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History |
Core Topics: Chapters 1-7 and Germany Depth Study |
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Core Topics: Chapters 1-7 |
Chapter 1: Were the peace treaties of 1919-1923 fair? Chapter 2: To what extent was the League of Nations a success? Chapter 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? Chapter 4: Who was to blame for the Cold War? Chapter 5: How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism? Chapter 6: How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe 1948- c.1989 Chapter 7: Why did events in the Gulf matter c.1970-2000? |
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Chapter 1: Were the peace treaties of 1919-1923 fair? |
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What were the aims and motives of the Big Three? |
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Why did Lloyd George's approach to Germany soften between November 1918 and January 1919? |
Lloyd George wanted to punish Germany. This is what he told the British people he would do in his campaign for Prime Minister. However, Germany was one of Britain's largest trade partners, so Lloyd George wanted them to remain economically stable so they could continue trade. |
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What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles? (BRAT) |
1. Blame - Germany had to accept war guilt for starting the war, Article 231 gave the Allies legal grounds on which to ask for reparations 2. Reparations - Germany had to pay £6,600 million for the damage done during the war. |
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3. Army - Germany was not allowed to have any submarines or an airforce and could onlt have a navy of six battleships. Her army was limited to 100'000 men with no conscription, all soldiers had to be volunteers. They also had to completely demilitarise the Rhineland. |
4. Territory - Germany lost all their overseas territory and colonies, they also had East Prussia cut off from the main body of Germany by the Polish Corridor. |
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Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted? |
France: Clemenceau wanted to weaken Germany to make sure that they could not attack France again as they had in 1871 and 1914, hence why he demanded heavy reparations and wanted the Rhineland to become an independent state. |
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USA: Wilson took a more internationalist view with his main demand being the League of Nations and he did not want to punish Germany to severley. Wilson was an idealist which meant that most of his 14 points were unrealistic. |
UK: Lloyd George took the middle ground between France and America hence was the most satisfied of the victors. They wanted to punish Germany but they did not want to cripple it as Germany was a large trade partner before the war and it was hoped that the trade links could be restored after the war. |
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Which aspects of the peace settlement satisfied each of the Big Three? |
Clemenceau - Demilitarisation of the Rhineland - Return of Alsace-Lorraine - High reparations - Limited army Wilson - League of Nations - Self-determination Lloyd George - Got german colonies - Small ge |
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What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923? |
Too Harsh: Deprived of all the resources they needed to be able to pay their reparations. Diktat: "Dictated Peace", Germany had no say in the terms of the treaty and were forced to sign Disarmament: Claims that 100'000 men was insufficent for border defence and that it would be difficult to deal with revolts and uprisings. |
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Economic Impact of the Treaty of Versailles |
- The Treaty of Versailles ordered Germany to disband most of its armed forces, leading to high levels of unemployment - Germany had to pay £6,600 million to the Allies; a price many felt was too high a price to pay - By December 1922, Germany could not meet its commitment to reparations |
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What were the terms of the other peace treaties? 1) terms of disarmament, 2) amount of reparation, 3) land lost, 4) new countries formed) |
Germany: Treaty of Versailles (28 June 1919) 1) 100,000 soldiers, six battleships, no airforce 2) 132 billion gold marks to be paid in reparations 3) Posen, Polish corridor, Alsace-Lorraine, all colonies 4) Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania Afterwards: The Dawes and Young Plans re-scheduled Germany's payments. |
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Austria: Treaty of Saint Germain (10 Sept 1919) 1) 30,000 volunteers, no navy 2) Reparations agreed, but never set 3) The Austro-Hungarian empire was dismantled, Tyrol lost to Italy 4) Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania Afterwards: Austria went bankrupt before the amount of reparations could be set. |
Hungary: Treaty of Trianon (4 June 1920) 1) 35,000 volunteers, three patrol boats 2) 200 million gold crowns 3) The Austro-Hungarian empire was dismantled 4) Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania Afterwards: Hungary could not pay the reparations, so its payments were suspended. |
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Bulgaria: Treaty of Neuilly (27 Nov 1919) 1) 20,000 volunteers, four torpedo boats, no air force 2) 2.25 billion francs 3) Land to Yugoslavia, Romania and Greece Afterwards: Bulgaria paid its reparations. |
Turkey: Treaty of Sèvres (10 Aug 1920) 1) 50,000 soldiers, seven sailboats and six torpedo boats 3) Smyrna and East Thrace to Greece, Rhodes to Italy 4) Iraq and Palestine became British mandates. Syria became a French mandate Afterwards: Turkish nationalists, led by Kemel Attaturk, rebelled and rejected the treaty. |
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Chapter 2: To what extent was the League of Nations a success? |
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What were the aims of the League of Nations? |
SIDE
Stop war (collective security) Improve live and jobs Disarmament Enforce the Treaty of Versailles (encourage trade, economic and social agencies, health care, end slavery).
