Origins of the cold war

• The Grand Alliance


  Britain, the USA and the USSR - the big three allies from World War Two
• The Big Three allies were united by their desire to defeat Nazi Germany, but as the war ended, tensions emerged
• The Big Three discussed Europe's Future

  1. At Tehran

  2. At Yalta
• The Grand Alliance held a conference in Tehran
• The talks at Tehran focused mainly on plans to defeat the Nazis
• The allies also started to discuss what would happen to Europe and Germany after the war
• Britain and the USA were politically very different from the USSR


  There were tensions between the allies
• The tensions between the allies were put aside during the war as they fought a common enemy (Germany)
• Churchill and Roosevelt agreed the USSR would have a 'sphere of influence' in Eastern Europe after the war
• The occupied countries in Eastern Europe would be subject to Soviet policies
• The Grand Alliance made more decisions about the future of Europe

  1. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945

  2. Free elections would be held in previously occupied countries in Eastern Europe

  3. The United Nations (UN) would replace the failed League of Nations
• The allies had different interpretations of what 'free elections' meant
• To the USA and Britain, free elections meant lots of political parties competing for votes, but Stalin believed only communist parties should run
• Potsdam revealed the first cracks in the Grand Alliance
• At Potsdam, the allied leaders worked on the finer details of their plans for Germany and Europe


  1. The new boundaries of Poland were agreed

  2. The big three plus France would divide Germany and Berlin between them

  3. Nazi leaders would be tried for war crimes at Nuremberg
• Some things remained undecided at Potsdam, like whether Germany's zones could rejoin to form a country again
• Tensions were high at Potsdam, as Roosevelt had died and Truman was more suspicious of the USSR and less willing to compromise
• Britain and the US were alarmed by Stalin's actions in Poland, where he had installed a pro-communist government
• Communism


  State control of industry and agriculture
• Capitalism (USA)


  Private enterprise, 'American Dream' of anyone working their way to the top
• Communism aimed at world revolution, which was seen by Americans as a danger to their democracy
• The communists also feared worldwide American influence
• TEhran causes

  1. Discussed what to do with Germany once the country was defeated

  2. Needed a plan to defeat Hitler
• Tehran events

  1. Opened a second front in western France

  2. Split German defences, less pressure on the west

  3. War on Japan- USSR declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated

  4. Discussed the future of Eastern Europe and Germany
• Stalin uncertain about war and Britain
• Yalta causes 


  1. Decided Germany's future after defeat

  2. Decided on polish borders and their sphere of influence

  3. Decided when USSR would declare war on Japan
• Yalta events for Germany

  • Reparations (120 billion), lost land; no army
  • Split into 4 zones
• Eastern European countries' governments decided enough free elections
• UN set up
• USSR declared war 3 months after defeat of Germany
• Poland's land invaded by Stalin
• Successful relations on the surface
• Spots growing
• Potsdam causes

  1. Future of Germany - punish? divide it?

  2. Future lay one of our
• Potsdam Events

  1. Atomic bomb testing by US caused paranoia

  2. Agreed to divide Germany

  3. Punish Germany
• Potsdam results

  Stalin creates satellite states in east europe
• On the 6th August 1945, the USA exploded an atom bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima
• A second was released over Nagasaki on the 9th August 1945
• The blast at Hiroshima was equivalent to 12,000 tons of the TNT used in ordinary bombs
• It is estimated that over 120,000 Japanese civilians were killed by the two bombs