History summy

Causes of e cold w
• Britain and America were natural enemies of the Soviet Union
• As soon as the common threats (Hitler and Japan) were eliminated the alliance between USA and USSR broke down
Growing tensions:
1. Stalin refused to join the United NaGons
2. Stalin was angry because he thought that Britain and Usa were ploJng for Germany to weaken the Soviet Union
3. At the Tehran conference Stalin and Churchill fought over how much power Stalin will have in Eastern Europe.

IDEOLOGY
- The USSR was Communist and ruled by a dictator that puPed the needs of the State ahead of personal human
rights.
- The USA was a capitalist democracy which valued freedom and feared Communism.
- Both ideologies were conflicGng and they tried to expand them

AIMS
- Stalin wanted huge reparaGons from Germany and protecGon of friendly states from being invaded again
- Britain and USA wanted to protect democracy and help Germany to grow again. They were worried that large areas
of Eastern Europe were falling under Soviet Union.

RESENTMENT ABOUT HISTORY

- USSR couldn’t forget that Britain and USA tried to destroy Russian RevoluGon
- Britain and USA couldn’t forget that Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Germany.

EVENTS
- There were a series of events which bit by bit broke down the alliance and turned the allies of the war into enemies
- Neither side trusted the other because they were so different.

Yalta
The Yalta conference seemed successful. The allies agreed a protocol of proceedings to:
1. Divide Germany into 4 “zones” (Britain, France, USA, USSR)
2. Bring Nazi- war-criminals to trial
3. Set up a Polish provisional Government of NaGonal Unity
4. Help the freed of Europe set up democraGc and self-governing countries
a. maintain law and order
b. Carry out emergency relief measures
c. Set up governments
d. Hold elecGons

The negoGaGons went very much in Stalin’s favour because Roosevelt wanted Russian help in the Pacific. Stalin
promised that:
- Russia would join the war in Pacific, in return for occupaGon zones in North Korea and Manchuria
- Russia agreed to join the United NaGons.

The conference appeared successful, however, behind the scenes the tension was growing (about reparaGons and
Poland)
 Aaer the conference Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that the USSR was in danger to the freedom

Potsdam
At Potsdam, the Allies met to finalise the principles of the post-war peace.
The conference was dominated by the rivalry between Stalin and Truman

They disagreed over what to do about Germany:

- Stalin wanted to cripple Germany completely to protect the USSR against future threats.
- Truman didn’t want to repeat the mistake of the Treaty of Versailles, he wanted G re-build Germany.

They disagreed over reparaGons:

- 20 million Russians in the war and soviet Union was devastated. Stalin wanted compensaGons from Germany.
- Truman, was once again determined not to repeat the mistakes at the end of the WWI and resisted his demand.

They disagreed over Soviet Policy in eastern Europe:

- Stalin believed that if the slaw people are united, no one will dare move a finger against them
- Truman saw this as a take over of easter Europe by communist will take over the rest of Europe. Truman became
very unhappy about Russian intenGons and soon adopted a get tough aJtude towards Stalin.

3 factors meant that the Potsdam Conference wasn’t successful:

1. RelaGons between the superpowers had worsened since Yalta. Stalin had met the non-communist Polish leaders
and arrested them.
2. Roosevelt had died, America had new leader, Truman.
3. Truman learned that America had rested the first atomic bomb. Which gave the Americans a huge military
advantage over the rest.

The conference agreed the following protocols:

- nazi Party government and laws were to be destroyed. German educaGon shall be so controlled as completely to
eliminate Nazi and militarist doctrines.
- Bring Nazi war-criminals to trial
- Recognise the Polish Government of NaGonal Unity and hold free elecGons
- Russia was allowed to take reparaGons from the Soviet zone and 10% of the industrial equipment of western zones
as reparaGons. America and Britain could take reparaGons from their zones if they wished.

The allies had disagreed openly about:

1. The details of how to divide Germany
2. The size of reparaGons Germany ought to pay
3. Russian influence over the countries of eastern Europe

Hiroshima
Japan was losing the war in the Pacific
- the Japanese offered to surrender, but their offer was rejected because it wasn’t an “uncondiGonal” surrender.
- They threw the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima (117.000 people died)
- Truman dropped the bomb because he wanted to end the war before the USSR could enter the war in the Pacific
and claim the lands promised them at Yalta
- The bomb was dropped to impress the Soviets and persuade them to relax their grip
- Stalin was angry because Truman didn’t tell him about the atomic bomb, so he gave orders to develop their own.

The salami tactics

Salami tacGcs: gradually geJng rid of the opposiGon, bit by bit. In this way Russia gained control of: Albania, Poland,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany…
Churchills teleam
The long telegram advised:
1- Russians are determined to destroy America way of life and will do everything to oppose America
2- the greatest threat to America has ever faced
3- USSR can be beaten
4- Soviets must be stopped
5- this can be done without going to war
6- the way to do it is by educaGng the public against Communism and making people wealthy, happy and free

Fulton Speech
- Churchill went to Fulton and gave a speech
- He said “a shadow” has fallen on Eastern Europe, which was now cut off from the free world by “an iron curtain”
behind the people of Eastern Europe were subject to soviet influence… totalitarian control and police government
- Observers in the west were becoming alarmed. George Kennan an American ambassador in Moscow sent a long
telegram saying that the Soviets had to be stopped
- Winston Churchill gave a speech in Fulton, America in which he said that Eastern Europe was cut off from the free
world by an iron Curtain, that basically Europe was split into 2 due to Stalin decisions
-

GREECE AND TURKEY

- Greece and Czechoslovakia were the only countries in Eastern Europe who weren’t Communists
- In Greece, the government, which was being supported by BriGsh soldiers, was having to fight a civil war against the
communists
- BriGsh said that they can’t afford to pay their soldiers, so Truman paid for them
- Truman noGced that turkey was in danger too (to become communist) so they sent help.

