Deck 22: The Cold War and Reconstruction After the Second World War

Question 1

The cornerstone of the Truman administration's response to apparent Soviet expansionism after the Second World War was the policy of:

A) massive retaliation.
B) nuclear superiority.
C) containment.
D) rollback.

Answer 1

containment.

Question 2

All of the following led the West to fear that Stalin had embarked on a plan of unlimited expansion after the Second World War except:

A) the Soviets violated their pledge of free elections for the east European states.
B) Stalin's stubbornness, paranoia, and lack of concern for world public opinion.
C) Stalin's massive aid to the Communist guerrillas in northern Greece.
D) the U.S.S.R.'s consolidation of the northern part of Korea into a Communist government.

Answer 2

Stalin's massive aid to the Communist guerrillas in northern Greece.

Question 3

The U.S. introduced a plan to the United Nations in 1946 that proposed that atomic energy be limited to peaceful purposes and controlled by:

A) an international authority.
B) the United States and the Soviet Union.
C) the United States.
D) the United States and Britain.

Answer 3

an international authority.

Question 4

The 1947 Truman Doctrine committed the United States to:

A) defend all of Europe outside the Soviet sphere.
B) defend Europe and the Americas against Soviet aggression.
C) contain the advancement of Communist expansion in western Europe.
D) contain only the Soviet Union throughout the globe.

Question 5

In the immediate postwar period, the Soviets felt suspicious, angry, or threatened by all of the following except:

A) the cessation of Lend-Lease loans at the end of the war.
B) the American rejection of a postwar loan to the Soviets.
C) the American air bases established in the Middle East.
D) the reestablishment of the Communist International.

Question 6

In 1948, the Soviets imposed the Berlin Blockade as retaliation against the:

A) creation of the Deutsche mark as currency for West Germany.
B) creation of "Bizonia," which would have merged the American and British occupation zones in Germany.
C) naming of delegates for a constituent assembly in the western zones.
D) rejection of a reconstruction loan to the U.S.S.R.

Question 7

Which of the following is true of the Atlantic Pact?

A) It was the third military alliance of its kind in American history.
B) Its scope was narrow and its duration was limited.
C) It acted as the Soviet's shield against the aggression of western Europe.
D) It affirmed American determination not to abandon the Continent.

Question 8

Reasons for the "economic miracle" that much of western Europe experienced after the Second World War included all of the following except:

A) the stimulus provided by Marshall Plan aid.
B) extensive economic planning.
C) the application of Keynes's theories to government policy.
D) the rejection of systematic government intervention in the economy.

Question 9

Sustained economic growth in West Germany and other European countries led to a labor shortage, which was met by:

A) increasing automation.
B) exploiting workers more efficiently.
C) inviting foreign workers as "guest workers" who often formed large enclaves.
D) compromising with labor unions.

Question 10

Which of the following occurred after Britain's Labour Party won the parliamentary elections in 1945?

A) An increase in taxes on income and inheritances
B) Effective rebuilding of Britain's obsolescent capital equipment and infrastructure
C) The removal of the social insurance program inherited from the Liberal reforms of 1906-1914
D) The nationalization of the Bank of England, coal mines, and the iron and steel industries

Question 11

Charles de Gaulle's constitution for the Fifth Republic gave the president tremendous power, except the right to:

A) dissolve the National Assembly.
B) call for elections and assume emergency powers.
C) name the prime minister.
D) replace judges for misconduct.

Question 12

The Nuremberg trials reinforced all of the following ideas except:

A) the definition of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
B) the Soviet role in the outbreak of the war, the partition of Poland, and their incorporation of the Baltic states.
C) international standards of civilized behavior.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 13

The dominating figure of the Federal Republic of Germany for fourteen years after 1949 was:

A) Ludwig Erhard.
B) Konrad Adenauer.
C) Willy Brandt.
D) Helmut Schmidt.

Question 14

In the 1950s, Italy experienced:

A) political instability that hindered its economic development.
B) a rate of industrial growth that rivaled West Germany and France.
C) a few unstable years but greater stability with the attainment of a majority in parliament by the Christian Democrats.
D) an increasingly extremist Communist Party under the control of Moscow.

