The origins of the Cold War 1945-1955

Conflicting Political Ideology
1. USA
  1. Capitalism
    1. free elections
    2. private profit
2. USSR
  1. Communism
    1. Totalitarian dictator
    2. One party state
Yalta and Potsdam 1945
1. Yalta (February)
  1. '"Big three"
    1. Joseph Stalin
      1. wanted Germany to suffer and create a buffer zone of friendly states around Russia
        Believed that America and Britain had delayed opening the second front (attacking France) to let Germany and Russia destroy each other on the eastern front.
    2. Franklin Roosevelt
      1. wanted Germany to recover as a trading partner
        Angry about the Nazi-Soviet Pact that was a major factor in starting the Second World War.
    3. Winston Churchill
  2. Principles of peace settlement
    1. Germany was to be divided into four zones: Britain, France, USA, USSR
    2. Berlin was also to be divided as it was unfair to have the capital in the Soviet zone
    3. Stalin was to have some influence in Eastern Europe
      1. the countries would chose their government under free elections
        Declaration of Liberated Europe
    4. Germany would pay reparations
2. Potsdam (July)
  1. New "Big Three"
    1. Roosevelt had died and was replaced by Harry S. Truman
      1. Truman became president in 1945, determined to confront Communism
        "The Russians only understand one language - how many armies have you got? I'm tired of babying the Soviets." - Harry S Truman, 1945
    2. Churchill had lost the general election and was replaced by Clement Atlee
    3. hostile environment
  2. In Poland, Stalin had arrested the non-communists and refused democratic elections to take place
  3. Reparations were to be taken from the allied zones
    1. 10% of each to Stalin
Hiroshima bomb
1. 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945
2. atom bomb
  1. 78 000 died outright
  2. 3 days later, a bomb was dropped in Nagasaki
    1. 74 000 died
      1. Japan surrendered
        Anlagen:
        Origins o the Cold War Summary
3. increased tension
  1. At Yalta it was agreed Russia would help against Japan
    1. Japan surrendered before Russian troops arrived
  2. Truman had not told Stalin of the bomb technology
  3. Soviets felt threatened - USA ensured their global domination
Truman Doctrine, March 1947
1. As Soviet power continued to spread in Eastern Europe, communists in both Greece and Turkey were threatening to take control
  1. Britain announced they could not longer help
  2. USA was not willing to stand by while their European trading partners fell to communism
2. Truman declared in a speech that USA would help any nation threatened by communism
  1. according to this policy, Europe had been forced into communism by the Soviets
  2. $400 million was given as aid to Greece and Turkey
Marshall Plan, June 1947
1. US general George Marshall visits Europe
  1. returns convinced the war-torn countries will turn communist
    1. so came up with the Marshall plan to help them recover so would be strong enough to resist communism
      1. strong European trade
2. Congress hesitated at first
  1. February 1948, Stalinist communist organised a strike in Czechoslovakia and seized power. Jan Masaryk, the only remaining non-communist leader, was found dead
    1. Congress approved of Marshall Aid on 31 March 1948
Marshall Aid
1. set up a fund of $15 billion
  1. These nations included allies such as Britain - who got the most, France and Italy. They also included former enemies such as West Germany
    1. Dollar Imperialism
      1. Stalin realised that Marshall Aid would make the countries of eastern Europe more dependent on USA than USSR
        Stalin claimed tbe USA was trying to build an empire, controlling European industry and trade
  2. Between 1948 and 1950, industrial production rose by 25%
    1. communists lost their influence
Cominform and Comecon
1. Cominform
  1. 1947 - communist leaders from all over the world were summoned to a conference in Warsaw
    1. the Communist Informaion Bureau was created
      1. designed to reestablish information exchanged among communist countries and protect communist states from US aggression
        1948, Stalin expelled Tito of communist Yugoslavia as he would not give in to Stalin's wishes
        this suggested to the West that Stalin wanted complete control of the communist world
2. Comecon
  1. 1949 Stalin introduced the Molotov plan
    1. established the council of Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon)
      1. Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, East Germany
3. the USA saw Cominform and Comecon as serious threats as it secured Stalin's control over communism and his satellite states, as they could no longer accept Marshall Aid

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The origins of the Cold War 1945-1955

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