The Churchill-Stalin Percentages Agreement was signed in
October 1941
October 1944
October 1945
October 1947
The Churchill-Stalin Percentages Agreement gave the Soviet Union predominant influence in:
Poland
Romania
Czechoslovakia
Bulgaria
Greece
Hungary
What were Roosevelt's priorities for a post-war settlement?
To get the USSR to follow their instructions
Remove probably causes of future wars
To isolate the USSR from the global economic system
A revived global economic system to prevent a new global depression
Selling a postwar settlement to the American public
Stalin's priorities for a post-war settlement were:
Himself
HIs pets
His regime
His friends
His country
His cult of personality
The ideology
At the Yalta conference, Roosevelt and Churchill repeatedly urged Stalin to ______, but Stalin's vague promises were eventually not kept.
Allow Hitler to go free
Allow Germany to be unified under US control
Allow free elections in Eastern Europe
Allow Eastern Europe to accept Marshall aid
At the Yalta conference, Stalin was in conflict with Roosevelt over
The issue of redrawing the territorial boundaries by absorbing East Poland
Whether the communists in Greece were winning the Greek Civil War
The inclusion of London Poles in the Lublin Committee and the conduct of "free elections" in Poland
The problem of access to the Ruhr valley
During the Yalta Conference, Churchill and Roosevelt voiced objections to territorial revisions and Stalin was angry because:
Germany was important to the USSR since they wanted coal from it
Poland was vital to Russian security and there was no objection at the Teheran Conference in 1943 when it was brought up
Germany was essential to USSR post-war reconstruction plans
Poland was significant to Stalin's plans in providing free elections
At the Potsdam Conference, the conflicts between Stalin, Truman and Attlee were:
About how Stalin's seat was further away from Truman and Attlee
Soviet Occupation policy which the West saw to be exploitative
Free elections in Poland that were prevented by the communists
Termination of Lend-Lease
When the US terminated Lend-Lease, what did the Soviets do?
Begged the US to help them with their post-war economic debts
Withdrew from the World Bank
Withdrew from the International Monetary Fund
Withdrew from the United Nations
Threatened to make them bankrupt
Threatened to invade Eastern Europe
Why did Stalin sign the "Declaration of Liberated Europe" which pledged free elections and democratic institutions to countries freed from Nazi occupation?
He saw it as a statement of deceit and thought that he could trick the others into letting him Sovietise Eastern Europe
He saw it as a statement of intent rather than a legally binding document
He wanted to have the change to laugh at Roosevelt when he broke the agreement
He saw it to be a matter of courage and felt that he could not be threatened by Roosevelt
In Bulgaria, what did the communists do?
They returned in 1944 through a coup d'état behind the Red Army to Bulgaria to form a popular front government known as the Fatherland Front
In Aug 1977, the leader of the Agrarian Peasant Party was tried and shot for working with "Anglo-American imperialism"
The communists left the country after they lost power
Rigged elections in Feb 1947 allowed the communists under Wladyslaw Gomulka to gain power
In Czechoslovakia, what did the communists do?
In Aug 1947, the leader of the Agrarian Peasant Party was tried and shot for working with "Anglo-American imperialism"
In the coalition government, the communists controlled key ministries and shared power with the Social Democrats and National Socialists
The communists were welcomed with open arms and they were invited to control the country
The communists had blackmailed the President with the threat of Soviet invasion
In Hungary, what did the communists do?
Matyas Rakosi cemented influence in the coalition government by cunningly exploiting the differences between the communists and the non-communists
Communists had blackmailed the President with the theat of Soviet invasion
After liberating Hungary form Nazi forces, USSR formed the anti-German coalition government made up of anti- communists as well as communists
The communists were ready to give up power to the non-communists
In Poland, what did the communists do?
Communists had blackmailed the President with the threat of Soviet invation
The leader of the Polish Peasant Party was forced to flee the country
The non-communist Peasant Party formed a coalition government with the communist Polish Workers' Party
In Romania, what did the communists do?
Non-communists were harassed and intimidated
Nov 1946 elections gave the communists an overwhelming victory
The Romanian people welcomed the communists as heroes and liberators
What was Kennan's Long Telegram about?
Russia was a friendly and peaceful state and can co-exist peacefully with the US
A "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" is necessary because the Soviets would seize every given opportunity to expand their influence/interests
Russia is an inherently aggressive state due to its historical insecurities
Stalin is a paranoid person but can be manipulated to suit US interests
Soviet power tended to be impervious to the logic of reason, but it was highly sensitive to the logic of force
How did the change of leaders from Roosevelt to Truman change US foreign policy?