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What were the main organs of the League? (Assembly, Council, Permanent Court of Justice) |
Assembly - Met once a year - Every member of the League had one vote Council - Executive body of the League - Met 4 or 5 times and year and in times of crisis Permanent Court of Justice - Based in The Hague - Offered arbitration to countries in dispute - Provided legal advice to the Council |
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International Labour Organisation - Based in Geneva - Government, employers and workers had reps - Promote good working practices Secretait - The civil service of the League - Administrative and financial work |
Mandates Commision Supervised Germany and Turkey's ex-colonies Danzig Commision Direct League control over the ex-German city Minorities Commision Prevent ill-treatment of racial minority groups Intellectual Cooperation Organisation Contact between academics, artists and writers Special Committee for Drug Traffic Reduce drug misuse and smuggling |
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In what ways could the League attempt to preserve world peace? |
Verbal Sanctions: The League would start off y telling the aggressor to stop their displeasing actions
Economic Sanctions: If the aggressor failed to comply to the League's instructions, the League could order all members to stop trade with the aggressor. Physical Sanctions: If the aggressor still didn't stop, the League would call upon their Collective Security army to forcefully stop the aggressor. |
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Why did some major powers such as the USA and the USSR not joing the League when it was set up in 1920? |
USA: went back to an isolationist foreigh policy and refused to joing the League, this was a factor in why the League failed USSR: Prohibited from joining due to the communist government assassinating the Tsar and his family, making them an international outcast |
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What were the main weaknesses in the structure and organisation of the League? |
- USA never joined the league - Defeated nations, like Germany, were disallowed from the League - Britain and France were the dominant powers - Without Germany and USSR, there were large gaps in the League's authority - "European Club" - No armed forces - Too slow to act, everything had to be unanimous - Too idealistic - All stateshad equal voting rights |
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Describe the League Agencies |
The Court of International Justice consisted of 15 judges meeting at the Hague in the Netherlands, and it gave decisions on things like fishing and shipping disputes. It only made decisions when asked, and had no power to enforce decisions. The Health Committee worked to improve public health worldwide (for instance, killing mosquitoes to try to prevent malaria). |
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The International Labour Organisation met once a year, when it invited governments, employers and workers to send representatives. It wanted to improve working conditions, and it achieved a lot in many countries, but it failed to persuade the League members to accept the 48-hour week. The Refugees Committee worked to help refugees and disaster victims (e.g. Turkey, 1922). |
The Mandates Commission made sure that League countries were ruling the mandates properly, and administered League-controlled areas such as the Saar and Danzig. The Slavery Commission worked to try to abolish slavery (for instance, it organised the attacks on Burma and Sierra Leone which set free 200,000 slaves). |
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How was the League successful in the 1920s? |
TASIB Teschan (1920): Poland and Czechoslovakia fought over this area, in 1920 the League split the land between the two countries Aaland Islands (1921): Sweden and Finland, after an investigation it said that the islands should belong to Finland Silesia (1921): Germany and Poland – it held a plebiscite and suggested a partition which was agreed to Iraq (1924): Turkey demanded Mosul, a part of Iraq (a British mandate). The League supported Iraq. Bulgaria (1925): Greece invaded Bulgaria, who did not fight back, but appealed to the League. The League ordered Greece to withdraw, which it did. |
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How was the League unsuccessful in the 1920s? |
VIMCB Vilna (1920): The Poles captured Vilna, the capital of Lithuania, who appealed to the League. The League passed the incident onto the Conference of Ambassadors who awarded Vilna to Poland. Invasion of the Ruhr (1923): France invaded the Ruhr when the Germans did not pay reparations; the League was not even consulted. Memel (1923): Lithuania seized Memel, a German port under League control. The League told Lithuania to leave, but the Conference of Ambassadors gave Memel to Lithuania. Corfu (1923): An Italian general named Tellini was murdered in Greece, so Italy occupied Corfu. Greece appealed to the League for help, which ordered Mussolini to leave – but the Conference of Ambassadors overruled the League and forced Greece to pay compensation to Italy. Bolivia (1928): In South America, Bolivia and Paraguay went to war over an area of land called the Chaco. Paraguay appealed to the League of Nations, but the League was unable to help because Bolivia refused to agree. |
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How did the Great Depression make the work of the League more difficult? |
First of all, because of the great depression, countries like Japan and Italy wanted to expand their empires so as to get hold of new economies, so Japan invaded Manchuria in china which is a rich region, thus it would improve the falling economy. But the League of Nations was not able to impose economic sanctions over Japan, because 1. The USA, Japan's main trading partner would keep trading with Japan. 2. Non of the members of the League wanted to stop trading because it would worsen the bad economy. This was also the case in the Abyssinian Crisis, Which have lead to the serious underestimation of the League, thus the League lost it's authority which eventually lead to it's downfall in 1940 and the second World War. |
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Why was the League unable to stop both the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia? |
