History - Origins of The Cold War

HISTORY REVISION
ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

PRE-WAR
Although during WW2 the US and the USSR were united against a common enemy
(Germany), afterwards the alliance broke down. The mutual fear and mistrust put on
hold during the war had now begun to resurface.
They were completely different and opposed to one another. The US was a capitalist
democracy and thought other countries should be run this way their policies were
the right thing. It was also the wealthiest country (but had great extremes). The
USSR was a communist dictatorship. Some thought they should encourage
Communism worldwide but Stalin wanted Socialism in one country. It was an
economic superpower and, although the general standard of living was lower, had
less extreme poverty and unemployment than the US.
Both sides also mistrusted one another. Stalin was paranoid that the West was trying
to destroy the USSR. It had intervened in the Civil War in 1918-9 and he suspected it
had encouraged Hitler in the 1930s. After the German invasion in June 1941, Stalin
believed the West had hoped that Germany and the USSR would destroy each other
with over 26 million Russians dying during the war. He thought he was proven right
when, after be urged to invade France to take pressure off of the Soviets, they
refused - D Day took place in 1944. The US was alarmed at Communism spreading,
especially with Stalin building up the Soviet defences
YALTA
In February 1945 Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at the Yalta conference.
All joined the UN
Divide Germany and Berlin (Allies and French), rule together and later reunite
Nazi party dissolved, freedom in Germany
Hunt down and punish war criminals
A commission was set up for reparations, most to the USSR
USSR would declare war on Japan after the end of the war
Free fair elections in Eastern European countries occupied by the Red Army
Poland given land in the west, taken from Germany and lose land to USSR
Stalin wanted a Soviet sphere of influence over Eastern Europe
Stalin aimed to spread Communism and ensure the USSR was safe from attack by
Germany. He wanted it to be weak and have a buffer zone in Eastern Europe against
it (sphere of influence). Roosevelt wanted lasting peace so compromised by allowing
Stalin a sphere of influence as he needed help in Japan but did convince him to
allow free elections. Churchill anther dictator and didnt want Communism to spread
to Eastern Europe. He was tough on Stalin and wanted Roosevelt to be also but
agreed to a sphere of influence as long as Stalin didnt get involved in Greece. The
West included France when splitting Germany as they wanted another Western
power so they had sway over decisions.
POTSDAM
The Potsdam conference was held in July 1945, after the defeat of Germany. There
was a new president, Truman, who was determined to 'get tough' and force Stalin to
keep the promises made at Yalta. Stalin wanted to cripple Germany to protect the
USSR and huge reparations but Truman did not want to repeat Versailles. Truman
wanted the USSR to hold free elections in Eastern Europe. Stalin, however, had set
up a Communist government in Poland against the wishes of the people. Stalin was
angry that the USA had not told him about the atomic bomb.
IRON CURTAIN
From 1945-48, all countries occupied by the Red Army became under Soviet control.
The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were already absorbed in 1940.
The border of the bloc of Soviet controlled countries in Eastern Europe became
known as the Iron Curtain (from a speech made by Churchill in 1946) which was
separated them from Western Europe.
When the countries were liberated from Nazi rule, Soviet troops remained. Any new
governments were coalitions which meant the Communist Party had a say in running
the country. Gradually key areas of government and security organisations were
infiltrated. With elections they used any means necessary to win: fixing, discrediting,
frightening and even murdering opponents (Czechoslovakia). They took over the
governments and established one-party communist states which took orders from
Stalin. By 1947 Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania had governments
loyal to Stalin. In 1948 Czechoslovakia soon followed.
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

