Causes of the Cold War
Key Players
The Marshall Plan
The Molotov Plan
Warsaw Pact
NATO
100
Name the 2 different ideologies that clashed at the start of the Cold War causing tensions between 2 world powers.
Communism & Democracy (Capitalism)
100
Who was the leader of the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War?
Joseph Stalin - until 1953
100
What was the USA's plan called to give money to help rebuild Europe after World War II.
BQ: What was the official name of the plan called?
The Marshall Plan
BQ: European Recovery Program (ERP)
100
What was the Soviet Union’s economic plan to help rebuild Eastern European countries after World War II.
The Molotov Plan
100
What was the military alliance created by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies in 1955.
The Warsaw Pact
100
What does NATO stand for?
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
200
What major weapon was involved in the arms race after WW2?
Nuclear weapons
200
Which western Ally leader coined the phase 'The Iron Curtain' after WW2?
Winston Churchhill
200
In what year was the Marshall Plan proposed?
He proposed American aid for Europe in 1947.
200
What was the doctrine called that the USSR used as a response to the Truman Doctrine?
The Zhdanov Doctrine - Alexei Zhdanov was the USSR’s Central Committee Secretary who held a speech at the 'Cominform' in Sept. 1947
200
Which country was the military and economic leader in the Warsaw Pact?
The Soviet Union
200
When was NATO created?
1949
300
What was one of the main disagreements between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the Western Allies that helped ignite the Cold War?
The Western Allies thought that Germany should be rebuilt as a strong, capitalist democracy and the USSR wanted it kept weak and under Soviet influence.
300
Who became the US president at the end of WW2?
Bonus point: Why?
Harry S. Truman
Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly on April 12, 1945 and Truman who was Vice President became president.
300
Approximately how much money did the Marshall Plan provided to Europe by the USA?
12 - 13.5 billion
300
What was created in September 1947 by communist parties from across Europe?
The Cominform
300
Why was the Warsaw Pact created?
It was a response to NATO by the Western Allies.
The USSR created the Warsaw Pact partly because West Germany joined NATO in May 1955.history.state+2
300
What was NATO’s main Cold War aim?
NATO’s main purpose was to protect Western Europe from the expansion of the Soviet Union
400
What was the project called that lead to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki?
The Manhattan Project - Stalin was resentful that the USA had not told the USSR about the project until a few days before they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.
400
Who was General George C. Marshall?
Bonus Question: What was his main roll in WW2?
General George C. Marshall, was the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff from 1939 to 1945. He was not a battlefield commander like Eisenhower or Patton; instead.
BQ: He organized, equipped, and directed the U.S. war effort.
400
In what year did President Truman sign the Marshall Plan into law?
1948
400
What was the main goal of the Molotov Plan?
To ensure Soviet / communist influence over Eastern Europe
It helped Eastern Bloc countries recover economically while keeping them politically and economically tied to Moscow.
400
What year was the Warsaw Pact signed?
Bonus Question: What year did it end?
1955
BQ: 1991
400
Which country was the main driver behind the formation of NATO?
USA
500
In what year did USSR develop a nuclear bomb?
1949
500
Who was Vyacheslav Molotov?
Molotov was a leading Soviet politician and diplomat and one of Joseph Stalin’s closest officials. He was the USSR’s foreign minister during much of World War II and represented Stalin at major wartime and postwar conferences.
500
What was the core reason the Marshall Plan was introduced by the USA?
The plan was part of the U.S. policy of containment—preventing the spread of Soviet influence and communism.
500
In 1947 which US aid program did Stalin refuse to participate in?
The Marshall Plan
500
Name any three original members of the Warsaw Pact besides the Soviet Union
Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, or Romania
500
What is Article 5 in the NATO organization?
Article 5 states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members.
600
Why was Stalin upset at the Western Allies towards the end of WW2?
Stalin thought that the Allies were delaying their invasion of France so that Russia would have to fight on alone and weaken the German army.
USSR lost 25 million soldiers & civilians.
600
Who became the prime minister of the UK in 1945 and signed He signed the Potsdam Agreement for Britain.
Clement Attlee
600
Stalin called the Marshall Plan this term, believing it was a way for the USA to control Europe economically.
“Dollar imperialism.”
Stalin feared that accepting U.S. aid would give America influence over Eastern European economies and weaken communism.
600
Were Eastern European countries given an opportuntity to take part in the Marshall Plan?
True or False
True
Stalin saw the Marshall Plan as American “dollar imperialism” and pressured Eastern European states to reject it, so the USSR offered its own economic support instead.
600
In 1968, Warsaw Pact forces invaded this country to crush the uprising and stop its reforms.
Czechoslovakia
600
How many countries founded NATO?
Bonus Question: Name three of those countries
12
BQ: USA, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, or Portugal
700
What was the doctrine called that would be used to defend democratic states against communism and promote democracy in Western Europe?
Bonus Question: What was the program called to help Europe rebuild after the war?
The Truman Doctrine
BQ: The Marshall Plan - $12 billion in relief was provided to Western Allies to help rebuild Europe.
700
Who led Led the Free French and later France’s provisional government during WW2?
Charles de Gaulle
700
What Soviet-led economic organization did Stalin create in 1949 as a communist alternative to the Marshall Plan?
Comecon
The Marshall Plan helped divide Europe economically: Western Europe accepted U.S. aid, while Eastern Europe remained tied to the Soviet economic system. Stalin also strengthened control through Cominform, and tensions later contributed to the Berlin Blockade.
700
What is Comecon an abbreviation for?
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
Comecon coordinated planning and trade among communist states, but it also made Eastern European economies more dependent on the USSR.
700
What was the main military rule of the Warsaw Pact?
Under the Warsaw Pact, members promised to provide Mutual military assistance / collective defence if any of the members would be attacked
700
What did NATO do in 1955 that escalated the Cold War?
They made West Germany a partner.
This put NATO right on the Soviet Unions doorstep which the Russians did NOT like!