P2 History: The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58

Why was the Grand Alliance between Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union created?

To defeat Nazi Germany (the Grand Alliance was a ‘marriage of convenience’, in which three countries shared the same aim of defeating Nazi Germany).

When was the Grand Alliance created?

1941.

State whether Britain was a democratic or a communist country and who it was led by during WWI.

Democratic.

Churchill.

State whether the USA was a democratic or a communist country and who it was led by during WWI.

Democratic.

Roosevelt.

State whether the Soviet Union was a democratic or a communist country and who it was led by during WWI.

Communist.

Stalin.

When was the Tehran Conference?

November-December 1943.

What was agreed at the Tehran Conference?

• The USA and Britain agreed to open up a second front by invading Nazi-occupied Europe.

• The Soviet Union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated.

• The boundaries of Poland would be moved westwards; Poland would gain territory from Germany and lose it to the Soviet Union.

• An international body would be set up to settle future disputes between countries.

When was the Yalta Conference?

February 1945.

What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?

• Germany, when defeated, would be reduced in size, divided and demilitarised. It would pay reparations too.

• Europe would be rebuilt. Countries would have democratic elections.

• The UN would be set up.

• The Soviet Union would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated.

• Poland would be in the ‘Soviet sphere of influence’ but run on a broader democratic basis.

When was the Postdam Conference?

July-August 1945.

What was agreed at the Postdam Conference?

• A Council of Foreign Ministers was set up to organise the rebuilding of Europe.

• The Nazi Party was banned and war criminals were to be prosecuted.

• Germany would be reduced in size and divided into four zones of occupation run by Britain, France the USA and the Soviet Union.

• Berlin would be divided into zones of occupation.

• The Soviet Union would receive 25% of the output from the other three occupied zones.

List the consequences (outcomes) of the conferences.

• Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union worked together to defeat Germany but tension increased between the wartime allies.

• Differences emerged over the future of Germany and Eastern Europe.

• Roosevelt’s death led to Truman becoming president and he was more distrustful of the Soviet Union.

Explain how Roosevelt’s death increased tension between the USA and Soviet Union.

Roosevelt held the Alliance together and he believed the US could work with the Soviet Union after the war ended through the UN. However, his successor, Truman was more suspicious of the Soviet Union which increased tension between the Allies.

Suggest a timeline of the events that led to the end of the Grand Alliance.

1. The USA dropped atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945. This gave them a huge military advantage over other countries.

2. Roosevelt was prepared to work with Stalin but he died in April 1945 and was replaced by Truman. Truman trusted Stalin much less, as he had broken the promises he made over Poland at Yalta. He felt that, thanks to the atomic bomb, he could push Stalin around at the Postdam Conference.

3. Stalin disliked the way Truman pushed him around at Postdam in 1945.

4. Increased tensions between the superpowers and the start of the cold war.

5. Britain helped win WWII but was economically exhausted by the war so it was unable to stand up to the Soviet Union on its own and became only an ally of the US. The Cold War became increasingly about the relationship between the two superpowers.

Ideology (definition).

A set of political ideas about how society should be run (the USA and the Soviet Union had opposing ideologies).

What was communism’s main criticism of capitalism?

Capitalism exploited the workers to make the rich richer.

What was capitalism’s main criticism of communism?

Communism enslaved people to the state.

What is communism based on?

Fairness.

What is capitalism based on?

Freedom and democracy.

List some communist beliefs.

• Capitalism only makes some people rich by exploiting everyone else.

• Individuals aren’t as strong as everyone working together for the same aim.

• The state should take control of the economy and run it to benefit everyone.

List some capitalist beliefs.

• Everyone should be free to make money for themselves.

• Individuals are better at deciding what to make/sell than the state.

• Trade between countries makes everyone richer.

When was the Long Telegram and the Novikov’s Telegram published?

1946.

Who was the Long Telegram from and who was it for?

The Long Telegram, a secret report, was from the US ambassador Kennan in Moscow to President Truman.

List some things that were written in the Long Telegram.

