1943-1956

• 1941 the grand alliance 


  the grand alliance was an alliance between the superpowers USA , GB and USSR

  known as the marriage of convenience
• 1943 Tehran 


  meeting between Churchill , Roosevelt and Stalin

  • agreement to set up UN
  • USSR would declare war on japan once Germany were defeated
  • second front in the west would be formed
• 1945 Yalta feb


  Churchill , Roosevelt and Stalin

  • Germany would be split/ divided into 4 zones
  • all had a common enemy (Hitler / Germany)
  • Germany would pay reparations in the form of labour and materials
  • UN established
  • USSR declare war in Japan
  • cons
  • didnt agree on 'democracy' definition
• Potsdam 1945 july-aug


  meeting between stalin, Truman and atlee

  • agreed that Germany and Berlin to be split into 4
  • Nazi war criminals tried
  • each ally takes reparations from own zone
  • USSR given more industrial materials as they have the least developed zone
  • 
    
  • cons
  • however Stalin wanted Germany to be treated harshly and pay high reparation but Truman disagreed
• 1944 percentage deal 


  this was a secret informal deal with Churchill and Stalin 🧐in which they exchanged information over the percentage of control over eastern germany
• Roosevelt death 1945


  Stalin and Roosevelt had developed a good relationship and had agreed on many aspects surrounding war , however when he died he was replaced by Harry Truman who took a hard approach to compromise with Stalin increasing further tensions
• Truman domino theory

  Policy in which the USA believed it had to stop countries becoming communist or else they would all fall to communism (like Dominoes)
• importance of Poland 


  USSR wanted to use as a buffer zone for protection
• 1946 Iron curtain speech


  Churchill made a speech where he described the border between soviet controlled countries and the west as an ' Iron Curtain'
• 1946 Feb Long telegram 


  George Kennan wrote a 8,000 word telegram from Moscow regarding the motives of the soviets to ruin the American life and how to beat them
• 1946 sept Novikovs telegram 


  soviet ambassador in Washington sent a telegram to Stalin stating

  USA was preparing for war and hated communism

  USA was stronger economically than the USSR
• Trumans belief of containment


  he believed that each country has to make the choice capitalism or communism , he was heavily against communism and said it was oppressive and not free , and believed that the USA should offer support to those who cant chose.
• Greece and turkey conflict 1944-1947


  civil war in Greece broke out 1944 ( Royalists vs communists)

  • by 1947 British cant support Greece anymore so USA step in and Truman steps in
  • 1947 Truman gives a speech in Congress to aid Greece ( $400 million)
• Greece and Turkey 1947


  consequence

  Greek government defeats communists

  anglo-soviet tension increased

  shows US committed to policy of containment

  cominform (1947)
• marshall plan 1947 june


  General G Marshall made a plan to give a financial aid of $17 billion in aid, machinery to countries in return for them buying US goods and investing in companies used as a deterrent for communism and to help western economies grow after WW2
• consequence of marshall plan

  • comecon (1949)
  • $17 billion help rebuild economies and standard of living
  • showed Europe was firmly divided
  • stalin accused USA of ' dollar imperialism
• stalins response to marshall aid and doctrine


  the soviet response was not good and stalin did not want his Eastern bloc countries taking marshall aid
• Cominform 1947 oct

  political

  This was stalins response to 'doctrine' and was introduced to ensure that all communist eastern states

  • followed soviet aims
  • were in extended control
  • published their own newspaper
  • held meetings in the eastern bloc
  • allowed stalin to keep tighter control
• comecon 1949 jan


  economic

  This was stalins response to 'marshall aid' and was aimed to financially develope Eastern bloc countries through

  • trade and materials
  • and also used to attempt to prevent trade with west and give access to the soviet union of their resources
  • keep countries on their side
• lead upto the berlin blockade 


  • in 1947 USA and GB operate as one zone ' bizonia'
  • in march 1948 USA , GB and FR operate as one zone ' trizonia'
  • by june 1948 the deutschmark is the operating currency
  • this currency also operates in the BERLIN ZONES of the 3 countries
• trizonia effect of stalin


  stalin thinks the USA are being provocative and will corrupt east germany. he cannot do anything directly to US as it could wage a war but he could influence berlin
• berlin blockade 1948 -1949


  this event lasted 319 days with soviets stopping all rail ,road and canal services into berlin . and said he was just defending the east german economy against the new currency
• berlin blockade for the US 1948-1949


  Truman could not force into the blockade as it would be an act of aggression so instead he sent planes in delivering food, materials and aid

  • each day around 13,000 tonnes were brought in ( despite only needing half)
  • allied planes came every 3 mins
• consequence of berlin blockade


  this made the blockade lose and stalin perceived as aggressive

  germany divided into 2 zones ( west and east )

  west ( FDR )

  east ( GDR )
• berlin airlift 1948-1949 


  this ended in sept 1949 and had lasted for 319 days

  • allied planes brought supplies to berlin, this being not being an act of resistance
  • this made stalin look aggressive and the USA to be in a better light
• consequence of berlin blockade and airlift


  • NATO 1949 ( trumans commitment to europe was confirmed and it now showed west needed protection from USSR )
  • Truman is commited to his policy of containment
  • increased tensions
• NATO formation 1949


  as a consequence to the berlin crisis the west knew they needed protection from the USSR

  nato was intended to be a defensive military alliance

  the aim for it was if one was attacked then the rest would defend them , this now meant they felt stronger as they had strong militaries behind them
• warsaw pact 1955 


  the creation of NATO was seen as a threat to the the soviets so the USSR created the warsaw pact to be an alliance of all the eastern bloc countries ( apart from yugloslavia)

  this further solidified the ideological divide between east and west
• arms race 1949-1953


  • 1945 - USA had tested a nuclear bomb before potsdam and USA had launched it 3 weeks after in hiroshima nagasaki
  • 1949- Stalin tested out his first nuclear bomb
  • 1952 - USA dropped the hydrogen bomb ( much more powerful)
  • 1953 - USSR drop their own bomb
  • this created MAD and showed that both sides that the weaponry and were extremely competitive
• 1956 Hungarian Uprising background

  Hungary used to be a rich culture with great history and a big catholic community . however under rakosi ( who was stalins 'best pupil' and led hungary under the oppressive cominform regime

  • secret police
  • media controlled