History Term 2 Study Docs

Topics —
↳ The Nazi-Soviet Pact
↳ Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact happen
↳ Causes of the Cold War
↳ Characteristics of the Cold War
(Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference)

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

The Pact was an agreement between Russia and Germany (two countries that had
been fighting against each other in WW1).

On the 23rd of August, the world was shocked when they figured that Russia and
Germany were signing a ‘Non-Aggression Pact’.

In the Pact they agreed not to attack each other for 10 years. The 2 countries had
made a number of ‘secret pacts’ which split Poland.

Before the Nazi-Soviet Pact, there was the Anglo-Soviet talks.

Background on the Nazi-Soviet Pact

During the Russian Civil War, the allies (Britain and France) supported the whites
in attempting to overthrow communism. The USSR became an ‘outcast’ in Europe as
its desire to spread communism made it unpopular in other countries.

Hitler and his Nazis ran Germany in the 1930s. Germany’s behaviour made Stanlin
(leader of the USSR) think an invasion was going to happen.

He decided that the Allies were weak and he would negotiate with Nazi Germany
instead.

The Anglo-Soviet Talks

Stalin knew that Hitler wanted to attack Russia.

In 1939, he invited Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Secretary to go to Russia to

discuss an alliance against Germany. Britain refused. The British feared Russian
communism, and they believed that the Russian army was too weak and wouldn’t be
of any use against Hitler.

In August 1939, the British officially sent a minor called Reginald Ranfurly
Pluckett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. He travelled by slow boat not plane. He didn’t have the
authority to make decisions so he had to refer everything back to London.

The Talks dragged on. The Russians asked if they could send troops into Poland. The
British then refused and the talks broke down.
Why did the Anglo-Soviet talks fail (SCAB)

Suspicion - Chamberlain didn’t trust Stalin due to his association with

Communism. The Russians thought they wanted to trick them into war against
Germany.

Poland didn’t trust that the Russians (who wanted to send troops into Poland)
would ever leave.

Choice - Britain couldn’t send troops into Russia, so if Stalin supported Britain
they would end up fighting the war against Poland on Britain's behalf.

But Hitler was promising him peace, half of Poland and a ‘sphere of influence’

Appeasement - After Munich, Stalin was convinced that Britain would break
its promise to Poland. He was convinced that Britain would leave Russia fighting
alone.

Britain delayed - Lord Halifax refused Stalin’s offer for a meeting.

When they sent an official, he could not make any decisions. Stalin got fed up with
the delay.

Why did the Soviet Pact happen (THUG)

Time to prepare - Stanlin said, “We have peace in our country for 18
months which let us make military preparations.”
Hope to gain - Stanlin was sure that Russia could only gain from a long war
in which Britain, France and Germany exhausted themselves.

Appeasement - After Munich, Stalin was convinced that Britain would break
its promise to Poland. He was convinced that Britain would leave Russia fighting
alone.

Britain delayed - Lord Halifax refused Stalin’s offer for a meeting. When
they sent an official, he could not make any decisions. Stalin got fed up with the
delay.

Consequences of the Nazi-Soviet Pact

✰ The pact gave Hitler the freedom to invade Poland withuot USSR interference.
So the Nazi attacked Poland in the morning of September 1 1939.

✰ The Nazi became unstoppable and dominated Europe. In Hitler’s Mein Kampf,
he described other races including the Slavs ruled by Jewish Bolscheviks as inferior
to the Aryan race.

✰ Germany was succesful in its attempt to safegaurd a two-front war.

✰ Hitler also saw the USSR as a threat to the Nazi ideology of lebensraum. With
this pact, Hitler planned the invasion of the USSR after the fall of France. (Germany
attacked Soviet Union on June 22, 1941) ⟹This was one of the factors that led to
WW2.
✰ The Pact enabled the Soviet Union to annexe other territories in its sphere of
influence. Such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

On the 3rd of September, Britain declared war on Germany which started WW2.

The Cold War

The Cold War was an increasing tension that developed between USA and USSR
without any direct or physical fighting. It started in 1945 and lasted for 40 years.

The USA and USSR in 1945 had 2 different beliefs.

Causes of the Cold War

➔ Aims - The 2 superpowers had conflicting aims about Central and Eastern
Europe. The West/USA wanted a democratic government in all Central and Eastern
European states while the USSR wanted to set up a Soviet-style government in all
the states. USSR wanted to keep Germany weak while the West wanted to help
Germany grow and produce goods.

➔ Resentment about History - There existed mutual mistrust between the USA
and USSR (which meant they didn’t trust each other) about events of the past that
dated back to 1918.

➔ Events - A series of events made the Cold War last longer like the Yalta and
Potsdam conference, The Iron Curtain Speech, the Truman Doctrine and the
Marshall Plan.
➔ Beliefs and Ideology - The USA and USSR in 1945 had two different beliefs.
⎯ The USA believed in Capitalism.
⎯ USSR believed in Communism.