• The Soviet Union saw capitalism as a threat to communism that had to be destroyed.

• The Soviet Union was building its military power.

• Peace between a communist Soviet Union and a capitalist USA wasn’t possible.

List some things that were written in the Novikov’s Telegram.

• The USA wanted world domination and was building up its military strength.

• The Soviet Union was the only country left after the war that could stand up to the USA.

• The USA was preparing its people for war with the Soviet Union.

_ differences and the _ bomb made relations between the superpowers worse. The USA saw the Soviet Union as a threat to its _ interests in Europe. The Soviet Union feared and resented the USA’s _ monopoly, which didn’t end until 1949.

Ideological.

Atomic.

Economic.

Nucleur.

At the _ and _ conferences, the Soviet Union agreed to free elections in the countries of its sphere of influence.

Yalta.

Postdam.

Explain how the the Soviet Union controlled the ‘free’ elections.

• Elections were fixed to make sure the Communist Party won and non-communists were removed from government.

• Once in control, the communists shut down the opposition parties and each country became a single-party state.

Fill in this table using key dates:

Country	How it became communist
Bulgaria
Romania
Poland
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
East Germany

Country	How it became communist
Bulgaria	A communist government was elected in 1945 and all elected non-communists were executed.
Romania	A communist-led coalition took power but by 1947 the communists had taken over and Romania became a one-party state.
Poland	At Yalta Stalin promised to set up a joint communist/non-communist government. He then invited 16 non-communist leaders to Moscow and arrested them. Thousands of non-communists were arrested. The communists then ‘won’ the 1947 election.
Hungary	The communists lost the 1945 election but the communist leader Rakosi took control of the secret police, executed and imprisoned his opponents and turned Hungary into a communist state.
Czechoslovakia	Edward Benes set up a coalition government but the communists retained control of the army, the radio and the secret police. In 1948 they seized power completely, turning the country into a communist state.
East Germany	The original Soviet zone of occupation in Germany, it became a communist state in October 1949.

Over which years did Soviet expansion in Europe occur?

1945-48.

List some consequences (impacts) of the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe on superpower relations.

• The USA saw the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe as a betrayal of the Yalta agreement, in which Stalin promised to hold democratic elections.

• Others saw it as evidence of Soviet expansion: Eastern Europe was a stepping-stone to a Soviet takeover of Western Europe.

• The USA was determined to contain communism through military and economic assistance: the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid.

• The Soviet Union argued it needed to control Eastern Europe as a buffer zone, protecting it from attack by the West. The US response was unnecessary and unreasonable.

List some of Truman’s concerns.

• Europe was devastated after the war.

• In many countries people had no money, no jobs and felt hopeless.

• Communism was attractive to these people: it made sure everyone had enough.

• Many in Eastern Europe had been liberated from Nazi rule by the Soviets.

• Countries like Poland, Romania and Bulgaria already had communist governments forced on them and Truman feared this could happen to other countries too.

• Some governments (e.g. Greece and Turkey) were too poor to combat communist revolutions in their own countries.

• If Greece and Turkey became communist, then other countries across Europe and the Middle East would follow

When was the Truman Doctrine established?

1947.

State why Truman thought the USA must try to contain the spread of communism.

Communism meant people couldn’t be free.

What did the Truman Doctrine state?

That the USA could provide money and troops (if necessary) to help free governments to combat communist takeovers.

When was the Marshall Plan established?

1947.

What did the Marshall Plan state?

• $13 billion from USA to help rebuild Europe.

• Communism appealed most to people with nothing to lose, so the Marshall Plan could stop communism by giving people stake in the capitalist system.

• Countries must trade with the USA to get the money.

_ Western European countries took the money.

Sixteen.

What was the Soviet Union’s response to the Marshall Plan?

They criticised the Marshall Plan as an attack on them because it threatened communist control in Eastern Europe.

When was Cominform set up?

1947.

Who set up the Cominform?

Stalin.

What did Cominform stand for?

Communist Information Bureau.

