CW 1.1: Early Tensions Between East and West
When was the Warsaw Uprising and how did this involve the Soviet Union?
1944. The Poles expected Soviet support (as promised). Instead the Red Army waited until the uprising was crushed and then invaded Poland and established a pro-communist government. Some of the London Poles were included but were later forced to flee or be imprisoned.
Both Stalin and Truman feared conflict if the Grand-Alliance broke up. When did they ask their embassies to report on attitudes in each other's countries?
1946
By what year did Britain, France and China also have atomic bombs?
1964
When was the Soviet Union's first successful test of the atom bomb? How long after the USA was this?
29th August 1949 4 years after the USA
How many members eventually signed the Treaty of San Fransisco and which nations were given the power to veto resolutions?
51 members signed the treaty. The USA, Soviet Union, France, Britain and China were made permanent members and given the power to veto resolutions.
When did the USA explode an atom bomb over Hiroshima?
6th August 1945
When did the USA explode an atom bomb over Nagasaki?
9th August 1945
What was decided about the United Nations in the 1945 Yalta Conference?
A United Nations would be set up and have its first meeting on the 25th of April 1945. All nations could join but the USA and France disagreed with Stalin that all 16 Soviet republics could join individually. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus were admitted.
What happened to the government of Czechoslovakia after World War 2?
A coalition government lead by Benes tried to restore democracy. Stalin saw this as a threat. Communists supported by the Soviet Union staged a coup in February 1948. Benes and other non-communists were removed and a pro-Soviet communist government was set up under Klement Gottwald
Who were the London Poles?
A group of politicians who left Poland after the German invasion in 1939 and formed a government in-exile, first in Paris and then in London.
What were Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia known as? How independent from the Soviet Union were they? When were they conquered by the Soviet Union?
Baltic States They were considered part of the Soviet Union 1940
Why was Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech so bad for US-USSR relations? (where was the speech held?)
Churchill was speaking in the USA and mus have had his speech cleared by Truman. Stalin assumed Churchill reflected US beliefs.
What provoked Churchill to make his 'Iron Curtain' speech?
Communist government had been set up in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
Which country was the only democracy in Eastern Europe in the years 1919-38?
Czechoslovakia
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July-August 1945
When was The Grand Alliance formed?
June 1941 after 4 million German troops invaded the Soviet Union
What did Kennan's Long Telegram contain as a solution and why? What policy the the American government now follow as a result?
Kennan believed that the Soviet Union was not suicidal, so if faced with strong resistance, would back down. The American government believed there should be a determined policy of 'containment' to stop communism spreading.
When did Churchill give his 'Iron Curtain' speech?
March 1946
How many tons of TNT is the Hiroshima bomb equivalent to?
Over 12,000 tons of TNT
How many Japanese civilians are estimated to have been killed by the bombs?
Over 120,000
What was agreed about Poland in the 1943 Tehran Conference?
Poland should receive land from Germany The Soviet Union could keep land it claimed from Poland in 1939. This helped Stalin secure his Western Border
What had changed in terms of personnel between the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam conference?
Roosevelt died in April 1945 and was replaced by Harry S. Truman Winston Churchill and the Conservative party lost the 1945 general election. He was replaced with Labour prime minister Clement Atlee
How did communist support change in elections in Hungary in the years 1945,47 and 49?
Some communists were elected in 1945 but not enough for a government. In 1947, intimidated by a campaign supported by Moscow, voters elected a communist government. Hungary was a one-party communist state by 1949
What was decided about governments in Eastern Europe in the 1945 Yalta Conference?
Stalin agreed that future governments in Eastern Europe would be decided by free elections
What was decided about Japan and Russia in the 1945 Yalta Conference?
Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan three months after the defeat of Germany.
What message in Kennan's Long Telegram worried the US?
Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism and that he felt the world outside the Soviet Union was hostile and looking to destroy communism.
How did the 1943 Tehran conference impact relations between The Grand Alliance?
Stalin was concerned the US and UK were deliberately delaying a 'second front' to weaken the Soviet Union. Churchill wanted to open the 'second front' in the Balkans but Roosevelt sided with Stalin on this issue. Churchill feared the US and Soviet Union becoming the ONLY global superpowers. Roosevelt seemed to see British Colonialism as more of a threat to World Peace than the Soviet Union
When and where did the leaders of the Grand Alliance meet during the War? (3 occasions)
Tehran November 1943 Yalta February 1945 Potsdam July 1945
What does veto mean? (specific to UN)
Forbid or refuse. Permanent members of the UN Security Council can stop resolutions being passed with a single 'no' vote, even if all other members think it should be passed.
Where did Churchill give his 'Iron Curtain' speech?
Fulton, Missouri
Who was the American ambassador in the Soviet Union? Was he taken seriously and why?
George Kennan had lived and worked in the Soviet Union as a diplomat. When he sent a telegram discussing US- Soviet relations, his views were taken seriously by the American government.
What 3 significant world events had happened between the Yalta conference and the Potsdam conference?
