Cold War Origins

When was the Potsdam?

A conference held from July 16 - August 2, 1945 in Potsdam occupied Germany.

What was the The Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact?

A pact in which Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to remain neutral in the case that they were attacked by a third party

What were the results of the Potsdam Conference?

All of the goals listed were achieved.

What were the changes in leadership prior to the conference?

Besides the death of Roosevelt, Britain had elected Clement Attlee as the new prime minister.

What happened after the Yalta conference?

Following the end of the Yalta conference, the allies finished their invasion of Germany, and in July of 1945, the United States dropped an Atomic Bomb on Japan following the infamous incident at pearl harbor.

What were the great purges?

In the Soviet Union (1936-1938), dozens of soviet leaders were killed and put on trial for allegedly collaborating with Nazis - this would later be known as the "great purges"

Connection of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact to the start of the cold war

It ruined the relations between the "capitalist west" and "communist Russia" and made relations worse than they had ever been, in the previous 20 years, on the eve of World War II.

Who was one notable person missing from the Potsdam conference?

On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt of the United States died, and was subsequently unable to attend to the conference.

What happened a day after the Potsdam conference began?

The United States successfully tested their first Atomic Bomb

What was the western reaction to the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact?

The West was angered and betrayed because they felt like it confirmed the Soviet Union's "treachery and duplicity".

What was the Yalta Conference?

The Yalta conference was a meeting held during World War II, between February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945, by the heads of the state of the allied nations (Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill). The meeting was held to plan out the occupation of post war Germany.

What was the Curzon line?

The border to be drawn between Poland and the USSR, which was decided during the Yalta conference.

Connection to the start of the cold war

The collective security of the allies declined, and the west began to distrust the Russians

Western reaction to the great purges?

The western nations began to doubt the ability and trustworthiness of the Soviet Union. First of all, because, the nation had so savagely turned on its own people, and secondly because they had lost many of their important leaders.

What was the reaction to Germany's demands?

This changed the state of the war, because at this point, Germany was a most favorable position, because she knew that the allies were weak and afraid of her. Furthermore, this even strained the relationship between the western powers and Russia, since the allies did not agree with Russia's standpoint, and did not even consult him in the decision

USSR's reaction to the 'second front crisis'

This made the USSR think that the United States was scared of war, and in that sense was not a legitimate ally ,that if called upon would go to bat for, the Soviet Union

What was the the state of Europe during the time of the Yalta conference?

When the Yalta conference was held, WWII was nearing an end - Germany was on the verge of a "unconditional surrender" (which a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party), and Japan was fighting on the defensive.

Was their tension in the allied camp after Potsdam, and if so why?

Yes there was in fact tension in the allied camp. This was partly because of the decisions made between the USSR and the United States, on the the percentage of reparations that the USSR would be set to receive. Moreover, the allies , particularly Attlee and Truman, who believed that Stalin , who was assigned to setup "free elections" in Poland, but was in likelihood going to setup a pro-communist government in Poland.

What were the goals of the Potsdam conference?

-- Establish a stable post-war Germany -- Host "free elections" in Poland -- Setup the United Nations following the failure of the league of nations

Why did the allies intervene in the bolshevik uprising?

1. because of their imperialistic ambitions (specifically those of britain and france) - desire to maintain economic and financial control over russia 2. Because they feared that the social unrest stirred by the bolsheviks would extend to the rest of europe and perhaps even threaten their own regimes

-->Prompt: Analyze the importance of historical differences between the USSR and the West in the formation of the Cold War.

One of the greatest differences between the USSR and the West was the difference in the two nations ideologies. The USSR was traditionally communist, and, also in that respect, subsequently, quasi-socialist as well, while the West was capitalist and democratic. This difference, in political theory, alone served to create tension between the regions of the world; their ideologies were completely opposite to one-another - Communism was a system whereby the entire nation would be equal in terms of material wealth, whereas capitalism gave individuals the opportunity to amass huge sums of personal wealth. The result was a world divided into three echelons based on belief: the capitalist west, the communist USSR, and the fascist Nazi regime. As the west viewed it, both regimes presented a threat to their security; the Nazis were a problem in terms of their military ability, and the threat they posed being within reach of the United Kingdom and France. While the USSR posed the threat of spreading the "evil" that is communism. According to Harry S. Truman, "if the Russians were winning, [the war] we ought to help Germany, and if the Germans were winning we ought to help the Russians". This displays the relativity of the attitudes that the west had towards both the USSR and Nazi Germany.

What happened Post - 1938 (Germany's demand for concessions from Czechoslovakia) ?

Russia wanted to stand firm and deny Germany all of their demand. While Britain and France, for fear of being swept into war, wanted to oblige Germany, and on September 29 1938, they did. They held a conference in Munich to negotiate the German demands, all of which were met by Italy, France, and Britain.

What was with the second front crisis?

The Second Front crisis was when Roosevelt promised Russia a "front" in 1942, but he only fulfilled his promise in 1944