The _organised all the communist parties in Europe and arranged their leaderships so they would do what _ told them to.

Bureau.

Moscow.

State the importance of Cominform.

• Cominform got rid of opposition to the Soviet Union’s control in satellite states.

• It encouraged communist parties in Western countries to block Marshall Plan assistance.

When was Comecon set up?

1949.

Who set up Comecon?

Stalin.

What did Comecon stand for?

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

Comecon was the Soviet Union’s alternative to the _ _.

Marshall Plan.

State the importance of Cominform.

• It built trade links between Comecon countries.

• It prevented Comecon countries signing up to the Marshall Plan.

List the consequences of Cominform and Comecon.

• Western Europe was now in one camp. It was linked to the USA through the Marshall Plan and the US policy of containment of communism.

• Eastern Europe was now in one camp. It was tied to the Soviet Union as satellite states and the Soviet Union believed socialist revolution would spread worldwide.

• Europe was now divided into two spheres of influence: Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The line that divided these two spheres of influence was the Iron Curtain.

When was NATO set up?

1949.

What does NATO stand for?

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Explain what NATO was.

• NATO was a military alliance (made up of the US, Britain, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Denmark, Norway and West Germany) based around the principle of collective security; if one country was attacked other countries had to assist it.

• NATO was directed against a possible military attack from the Soviet Union on Western Europe.

State the importance of NATO.

• NATO showed that, after the Berlin Blockade and the Soviet Union’s development of the atomic bomb, neither the US nor Western European governments were prepared to accept future Soviet aggression.

• The Soviet Union turned to strengthening its control over Eastern Europe, resulting in the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

• There were now two military alliances: NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

List the different views on how Germany would be run.

• Reunification - USA wanted a united, capitalist Germany that it could trade with and prevent the spread of communism.

• Division - the Soviet Union wanted Germany to be weak, communist and divided, so that it wouldn’t be able to attack the Soviet Union again.

Explain how Bizonia was created.

The British and US zones joined together so it’d be easier to administer. The area was called Bizonia and was included in the Marshall Plan.

Explain how West Germany was created.

The French zone of occupation was added to Bizonia to create ‘West Germany’.

Explain Stalin’s reaction to Bizonia and Western Germany.

This wasn’t popular with the Soviet Union, as Stalin wasn’t consulted. He thought Bizonia went against the agreements made at the Postdam Conference and he suspected the USA was aiming to permanently divide richer West Germany from poorer Eastern Germany.

Explain how Eastern Germany created the Berlin Blockade.

• The Soviet Union had 1.5 million troops in its zone, whereas the Western countries had sent most of their troops home.

• Eastern Germany grew most of the food that West Berlin ate.

• Berlin was deep in Soviet-controlled Germany, and divided into US, British, French and Soviet zones.

• In June 1948 the Soviet Union closed all road, rail and canal links into West Berlin to force British, French and US troops to leave their zone in the city.

• The Soviet Union blocked all supplies into Berlin to show it had the power to stop a divided Germany working.

Why did Western powers respond to the Berlin Blockade with an airlift?

• West Berlin couldn’t last for many days without supplies.

• If Western powers pulled out of Berlin they’d look weak, undermining the USA’s image.

When did the Berlin Airlift occur?

From 26 June 1948 to 30 September 1949.

List the consequences of the Berlin Blockade/Airlift.

West Germany:

• The Berlin airlift USA appeared peaceful and generous.

• In September 1949, West Germany (FRG) was officially formed, with US support.

• In April 1949, Western European countries and the USA formed NATO to counter the Soviet military threat.

East Germany:

• The Berlin Blockade made the Soviet Union appear aggressive and threatening.

• In October 1949, East Germany (GDR) was officially formed.

• In May 1955, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact to counter the military threat from NATO.

Suggest a timeline using key dates for the development of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb (for both the USA and Soviet Union).

1. 1945

   USA drops two atomic bombs on Japanese cities.

2. 1949

3. Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.

4. 1952

   USA develops H-bomb (hydrogen bomb).

