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What were the impacts of World War 2 on Europe
Around 36 million Europeans were killed.
The infrastructure of roads, railways, bridges and canals had been destroyed by the fighting and bombing.
There was no gas, electricity or even running water in many areas.
There were shortages of food and medicine, causing diseases and malnutrition.
Over 50 million people lost their homes or were forced to leave their homes, causing homelessness
Explain the decline of the Western European powers.
The three major powers in Europe of France, Britain and Germany were severely weakened by the war and were no longer major powers in Europe.
Although Britain was never defeated, it had exhausted the resources of their people, their industries and empire during the war and were left bankrupt
Although France was liberated from German rule in 1944, they were no longer the power they once were.
After the defeat of Germany in World War Two, the country lay in ruins, completely destroyed by the war and calamity that emerged from World War Two.
Explain the emergence of the superpowers.
USA and the USSR emerged from World War Two as superpowers, possessing a large territory, large population, strong military prowess as well as an immense economic output.
Why were there competing ideologies between the USA and the USSR?
On one hand, the USA thought of communism in a negative light, fearing it and feeling like it threatened their way of life.
On the other hand, the USSR felt that the USA was selfishly building their economic empire and political influence on the world with complete disregard for others.
Additionally, both parties thought that their ideology should be adopted by others, causing competition between the two.
Why was there a history of suspicion and mistrust between the two countries before 1939?
When Russia first became a communist country in 1917, their communist vision was aligned with the communist manifesto , which involved overthrowing the capitalist states and starting communist revolutions. This caused the USA and Western Europe to be alarmed, fearing that communism would spread to their countries and cause similar revolutions.
Additionally, during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, it was decided that Germany would not be broken up, as Britain and USA thought of Germany as a barrier to communism, which highlighted their suspicion towards Russia.
Moreover, in the 1920, there was a “Red Scare” that was implemented in the USA, where they arrested and imprisoned a large number of people, mainly Russian immigrants, accusing them of being communist agents, though most of them were innocent.
What is the marriage of convenience?
It was said that the alliance between USSR, the USA and Britain was a marriage of convenience and was an emergency arrangement against a common enemy.
During the World War Two, Germany’s constant attacks were placing immense pressure upon the Soviet troops. This led to Stalin requesting the USA and Britain to open a second front in France to relieve their pressure and make a quick end to the war. However, they only agreed to do so during operation overlord in 1944, even though they had already met a year earlier in the Tehran conference in 1943. Stalin felt that this was done to minimise losses on their side or to weaken the USSR, deepening their mistrust.
When was the Yalta conference and what happened?
In February 1945, Britain, the USA and the USSR met to discuss key post war matters. The USA and Britain had many differing opinions from the USSR and had much tension. For example, during the Yalta Conference, both Britain and the USA were unhappy with Stalin’s plan to move the soviet border westwards into Poland and had to make multiple compromises.
What was different about the Potsdam conference in terms of leadership?
There was a change of leadership between the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and the Potsdam conference in July 1945.
The USA’s new president was Harry Truman as President Roosevelt had died in April 1945. Truman did not share the same relationship President Roosevelt had with Stalin as he had only just been appointed president after the alliance broke down, Truman saw Stalin as a potential threat and was ready to get tough with Stalin in the big issues in order to minimalize him as a threat to the USA.
Britain’s new president was Clement Attlee as Churchill had lost the general election in July 1945. Both the presidents of the USA and Britain were younger and more inexperienced in foreign affairs than the previous presidents.
Explain the increasing Soviet Control
Soviet troops controlled most of Eastern Europe as the Red Army had liberated the countries of Eastern Europe from the Germans, however instead of withdrawing his troops, Stalin decided to leave them there. By July 1945, Stalin’s troops controlled the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Czechslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.
Additionally, Stalin set up a communist government in Poland desite the wishes of the majority of the locals there, breaking the agreement made during the Yalta conference. This was to set up a defensive perimeter around the USSR as they had been invaded twice in thirty years through Poland.
Explain why the Manhattan project increased tensions between the USA and the USSR.