WAS DUMB Weak: Sanctions did not work. It had no army. America: strongest nation in the world never joined; UK and France were not strong enough Structure: took ages to do anything; members didn't agree, but decisions had to be unanimous Depression: countries needed land and power; they were worried about themselves, not about world peace Unsuccessful: the more the League failed, the less people trusted it Members: Italy and Japan defied and left the League, France and Britain betrayed it Bullies: successful with smaller and weaker countries, however the more powerful countries were too strong for the league to stop them |
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Chapter 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? |
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What were the aims of Hitler's foreign policy? |
To destroy the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany after her defeat in World War One. Hitler felt the Treaty was unfair and most Germans supported this view. - To unite all German speakers together in one country. After World War One there were Germans living in many countries in Europe e.g. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland. Hitler hoped that by uniting them together in one country he would create a powerful Germany or Grossdeutschland. - To expand eastwards into the East (Poland, Russia) to gain land for Germany (Lebensraum- living space). |
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How did Hitler destroy the Treaty of Versailles? |
Hitler built up his army in secret, then, in 1935, he openly held a huge rearmament rally. Britain made a naval agreement with Germany (the Treaty had said that Germany could only have 6 battleships). In 1936, Hitler introduced conscription, and war-tested his armed forces in the Spanish Civil War. In 1936, also, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles by moving troops into the Rhineland demilitarised zone. Hitler also broke the Treaty of Versailles in 1938 by invading Austria and declaring Anschluss. By the end of 1938, Hitler was doing the same thing in the Sudetenland which the Treaty of Versailles had given to Czechoslovakia. |
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Was the Treaty of Versailles a long-term cause of the Second World War? |
Treaty established after World War I to stop Germany from going to war again - Harsh mandates on military size, industrial capacities, and foreign policy limitations. Resulted in the German economy doing incredibly poorly and relying on foreign government (like the US) for support - Created huge resentment of European nations in Germany, and as a direct result sparked serious German nationalism - This was a long term cause of World War II because it united Germany in hate for foreign nations, caused the German economy to be reliant on foreign loans, and created a desire among Germans to restore Germany to its former power. All of these eventually resulted in the Nazi party being able to come to power by promising to fix all of these problems. |
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How did Hitler build up his armed forces after 1933? |
On this day in 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered the rearmament of the German army, even though it was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, signed after Germany lost World War I. Hitler simply ignored all these provisions, and the Allies had no way to oppose him. The engagement of German industry in weapons production largely pulled the country out of an economic crisis that had lasted from 1929. Almost full employment was achieved. |
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What happened to the Saar in 1935? |
The Treaty of Versailles put the Saar under League of Nations control and allowed the French to run its valuable coal mines for the next fifteen years. At the end of that time the people of the Saar would vote to decide their future. They would have three choices: To remain under League control, to return to Germany or to become part of France. In 1935 the required vote, or plebiscite, was held. Nine out of every ten Saarlanders voted to return to Germany. For Hitler, this was the first small step towards the union of all Germans in Germany. |
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Why did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland in 1936? |
In March, Hitler ordered his troops back into the Rhineland, against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaty. Hitler’s generals were against the move as they thought the French would resist and also because the German army was too weak. The army actually had strict orders to withdraw if they met any opposition but all went smoothly. The majority of people welcomed the troops. Britain thought Hitler was reclaiming what was rightfully Germany’s and took no action to resist the action and the French wouldn't risk war without British support. It was condemned by the League of Nations but they didn't do anything because they were in the middle of the Abyssinian Crisis. |
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What was the Anschluss of March 1938? |
"Anschluss" was the union of Germany and Austria, something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. Austria was Hitler’s birthplace, held special meaning for him and was linked culturally. There was a strong Nazi Party in Austria and both countries spoke German, 96% of Austrians spoke German. The Austrian Nazis helped Hitler step up his campaign by bombing public buildings and staging mass parades. Hitler sent for Schuschnigg (the Austrian Chancellor) and bullied him into giving more power to the Austrian Nazis. Schuschnigg changed his mind and ordered a plebiscite, excluding younger voters who he thought were more likely to vote Nazi. Hitler was furious and forced his resignation. The Austrian Nazi leader asked Germany to send in troops to 'restore order' and German troops marched into Austria, to be met, on the whole by cheering crowds. A plebiscite was held and 99% voted in favour of the Anschluss. Britain and France did not object as the majority of Austrians seemed pleased with the union. Also this time, Mussolini did not protest as he had back in 1934. |
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What happened at the Munich Conference in September 1938? |
On 29 September 1938 the Munich Conference was called. Here Hitler met with representatives from France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. An agreement was reached that Hitler could take the Sudetenland provided he promised not to invade anywhere else. All four countries signed the agreement: Adolf Hitler of Germany, Neville Chamberlain of the UK, Edouard Daladier of France, and Benito Mussolini of Italy. |
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How did Hitler's foreign policy lead to the outbreak of war in 1939? |
