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The Origins of the Cold War War-­‐time alliance During the Second World War, the United States, Britain and Soviet Union were allies. However, this was more of a strategic wartime alliance—not a bond of brotherhood. Capitalism vs. Communism The United States and Britain were capitalist, whereas the Soviet Union was communist. Capitalism—where business and property is privately owned, giving the people more freedom. They can therefore work for a profit and also trade freely. This can lead to great divisions in wealth, but many capitalists feel it is better than being bound by the government. Communism—an extremely leftist political regime which is based on equal wealth. Decisions are made for the ‘greater good’ rather than based on individual rights. This means that lives are tightly controlled by the government: all property is state owned and all produced is rationed. It is a one-­‐
party dictatorship. Many communists are bitterly opposed to capitalism; a key element in communist ideology is that they spread communism to other countries. Why was it only strategic/ why after 1945 did the alliance disappear? 1. Clash of ideologies ⇒ bitterly opposed to each other ⇒ both believed their way should be adopted world-­‐wide. ⇒ each country hated the other’s system of government and feared they would try to convert each other to it 2. Previous hostility ⇒ the USA had sent troops and supplies in the Civil War against the communists beforehand (1919-­‐21) ⇒ the USA had experienced the Red Scare in the 1920s because of communist threat. Thousands of immigrants who had radical political views were arrested, harassed and often deported 3. Lack of trust without the threat of Hitler ⇒ without the threat of Hitler, they became suspicious of each other ⇒ after all, Stalin had signed the Nazi-­‐Soviet Pact even with Hitler as an enemy ⇒ and, GB (and USA) had been following a policy of appeasement which made Stalin think that they were happy for Hitler to take Eastern Europe © 2015 Know Your Stuff Yalta and Potsdam Yalta By February 1945 it was clear that Germany would lose the European war, so the Allied forces met at Yalta in the Ukraine to plan what would happen in Europe. It was generally successful. West East Agreement - wanted Stalin to - wanted protection - Germany would be split into 4 sections—
enter the war - Soviet sphere of controlled by France, Britain, USA and USSR with Japan influence in Eastern respectively - did not want to and Central Europe - Berlin split into 4, too give too much (and Asia) - Poland would be run by a communist land to Stalin provisional government set up by Stalin - wanted free - Stalin agreed to enter the war with Japan in elections to be return for areas of Manchuria and the carried out in areas lost in Russo-­‐Japanese war Eastern Europe - Bring Nazi war criminals to trial (as much as - All countries to join the UN possible to - set up a commission to look into remain capitalist) reparations - set up the ‘Declaration of Liberated Europe’ to help the peoples of Eastern Europe set up democratic governments This conference was not too detrimental on international relations as countries were making compromises. However, the West did feel out of control: 1. the West needed the USSR in the war in Japan so gave in to Stalin 2. the USSR had a much larger army 3. the USSR had occupied most of Eastern Europe and were growing in power Potsdam In May 1945 Allied troops reached Berlin, Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered. The war was won. A second conference was arranged for July 1945, but a number of things had changed: 1. Soviet troops had liberated many countries in Eastern Europe, but instead of removing them, left them there. He had control of the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. He had set up a communist government despite the wishes of the Poles. Britain and USA protested, but he defended his action. Relations were greatly damaged. 2. President Roosevelt died in April and Truman replaced him. He was much more anti-­‐communist, and wanted to ‘get tough’ with the Russians. 3. The US had successfully tested the atomic bomb in July. This gave them a significant military advantage and meant they did not need (or want) the USSR in Japan. © 2015 Know Your Stuff USA -
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Did not want a repeat of Treaty of Versailles Did not want Stalin to have control of Eastern Europe or Asia Did not need Russia to fight Japan USSR -
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To cripple Germany to prevent future threat—
including complete disarmament To be paid back for the devastation (20m Russians had died) Soviet policy in Eastern Europe Disagreement 1.