How are USA and USSR beliefs different?

Beliefs

✩ USA (Capitalist), where all the factors of production like factories, industries
and agriculture are owned by private individuals or firms who run them to make their
own profit.

✩ USSR (Communist), where all the factors of production (factories, industries

and agriculture are owned by the state for the good of everyone.

Leadership

✩ The USA works with the parliament to pass laws and could be from a variety of
political powers.

✩ USSR oversees day-to-day business and there is only 1 political party.

Factories

✩ USA factories are owned by individuals or companies. Develops mass

production and sells as much as possible for profit.

✩ USSR doesn’t need an owner because factories are owned by the government
and there is no personal profit. All that is produced is made for the state.
Farmers

✩ USA farmers produce for their own gain, sell goods for as much as possible for
as much profit and personally buy equipment and tools to make the work more
efficient and profitable.

✩ USSR farmers produce for the state and all the produce is given out to the state
and is not for profit. The state also provides machinery and equipment.

Characteristics of the Cold War

The Cold War was characterized by the following:

➔ Ideologies
➔ Economic power
➔ Military tensions
➔ Treaties
➔ Propaganda
➔ Espionage
➔ Arms race
➔ Space race
➔ Sports and Culture
Conflict of ideologies

Capitalism - This is the type of economy that is run by individuals rather than the
state. Production of goods and distribution is dependent on the private
capital/ownership with a view of making a profit.

Communism - This company is hostile to capitalism, which exploits workers ideally

all property and business are owned by the state. This is not for an individual’s
profit.

Conflict of economic power

There existed an economic power tussle between the two blocs. For example

✰ The Marshall Plan (1947) - Provision of fuel, raw materials, goods, loans, food,
and machinery advisers by the USA.

✰ The US exploited its financial power to export Western values-dollar and

imperialism.

✰ US Congress votes for nearly $13bn economic aid to Europe from 1948-1952.

✰ There was a trade war with communist countries like Cuba

Military Power

⎯ There was the Korean War (1950 - 1953), Vietnam (early 1960s - 1973)
⎯ US military build-up, for example,
1960 2.4 US military personnel around the world
1959 1,500 military bases in 31 countries

⎯ Domino Theory - The domino theory was a Cold War policy that suggested a
communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in
neighbouring states, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominos.

Treaties

So many treaties were formed to balance power. Such as:

➙ NATO (1949) - North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO consisted of, the
US, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom to protect the Soviet
Union.

➙ SEATO (1954) - South East Asian Treaty Organization. SEATO consisted of the
countries, United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the
Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan to prevent communism from spreading.

➙ WARSAW PACT (1955) - This was a military defence pact amongst Eastern
European countries. The countries involved in this were Albania, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania (Albania withdrew in
1968).
➙ COMECON (1949) - Council of Mutual Economic Assistance. The original
countries were, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and
the Soviet Union. Later, East Germany, Vietnam, and Cuba would join, and Albania
would drop out.

Propaganda
So much misleading or biased info was put out there by either party. Such as:
—The European Recovery Program
—Benefits of the Marshall Plan advertised

Espionage (The use of spies)

During the Cold War, espionage was the practice of gathering and exchanging
secret information between rival countries, primarily the United States and the
Soviet Union. Both sides employed spies and intelligence agencies to obtain
classified information about military capabilities, political strategies, and
technological advancements.

CIA (1947) - This means the Central Intelligence Agency which was founded to
coordinate information gathering on the USSR and the Allies.
Arms Race
During the Cold War, the two superpowers competed for sueriority in the
development and accumulation of nuclear weapons. Such as:
1945 US tested and detonated 1st atomic bomb
1952 US tested 1st Hydrogen-bomb (2,500x more powerful)
1953, USSR produced H-bomb
1961 enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world
1967 China produced an H-bomb
1981, USA 8000 ICBMs, USSR 7,000
MAD – Mutually Assured Destruction (Under MAD, each side had enough nuclear
weaponry to destroy the other side)

Space Race

The USA and Soviet Union raced as the world watched to be the first to conquer
space.

⇨ 4th October 1957, the launch of Sputnik by the USSR

⇨ 1957 1st animal in space by USSR
⇨ 1961 Yuri Gagarin 1st man in space by USSR
⇨ 21 July 1969 Apollo 2 mission is successful and he is the first man on the moon
by USA.
Sport

➭ 1980, Miracle on Ice - US hockey teams defeat USSR giants

➭ 1980 Moscow Olympics, 1984 LA Olympics - boycotted by USA and USSR
➭ Ballet - Defections to West. An example is the Nureyev
➭ World Chess Championship - Bobby Fisher versus Borris Spassky (1972)

Potsdam and Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference was a meeting held in Yalta, Crimea, from February 4 to 11,
1945, during World War II. It was attended by the leaders of the three major
Allied powers: Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Winston Churchill of
Great Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. The conference aimed to
discuss the future of post-war Europe and make arrangements for the reorganisation
of defeated Germany.’