Hitler's foreign policy led to war by being so aggressive that eventually the French and British could no longer ignore the fact that Hitler was trying to gain a dominant position in Europe. Hitler's foreign policy was one of expansion. He used the idea that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germans as a pretext for this expansion. He used it, along with the idea of self-determination for all ethnic groups, to justify the Anschluss with Austria. He used it to demand that the Sudetenland be given to Germany. He then used it to demand and get all of the rest of Czechoslovakia. When he finally used this rationale to invade Poland, the war started. This eventually led the French and British to be alarmed enough to declare war. |
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Why did Britain and France adopt a policy of appeasment towards Germany during the 1930s? |
There were six main reasons why Britain and Frace adopted a policy of appeasement. 1. Britain and France were both still suffering from economic depression and felt that they could not afford to spend a large expenditure on arms to combat these dictators - 2. Britain and France were not prepared for war, France was weak and divided and Britain simply had not mobilised its army, appeasement gave both countries vital time to re-arm and mobilise their armies, ready for war - 3. War would have been very unpopular with the public - 4. British war generals stated that Britain was not ready to fight a war on two fronts, Japan and Germany - 5) The League of Nations had failed by the 1930s, so Chamberlain felt that it would be best to try and negotiate with and civilise the dictators - 6) There was a feeling that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh towards Germany and it was only natural they would try to break it |
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How did appeasemeant lead to the outbreak of war in 1939? |
Appeasement over the German invasion of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia encouraged Hitler to push even further. First he broke a promise made not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia and then he invaded Poland. He believed that they would not react and he could push on with his territorial gains without any fear that they would declare war. Some people have suggested that had Britain/France tried to stop Hitler that he would have backed down, maybe in the short-term, but he was a megalomaniac who thought he was gifted with military genius. So WWII would have happened regardless. |
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Why did Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact? |
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a non-agression pact that split Poland between the two countries. Stalin had two choices: if he made an alliance with Britain, he would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland - if he made an alliance with Germany, he would get half of Poland, and time to prepare for the coming war with Germany. He chose the latter, and on 23rd August 1939, he signed the Pact with Hitler. THUG: Time to prepare for war - Hope to gain - Unhappy with Britain - Germany. |
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How did the Nazi-Soviet Pact lead to the outbreak of war in 1939? |
Freed up Hitler to invade Poland, he knew that Britain couldn't do anything to defend Poland he invaded 9 days later - Ended Britain's hopes of an alliance with Russia to stop Hitler, people in Britain realised that nothing would stop Hitler now but war - Improved morale of British people for war, showed Hitler as an opportunist and a trickster, who could never be trusted. |
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Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939? |
On September 1, the beginning of the German attack, Great Britain and France sent Hitler an ultimatum - withdraw German forces from Poland in two days or Great Britain and France would go to war against Germany. On September 3, with Germany's forces penetrating deeper into Poland, Great Britain and France both declared war on Germany. |
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Chapter 4: Who was to blame for the Cold War? |
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What happened at the Yalta conference? |
February 1945: Germany was not yet defeated, so, although there were tensions about Poland, the big three - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill - managed to agree to split Germany into four zones of occupation, and to allow free elections in Eastern European countries. Russia was invited to join the United Nations, and Russia promised to join the war against Japan when Germany was defeated. |
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What happened at the Potsdam conference? |
July 1945: Germany had been defeated, Roosevelt had died and Churchill had lost the 1945 election - so there were open disagreements. Truman came away angry about the size of reparations and the fact that a communist government was being set up in Poland. Truman did not tell Stalin that he had the atomic bomb. |
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Why did disagreements emerge at Potsdam? |
Relations between the superpowers had worsened considerably since Yalta. In March 1945, Stalin had invited the non-Communist Polish leaders to meet him, and arrested them. Things had got so bad that, in May 1945, the British Joint Planning Group had drawn up plans for 'Operation Unthinkable' - a 'total war ... to impose our will upon Russia'. Meanwhile, Roosevelt had died, and America had a new president, Truman, who was inclined to ‘get tough’ with the Russians. |
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What influence did the "Long Telegram" have on President Truman's approach to the USSR? |
In the Long Telegram, George Kennan, who was an American diplomat based in Moscow, provided Truman with an invaluable insight into Soviet attitudes after WWII and recommended a policy of containment of the Soviet Union's expansion, which became a mainstay of U.S. foreign policy throughout the Cold War. |
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What influence did the "Iron Curtain" speech have on President Truman's approach to the USSR? |
A month after the "Long Telegram", Truman listened to former Prime Minister Winston Churchill deliver a powerful speech for American intervention in European affairs. Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech highlighted not only the extent of Russian control in Eastern Europe, but the threat to the rest of Europe if action against the Soviet's wasn't taken.