In February 1947 Britain informed the US that it could no longer afford to support the
Greece against Communist rebels. The US government offered $4 billion with
Truman offering aid to Turkey as well. Soon, the Truman Doctrine was announced in
March. It offered help to any country threatened from inside or outside its borders.
While it didnt mention the USSR, it was an obvious warning to Stalin that Truman
was not going to allow more attempts to take control of Europe. The US couldnt
adopt isolationism after WW2, it had a duty to take a leading role in the UN and
accept its responsibilities in the new world order. Truman tried to contain
Communism by persuading countries to break away or not become Communist the
Iron Curtain had already cut Europe in two, he did not want it to go further. Some of
the members of the US Congress, however, were not convinced of the Communist
threat. The Truman Doctrine helped convince them that the threat was real and they
voted to use money in the fight against Communism, money used for Marshall Aid.
MARSHALL AID
Europe was devastated by WW2 and Truman wanted the US to play a part in the
recovery. Marshall Aid was an attempt to rebuild Europe, putting the ideas of the
Truman Doctrine into effect. In March 1947 Truman offered US money to all
European countries, but only countries in the west accepted. Altogether seventeen
countries received $13.75 billion which helped them recover from the war much
more quickly than the countries of the east.
The Marshall Plan controlled how it would be spent. Individual countries wouldnt be
able to decide themselves meaning that, if eastern countries accepted aid, the US
could influence them and undermine communism. When the USSR realised this and
discovered they would have to join the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation, Eastern Bloc countries were forced to withdraw.
There was poverty in most of the countries but the governments had huge debts and
economic recovery was slow. People also fled into Western Europe from Eastern
Europe as refugees. An exceptionally harsh winter in 1947 only exacerbated the
problems. Truman believed this poverty would spread Communism because
desperate people saw it as a better way of life, especially as countries outside the
sphere of influence were voting Communist (Italy and France). As their economies
improved it also helped the US as it increased trade with a now prosperous Europe.
COMECON
In response, Stalin set up COMECON, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
in 1949. It offered aid to communist countries to help them recover from the effects of
WW2. However the USSR lacked the finances of the US and so COMECON was a
pale shadow of Marshall Aid. It led to bankruptcy and ruin and was a major drain on
resources of the USSR, helping to bring about its economic downfall in the 1980s.
THE BERLIN BLOCKADE

Berlin was divided into 4 sectors each with a military governor who met in the Allied
Control Council. There were soon disagreements. From June 1948 to May 1949
Stalin blockaded West Berlin, ordering that the few transport links between West
Germany and West Berlin be closed. It until Stalin realised that the West would not
give in delivering supplies by air and so he gave up.
Britain and the US wanted to rebuild the economy in their zones as they didnt want
WW3 but Stalin wanted reparations and Germany to be weak so it couldnt attack
Russia. In 1946 the Allies zones became administrated together. In 1947 the British
and US zones were joined (Bizonia) and the French zone added in 1948 (Trizonia).
In 1948 the western allies announced that they were introducing a new currency (the
deutschmark) to help the economy. This meant that east and west would be separate
economically with the west becoming economically strong, especially as it was
receiving Marshall Aid while the east wasnt. The better life in the west was a
temptation already East Berliners and East Germans were leaving for the west.
Stalin wanted a way to respond without using physical confrontation to win Berlin.
The Allies were determined that Stalin should fail. General Clay (US commander in
Berlin) said, If West Berlin falls, West Germany will be next. They believed if they
gave in Stalin would act as Hitler had more and more countries would be taken
over. Clay offered to fight his way out of West Berlin, but was ordered not to by
Truman as this would mean war. The Allies began to bring supplies in by air with
4,000 tonnes every day and eventually 8,000 tonnes. More than 320,000 flights were
made altogether with one every 90 seconds.
After the blockade, many East Germans began to try to leave the Soviet zone for the
others. In 1949 the US committed itself fully to the defence of Western Europe with
the formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation). If any member was
attacked, the others would immediately defend it (this has never happened). US
troops and aircrafts were stationed in European countries to protect them against a
possible attack. It showed how bad relations were as the West believed they were
under threat and needed to protect themselves from possible invasion with a military
alliance.
The Allies also decided to continue to occupy and create the Federal Republic of
Germany, with its capital at Bonn, which became known as West Germany. It existed
as a separate country from 1949 to 1990. It became a member of the UN and NATO
in 1955, showing that it had turned from an enemy into an ally (it was never allowed
nuclear weapons though).
On August 29th 1949, the USSR detonated its first atomic bomb. The US supremacy
over nuclear weapons was now over.

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HISTORY REVISION

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

THE BERLIN BLOCKADE

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