5. 1953

   Soviet Union develops H-bomb.

State the importance of the nuclear arms race.

1. Up to 1949, the UN thought it could use its monopoly of nuclear weapons to deter Soviet attack.

2. This meant that US military figures decided that the best strategy in the event of war with the Soviet Union was to use nuclear weapons.

3. However, by the mid 1950s the development of nuclear weapons to include bigger warheads and missile delivery systems meant that any nuclear war would destroy both sides resulting in MAD.

4. This meant any military confrontation between both sides could rapidly escalate to nuclear war.

5. This meant that the USA and Soviet Union had to find ways of stopping disputes between them turning into nuclear war.

When was the Warsaw Pact set up?

14 May 1955.

Explain what the Warsaw Pact was.

• The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence treaty involving the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

• It was set up after West Germany’s entry into NATO on 9 May 1955.

State the importance of the Warsaw Pact.

• The Warsaw Pact meant there were two opposing alliances in Europe separated by the Iron Curtain.

• Both alliances planned for military action against the other, including the use of nuclear and conventional weapons.

• The Warsaw Pact gave the Soviet Union direct control over the armed forces of its satellite states, strengthening its grip on Eastern Europe.

Who replaced Stalin when he died?

Khrushchev.

List the negative impacts of Soviet rule on Hungary.

• Hungary suffered a lot under Stalin’s control.

• Food and industrial products were shipped off to Russia.

• Any opposition in Hungary was ruthlessly wiped out.

• Rakosi was a brutal ruler.

• Communist rule became very unpopular.

How and why did Khrushchev implement destalinisation.

• In 1956, in his ‘secret speech’, Khrushchev hinted that Soviet control would relax.

• In October 1956, poor harvests and bread shortages meant that Hungarians started demonstrating against communist control with statues of Stalin pulled down and local communists attacked. Khrushchev appointed a more liberal Prime Minister for Hungary - Nagy - to calm the situation down.

How did destalinisation change how the Soviet Union was ruled?

The Soviet Union changed from a dictatorship to a one-party state, governed by the Politburo with Khrushchev as its leader.

List the reforms Nagy wanted for Hungary.

• Leave the Warsaw Pact and become a neutral country.

• Hold free elections leading to no more single-party communist government.

• UN protection from the Soviet Union.

Explain why Khrushchev was reluctant to support Nagy’s reforms.

If Nagy succeeded in Hungary other countries in Eastern Europe would follow and the Warsaw Pact would collapse.

List the reasons for the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

• Khrushchev disapproved of Nagy’s reforms and proposals. If Hungary left the Warsaw Pact, other countries would follow.

• Khrushchev worried that Nagy’s actions threatened communist rule. He claimed communists were being slaughtered in Hungary. This could’ve been propaganda but a number of Hungarian communists were killed and members of the state security forces attacked in the violence of October 1956. Khrushchev feared the unrest would spread to other satellite states.

When did Khrushchev send Soviet troops into Hungary to depose Nagy and restore order?

4 November 1956.

How many troops did Khrushchev send into Hungary?

200,000.

List some consequences of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

• Over 5000 Hungarians were killed and around 1000 Soviet troops.

• Nagy and his government were deposed.

• Nagy was arrested, tried and executed. Khrushchev wanted to prevent rebellions in other communist countries.

• A new leader, Kadar, was appointed. He introduced the Fifteen Point Programme, which aimed to re-establish communist rule in Hungary. Kadar’s policies were moderate which resulted in Hungary having better living standards than other East European states. Hungarians accepted this modified form of communist rule.

List the international reactions and consequences of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

• The UN condemned Soviet actions. Some countries boycotted in 1956 Olympics in protest.

• The USA supported Hungary’s uprising with money, medical aid and words. The USA accepted 800,000 refugees from Hungary.

• The USA couldn’t send troops: would risk nuclear war.

• Hungary was on its own against the Soviet Union: they had to give in.

• Satellite states saw that the USA wouldn’t defend them against the Soviet Union. Soviet control retightened across Eastern Europe.