The Cold War

GCSE History OCR

Yalta Conference

February 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in Yalta to plan the end of the Second World War

What happened at Yalta?

• Germany + Berlin would be divided into 4 zones - one occupied by each ally

• Poland to be given land in West taken from Germany but lose land to USSR

• Free elections for Nazi liberated countries + Hunt Nazi war crims

• UN formation

• USSR would declare war on Japan 3 months after end of war

Why did West not take a firmer line at Yalta?

• Roosevelt trusted Stalin and needed Soviet help in Japan
  Churchill was more suspicious but outvoted

What happened at Potsdam

July 1945 - Wanted to Put action to things agreed at Yalta

What were the disagreements at Potsdam?

• Stalin not told about atomic bomb - was angry

• Truman demanded free elections in Eastern Europe - Stalin refused

• Arguments over where boundaries between zones would be drawn

What was the Iron Curtain? (Speech by Winston Churchill in 1946)

• Symbolic and physical divide between (Communist) East and West Europe to protect USSR from Germany and the West (distrust)

Tactics used by Stalin to secure Eastern Europe

• Soviet Troops remained in “liberated” countries

• Oppositions eliminated

• Governments started as coalitions but were taken over by Communists

Post-War Germany

• Divided into 4 zones by Allies + Berlin (inside Soviet zone) divided into 4

• West Berlin received Marshall Aid formed by US, France and British and was a temptation to Eastern Europeans who were under Stalin

Marshall Aid 1947

• Initiated by George Marshall to rebuild European Economies - $13.75 billion to 17 countries to undermine communism

• Stalin forced eastern European countries to withdraw from application

Truman Doctrine (March 1947)

• Truman promised to help any country threated by internal/external communism

• Aimed to stop further spread of Iron Curtain - persuade countries to break away from Communism

COMECON (1949)

• Soviet version of Marshall Aid

• USSR gave economic assistance to Communist allies - lacked funding compared to USA and became a financial burden

Berlin Blockade (July 1948 to May 1949)

• Stalin ordered closed road, railways, canals to West Berlin to force Allies out of Berlin

• Marshall aid made life better in West - tempted Eastern Germans/Berlin

Berlin Airlift

• Brought supplies to West Berlin by air instead of fighting - Truman refused military response

Consequences of Berlin Blockade

• West Germany (Allies) and East Germany (USSR) formed

• USSR detonated first atomic bomb (1949) - arms race begins

NATO (1949)

• 13 initial members mutually defending each other

• US troops stationed in Europe

• Created due to Soviet aggression

The Berlin Wall (1961)

• Khrushchev (new USSR leader) wanted to stop East Germans fleeing to the West (West was given economic assistance and was more prosperous)

Life in East Germany and East Berlin

• Dominated by Communist Party - controlled everything however they could easily see prosperity of West

U-2 Crisis - May 1960

• US spy plane was shot down over Soviet Union - US claimed it was a weather plane - relations worsened

What happened in Cuba? (1959 - 1961)

• 1959 - Fidel Castro Seized power in Cuba (deposed Fulgencia Batista: dictator who murdered people)

• 1961 - Castro announced communist government in Cuba

Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961)

• CIA backed invasion of Cuba by 1400 Cuban exiles at southern coast of Cuba to provoke anti Communist Uprising - faced by 20,000 Cubans - all ammunition was loaded on one ship which sank and all the invaders had been killed or captured - Kennedy looked foolish

Missiles in Cuba

• CIA rumours of Soviet missile bases in Cuba and US spy plane photographed them

• Khrushchev put Missiles on the island to make US defences worthless

Kennedy’s reaction to Missile bases

• Decided on blockade (24th October) after Kennedy gives Khrushchev a warning

Khrushchev’s reaction to blockade

• Claimed that USA was interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs - sent a letter compromising that missile sites would be destroyed if USA left Cuba along - Kennedy Accepted this. - 1962