1.2.4

East-West Alliances

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Cominform (1947), Comecon (1949) and NATO (1949)

Different alliances helped to further solidify the divide between the USA (and the west) against the USSR (and the east).

Cominform (1947): “Communist Information Bureau”

Cominform (1947): “Communist Information Bureau”

  • Cominform was a Soviet organisation that tried to encourage communist uprising in nations across Europe.
  • Cominform would try to encourage communist parties, like the Revolutionary Communist Party in Great Britain, whilst also trying to destroy communist opposition in the USSR's satellite states in Eastern Europe.
Comecon (1949): “Council for Mutual Economic Assistance”

Comecon (1949): “Council for Mutual Economic Assistance”

  • Comecon was Stalin's answer to the Marshall Plan.
  • Comecon gave countries financial aid and encouraged them to trade with the USSR.
  • Any nation that joined the Comecon was banned from accepting any money from the Americans under the Marshall Plan.
  • The Soviet Union's satellite states - Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and East Germany all joined Comecon.
NATO (1949): North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

NATO (1949): North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

  • NATO is a military alliance that is still in place today. It was founded in 1949 and united the USA, France and Great Britain under a new military alliance with the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Canada.
  • NATO is based on the idea of 'collective security'. Collective security means that if 1 nation is attacked, all the others will fight on its behalf.
  • In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became a member of NATO.
Perspectives on NATO

Perspectives on NATO

  • As Comecon was a response to the Marshall Plan, the Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union's response to NATO.
  • This created a split camp of nations in NATO and accepting Marshall Aid vs nations in the Warsaw Pact accepting Comecon money.
Perspectives on Cominform

Perspectives on Cominform

  • The historian Mark Pittaway says that the USSR didn't try to look like they were working democratically. USSR-supported communists used military influence and in Yugoslavia and Albania the Communists governed through a democratic front until they got 93% of the vote in rigged elections of 1945.
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1

Key Topics

1.1

Conflict & Cooperation 1918-1939

1.1.1The Treaty of Versailles1.1.2The Terms of Versailles 11.1.3The Terms of Versailles 21.1.4Versailles & the League of Nations1.1.5LoN Successes & Failures1.1.6LoN Failure - Upper Silesia1.1.7LoN Failure - Corfu & Washington1.1.8End of Topic Test - Treaties and Agreements1.1.9The Great Depression1.1.10Tension in Europe in the 1930s1.1.11WWII & Failure of the League of Nations1.1.12End of Topic Test - Tension in the 1930s1.1.13Grade 9 - Conflict & Cooperation
1.2

The Cold War 1945-c.1989

1.2.1Emerging US-Soviet Rivalry1.2.2Communism in the 20th Century1.2.3The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan1.2.4East-West Alliances1.2.5Berlin Crises1.2.6The End of the Berlin Wall1.2.7End of Topic Test - East & West1.2.8Build-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis1.2.9The Cuban Missile Crisis1.2.10Cold War Conflict - Vietnam1.2.11Cold War Conflict - Afghanistan1.2.12End of Topic Test - The Cold War 1945-19891.2.13Grade 9 - The Cold War1.2.14Diagnostic Misconceptions - Russia vs USSR1.2.15Diagnostic Misconceptions - Stalin & the Atom Bomb1.2.16Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Iron Curtain1.2.17Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Truman Doctrine1.2.18Diagnostic Misconceptions - USSR vs Eastern Europe1.2.19Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Berlin Airlift1.2.20Diagnostic Misconceptions - The Berlin Wall1.2.21Diagnostic Misconceptions - Hungarian Uprising1.2.22Diagnostic Misconceptions - Stalin's Death1.2.23Diagnostic Misconceptions - Cuba1.2.24Diagnostic Misconceptions - Bay of Pigs
1.3

From the End of the Cold War to 9/11

1.3.1Reagan & Gorbachev1.3.2Consequences of the Soviet War in Afghanistan1.3.3End of Topic Test - End of the Cold War to 9/111.3.4Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War1.3.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Fall of the Wall
2

Changing Interpretations

2.1

Changing Interpretations

2.1.1Appeasement2.1.2The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions2.1.3End of Topic Test - Appeasement2.1.4Grade 9 - Changing Interpretations

Practice questions on East-West Alliances

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  1. 1
    Comecon stands for:Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which of the below are true about NATO?True / false
  3. 3
    The 2 rival economic assistance packages to Europe after WW2 were:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    Which country joined NATO in 1955 instead of 1949?Multiple choice
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The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

Berlin Crises