causes of the cold war 1945-1949

• USA was capitalist (businesses and properties were privately owned) USSR was communist (all industry owned by state

  USA was a democracy, USSR was a one-party dictatorship, all electorates belonged to Communist party

  USA was world’s wealthiest country but there was also extreme poverty, in USSR unemployment and poverty was rarer

  People in the USA were alarmed by theory of communism

  USSR saw the USA’s actions as selfish while they thought they were ‘doing the right thing‘
• Yalta Conference

  Feb 1945

  Big Three - Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt

  Aim was to decide what would happen after the war
• Yalta Conference agreements

  • Stalin joined war against Japan
  • Germany would be divided into four zones - US, Soviet, British, France
  • To help Stalin ensure USSR would not be invaded again, Eastern Europe would become a Soviet ‘sphere of influence
  • Countries liberate from German occupation would be allowed to choose their government
• Yalta Conference disagreements

  Stalin wanted the border of the USSR to move into Poland and then Poland could move its border into German territory

  Churchill and FDR disapproved but agreed because Stalin promised to not interfere in Greece where British were preventing communist takeover
• Potsdam Conference 


  July- August 1945

  Big Three - Attlee, Stalin, Truman

  Truman was much more communist than FDR and was suspicious of Stalin

  Soviet forces now controlled most of Eastern Europe

  USA had tested an atomic bomb
• Potsdam Conference disagreements

  • Stalin wanted to cripple Germany completel but Truman didn’t want to repeat mistakes of the TOV
  • Stalin wanted compensation from Germany. Initially Truman agreed but then changed his mind and Stalin was confused and alarmed about why Truman would want to protect Germany
  • At Yalta Stalin had won agreements from Allies that he would set up pro Soviet governments in Eastern Europe insisting it was a defensive measure. Truman became suspicious and adopted a ’get tough attitude’
• Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain Speech’


  March 1946 - believed to be the start of the Cold War

  • USSR had suffered huge damage during war, USA was worried about another economic depression
  • USA offered a loan to Stalin in return for guaranteed freedom to trade with Eastern Europe - Stalin refused fearing it would give USA power over his ‘sphere of influence‘ - achieved domination over eastern Europe
  • Churchill lost his position as prime minister of Britain but remained well respected. He went on a lecture tour, expressing his belief that Stalin and the USSR posed a great danger to Europe
• Stalin tightens his grip - 1947

  Was not discouraged by the disagreements at Potsdam and Iron Curtain speech and was determined to gain control of Eastern Europe to protect USSR from attacks

  October 1947 - set up Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) to control these communist governments so he could keep a close eye on them
• Truman Doctrine 


  March 1947

  Truman was reluctant to get involved in European affairs but didn’t want Stalin to do whatever he wanted

  Truman announced the USA would provide money, equipment and advice to any country he considered to be threatened by Communism
• Marshall Aid 


  April 1948

  Truman sent an army general, George Marshall, to assess the situation in eastern Europe, and he concluded $17 billion was needed to rebuild Europe

  Extremely generous gift from the USA, but it was thought (especially by the USSR) that the USA wanted to create new markets for US goods to prevent another worldwide depression (Dollar Imperialism)
• Germany after the war

  Divided into four zones - each owned by US, USSR, France and Britain

  Morgnethau Plan - remove all German industry and make it an agricultural country so it could never again wage a modern war

  In 1946, USA, France and Britain combined their zones - Truman believed strong Germany would be a useful ally against USSR and if German industries didn’t recover many Germans would starve
• Stalin blockades Berlin 


  Berlin was divided into four zones but was in the centre of the Soviet zone, linked to the western areas by roads, railways and canals

  June 1948 - Stalin blocks these supply lines as a response to the western leaders trying to encroach his ’sphere of influence‘ - this stopped them from reaching their zones in Berlin

  Stalin expected Truman to announce a withdrawal from Berlin as if they tried to ram the blocks it would be seen as an act of war
• Berlin Airlift 


  Truman ordered that aircraft should fly supplies into Berlin

  Many thought that the planes would be shot down but no shots were fired. For 10 months West Berlin received all its supplies this way

  Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949 and with US aid West Germany began to recover