Truman doctrine
Truman told the Americans that it was America’s duty to stop Communism. He did not try to destroy the USSR, he
wanted to stop it growing.
Under the Truman Doctrine, the USA prepared to send money equipment and advice to any country which was in the
American view, threatened by a communist take over.

Containment: the policy which aim is to stop communism from spreading any further

Description
TRUMAN DOCTRINE CARTOON 'Where
To?' American cartoon comment, 1947, on
President Truman's request for million from
Congress to defend the vulnerable
countries of Greece and Turkey from
Communist pressure, a policy which came
to be known as the 'Truman Doctrine.'
Mshall plan
American general George Marshall went to Europe.
He said that “every country in Europe was so poor that it was in danger of turning Communist”
He said that America should give 17 billion $ of aid to get Europe’s economy going and stop communism
Firstly the Americans didn’t wanted to give money for the Marshall aid but they were scared aaer the suspicious
suicide of the popular minister of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia
- at first the American Congress didn’t want to give the money for the Marshall Aid
- But then in February 1948, the Communists took power in Czechoslovakia, followed by the suspicious suicide of the
popular Pro-American minister Jan Masaryh
- The Congress was scared and votes for Marshall Aid.

Cominform
• Soviet Union hated Marshall aid.
• Stalin didn’t let communist countries to ask for money
• He set up the cominform which allowed Stalin to have the control of the Communists )
• He created the Comecon (economic union between communist countries)

The Berlin Blockade

The USSR had disagreed with Britain and USA at Potsdam about what should be done with Germany. Germany
had been split into 4 zones.
There had been parGcular disagreement about reparaGons
Britain and USA wanted to recover economically
USSR had a 10% of industrial equipment and could take whatever they want from their own zone in Eastern
Germany

- what caused it ?
• Cold war: was geJng started
• Aims: USSR was destroyed and Britain and USA was rebuilt
• Bizonia: USSR were taking machinery, USA and Britain joined their zones called bi-zonia
• American aid: congress voted for Marshall aid . The USSR searched for road and rail traffic in Berlin
• New currency: France and USA created a new country of West Germany, the next day USSR stoped all road and rail
traffic into Berlin.
CAUSES
1. DIFFERENT AIMS FOR GERMANY
- Stalin feared a recovering Germany and wanted to keep it cripple, he didn’t wanted the same as in the WWII (20
million dead)
- Truman wanted to rebuild and restore Germany (Marshall Plan) because a poor Germany would aPract communism
and it will also benefit the USA in the future because Germany would be a wealthy trading partner.
2. NEW CURRENCY
- America and france announced that they wanted to create a new country of West Germany
- They introduced a new currency to western Germany, the “Deutsche Marh” , to provide economic stability and aid
recovery
3. THE BLOCKADE
- the next day the new German currency was announced Stalin took acGon and blocked all the roads, rails and canal
links with western Europe
- The soviets mainly did this, because they wanted to push out the allies out of West Germany, this was a tacGc to
starve out the Germans, as the west side mas dependent on goods and services from USA and Britain.
RESULTS
1. BERLIN AIRLIFT
- The West responded to the blockade by organising an airlia of supplies into Berlin. All food and fuel supplies for
over 2 million Berliners were flown into the city
- The flew over 6 tones of supplies into Berlin everyday, more than 100 planes flew in to the Berlin airport.
2. CREATION OF NATO
- the NATO was an enlargement of the Brussels Treaty signed by Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands and
Luxembourg and now USA and Canada to establish military cooperaGon of war
- Ir was the first Gme that America signed a defensive treaty in Europe, this treaty meant that if one country was
being aPached all the others countries forming the Treaty were being aPached
- NATO was a defensive OrganisaGon to protect the West and its interests.
3. CREATION OF FDR AND GDR
- the 3 western zones of Germany came together to become the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
- As a response, the soviet zone became the GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
- This divided germany into 2, the west were capitalist and was recovering while the East was the soviet part and was
very poor.

Truman decided to supply Berlin by air to avoid war.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS ?

1) cold war got worse
2) East and West Germany: split into 2
3) NATO and Warsaw Pact: allies set up NATO as a defensive alliance against USSR
4) Arms race

Iron curtain
• The Potsdam Conference ended without a complete agreement
• Over the next months Stalin achieved the dominaGon of Eastern Europe
• Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania had communist governments
• Churchill described the border between soviet-controlled countries and the west as an iron curtain
• Churchill used this metaphor to refer specifically to the poliGcal, military and ideological barrier created by the USSR

Berlin wall
WHY WAS THE BERLIN WALL BUILT?
• Berlin became the focus if the USSR’s latest aPempt to maintain control of it’s European satellites
• The fail of the Hungarian uprising confirmed that it was impossible to fight the communism
The only way to escape the repression was leaving East Germany.
People wanted to leave for poliGcal reasons (they hated communism) and for economical reasons.
• The living standards in the East of Berlin were tolerable but in west Berlin the shops were full of goods, there were
great freedoms, wealth and variety.
• This had been deliberately done by the Western powers. They puPed huge investment into Berlin.
• East Germans could watch West Germans television
• Thousands were leaving and never coming back
• The people that was leaving East Germany were oaen highly skilled workers or well-qualified managers.
• The government couldn’t afford to lose these high-qualified people
• USA had a new president (John F Kennedy), he was young and inexperienced, Khrushchev thought he could bully
him
• On august 1961, east german soldiers built a barbed-wire barrier along the enGre fronGer between East and West
Berlin (ending with free movement)
• Families were divided, Berliners were unable to go to work (chaos and confusion)
• Soldiers had orders to shoot if someone tried to cross the border