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Why did the future of Germany cause tension between the USA and the USSR? |
Stalin wanted to dismember Germany completely and to prevent them from having their own economy and industry. They also wanted access to Germany's industrial area, the Ruhr. Both of these were rejected by the USA. The Allies wanted a strong Germany, to allow them to rebuild their economy and industry, so as to not repeat the mistakes of the Treaty of Versailles. It was however agreed that Germany was to be denazified and that war crime trials were to be held.
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How did Stalin take control of Eastern Europe? |
During the war, Communists from the occupied countries of Eastern Europe escaped to Moscow and set up Communist governments in exile there. As the Red Army drove the Nazis back, it occupied large areas of Eastern Europe and Churchill in the so-called percentages agreement - agreed that Eastern Europe could be a Soviet "sphere of influence". In the countries that the Red Army "liberated", communist-dominated governments took power. The Communists made sure that they controlled the army, set up a secret police force, and began to arrest their opponents. Non-Communists were gradually beaten, murdered, executed and terrified out of power. By 1949, all the governments of Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia, were hard line Stalinist regimes.
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Why did Stalin want to build an empire in Eastern Europe? |
To create a buffer zone between the U.S.S.R. and Western Europe, Napoleon attacked them from Paris and Hitler from Berlin and the Americans would have attacked from Western Europe, so the fight would have been in Poland or Romania instead of the USSR.
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How did ideological differences cause a breakdown in relations between the superpowers 1944-1950? |
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How did mutual suspicion cause a breakdown in relations between the superpowers 1944-1950? |
Tensions between the Western and Eastern Allies were ever-present. Stalin's obsessive secrecy prevented him from sharing his battle plans with either Britain or the USA, while Churchill would not share his knowledge of the Enigma codes with the USSR. British and American pilots who flew supplies into the USSR complained that the Soviets did not seem to trust them. At a political level, suspicions about the conduct of their allies were voice in Whitehall, Washington and Moscow.
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How did the creation of the Eastern bloc cause a breakdown in relations between the superpowers 1944-1950? |
Soviet Union, using the influence it had gained through the war, established and enforced communist rule and created an alliance of countries on its eastern borders that stood as a buffer between the Western world and itself - a formation that became known as the Eastern Bloc. USA was unhappy with the Eastern Bloc as they believed it was Stalin's first step to taking over Europe entirely, turning them all communist.
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What were the main features of Truman's containment policy? |
By 1947, Greece was one of the few countries in Eastern Europe that hadn't turned communist. The Communist rebels in Greece were prevented from taking over by the British Army. When the British told Truman they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman stepped in to take over. There were also fears that the communist parties in France and Italy, both backed by Moscow, would come to power. The economic hardships and the poor harvest in 1946-7 made the possibility of a communist takeover more likely. In response, Truman introduced a policy of containment which consisted of two elements: the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid.
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What was the Truman Doctrine? |
Truman persuaded Congress to provide $400 million in economic and military aid for Greece. He described the world as divided between the free and the oppressors and provided an open-ended commitment to defend free countries threatened by aggressive neighbours throughout the world.
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What was the Marshall Plan? |
This was announced at Harvard by Secretary of State George Marshall in June 1947. The aims of the plan were to stabilize the economies of Europe and prevent the growth of communism in European democracies. Sixteen countries accepted Marshall Aid and it would also be applied to Western Germany. It lasted four years and provided $13.3 billion for European recovery. Stalin refused to allow Soviet bloc states to participate.
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What was Stalin's reaction to the Marshall Plan? |
Stalin regarded the Marshall Plan as a serious threat to Soviet interests. He knew that the programme would require the receiving country to be democratic. This would undermine Stalin's control over Eastern Europe. Stalin saw this as an act of ideological warfare, through the creation of a US-dominated capitalist alliance directed against the USSR. In retaliation, Stalin forbid any Soviet bloc states to join and establish Cominform to maintain control of communist countries under Moscow.
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What were the post-war arrangements for Germany? |
The country was to be temporarily divided into four zones, the permanent fate to be decided at a future peace conference. The city of Berlin, which was located in the middle of the Soviet zone, would also be divided into four zones. The USSR was allowed to take reparations from Germany. Germany was to be denazified, demilitarised and democratised. A Control COuncil consisting of representatives from each of the occupying powers would decide on matters affecting all of Germany.
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Why did Stalin view the actions of the Western powers with suspicion? |
In 1945 the USA refused to give the USSR a loan to cover the cost of occupying the eastern zone in Germany. It was clear that while the western powers wanted Germany to recover, Stalin was using German resources to rebuild the USSR. In January 1947, Britain and the USA created a single economic unit out of their zones, called Bizonia. France joined a year later. Stalin felt threatened. In March 1947, Britain, France and the USA secretly agreed to unite their three zones politically as well. Stalin knew about the decision through Soviet spies in British Intelligence and the Foreign Office. The USA decided to make Marshall Aid available to the western zones. The Soviets reacted by inspecting all trains into West Berlin. In June 1948, the western powers created a new currency for use in all four zones. Stalin refused to allow it to be introduced in their zone.
