L2 - Origins of the Cold War

Who were the 2 global superpowers?

USA, USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

Who were the key figures?

Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman

What were the Yalta and Postdam Conferences?

In the last couple of months of WW2 (before the bomb dropped), the Allied leaders met to discuss how the world would look at the end of the war.

When were the Yalta and Postdam conferences?

Yalta - February 1945

Postdam - July - August 1945

What were the things discussed in Yalta and Postdam?

• Division of Germany

• Formation of the United Nations

• Justice: Japanese demilitarisation & Nazi prosecution

What was the UN?

The UN is an international organisation that aimed to act as a global peacekeeper to prevent another world war from occurring.

What was the source of tension (aka division of Germany)

At the Potsdam Conference, the allied decided to divide Germany into four zones, each controlled by one allied country.

How was Germany divided?

• The US, France and Britain merged their zones to create the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, democratic and capitalist)
  
  

• The Soviet Union created the German Democratic

  Republic (East Germany, communist)
  
  
  

What was the division of Berlin?

Berlin was also divided into East and West.

What is Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)?

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was the belief that if one superpower used a nuclear weapon, the other would retaliate with a nuclear weapon and both the attacker and defender would be annihilated.

How was Europe divided?

Europe was divided into the Eastern Bloc (Red) and the Western Bloc (Blue)

What was the iron curtain?

Due to this division, Winston Churchill had stated that “an iron curtain has

descended across the continent”.

What were the 2 main alliances of the Cold War?

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) , and the Warsaw Pact

What was NATO?

• Consisted of USA, Canada and 30 European democratic and capitalist countries

• Aimed to stop the spread of Communism in Europe

What was the Warsaw Pact?

• Comprised of 8 Eastern European communist countries

• Aimed to strengthen and solidify communist countries in Europe