In 1941, when the USA had been secretly developing the atomic bomb using the state funded nuclear development programme named the Manhattan project, they decided to keep it from the USSR, only informing them about it in private during the Potsdam Conference. As the USA had decided not to inform the USSR about the bomb at an earlier date, Stalin had further deepened his suspicions towards USA’s intentions
Explain the major disagreements durinng the Potsdam conference.
Many disagreements arose from the Potsdam conference. One example of this is when the USSR wanted to completely cripple the USA. The USA disagreed as they did not want to make the same mistake as the treaty of Versailles.
Additionally, when the USSR wanted compensation from Germany, Truman agreed at first, before changing his mind, causing Stalin to think that he wanted to protect Germany, deepening his suspicion of the USA.
Moreover, when it was agreed upon that Eastern Europe would be a soviet sphere of influence, the Soviets thought that that meant they could set up communist governments there and control them. This was not what Truman was expecting and caused him to suspect Stalin of wanting control over the entirety of Europe.
What happened regarding the atomic bomb after the Potsdam conference?
Stalin already knew about the Atomic Bomb before Truman told him due to his Soviet spies and hence showed little reaction. In fact, Stalin had already begun developing an atomic bomb before the Potsdam conference started. By 1949, both superpowers had atomic bombs.
How did the USSR gain control of Eastern Europe?
He adopted "Salami tactics” and slowly removed his political opponents until his trusted communist parties took power over Eastern Europe. One example of this is when Jan Masaryk in Czechslovakia had his phone tapped and was followed by Soviet spies. In September 1947, the soviets attempted to kill him by sending him a parcel with a bomb in it. However, it was a failure.
In March 1948, he was found dead below his bedroom window. Although the verdict was that he committed suicide, it is high suspected that he was murdered. In Stalin’s opinion, controlling Eastern Europe made sense as it was frequently invaded in the past by the West through it. Hence, Stalin wanted to form a defensive perimeter of buffer states to make it more challenging for others to invade the USSR through Eastern Europe.
How did the iron curtain speech come about and what were its effects?
Truman thought that by controlling Eastern Europe, Stalin was planning on building an empire. However, the locals in USA did not want USA to be dragged into international politics and wanted to avoid conflict, arguing that Stalin’s actions were none of their concern. Later, Truman asked Churchill to give a speech at Fulton, Missouri, in March 1946. The speech that Churchill gave was dubbed “The Iron Curtain Speech”, warning the US citizens of the dangers of the USSR, invoking alarm in many citizens and giving Truman the support and attention required to become more involved in international affairs. Additionally, it caused many soviets to become enraged, including Stalin himself.
What was the Truman Doctrine?
It was a speech saying that the USA would provide money, military equipment and advice to democratic countries that were being threatened by communist influences. It was the beginning of the containment policy to stop the advancement of communist forces. It was introduced as a result of events in Greek and Turkey.
What happened in Greece after World War Two?
After being liberated from German rule, it was run by the British until a new government could be set up. However, rivalling political parties strongly disagreed on how Greece shouldve been run. The Greek Communist Party wanted Greece to be a communist state while the Greek royalists wanted the return of the monarch. In 1946, a civil war broke out between the two sides, causing Britain to withdraw from the situation on 24th February 1947 due to their lack of resources to deal with the situation.
What happened in Turkey after World War Two?
Stalin was trying to gain control of the Turkey to gain access to the Turkish Straits, so that Soviet ships could flow from the dead sea to the Mediterranean Sea. However, Truman thought that if Stalin gained control over Turkey, he would use it as a stepping stone to spread communism into the Middle East, which was important to the USA due to its oil reserves.
To gain support in the United States against the USSR, President Truman exaggerated the scale of the threat that the USSR imposed, aided by the local American newspapers. In May 1947, the US Congress passed the Greece and Turkey Aid Bill, which was a package of US 400 million dollars to aid the anti communist movement in Turkey and Greece. This secured Turkey as a US ally and caused the victory of the Greece royalists, causing a monarch to reign in Greece. However, by exaggerating the threat that USSR imposed, the relationship between Truman and Stalin was further worsened, as Stalin had actually kept his promise to Churchill in 1945 and did not help the communist movement in Greece.