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Why did Stalin decide to blockade West Berlin? |
In response to the introduction of the new currency, Stalin blockaded West Berlin and turned off all their gas and electricity supplies. He wanted to force the other three powers out of Berlin, and therefore out of Germany. Truman was fully aware of the Soviets plan.
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What were the main features of the Berlin airlift? |
After a military challenge was considered and rejected, the Berlin airlift was initiated. Operation Vittles, as the airlift was known, lasted for 11 months and involved nearly 300'000 flights and bought over two million tons of cargo to the city. My mid 1949, planes were landing in West Berlin at a rate of one every two minutes. Although the Soviets never directly fired at the aircraft, they tried many obstruction techniques, including jamming radios and shining searchlights to temporarily blind pilots. Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949, having failed his goal of uniting the city under Soviet control.
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What were the effects of the Blockade? |
The crisis completed the breakdown in relations between the superpowers and essentially started the Cold War. Germany was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) until 1990. The Iron Curtain became permanent. The Cold War broke out into open confrontation, and the two superpowers began an Arms Race. In 1949, the Allies set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as a military alliance to resist Soviet Russia.
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What was NATO? |
In April 1949, the USA joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Eleven other states lso joined NATO in 1949: the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. NATO promise to: safeguard the freedom of the people founded on democracy; help and mutually aid to maintain and develop their individual capacity to resist armed attack; help each nation if they are attacked, but not necessaily send military aid and to set up a council that would meet regularly. The main aim of NATO was to resist the communist threat from the USSR. |
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What was the Warsaw Pact? |
In 1955 Khrushchev set up the Warsaw Pact – a military alliance of Communist countries – to rival NATO. Pact countries had detailed plans of how to wage nuclear war against NATO if there was a war. The countries in Warsaw were: the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania. |
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Chapter 5: How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism? |
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How did America influence Cuba under Batista? |
From 1933-1959, a right-wing dictator called Batista ruled Cuba. The Americans bought sugar, Cuba's main crop; they also controlled much of Cuba's economy. Batista was overthrown by the Marxist Fidel Castro in 1959. The USA did not like Castro and refused to trade with Cuba, as a result Castro seized American assets in Cuba and made an alliance with the USSR.
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How did the reforms of Castro lead to tension with the USA? |
Castro's reforms reduced American influence in Cuba. America resented their loss of control over the country and were concerned about having a communist country so close to home. Castro redistributed land and nationalised a lot of industries, this took lots of power away from the USA. President Eisenhower tried to stop this by imposing economic sanctions. This was meant to undermine Castro's regime. On March 17, 1960, Eisenhower approved the plans to remove Castro. |
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What was the Bay of Pigs invasion? |
In April 1961, the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. |
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Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail? |
It failed because of many reasons: a) the attack was administered and planned by Eisenhower yet carried out by Kennedy. b) It was assumed that the Cuban people would join with the invasion and revolt against Castro. c) The secrecy of the attack was poor and Castro found out of the attack through Cuban intelligence and was therfeore prepared. d) The first air strikes missed many of their targets and photos of the attack showed American support for the invasion. e) Castro ordered 20'000 troops to advance towards the beach. |
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What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? |
The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the USA and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war. The crisis was over the deployment of Soviet missiles on Cuba, a very near neighbour of the USA. In 1962 Khrushchev sent aircraft, boats and ground-to-air missiles to Cuba. Medium-range nuclear weapons were also sent. On 14th October 1962, U2 spy planes confirmed that nuclear missile sites had been built in Cuba for the Soviets. These missiles had a 2500-mile range and could now include most US cities as targets. The situation was dangerous. On 22nd October Kennedy announced a 500-mile naval blockade of Cuba to prevent nuclear missiles being delivered. Khrushchev was not prepared to go to war, but he did not want to back down either. During the next few days a U2 plane was shot down over Cuba and a Soviet cargo ship was boarded. The world held its breath. On 28th October the USSR agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba; in return the USA ended its blockade on 20th November. |
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What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis? |
The Soviet Union (USSR) began building missile sites in Cuba in 1962. Together with the Berlin Blockade, this crisis is seen as one of the most important confrontations of the Cold War. It may have been the moment when the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war. |
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What options did Kennedy have during the Crisis? |
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Why did America get involved in Vietnam? |
All the US wanted to do was to prevent those areas in the world from falling under the influence of communism. In the late 40s and early 50s, The Cold War was at its peak, when South Vietnam asked America for help. |
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What was the Domino Theory? |
