The Cold War
Storyboard Text
- The Conferences
- The leaders ( Roosavelt, Churchill and Stalin ) met at Tehran in 1943 and at Yalta in 1945In Tehran, Britain and America agreed to open a second front against the Germans by invading Northern France. Stalin, in return, will fight Japan as soon as Germany was defeated. Russia was promised compensation in Poland, while Poland would gain some German land. All the leaders agreed on the idea of a new world peace.In Yalta, Germany was to be divided into four zones; controlled by USA, GB, France and the Soviet Union. Eastern European countries would have free elections. New leaders ( Truman, Attlee and Stalin ) met at Potsdam in 1945. In Potsdam, Germans living in Czech, Poland and Hungary will be sent home. They agreed to demilitarise Germany, and that Germany would have free elections. It was agreed that each administratering country should take reparations from its zone.
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- The atomic bomb and the Arms Race
- The USA developed an atomic bomb before the Yalta conference. This increased tension between USA and Russia because USA had more power at the conference.The atomic bomb was equivalent to 12 tonnes of TNT.They used it against Japan (Hiroshima then Nagasaki) to end the war. USA sent a the Novikov Telegram informing Stalin of their plan to destroy the Soviet sphere of influence. These factors led to Stalin feeling like he needed to defend himself, leading to the Arms Race.The Arms Race was a race to get the most military as possible. Weapons 10 times more powerful than the atomic bomb were made. Such as the Hydrogen bomb.
- Communism in Eastern Europe
- Czech, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria all formed coalitions. They either then executed, exiled, or imprisoned the opposite party which wasn't communist.In Yugoslavia, Marshall Tito was determined to apply communism in his own way and was expelled from coming cominform in 1948.In Albania, the Communists immediately gained power after the war, with little opposition.In Hungary, communists became the largest single party in the 1947 elections, they imprisoned opposition politicians and attacked church leaders.Eastern Germany was given to the USSR after the war.Greece didn't fall under Soviet control. Due to Marshall aid money, it was able to rebuild itself quickly.
- The Truman Doctrine and Marshall aid
- The Truman Doctrine was designed to stop the spread of communism in Eastern Europe.After WW2 and the Greek civil war, Truman noticed that many countries will require money to rebuild infrastructure. This will also stop countries from falling into extreme governments, like communism. Truman said that communism especially grew in "misery and want"So, George Marshall set up the Marshall plan in 1947. He will provide aid and moneybto struggling countries, not only for defence and military but also for infrastructure.Between 1948-1952, USA gave over $13 billion shared over 16 countries in Western Europe.Although Czech changed to a communist country, Greece didn't due to the help from USA and GB.
- The events at Berlin
- Berlin was important because although it was in the center of the Soviet sector, it was divided into Western Germany and Easrern Germany, meaning USA had a small area of land in communist Germany. The Western zone also received Marshall aid money.Western Berlin was introduced to a new currency, the Deutschmark. This worried Stalin, as he feared that democratic ideas will spread to the rest of Eastern Germany.Stalin decided to blockade Berlin. Every entrance by road or train were blocked in an attempt to stop democratic ideas spreading.Seeing this, USA decided to send food and coal to Berlin via plane. If Russia shot down a plane, it would have been an act of war.The airlift began on 2nd June 1948 and carried on for 11 months. During this time, over 275,000 planes flew from USA to Berlin, meaning 1 plane took off roughly every3 minutes.Stalin called off the blockade in May 1949.
- Strengthening Western zones of Germany
- West Germany joined NATO. An agreement in which if any countries of NATO were attacked, the rest will cone to its assistance.Within a week of Western Germany joining NATO, the Soviet Union made an equivalent communist defence alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact in 1955, set up by Krusshchev (Stalin died in 1953).Due to NATO and Marshall aid money, Western Germany was in much better condition compared to the East. They had luxury items, rebuilt infrastructure, more freedom, better living and working conditions, etc.This lead to the Berlin Crisis (1949 - 1961). Over 4 million East Germans fled to West Germany through West Berlin, seeing as the boarder between East and West Germany was closed.Many of those who fled were workers because money was required in order to leave. Losing workers worried Krushchev.
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