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how to divide Germany the size of the reparations Germany had to pay 3. Russian influence over Eastern Europe Result - No complete agreement—especially over boundaries - Russia was allowed to take reparations from Germany and 10% of industrial equipment from Western zones - Stalin achieved domination of eastern Europe - Churchill described the border between Soviet-­‐
controlled states and the West as an Iron Curtain Soviet Expansion How did the USSR Gain Control of Eastern Europe by 1948? The USSR already had troops in Eastern Europe. He used them to take over Eastern Europe. 1. Set up anti-­‐fascist coalition governments ⇒ put the Communists in a leading position ⇒ they introduced nationalization and took land away from the landlords ⇒ opposition diminished 2. Rigged elections ⇒ this eliminated opposition and gave Communists complete control 3. Set up Cominform ⇒ made sure those governments would report to him You will see this in more detail to follow: Why did Stalin occupy Eastern Europe? 1. Wanted a buffer zone ⇒ Russia had no secure border—no rivers, seas, mountains or deserts ⇒ believed in the idea of biying time through land ⇒ after the devastation of WWII, Stalin wanted to push the borders as far away from Kiev and Moscow as possible 2. Wanted a sphere of influence ⇒ just as the US and Britain were helping to consolidate Capitalism in the West, Stalin wanted an area of Communism in the East 3. Believed in a Communist Revolution ⇒ wanted to follow Marxist ideas of by helping to create a worldwide Communist Revolution How did the Soviets expand into Eastern Europe? - East Germany ⇒ Allies gave USSR control of Eastern sector of Germany © 2015 Know Your Stuff -
⇒ run effectively by the Red Army until the creation of the German Democratic Republic in 1949 - Poland ⇒ elections took place which brought a leftist coalition to power ⇒ in 1947, the Communists took over forcing the non-­‐Communist leader into exile Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania… ⇒ 1945-­‐47, Communist governments formed with all other parties banned § Hungary—Communists largest Party in 1947; imprisoned opposition § Romania—Communist Prime Minister (within a coalition) 1945 § Bulgaria—left wing coalition 1945, but Communists executed the other leaders § Albania—Communists gained power after the war with little opposition How did Stalin gain control? Stalin used the Communist governments as puppets. His secret police would imprison anyone who opposed Communist rule—which was effectively his rule. In October 1947, Stalin set up the Communist Information Bureau, or Cominform, to coordinate the work of Communist Parties in Eastern Europe. It regularly brought together the leaders to be briefed by Stalin and his ministers. This gave him more control as he could carefully watch them and replace dangerous looking leaders. Only Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia escaped from the close control by being expelled in 1948. How did the USA Respond? Although they had felt the USSR should have some extent of control over Eastern Europe for defence, neither Britain nor the USA had expected such domination. Truman feared the worst: the Domino effect—that if one country “fell” to communism, ones in the surrounding area would soon follow. In 1948, Greece and Czechoslovakia were the only two Easter-­‐European countries that were not Communist. Incident #1: Greece When the Germans retreated from Greece in 1944, there were two rivals groups—the monarchists and the Communists—who were fighting for power. Both had been involved in resistance against the Nazis, but now wanted different futures for Greece. In 1945, Churchill sent troops to help restore order and ensure “free elections”. In fact, Britain supported the monarchists and helped the king be returned to power. In 1946, the USSR protested to the UN that Britain was a threat to peace in Greece. The UN took no action so the Communists tried to take control by force and a civil war developed. Britain said they would withdraw due to economic reasons, but the USA paid them to stay. By 1950, the royalists were in control, but it was a very weak government. Truman Doctrine The USA’s attitude to world politics that said it would send money, equipment and advice to any country which was threatened by Communist take-­‐over. Truman accepted that eastern Europe was Communist, and his aims was to stop it spreading further. This was known as containment. © 2015 Know Your Stuff The Marshall Plan Truman believed Communism succeeded in times of poverty and hardship. He sent the American George Marshall to assess the economic state of Europe. He found that Europe was in a disastrous state—Europe together owed the USA $11.5 billion, suffered from food and fuel shortages, was very damaged in infrastructure and had many refugees. Marshall suggested that about $17 billion would be needed to rebuild Europe’s prosperity. In December 1947, Truman put this plan forward to Congress. It was refused as many feared this involvement in public affairs was a lot of money. Why was the Marshall Plan introduced? 1. To stop the spread of Communism 2. To help Europe recover after the war 3. To create a market for American goods so to reduce the risk of another Depression Incident #2: Czechoslovakia The Americans’ attitude changed when the Communists took over the government of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia had been ruled by a coalition government, which, although included Communists, was trying to break free from Moscow. However, in March 1948, they came down hard, purging anti-­‐Soviets and pro-­‐Americans. One particular incident was the pro-­‐American minister, Jan Masayk, who had been found dead outside his open window. Immediately the Marshall Plan passed. Why did Stalin hate the Marshall Plan? 1. It created a market for American goods ⇒ anti-­‐Communist aims 2. He felt the US were trying to dominate as many states as possible by making them dependent on dollars 3. He felt that the US presence would weaken his grip over eastern Europe Why did suspicion escalate between 1945 and 1947? 1.