Americans believed that, if South Vietnam fell, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand - and then Burma and India - would follow. President Johnson said: "If you let a bully come into your garden, the next day he'll be in your porch, and the day after that he'll rape your wife." |
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What was the role of Eisenhower (1952-61) in escalting the war in Vietnam? |
After the Geneva Accords were signed between the French and Communist Viet Minh leading to a partition of Vietnam, Eisenhower decided to create the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) with the purpose of stopping communist influence in South East Asia. SEATO was used as a cover for Eisenhower to build a new nation in the South fighting against the Communists in the North. In 1955, the Republic of Vietnam was born with Ngo Dinh Diem as its first President. |
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What was the role of Kennedy (1961-63) in escalting the war in Vietnam? |
Kennedy pledged extra aid to Diem regime when he was in office in 1961. In fact, more advisers and machinery but not troops were sent to South Vietnam. However, in 1963 Kennedy tacitly approved a coup to overthrow Diem just 3 weeks before his assassination. |
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What was the role of Johnson (1963-69) in escalting the war in Vietnam? |
In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred and its resolution gave Johnson more powers to wage the war in Vietnam. He was the President who ordered the bombing campaign called Operation Rolling Thunder and sent the first combat troops to South Vietnam in March 1965 after an attack of Viet Cong on U.S. air base in Pleiku. The draft was instituted soon after that and caused many anti-war protests nationwide especially inside campuses. |
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What was the role of Nixon (1969-74) in escalting the war in Vietnam? |
Nixon started the so-called “Vietnamization” policy in 1969. During his years in office, he escalated the war into Laos and Cambodia in an attempt to destroy Communist food, weapons and manpower supply through the Ho Chi Minh Trail to South Vietnam.Nixon ordered the “Christmas Bombing” in 1972 to keep North Vietnam at the negotiating table as well as to convince South Vietnam to sign the peace treaty. In January 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed ending the American direct involvement in Vietnam, which subsequently led to the end of the war. Nixon became the first U.S. President ever to resign after the Watergate scandal in 1974. |
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What was the significance of the Gult of Tonkin incident? |
In early August 1964, two U.S. destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam radioed that they had been fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. In response to these reported incidents, President Lyndon B. Johnson requested permission from the U.S. Congress to increase the U.S. military presence in Indochina. On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. This resolution became the legal basis for the Johnson and Nixon Administrations prosecution of the Vietnam War. |
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Why does American involvment in Vietnam fall after the Tet offensive? |
On January 31, 1968, some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive, a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. The Tet Offensive strongly influenced the opinion of the American public. For the first time in a major war, the power of television became apparent. Fifty million people watched the destruction brought on by the war. The U.S. government was no longer able to portray the war as clean, simple and easily won. Johnson and the generals had claimed the enemy was in decline. This was falsified by events. The moment Vietnamese commandos penetrated the American Embassy in Saigon, all the official propaganda crumbled to dust. |
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Why did America lose the Vietnam War? |
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Chapter 6: How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe, 1948-c.1989? |
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Why was there an uprising in Hungary in 1956? |
Politics: After WWII, elections were held in Hungary. The Smallholders Party won 57% of the vote, but the Soviets refused to allow them to form a governemnt and instead let the Communist Party form governemnt with only 17% of the vote. // Repression: Soviet control of Hungary included censorship, secret police (AVH) and control over what was taught in schools. // Religion: Hungarians were religious people but under the Communists religion was banned and dismissed as "dangerous propaganda". Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty, the Pope of Hungary essentially, was arrested, tortured and put in prison. // Economics: After the war Hungary was very poor and needed rebuilding after years of bombing and damage. However much of the food produced and industrial goods were sent to the USSR, causing a drop in living standards for ordinary people. |
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What were the events of the Hungarian uprising? |
23rd October: Students in Budapest demanded an ednd to Soviet occupation. Arrests were made, and the polive open fired on the crowd. A 30-foot statue of Stalin was toppled by protestors. // 24th: Overnight Soviet troops were sent in to stop protestors. Despite this, Hungarian soliders and workers joined the students. A new PM was appointed, Imre Nagy. He asked Krushchev to remove his troops from Hungary. // 25th: Lots of protestors gather in fron of Parliment. Soviet-loyal politicians had to flee as the protestors took control of the contry. Nagy continued as PM, promising reform. // 28th: Krushchev pulled his troops out of Budapest. // 29th-3rd Novemeber: The new governemtn intorduced democracy, freedom or speech and freedom of religion. Cardinal Mindszenty and other political prisoners were freed from prison. Nagy also annouced that Hungaryw ere to leave the Warsaw pact. |
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How did the USSR react to the Hungarian revolt? |
4th November: 1'000 Soviet tanks moved into Budapest, almost immediately taking the airfields, highway junctions and bridges. Fierce fighting took place, but the Soviet force was too strong for the Hungarian army and protesters. The new leader of Hungary, Janos Kadar promised Nagy and his followers that they would be allowed to leave the country safely. Three weeks later they were kidnapped, tried, and executed for treason. |
