2. Early developments in the Cold War: 1945-49

Soviets said they needed a buffer zone of friendly states so they would be protectedIn the past they had been invaded through Germany twice (1914 and 1941)= safety for themUSA thought they were trying to spread communism and that they could be protected by democratic states that were friendly to USSRSoviets thought they had to be communist

Reasons:- USA (especially Truman) believed that USSR was trying to spread communism -- first through Europe (eastern) then to the west and BEYOND- USA had the atomic bomb - wanted to use it and their superior economic strength to put PRESSURE on USSR and prevent further EXPANSION- events in Greece

Events in Greece Yalta: agreed that Britain would have influence in Greecesince 1944: civil war in Greecemonarchists (wanted the king back) vs communist forcescommunists defeated in 1946 elections but refused to give up (encouraged by the Soviets) and fought a guerilla war against the Greek government - were helped by neighboring communist countriesBritain had 40,000 troops stationed and gave money to Greece and Turkey (Also under threat) Eventually Britain didn't have enough money to continue - Truman announced US supportUSA used to be isolationist- was willing to intervene throughout the world to protect democracy from communismBy lending equipment, advice etc ( and eventually military force) = containmentUSA would use its economic and military strength to protect the world. 

Marshall PlanTruman believed that communism succeeded when people faced poverty and hardship- sent George Marshall to assess the economic state of Europe --> found a ruined economy:- countries owed USA $11.5 billion- extreme shortages of all goods- most countries were still rationing bread- terrible coal shortage in winter of 1947 (in Britain) that all electricity was turned off for a period each day- Churchill described Europe as "a rubble heap, a breeding ground of hate"- Marshall suggested $17 billion to rebuild Europe's prosperity Congress refused to grant the money for a while = concerned by Truman's involvement in foreign affairs

Consequences:greek government defeated the communists- rivalry between USA and USSR increased (Truman had publicly stated that the world was divided between two ways of life: the free non-communist and the unfree communist dun dun dunn- USA became committed to containment - far more involved in European affairs- USA decided on the Marshall Plan - motivated by self-interest (wanted to create new markets for US goods)

Congress changed its mind after what happened in CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia had been a coalition government which included communists but was trying to pursue policies independent of MoscowMarch 1948: anti-communists were purged, one pro-american minister was found dead- communists said he jumped---- actions of the communistsCongress accepted Marshall plan

Stalin forbade all eastern European states from applying

Events:January: US and British zones in Berlin and Germany merged into one economic unit known as BizoniaMarch: Soviet representatives walked out of the Allied Control Commission complaining about Western attitudes April: Allied zones were included in the Marshall Plan- Soviet troops began to hold up and search road ad rail traffic entering West BerlinJune: Western powers announced plans to create a west german state and introduced a new currency: the western DeutschmarkUSSR retaliated by introducing Otsmark24th June: Stalin accused the West of interfering in the Soviet zone- cut off road, rail and canal traffic = attempt to starve West Berlin- trying to force the Allies to pull out of their sectors and abandon plans for separate development of their German zones

Allies ReactionTruman: - determined to stand up to the Soviet Union --> show that he was serious about containment- Berlin = test case, if Allies gave in then their zones of Western Germany would be next- wanted Berlin to be a symbol of freedom beyond the Iron CurtainBerlin Airlift:- began to fly supplies of food and fuel into the city.- needed 4,000 tons of supplies everyday. -To provide this, planes flew into West Berlin every 90 seconds.- planes crashed and pilots were killed, Allies kept airlift going. - spring 1949, 8,000 tons of supplies being flown into Berlin every day. --> They were beating the blockade.

Results:- greatly increased East-West RivalryTruman saw the crisis as a greaat victorywas a defeat for Stalin though he said otherwise to the Soviet public- confirmed divisions of Germany and BerlinAllies announced that their zones in Germany would join together to form the Federal German RepublicStalin responded by turning the Soviet zone into the German Democratic Republic

(1)NATO was formed in 1949 in the wake of the Berlin Blockade. This attempt by the Soviet Union to drive the Western powers out of Berlin had made war between the Soviet Union and the USA seem like a distinct possibility. It was during the crisis that Western leaders met in Washington to discuss the possibility of a military alliance to defend themselves in the event of such a war (2)Foremost in their minds was the fact that the Soviets had more soldiers in Europe and had developed atomic weapons in 1949. (3)There was a feeling that the countries of Western Europe needed protection from the Soviet Union. NATO was based on the idea of collective security against Soviet aggression. Article 5 of its constitution committed all the member states to defend any other member state if it was attacked. (4)The formation of NATO meant that American soldiers and military bases would be situated in NATO countries. This served to consolidate American influence in Europe. (5)NATO was symptomatic of the formalizing of the Cold War. By 1949 it was clear that relationship between the USA and USSR had broken down.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was formed in April 1949 by the Western powers. This was during the period of the Berlin Blockade, and was partly in response to Stalin’s aggression.  • The original twelve members of NATO in 1949 were the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. • NATO was a military alliance that committed all members to the defence of all the others. • But NATO was more than a promise of American help in an emergency. The alliance was to be supported by large numbers of troops on the ground. • In particular, there were a large number of troops in West Germany. By 1953, 5 divisions of US troops were permanently based there. • Stalin, unsurprisingly, saw NATO as a threat to the USSR and Eastern Europe.

The Iron Curtain became permanent. The Cold War broke out into open confrontation, and the two superpowers began an Arms Race. East – West rivalry was greatly increased In (April)1949, the Allies set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as a military alliance to resist Soviet Russia. The crisis had heightened Truman’s commitment to containment.

causes: differences over Germany- West Berlin was receiving Marshall Aid- USSR wanted to keep Germany weak- USSR didn't want the western powers in Berlin

• Primarily, the Berlin Blockade was an episode in the Cold War – Stalin was taking over eastern  Europe by salami tactics, and America had just adopted the Truman Doctrine. • Secondly, America and Russia had different  aims  for Germany.      Stalin wanted to destroy  Germany, and was stripping East Germany of its wealth.   Britain and America wanted to rebuild Germany’s industry – in January 1947, they joined their two zones together into Bizonia.   • On 31 March 1948, Congress voted for Marshall Aid.   Stalin (rightly) saw this as an attempt to  undermine Russian influence in eastern Europe.   The Russians started stopping and searching all road and rail traffic into Berlin. • Finally, on 23 June 1948 Britain and America introduced a new currency into Bizonia.   The next  day the Russians stopped all road and rail traffic into Berlin.   The Americans thought Stalin was  trying to force them out of Berlin.   Stalin claimed the new currency was an attempt to wreck the East German economy.

new currency: - old currency (operating in East Berlin and Germany) was weak- new currency = people in Russia's zones would try to exchange currency to have a strong one= influence= reputation= USA in a good light

soviet expansion in eastern europe

truman doctrine and marshall plan

differences over germany

Causes, events and results of the Berlin Crisis (1948-9)

Setting up of nato