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No longer common threat of Hitler—differing ideologies come out US’ Atomic bomb threatened the USSR The USSR had overstepped their mark in Yalta, Potsdam and in their expansion Berlin Blockade Why did the Soviet Union blockade Berlin? After the destruction of war, Germany was in economic chaos, but Stalin feared a wealthy Germany, and wanted to keep it crippled. But although the Allies did not want Germany to recover too quickly, they knew in order to feed the Germans their industries needed to be allowed to recover. © 2015 Know Your Stuff Therefore, the USA, Britain and France came up with a secret plan to unite their sections in the London conference in 1946. In 1948, they carried out a currency reform, which would help Germany recover further. Stalin felt threatened by these acts, especially frightened of Germany’s wealth. In June 1948, Stalin wanted to stamp his authority on Berlin and blocked all supply lines to Western Germany. He hoped this would force the Allies out of Berlin. Therefore, the main reasons why Stalin blockaded Berlin were: 1. Differing aims for Germany ⇒ Wanted Germany to remain crippled ⇒ did not want the Allies messing that up with the currency reform 2. Felt threatened by Marshall Aid and secret conferences 3. Felt threatened by the currency reform ⇒ threatened the economy of eastern Germany ⇒ could lead to people leaving east for west What happened during the Berlin Blockade? If the Allies tried to ram road blocks, or railway blocks, it would have been seen as an act of war. However, they would not give up Berlin, as they feared Stalin might attempt to get the rest of Berlin later. They wanted to show that they were serious about the policy of containment. Therefore in June 1948, the Allies began to air-­‐lift supplies. The USSR never shot down planes, as that would have been seen as an act of war. So, for the next ten months, although there were shortages and some people began to leave the city, it was sustained through a constant stream of airplanes. In May 1949, Stalin saw that the blockade would not make Western Germany give up Berlin, and he reopened communications. The consequences of the Berlin Blockade 1.
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A divided Germany ⇒ in May 1949, the British, French and American zones became the Federal Republic of Germany ⇒ in October 1949, the Communist zone became the German Democratic Republic ⇒ this divide became a symbol of the tension It created a pattern ⇒ on the one hand the two superpowers showed how suspicious they were of one another and how they would thwart another in almost any way ⇒ but on the other hand it showed how unwilling they were to go to war NATO was set up ⇒ the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in April 1949 as an agreement between Western powers to work together © 2015 Know Your Stuff Causes of the Cold War 1.
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Berlin blockade ⇒ outright symbol of the tensions ⇒ showed the USSR trying to harm the US ⇒ caused the split of Germany, leading to worsened relations Marshall Plan/ expansion of USSR into eastern Europe ⇒ the expansion of the USSR was much more than had been decided at Potsdam ⇒ threatening the West—caused the Marshall Plan ⇒ this threatened Stalin as it could potentially lose him the East as he could not compete with that generosity ⇒ attack on his ideologies ⇒ not as important as berlin blockade as was not directly against each other as that was Clash of ideologies ⇒ USSR= communist; wanted to inspire a world-­‐wide revolution ⇒ USA= capitalist; wanted to stop the spread of communism ⇒ they actively tried to achieve their aims ⇒ without this there would have been no argument ⇒ however, there had been this difference throughout the twenties and there was no cold war. It was because there were other big powers—now the only two superpowers were the USA and USSR. ⇒ not as important as had they not acted on these clashes this would not have caused a war Who was to blame for the Cold War? USSR - expansion into eastern Europe and killing of Jan Masaryk showed that the USSR was out to hurt the US, and without their growing power they possible coud - the Berlin Blockade made cordial relations impossible - most outright threats—therefore most to blame © 2015 Know Your Stuff USA - Truman doctrine was the US’ version of expansion, but it was as a last resort counter to Stalin’s expansion - London conference led to the Berlin Blockade but was still done as an act to help Western Germany even if it harmed the USSR in the process - the Berlin Airlift humiliated the USSR, but was done as an act to help Western Germany - therefore the US was less to blame as they were less aggressive