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Why was there an uprising in Czechoslovakia in 1968? |
Economics: Throught the 60s, the Slovakian economy struggled. After suffering a recession |
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What were the events of the Czechoslovakian uprising? |
There were no riots or demonstrations but, during 1967, students and writers were complaining about the lack of freedom, and the poor performance of the Czechoslovak economy. But when Antonin Novotny, the Czechoslovak president, asked Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, for help, Brezhnev did not support him. Novotny fell from power and on 5 January 1968, Alexander Dubcek - a reformer - took over as leader of the Communist Party (KSC). In April 1968, Dubcek's government announced an Action Plan for what it called a new model of socialism - it removed state controls over industry and allowed freedom of speech. For four months (the Prague Spring), there was freedom in Czechoslovakia. But then the revolution began to run out of control. Dubcek announced that he was still committed to democratic communism, but other political parties were set up. Also, Dubcek stressed that Czechoslovakia would stay in the Warsaw Pact, but in August, President Tito of Yugoslavia, a country not in the Warsaw Pact, visited Prague. At a meeting in Bratislava on 3 August 1968, Brezhnev read out a letter from some Czechoslovakian Communists asking for help. He announced the Brezhnev Doctrine - the USSR would not allow any Eastern European country to reject Communism. On 20 August 1968, 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia. Dubcek and three other leaders were arrested and sent to Moscow. The Czechoslovakians did not fight the Russians. Instead, they stood in front of the tanks, and put flowers in the soldier's hair. Jan Palach burned himself to death in protest. Brezhnev put in Gustav Husak, a supporter of Russia, as leader of the KSC.
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How did the USSR react to the Czechoslovakian revolt? |
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What were the similarities and differences between the Hungarian and Slovakian uprisings? |
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Why was the Berlin Wall built? |
The Wall was built in 1961 because more than 2.6 million East Germans escaped to West Berlin or West Germany from 1949 to 196, and the total population of East Germany was only about 17 million. The life in the West was much better than in the East after 1948. West Germany including West Berlin had got financial help through the Marshall Aid from the USA. In East Germany a communist system was established and many people had to suffer under repressions of the Communist party.
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What was the Solidarity movement in Poland? |
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How significant was Solidarity for the decline of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe? |
Solidarity gathered a broad anti-communist social movement ranging from people associated with the Roman Catholic Church down to members of the anti-communist left. The survival of the Solidarity was an unprecedented event not only in Poland, a satellite of the USSR ruled by a one-party Communist regime, but also in the whole Eastern bloc. It meant a break in the hard-line stance of the Party which in another protest in 1970 had ended in bloodshed with dozens of people killed by machine gun fire and over 1,000 injured. In 1968, the Prague Spring was crushed by the Soviet Army tanks in the streets of the capital of Czechoslovakia. The factors contributed to the initial success of the Solidarity in particular and dissident movement in general in the 1980s were deepening internal crisis of Soviet-style socialism due to degradation of morale, worsening economic conditions and the impending defeat in the Cold War. The ideas of the Solidarity movement spread like wildfire throughout Poland; more and more new unions were formed and joined the federation. The program, although concerned with trade union matters, was universally regarded as the first step towards dismantling the Party monopoly.
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How did the work of Gorbachev lead to the collapse of the Soviet Empire? |
Gorbachev's reforms brought more openness and freedom into the political and economic life of what was then the Soviet Union. There were two main platforms of Gorbachev's reform. The first he called Glasnost. Glasnost allowed more freedom of speech and openness in government. Government officials would be held accountable to the people for their actions. Although Glasnost was a good thing for the people, it also allowed people to protest and the media to report on issues for the first time. Many of the outlying states used this new found freedom to express their desire for independence. The other major reform was called Perestroika. Perestroika meant "restructuring". Gorbachev meant to restructure the Soviet economy to work more efficiently. He allowed some private ownership and released some of the tight control the government had on the economy. However, the people and economy of the Soviet Union were used to the government doing everything. Things got worse before they got better.
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What were the other factors in the collapse of the Soviet Union? |
With the new found freedom of Gorbachev's reforms, some outlying Soviet states began to rebel. The first states to demand their freedom were the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Soon more states wanted their independence including Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia. The central government of the Soviet Union began to feel the pressure of so many states wanting independence. With the communist government on the verge of collapse, Soviet hardliners decided to take action. In August of 1991 they kidnapped Gorbachev and announced to the world that he was too sick to govern. They would be taking over. When the Soviet citizens began to protest, the hardliners called in the military to shut them down. However, the soldiers refused to shoot and arrest their own people. Without the military to back them up, the takeover had failed. On December 24, 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. At the same time Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation. The Soviet Union divided up into 15 separate independent countries.
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