Germany surrendered in May 1945 US scientists developed an atomic bomb which was tested successfully the day after the conference began. The United Nations had been created in the Treaty of San Fransisco in June 1945.
What agreements were made at the Potsdam conference? (German Land)
Germany would be divided into 4 sections administered by the Soviet Union, the USA, Britain and France but the German economy would be run as a whole. Berlin would be divided into four zones controlled by different countries even though it was well inside Soviet-controlled Germany.
What was decided about Germany in the 1945 Yalta Conference?
Germany would be split into 4 and controlled by USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Germany would pay $20 billion in reparations. Half of which would go to the Soviet Union. Nazi Party banned and war criminals prosecuted.
What was Atlee's main concern? (Potsdam conference.)
He did want talks to drag on so he could return to Britain to take charge.
What did Truman think of the Poland arrangements? (Potsdam Conference)
He objected to the borders that had previously been agreed as he wanted a new government with less communist influence.
What did Truman think of the Eastern European arrangements? (Potsdam Conference)
He objected to the control the Soviet Union had over liberated countries. He saw the Red Army as an army of occupation but could not do much without risking war.
What did Churchill say in his 'Iron Curtain' speech?
He thought the Soviet Union was a threat to freedom and world peace.
How did the development of the atomic bomb by the USA affect negotiations with the Soviet Union?
It did not make Stalin more likely to allow Eastern European countries more freedom. Stalin felt more determined to make the Soviet Union secure. He wanted to create a buffer zone of countries sympathetic countries to communism between Germany and the Soviet Union.
What did the atomic bomb do for Cold War tensions? Did this make war more likely?
It dramatically increased tensions. A bomb that could kill millions of people scared people but also made the USA and the Soviet Union less likely to want to go to war. Instead they entered an arms race.
Where is Potsdam?
Near Berlin
Who sent the Novikov Telegram? What was his role?
Nikolai Novikov a soviet diplomat in Washington.
What did Churchill nickname the alliance between the Soviet Union, USA and Britain?
The Grand Alliance
What agreements were made at the Potsdam conference? (reparations)
The Soviet Union wanted Germany to pay large reparations but Truman worried about Germany's economy so they agreed each administering country should take reparations from its own zone. The Soviet Union controlled the poorest area so it was allowed to take 1/4 of the industrial equipment from the other areas.
Why were the three members of The Grand Alliance suspicious of each other?
The US and Britain feared Stalin spreading communism. Stalin feared the US and Britain trying to stop communism. Churchill saw it as his role to stop Communism expanding however, Roosevelt wanted Stalin's help in defeating Japan and was not always as tough on Stalin as Churchill wanted.
What was agreed in terms of conflict in the 1943 Tehran Conference?
The US and Britain would open a 'Second Front' in Western Europe to ease pressure on the Eastern front Stalin would declare war against and supply troops to fight against Japan once the war in Europe was over
What did Novikov's telegram say?
The USA wanted to use their massive military power to dominate the world. He believed that since Roosevelt's death, the Americans no longer wanted to co-operate with the Soviet Union and they had the American peoples' support if this led to a war.
What was decided about Poland in the 1945 Yalta Conference?
The borders of Poland would be returned to their borders in 1921 which gave the Soviet Union significant gains There would be free elections. Stalin expected the communists to win but the British supported the non-communist London Poles
What was Kennan's telegram known as and why?
The long telegram. Most telegrams were short but his was more like a letter.
What was agreed about an international body in the 1943 Tehran Conference?
There was a general agreement that there should be an international body to settle disputes through discussion and negotiation rather than war. This laid the ground for the United Nations.
What was agreed about Germany in the 1943 Tehran Conference?
There was no formal agreement but they agreed that, in principle, there should be an unconditional surrender of Germany and it should remain weak after the war.
Some historians argue that the USA could have won the war without using nuclear weapons. What other reasons do these historians suggest that the USA had for dropping the nuclear weapons? Is there evidence to support this?
They argue it could have been to establish a stronger bargaining position with the Soviet Union. Knowing the USA could make atomic bomb made Truman feel more confident and determined in the Potsdam negotiations
How did the development of the atomic bomb by the USA affect countries in Western Europe?
They began to feel more secure about placing themselves under American protection, rather than looking to reach agreement with the Soviet Union.
Were Yugoslavia and Albania ever occupied by the Red Army? What did this give them over other satellite states?
They were never occupied so they had more independence. They were communist though
What was the purpose of the Tehran conference?
To plan a winning strategy to end the war
What changed in terms of the relationship between the Soviet Union and the USA after the Potsdam conference and why and when?
Truman believed Stalin was trying to spread communism but in Stalin's view, getting control of Eastern Europe was a reasonable defence measure. In the years 1945-46. the basic disagreement and mutual suspicion turned the wartime alliance into peacetime hostility.
What approach did Truman take with Stalin? (Potsdam conference)
he took a 'get tough' approach. He deliberately delayed the date of the conference until the atomic bomb was ready. He thought it would give him an edge on discussions.