Question 15

The 1944 Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire was an attempt to avoid the instability and economic problems of the interwar years by:

A) establishing the dollar as the currency of international exchange.
B) promoting economic nationalism.
C) lowering trade barriers and stabilizing currencies.
D) ensuring American and British economic dominance in the postwar world.

Question 16

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade laid down rules for all of the following except:

A) procedures for handling complaints.
B) a framework for negotiating lower tariffs and the removal of nontariff barriers.
C) the prevention of discrimination.
D) the end of imperial preferences.

Question 17

The Common Market set up in 1957 did all of the following except:

A) create a large free trade area in Europe.
B) provide for the free movement of capital and labor.
C) create a common tariff with respect to the outside world.
D) create a common foreign policy for all European member states.

Question 18

As a result of the postwar boom and the Common Market, by the 1960s, _____.

A) western Europe's exports equaled those of the United States and Japan combined
B) Europe led the United States in per capita income
C) Europe's automobile production surpassed that of America's
D) the size of Germany's gross national product surpassed that of the U.S.S.R.'s

Question 19

Who among the following suspended gold convertibility in the United States and thus devalued the dollar against European and other currencies?

A) Dwight Eisenhower
B) Richard Nixon
C) Harry Truman
D) Woodrow Wilson

Question 20

In the immediate postwar years in the Soviet Union, _____.

A) ideological restrictions were loosened
B) the power of the secret political police was reduced
C) official anti-Semitism rose to the surface again
D) All of these are correct

Question 21

Why did Khrushchev, the chief Soviet leader after Stalin's death, denounce the crimes of the Stalin era in 1956?

A) The United States forced him to do so.
B) Khrushchev wanted change and needed to win allies against conservatives in the Communist Party.
C) Khrushchev's denunciations were simply a ruse to expose dissenters and potential opponents in Soviet society.
D) He had always hated and opposed Stalin.

Question 22

In 1956, when demonstrations broke out in Hungary against Soviet dominance, _____.

A) Prime Minister Imre Nagy at first supported liberalization but later reversed his position and welcomed Soviet troops
B) Soviet armed forces suppressed the so-called "counterrevolution"
C) few Hungarians supported the demonstrations
D) the United States parachuted supplies into Hungary

Question 23

Describe the factors that led to the development of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Which country was more responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War?

Question 24

After the First World War, there was a sharp depression that lasted for years in some European countries. Why was the situation reversed after the Second World War when Europe experienced an economic boom and about a quarter century of prosperity?

Question 25

Compare and contrast the histories of France and Italy during the twenty-five years following the end of the Second World War. Why did France, but not Italy, find political stability by the 1960s?

Question 26

How did western Europe confront the challenges of political reconstruction at the end of the war?

Question 27

What economic challenges did the Soviets face after 1945? What approaches did Khrushchev and Brezhnev adopt to resolve the economic problems of the U.S.S.R.?

Question 28

Describe and analyze the movement toward a united Europe in the decades following the Second World War. Which nations and which statesmen most vigorously pushed the idea of cooperation? Why?

Question 29

How did the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 shape the patterns of resettlement and deportation in Germany, Poland, the U.S.S.R., and the Baltic republics?

Question 30

To what degree did the Soviet victory and the fall of Hitler result in a reversal of the displacements and resettlements triggered by the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939? What new patterns of movement emerged?

Question 31

What happened to the areas annexed by Germany after Hitler's defeat?

Question 32

Compare the Weimar Republic to the area constituting the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. How dramatically did the settlements of the Second World War check German territorial power?

Question 33

How did capitalist and communist societies organize themselves differently in the postwar period?

Question 34

How did the policy of containment lead to U.S. involvement in Asia?

Question 35

What was the role of Algeria in the fall of France's Fourth Republic?

Question 36

How did the United States attempt to restore the economic stability and prosperity of the pre-1914 period after the Second World War?

Question 37

Why did Khrushchev fall from power?