hist ch7

• Causes of the Cold War


  • Long Term/Before WW2: Competing Ideologies, History of Suspicion and Mistrust before 1939
  • Short-Term/During WW2: Delayed Opening of the Second Front, Breakdown of Wartime Alliance at Yalta and Potsdam, Atomic Bomb
  • Immediate/ After WW2: Iron Curtain and Soviet Control over Eastern Europe

  
• Competing Ideologies


  Democracy (USA) and Communism (USSR) had different ideas of an ideal world (had different political, economic, and social systems)
• Democratic countries feared communism because it would threaten their way of life/ Communism spread to the countries
• USSR believed that the democratic countries tried to dominate other countries through political and economic domination (colonialism and trade)
• Both USA and USSR developed mistrust of each other's intention and believed that co-existence was impossible
• History of Suspicion and Mistrust before 1939


  Wartime Alliance = Marriage of Convenience, Removal of Germany and Japan meant that there was no further need for wartime alliance; no further need to remain as "friends" since their relationship was rocky to begin with i.e underlying tensions

  
• Events that heightened Mistrust between West and Russia


  • West support for enemies of Bolsheviks in Civil War (1918-1921)
  • Communist Manifesto
  • 1938 Munich Agreement/Appeasement of Hitler
  • 1939 Nazi- Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• Delayed in creating the Second Front revealed Stalin's territorial ambitions/ Stalin could not be trusted
• Disagreements at Yalta and Potsdam revealed Stalin's intention to set up communist governments in Eastern Europe, causing the wartime alliance to break down
• The atomic bomb caused the USA to threaten USSR security, heightening the mistrust between the two superpowers
• Stalin broke his promise to have free elections in Poland, causing Churchill and Truman to be suspicious of Stalin's intention
• More disagreements at Potsdam Conference than Yalta, as Truman was more anti-Communist than Roosevelt and the USA had the A. Bomb and did not need USSR help against Japan
• Disagreements at Potsdam Conference


  • Poland: West wanted Poland to be independent/free and fair election, Stalin wanted Poland to be a Communist State
  • Eastern Europe: West wanted free and fair election, Stalin insisted on no government in Eastern Europe be unfriendly to Russia
  • Reparation: West wanted low reparation and Germany to recover economically, Stalin wanted high reparation to punish Germany
• Things agreed at Potsdam


  • Germany demilitarized and de-nazified
  • Nazi Criminals be brought on trial (same as Yalta)
  • Germany and Berlin divided into 4 occupation zones (same as Yalta)
  • Germany govern by Allied Control Council
  • Reparations
  • Polish provisional government reorganized and free elections held in Poland
• Disagreements at Potsdam Conference


  • Poland
  • Eastern Europe
  • Reparation
• Stalin's Position on Poland


  Wanted Poland to be a Communist State
• Stalin arrested anti-communist leaders and set up a communist govt in Poland
• Churchill-Atlee/Truman's Position on Eastern Europe


  Free and Fair Election
• Stalin's Position on Eastern Europe


  Insisted that no government in Eastern Europe be unfriendly to Russia
• Stalin's Approach to Eastern Europe


  Use "Salami Tactics" to set up communist governments
• Churchill-Atlee/Truman's Position on Reparation


  Low reparation. Wanted Germany to recover economically
• Stalin's Position on Reparation


  High reparation (20 Billion). Wanted to punish Germany so it would stay weak
• Countries take reparation from their individual occupied zones in Germany
• Truman postponed the Potsdam conference to July (Germany surrendered in May) till after the first A. bomb test
• Truman's Intention with the Atomic Bomb


  To use it as a leverage to pressurize USSR in the negotiation
• Truman told Stalin that US possessed a " new weapon of unusual destructive force" (hinting US is more powerful than USSR and has the power to stop Russia if it became aggressive)

  
• Stalin became suspicious of US's intention and wanted to possess atomic weapons as well to balance USA
• This led to a nuclear arms race between USA and USSR
• Russia successfully detonated their first atomic bomb in 1949 in Kazakhstan
• Immediate Cause of the Cold War


  Iron Curtain and Soviet Control Over East Europe

  
• Fulton Speech: Churchill's Iron Curtain's Speech


  On 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at Fulton in America. He said 'a shadow' had fallen on eastern Europe, which was now cut off from the free world by 'an iron curtain'. Behind that line, he said, the people of eastern Europe were 'subject to Soviet influence . . . totalitarian control and police governments'.
• Significance of Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech


  • USSR hostile to western powers
  • USA had become the most powerful nation in the world and had the responsibility to deal with Soviet threat to democracy
  • USA must stop Soviet ambition and contain spread of communism
  • Churchill believed that force is necessary to contain communism because USSR only respect military power
• Both the USA and the USSR needed to assert their Power and Presence
• There was constant checking against the other i.e competition instead of collaboration
• Policies that heightened Cold War Tensions


  • March 1947: Truman Doctrine
  • June 1947: Marshall Plan
  • Sept 1947: COMINFORM
  • Jan 1949: COMECON

  
• Reason for heightened Cold War Tensions

  Fear causes one to either react or withdraw. The Superpowers reacted by checking against the other in order to assert World Dominance.

  
• Guiding Principle of Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

  To Contain Communism
• Aim of Truman Doctrine


  Provide economic and military aid
• Aim of Marshall Plan


  Provide economic aid to reconstruct Europe and its economies
• Aim of Cominform


  To counter the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan by uniting the Communist states in Europe