bay of Pigs invasion?

  April 1961

  
  

  - a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. CIA landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow and remove Fidel Castro as the leader of Cuba.

  
  

  - The attempt failed and was a huge embarrasment towards America and the president John.F Kennedy.

  
  

  - Cuba declared itself communist and grew closer to the USSR
• Cuban Missile Crisis


  1962

  
  

  - American spy planes pictured nuclear weapon silos in Cuba.

  
  

  - Khrushchev was worried about US and NATO missiles in Turkey

  
  

  - Khrushchev wanted to prove his strength to Kennedy and the rest of the World after the Berlin Wall crisis.

  
  

  - The USSR wanted to prevent a US invasion of Cuba and keep the communist leaders in power.
• What were the 13 days?

  16th to 28th October 1962

  
  

  - John F Kennedy and his team decided what to do about the situation. They had to be careful not to start a full scale nuclear war.

  
  

  - On the 22nd October Kennedy set up a naval blockade around all of Cuba
• What was the outcome of the thirteen days?


  - At the last minute Soviet ships turned around and significantly reduced the chances of nuclear war.

  
  

  - 26th October, Khrushchev sent a telegram saying that the USSR would remove their missiles if Cuba was not invaded

  
  

  - John F Kennedy accepted the term of the telegram. However, the next day another telegram came through stating that the agreement would only happen if NATO missiles were removed from Turkey. Kennedy ignored the telegram.

  
  

  - In secret, Kennedy's brother agreed to the terms and the public never knew.
• What was the "Hot Line" and what was it's purpose?

  June 1963

  
  

  - The direct phone line from the White House to the Soviet union capital so the leaders can talk about issues
• What was the Test Ban Treaty?


  August 1963

  
  

  - Outlaws nuclear testing (in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater)
• Prague Spring


  1968

  
  

  - Czechoslovakia, under Alexander Dubcek, began a program of reform. Dubcek promised civil liberties, democratic political reforms, and a more independent political system. T
• What was the Soviet reaction to the Prague Spring?

  August 1968

  
  

  - Brezhnev ordered Dubcek to stay in line and he ordered Warsaw Pact troops to surround Czechoslovakia

  
  

  - On the 20th August 1968, after Dubcek had invited Romania and Yugoslavia to a meeting, Brezhnev decided to take action and 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded and quickly took control of the country.
• What happened to Dubcek?

  Arrested, sent to Moscow, dismissed from office and replaced by Husak, who was a hard line communist
• What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?


  Was passed in 1968 by the Soviet leaders, making it legal to use brutal force control communist countries
• When was the period of Détente?

  1970s
• Why was the US following Detente?


  - Vietnam war was costing billions of dollars and resulted in 60,000 US deaths. Richard Nixon was appointed in 1968 and wanted to bring an end to the war.

  
  

  - Large anti-war protests in the and many believed America should take a step back in international affairs

  
  

  - USA was facing social problems like wealth gap, inequality between races. Urban rioting was rife, triggered by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

  
  

  - Many criticised America for ignoring domestic issues in favour for international conflicts
• Why was the USSR following Détente?


  - Soviet Union had large economic issues domestically and needed to reduce spending on the military in order to improve standards of living and updating the economy.

  
  

  - USSR now felt that they were equal with the US in nuclear capability and the Vietnam war proved that their army was not unbeatable. So the Soviets thought that now would be a good time for peace with America.
• What were the 3 baskets of the Helsinki Accords?

  1. European borders could not be changed by military force (inviolable). This was the first time that a border between East and West Germany was formally recognized as well as the Soviet controlled countries of Eastern Europe.

  
  

  2. All countries would attempt to establish better relations between Western and Eastern European countries through trade, exchange of technology and Space.

  
  

  3. All countries would respect basic Human Rights. These included freedom of speech, religion and movement across Europe.