History

• The Grand Alliance


  Practical partnership between countries with a joint aim to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies
• Tehran conference


  Nov 1943
• Aim of Tehran conference

  To plan a winning strategy to end WW2
• USA + Britain to open up new front in Western Europe, known as D-Day


  Made Churchill unhappy as he wanted it in the Balkans, pleased Stalin as he felt supported and relieved pressure on the USSR
• Stalin would declare war on Japan to support USA


  But only once the war in Europe finished - increased relations between USSR and USA
• International body


  To settle disputes through negotiation, rather than war - laid foundation for United Nations
• Agreed to give Poland land from Germany after war, but USSR could keep the land they seized from Poland in 1939
• Created tension between USA and Britain


  Roosevelt felt British expansion was more threatening that spread of USSR
• Only ideas, no formal agreements
• Yalta conference


  Feb 1945
• Aim of Yalta conference

  To discuss post-war Europe
• Decisions at Yalta conference

  • Germany would be split by 4, and given to France, Britain, USA and USSR
  • Germany to pay $20 billion reparations added to WW1 debt, half of which goes to the USSR
  • Germany to be demilitarised
  • Nazi party would be banned and war criminals prosecuted
  • The Declaration of Liberated helped people liberated from Nazi control
  • United Nations would be set up
• More disagreements than Tehran, GB and USA concerned over Stalins power over Eastern Europe
• Polish borders would be returned to their 1921 position and would only be allowed in the "Soviet sphere of influence"
• Stalin agreed that future governments of Eastern European countries would be decided through free elections
• Stalin expected the elections to go in his favour, so he began creating a buffer zone of communist countries between the USSR and the West from 1946-47
• Clement Attlee supported any non-communist parties
• Potsdam conference


  July/August 1945
• Aim of Potsdam conference

  To organise rebuilding of Europe
• Decisions at Potsdam conference

  • Council of foreign ministers set up
  • Nazi party banned and war criminals prosecuted
  • Germany and Berlin split into 4 ran by USA, UK, France and USSR
  • Soviet union would receive 25% of output from other sections
• Clement Attlee, Stalin and Truman attended Potsdam conference
• Kennan-Long telegram Feb 1946 said Soviets saw capitalism as a threat to be destroyed, USSR was rebuilding its military power, and peace between soviets and americans was impossible
• Novikov telegram September 1946 said USA wanted world domination and was building military strength, and Soviet union was the only country that could take down America after WW2
• Satellite states


  1. Between 1947 and 1949 the soviet union spread its sphere of influence to neighbouring countries despite stalin's promise at Yalta + Potsdam conferences to hold free elections in occupied territories

  2. Countries - Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia

  3. Elections were fixed to make sure the communist parties won and other parties were removed
• The USA saw the soviet takeover of Eastern Europe as a betrayal of the Yalta agreement and they were determined to contain communism through military and economic measures
• The soviets argued it needed a buffer zone between it and the west to stop them attacking
• Truman doctrine 1947


  USA would try to contain communism by providing troops and money were necessary to help free governments to combat communist takeovers
• Marshall aid 1947


  • $13 billion dollars (110 in todays money) was given to european countries at risk of falling to communism from the USA
  • The country had to trade with the USA to receive the money
  • 16 west european countries took the money
• Soviet union criticised Marshall plan as an attack on them as it threatened communist control in Europe
• Cominform 1947


  • Communist information bureau that organised all communist parties in Europe to make sure they followed soviet policies
  • Removed all opposition to the soviets control in satellite states
  • Encouraged communist parties in western countries to block marshall plan
• Comecon 1949


  • Council of mutual economic assistance that encouraged trade between eastern countries to remove attraction of marshall plan
  • Built trade links between comecon countries
  • Prevented comecon countries making links with USA
  • Included the USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania and the German Democratic Republic from 1950
• Consequences were that Western europe was now linked to USA through marshall plan, and Eastern europe was now linked to the soviet union as satellite states, the soviet union believed the socialist revolution would spread world wide
• NATO 1949


  • A number of capitalist countries joined to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation- 12 to begin with including Norway, Canada, Iceland, Denmark and Italy
  • Based on the idea of collective security, if one country was attacked - the others had to assist
  • Directed against possible military attack from Soviet Union on west europe
• Warsaw pact 1955


  • Collective defence treaty between soviet union and Eastern Bloc
  • Counter to NATO
  • Showed countries were prepared to accept future soviet aggression
  • Meant that there were now two opposing alliances in Europe separated by the iron curtain
  • Gave the soviet union direct control over the amount of forces its satellite states had, strengthening its grip on the eastern bloc
• Berlin divides into 4 zones like rest of Germany but the city was geographically in the Soviet controlled part
• Bizonia (1946) of UK and USAs parts of Germany became Trizonia with Fraces part too by start of 1948
• Marshall aid by the USA restarted West Berlins industry (cars)
• New currency of the 'Deutschmark' introduced only in West Germany and West Berlin
• Berlin blockade


  1. 24th July 1948 - Stalin stopped rail traffic to West Berlin

  2. 24th August 1948 - access through canals + autobarns cut to West Berlin, and gas + electricity shut off

  3. Frace, America and England started an Airlift as Berlin only had supplies for the next 36 days - operation vittles, planes dropped off food + gas etc every 30 seconds for 11 months - transporting 2.3 million tons of supplies

  4. The blockade proved less effective than Stalin hoped so he lifted it May 9th 1949
• Arms race events


  • 1945 - USA develops the Atomic bomb
  • 1949 - Soviet Union develops atomic bomb
  • 1952 - USA develops Hydrogen bomb
  • 1953 - USA launches first intercontinental ballistic missile
  • 1957 - Soviet Union launches first ICBM
  • 1960 - USA launched first missile from submarine