Roosevelt was a personal friend of Stalin and was more likely to get Stalin to agree to his policies
Truman was instinctively anti-Soviet; more inclined to distrust the Soviets
Since Truman had the tendency to view the complex world in simplistic terms of 'black and white'
Truman was much more pleasant than Roosevelt when it came to negotiating with the Soviets and Stalin appreciated his efforts to compromise
In the Truman Doctrine, it states:
Truman asked the Congress to provide authority for assistance to Eastern Europe in the amount of $400
"I believe that it myst be the policy if the US to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures"
That Truman asked the Congress to provide authority for assistance to Greece and Turkey in the amount of $400 million
The communists should be eliminated at all costs no matter what
What does Cominform do?
Cominform plays the role of informing the Soviet satellite states of what Stalin tells them to do
Cominform coordinated policies and tactics of communist parties in both the satellite states and in Western Europe
Cominform is the plan to grant economic aid to the whole of Europe
Cominform is the bureau of information in the USSR that focuses on improving relations with the US
The Marshall Plan was:
Extended to the Eastern European states as well, but Stalin was quick to reject the proposal and vetoed the inclusion of any Eastern European states
Created by the USSR to place Eastern European states under Soviet control
Designed to improve US war-making capacity and increased its nuclear arsenal by leaps and ounds
Dividing Europe into tow distinct economic blocs, exemplifying the Cold War as a competition of ideas, values, and belief systems
After the Marshall Plan was implemented, Stalin retaliated with:
Complete Sovietization of Eastern Europe at a time when it was clear that some of the satellite states were tempted to join the Marshall Plan
Announcement of the Molotov Plan
A nuclear strike and it almost led to a nuclear war
Introduction of Cominform
Introduction of Comecon
What steps did the West take to build a new West German state?
A constitution was drawn up by Western occupation powers for this entity
Proposals to introduce a new currency into the three western zones as a precursor to the setting up of the new state were in place in June 1948
The Western powers decided to put nuclear weapons in West Germany to ensure that they can withstand any attack from East Germany
The Deutschmark introduced on 19 June 1948
What were the objectives of the Berlin Blockade?
The objective was clearly to force the West to call off their plans for the creation of West Germany as a state
To block USSR from West Berlin so that they will be safe from Soviet influence
To drive the western powers out of Berlin at the very least!
To let Truman know that Stalin has power over West Berlin
What was US response to the Berlin Blockade?
America sent their tanks to bulldoze the wall down and reunified Germany
America demonstrated its air capabilities in supplying West Berlin through a total of approx 200,000 flights, carrying vital supplies of food and coal to 2.2 million people
The US sent food to West Berlin by throwing food over the blockade
The US dug tunnels under the Berlin blockade to transport food and supplies
The Americans themselves had previously showed no interest in garrisoning troops in Western Europe so why did they eventually join NATO?
The US joined NATO because it was good for their image
An agreement to create NATO was necessary now because the US needed Anglo-French consent for the creation of the West German state
NATO provided other benefits such as valuable bases for launching air attacks on the Soviet Union
The US wanted to start a nuclear war against the USSR and needed allies
The responsibility for the defence of Europe was now shared, instead of burdening the US solely
What does the Hegelian dialectic comprise?
The thesis is the conclusion of your essay
The emergence of a thesis with a specific stand/argument on a particular issue of debate
The antithesis supports and bolsters your thesis
The antithesis responds to the thesis by negating it
Tensions between the thesis and antithesis are resoled through the synthesis which tends to bring together their individual strengths and commonalities
The synthesis is where you choose one stand over another
What are the arguments of the Traditionalist school of thought?
USSR paranoid and insecure; exaggerated threats to justify internal repression and cautious expansion
Intent on spreading Soviet influence beyond Eastern Europe
No one was to blame, it was a result of miscommunication
Marxist-Leninist ideology called for spread of communism on a world scale; ideology as basis for Soviet expansion
Soviet policy fundamentally hostile; would only cooperate with West when necessary
What are the limitations of the Revisionist school of thought?
Exaggeration of the economic concerns of American policy makers
US not in desperate need of foreign markets and they enjoyed an abundance of indigenous national resources
Minimising of American culpability ignores the fact that the Cold War originated because of a conflict between two different states' competing visions for peace and security in a postwar world
US behaviour may have increased the level of mistrust but those who see it as a purely American failure do not appreciate the underlying antagonism between the two nations - underlying fundamental differences, diverging interests, etc
Pays too little attention to the legitimate security needs of the USSR
Theory ignores the fact that Soviet behaviour gave rise to shifts in US policy
The post-revisionist school of thought argues:
The Cold War was an interactive affair
Ideological conflict was the fundamental cause of the Cold War
No one was to blame; it was a result of miscommunication, misjudgement and missed opportunities
It was US economic imperialism that led to the origins of the Cold War
It was Soviet expansionism that triggered the start of the Cold War
What are the limitations of the Post 1991 debate?
New Cold War History not quite as new as its representatives claimed
Not new to see ideology as an important motive force in Soviet foreign policy - this was the very essence of the traditionalist interpretation
In the New Cold War History, much more is known about Soviet actions, but once again the new studies are presented in relative isolation, this time without any strong effort to relate soviet actions to the Western actions which were analysed in such detail in the first round