Key discussions/agreements

Division of Germany: The Allies agreed to divide Germany into four occupation
zones, each to be controlled by one of the four major powers: the United States,
Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France.
Reparations and War Crimes: The Allies agreed that Germany would have to pay
reparations for the damage caused during the war. The exact amount was not
determined at Yalta but was to be decided at a later conference.

Eastern European Borders: The Yalta Conference addressed the issue of the borders
and governments of Eastern European countries liberated from German occupation.
The Soviet Union sought to establish friendly governments in these countries to
serve as a buffer zone against future invasions. It was agreed that these countries
would be allowed to hold free elections to determine their political systems, but the
Soviet Union was granted significant influence in shaping their governments.

Creation of the United Nations: The Yalta Conference laid the groundwork for the
establishment of the United Nations (UN), which would replace the defunct League
of Nations and serve as an international organization to promote peace and
cooperation among nations. The conference discussed the structure and purpose of
the UN, and plans were made for a conference in San Francisco to finalize its
establishment.
Diaagreements(Yalta)

Each leader had an agenda for the Yalta Conference: Roosevelt wanted Soviet
support in the U.S. Pacific War against Japan and Soviet participation in the UN;
Churchill pressed for free elections and democratic governments in Eastern and
Central Europe (specifically Poland); and Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of
political influence in Eastern and Central Europe.

Eastern European governments: The leaders disagreed on how to handle the

governments in Eastern European countries that had been freed from German
control. The Soviet Union wanted to have governments in those countries that
would be friendly to their interests, while the Western Allies were concerned about
the loss of independence for those nations.

Reparations: They disagreed on how much Germany should pay as reparations for
the damage caused during the war. The Soviet Union wanted a large amount to help
with their own recovery, while the Western Allies worried that excessive
reparations would prevent Germany from rebuilding its economy and could lead to
future conflicts.

Poland: There was disagreement over the future government of Poland. The Soviet
Union had established a pro-communist government there during the war, but the
Western Allies wanted a more representative and democratic government. They
compromised by forming a provisional government that had representatives from
both sides, but the issue of Poland's future government remained unresolved.

Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference was a meeting held in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to
August 2, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II in Europe. It was attended
by the leaders of the three major Allied powers: Harry S. Truman of the United
States(Rosavelt was assassinated, Winston Churchill (later replaced by Clement
Attlee) of Great Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. The conference
aimed to determine the post-war settlement, address issues related to the defeated
Germany, and discuss the ongoing war in the Pacific.
Key discussiond/agrements

Occupation of Germany: The Allies confirmed and further detailed the partitioning
of Germany into occupation zones, similar to what was decided at the Yalta
Conference. The Soviet Union retained control over the eastern part of Germany,
while the United States, Great Britain, and France controlled the western part.

Reparations and Denazification: The issue of German reparations for war damages
was discussed, and it was agreed that Germany would pay reparations to the
victorious Allies in the form of industrial equipment, goods, and labor.

Eastern European Borders: The Potsdam Conference reaffirmed the agreements

made at the Yalta Conference regarding the borders and governments of Eastern
European countries. The Soviet Union's influence over these countries was
recognized, and it was acknowledged that the post-war governments established
during the war would be maintained until free elections could be held.

Demarcation of Polish and German territories: The conference addressed the issue
of the Polish-German border and agreed to shift the border westward, effectively
pushing Germany's eastern border back to the Oder and Neisse rivers. This decision
resulted in significant territorial losses for Germany, with Poland gaining
substantial portions of German territory.

War with Japan: The conference discussed the ongoing war in the Pacific against
Japan. The Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, which called for Japan's
unconditional surrender and warned of "prompt and utter destruction" if Japan
refused. The conference also confirmed the decision to hold war crimes trials for
Japanese officials, similar to those conducted for Nazi war criminals.

Disagreements(Potsdam)

Reparations: The leaders disagreed on how much Germany should pay as

compensation for the damage caused during the war. The Soviet Union wanted a
large amount to help with their own recovery, but the Western Allies were
concerned that excessive reparations would prevent Germany from rebuilding its
economy and could cause future conflicts.

Poland's borders: The leaders had differing views on the borders of Poland. The
Soviet Union wanted to shift the Polish-German border westward, which would
result in Poland gaining territory from Germany. The Western Allies had concerns
about forced population transfers and the loss of Polish independence, leading to
disagreements over the exact borders.

Future of Germany: There were disagreements on how to handle Germany after the
war. The Soviet Union wanted to weaken Germany and dismantle its industrial
infrastructure, while the Western Allies believed in a more balanced approach that
would allow Germany to recover economically. They had differing views on how
much control to exert over Germany and how to ensure its future stability.