term 1

Question 1

what was the position of the UK in 1941

Answer 1

• rationing during the Blitz
• cities being bombed
• fighting since 1939 (weakened)
• 1940 Britain defeated Nazis during battle of Britain

Question 2

What was the position of the USA in 1941

Answer 2

• practicing isolation (1930’s foreign policy)
• Japan attacks pearl harbour 1941
• massive gov spending to raise army - helped economy recover from depression

Question 3

what was the position of the USSR in 1941?

Answer 3

• territorial expansion (defence against hitler)
• Hitler breaks Nazi-Soviet pact

Question 4

Tehran Conference

Answer 4

• Nov 1943 (Iran)
• Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
• they agreed:
  • anglo-american forces would invade france may 1944
  • stalin would join war against japan after germany was defeated
  • ussr would gain territory from eastern poland
  • only accept unconditional surrender from germany

Question 5

Yalta Conference

Answer 5

• Feb 1945 (Ukraine)
• Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
• they agreed:
  • germany divided into four zones
  • ussr would annex polish territory they had in 1939
  • stalin agreed free elections in countries occupied by red army
  • stalin agreed to untied nations
  • soviet union would receive reparations from germany ($20 bill)

Question 6

Potsdam Conference

Answer 6

• May 1945 (Germany)
• Stalin, Truman and Attlee
• They agreed:
  • four zones in germany
  • denazification
  • nazi war criminals charged
  • russia take reparations from the soviet zone
  • ‘orderly and humane’ expulsions of ethnic Germans from Poland, Hungary and Czech

Question 7

Stalin

Answer 7

• communist dictator of USSR
• in power between 1928-1953
• focused on safety of soviet union (economy)

Question 8

Roosevelt

Answer 8

• American president
• in power between 1933-1945
• close relationship with stalin
• wanted united nations

Question 9

Truman

Answer 9

• American president (replaced Roosevelt)
• in power between 1945-1953
• feared soviet expansion
• use nuclear weapons

Question 10

Churchill

Answer 10

• prime minister of the UK
• in power between 1940-1945
• main priority was to end the war
• keep soviets contained

Question 11

Attlee

Answer 11

• prime minister (replaced churchill)
• in power between 1945-1951
• more sympathetic to ussr than churchill
• wanted an american presence in europe

Question 12

Soviet expansion

Answer 12

• salami method
• would invade countries through their government and convert them to communism (usually by threatening those in power/ kidnapping)
• romania (1945)
• east germany (1945)
• bulgaria (1946)
• poland (1947)
• hungary (1948)
• czechoslovakia (1948)

Question 13

George Kennan’s “Long Telegram”

Answer 13

• Feb 1946
• Soviet outlook (from america)
• no peace between cap and com
• democracy > dictatorship
• conflict is good for spreading communism
• leaders will not give up com

Question 14

Nikolai Novikov’s Telegram

Answer 14

• Sep 1946
• american outlook (from soviets)
• USA planning for expansion through democracy
• wants to build an empire
• america doesnt want the spread of com
• america has nuclear weapons

Question 15

Iron Curtain Speech

Answer 15

• March 1946
• necessity for the UK and USA to act as guardians of peace and stability against the threat of communism
• iron curtain = political boundary dividing europe

Question 16

Truman Doctrine

Answer 16

• March 1947
• truman wanted to stop communism spreading = CONTAINMENT
• wanted to support free people politically, economically and militarily
• USA must support the free people so they can maintain their freedom

Question 17

what were trumans thoughts in 1947? (pre-doctrine)

Answer 17

• fear of the spread of communism
• world is weak after WW2 - more likely to ‘fall’ for communism
• USSR is a threat (focusing on preservation and will attack)

Question 18

Marshall Plan

Answer 18

• April 1948
• realising the economy fragility of europe after WW2, George Marshall formed a plan to help recovery
• planned to create stable conditions so democracy could continue (czech had fallen to communism)
• aid offered to all european countries (ones under soviet control withdrew)
• $13 billion of economic aid (first amounted $17 bill)
• USA able to establish long term trading partners

Question 19

Cominform

Answer 19

• Sep 1947
• nine european communist parties: USSR, Bulgaria, Czecho, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yuhoslavia, France and Italy
• aim to publish propaganda and spread communism
• wanted to obstruct the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine

Question 20

Comecon

Answer 20

• Jan 1949
• council for economic assistance under leadership of the Soviet Union
• members included: USSR, Bulgaria, Czecho, Hungary, Poland and Romania
• created in response to the Marshall Plan

Question 21

USA dropping bombs

Answer 21

• 6th Aug 1945
• 9th Aug 1945

Question 22

positives of the Marshall Plan

Answer 22

• alliances weakened western powers & created positive relations
• long-term strong trading partners
• prevented spread of communism in europe (CONTAINMENT)
• America viewed positively by western europe

Question 23

negatives of the Marshall Plan

Answer 23

• divided europe
• cominform created
• comecon created:
  • not as successful as it might have been due to USSR dominating the economy size and industrial production

Question 24

what were the western effects of dropping nuclear bombs on japan?

Answer 24

• strained USA and USSR relations
• USSR felt threatened that the USA would use them to abolish communism