General notes that covers topics in the first section of the International relations paper for GCSE History. This is for OCR.
Made these for revising and creating flashcards/mind maps to help memorise information that is not too wordy or difficult to understand. Essentially a more simplified ver...
● Relations broke down between 1945 - 1956
● USSR was communist
● USA was capitalist
● USA helped the enemies of communism and Britain was the US's closest ally
● USSR was suspicious of them and the USA was equally suspicious of the USSR
➔ The USA and the USSR had worked together being part of the Grand Alliance to
defeat German Nazis in 1941
➔ The only reason they got along was because they all had the same goal to defeat
Hitler
➔ Once Hitler was defeated, things became uneasy
Yalta Conference - Feb 1945;
● Agreements;
➔ Stalin - agreed to join war against japan
➔ Countries not in german control anymore - could choose their own
government - free elections
➔ Nazi war criminals - tracked and punished
➔ Germany divided into 4 zones - USA, USSR, Britain, and France
➔ Eastern Europe - Soviet sphere of influence
● Disagreements;
➔ Stalin wanted soviet borders to be moved into poland - poland could take land
from germany
➔ Churchill and Roosevelt disapproved of this - but they agreed only to ensure
Stalin would not interfere with Greece - to present the spread of communism
Potsdam Conference - July to Aug 1945
● There were disagreements in;
➔ Germany: Stalin wanted to cripple Germany - protect the USSR from future
threat - Truman did not want to repeat the mistake of the treaty of versailles
➔ Reparations: 20 million russian people died in war - soviet union destroyed -
Stalin wanted compensation - truman agreed but he changed his mind - Stalin
was confused
➔ Eastern Europe: Stalin wanted pro soviet eastern governments - control of
the region for defence - Truman was concerned about soviet intentions -
truman had a ‘get tough’ attitude
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, Iron Curtain; 1946
● Stalin blocked eastern europe off from the from the rest of the world
● Some US officials wanted to give the USSR a $10 billion loan
➔ USA - asked for guaranteed freedom for US businesses - Stalin refused to accept the
loan on these terms - didn't want to give US power over his sphere of influence
➔ 1946 - Stalin achieved domination of eastern Europe - communist governments in
poland, hungary, albania, romania, and bulgaria
➔ Churchill made the Iron Curtain speech - europe divided by an iron curtain - USSR
seen as a great danger
➔ Churchill - accused USSR of seeking total control by dividing europe - still recovering
from war
➔ Stalin - said these countries were used by germany to invade the USSR - part of the
sphere of influence - anxious for USSR safety in the future - made governments loyal
Stalin’s actions; making communist governments
● 1945 - Bulgaria: killed opponents
● 1947 - Poland: exiling opponents
● 1947 - Hungary: imprisoning opponents
● 1945 to 1948 - Czechoslovakia: Banning other opponents
➔ East germany - under the Red Army’s control until 1949 - agreements at Yalta by the
allies
➔ Albania - communist involvement in resistance movements
October 1947 - Communist Information Bureau - COMINFORM
● This controlled communist governments
● Stalin - able to keep a close eye on communist leaders and their loyalty to the USSR
USA’s reaction; Truman Doctrine
➔ Truman - thought stalin was building up an empire
➔ March 1947 - Truman Doctrine - USA providing money, equipment, advice, to any
country he thought was under threat of communism/did not become communist
➔ Beginning of the policy of containment
Marshall Aid;
● Truman - thought communism gained control because of poverty
● 1947 - suffering as a result of ww2
● General Marshall - $17 billion needed to rebuild europe
● April 1948 - congress passed marshall aid - communists banned all other political
parties in czechoslovakia by this time
● US used this to also create new markets for US goods - prevent another depression
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