Early Cold War

The Conferences (Teheran, Yalta, Potsdam)

Context

• The USSR allied with Britain and the USA during the Second World War in what became known as the Grand Alliance

• Stalin, leader of the USSR, was forced into this arrangement by the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941

• Between 1943 and 1945 the leaders, often referred to as the Big Three, held three conferences

• They hoped to reach agreements about how to defeat the Axis powers (Germany & Japan), and also how to deal with them once the war was finished.

The Teheran Conference

• The first conference was held in Teheran, the capital of Iran in November 1943

• The meeting was attended by Roosevelt (USA), Stalin (USSR) and Churchill (Britain)

• The main purpose of the meeting was to reach agreements about how to defeat the Axis powers and bring the war to an end

• The main agreements reached were: Britain and the USA agreed to open up a second front by invading Nazi occupied France in 1944 (takes some of the pressure off the USSR), The USSR would declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated, An area of eastern Poland would be given to the USSR

• There were already some tensions at Teheran: Stalin was angry that the USA and Britain had waited so long to open a second front in Europe (He was convinced that they were waiting for the USSR to be fatally damaged by Germany before intervening), Churchill was alarmed by the close relationship between the USA and the USSR (He was worried that US President Roosevelt always tended to side with Stalin)

The Yalta Conference

• The second conference was held in Yalta in the Crimea in February 1945

• The same three leaders attended as at Teheran

• By this time, however, the Allies were closing in on Berlin and Germany was close to defeat

• The main purpose of this conference, therefore, was to decide what would happen to Germany and Europe once the war had ended

• The main agreements reached were:

• The USSR would declare war on Japan once Germany had surrendered,

• A United Nations organisation would be set up to help maintain peace

• Germany was to be reduced in size and divided into four zones of occupation (Each zone would be governed by the USA, Britain, France and the USSR, the capital city of Germany, Berlin, would also be divided into four, leading Nazis would be hunted down and out on trial for war crimes)

• Countries in Eastern Europe that had been liberated from Nazi occupation were to have free elections to choose the Government they wanted

• The USSR would have Eastern Europe within its sphere of influence and Britain and the USA would have Western Europe in theirs (it was never formally decided what a ‘sphere of influence’ actually meant)

• Poland would be in the Soviet sphere of influence, Poland would have a ‘government of national unity’ made up of both communists and non-communists, it was agreed that Poland should have democratic elections in the future

The issue of Poland caused much debate at Yalta, Stalin was very reluctant to agree to allow free elections in the future, the Big Three also disagreed about reparations for Germany, Stalin wanted Germany to pay a much higher figure than Churchill & Roosevelt.

Unable to reach an agreement, the decision was delayed until the next conference.

Why did tensions increase between Yalta & Potsdam?

• Between the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam there was an increase in tension:

• Roosevelt died in April 1945. His replacement, President Truman, was much less

• sympathetic to the USSR.

• The USA tested their Atomic bomb. However, Truman did not tell Stalin and when he later found out, he was furious

• Churchill lost the election in Britain, part way through the conference he was replaced by the new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee

• Britain and America were angry because Stalin had arrested non-communist leaders in Poland and made the Government entirely communist

The Potsdam conference

• The final conference was held in Potsdam, Germany in July 1945

• It was attended by Truman (USA), Stalin (USSR) and Churchill/ Attlee (Britain)

• Many of the issues discussed at Yalta were revisited, although this time, relations between the Big Three were much more strained

• Some agreements were reached:

• There were further discussions over the boundaries of the zones in Germany & Berlin, it was also agreed that Germany was to be demilitarised

• Surviving Nazis wold be tried at a special court at Nuremberg and the party totally banned in Germany

• Each governing nation would take reparations from their own sector of Germany, in addition the USSR could take 10% of industrial equipment from all the zones

There were also some open disagreements. Although he accepted the agreement, Truman

was furious with the reparations deal. In addition, it was clear that Stalin had broken his

promise about Poland because a full communist Government had been installed. It seemed

that other eastern European countries were headed the same way.

Soviet Expansion

What were satellite states? 

• The states of Eastern Europe are often called satellite states (countries which were supposedly independent but were effectively under the control of the USSR), like a satellite is kept in place by the planet it orbits    

Which countries are in Eastern Europe? 

• In the Cold War, the countries in Eastern Europe are Poland, Romania, Albania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia and East Germany

How did the Soviet Union take control of the countries in Eastern Europe?

• The Red (Soviet) army liberated these countries from the Nazis and so they needed to set up a new government 

• Typically, the formula was this: 

1. Set up a coalition government (containing a large number of communists)

2. Communists take over most important posts e.g. civil service; media; security; defence

3. Non-communist politicians arrested or forced to flee the country

4. Elections were held but were rigged to ensure that the communists won

5. People’s Democracies were set up and they usually banned other Communist states (Democracy in name only – these were communist states) 

How did the USSR use Cominform to consolidate its control over Eastern Europe? 

• In 1947, the USSR set up Cominform to co-ordinate the activities of communist parties in Europe (this included Communist parties in both Eastern Europe and Western Europe)  

• Cominform ensured that: 

  1. The states in Eastern Europe would follow Soviet aims in foreign policy

  2. The states in Eastern Europe would introduce communist economic reforms e.g. state control of industry / agriculture

  3. Cominform was also used to purge (remove) any political leaders who did not agree with Soviet policies

What if countries did not want to obey Stalin’s orders? 

• In Czechoslovakia, some non-communists resisted the Soviet Union’s suggestions and they continued talking to the USA

• In 1948, the Communist party used the army to seize control of the country and the army murdered important non-communists (the Foreign Secretary, Jan Masaryk, was pushed out of a window)

• Rigged elections after this resulted in a fully-communist government which banned all other parties

• Yugoslavia was a communist country but its leader, Tito, was not a supporter of Stalin

• Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform  and the USA continued to support Tito economically (even though he was the leader of a Communist regime)

US Actions (Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid)

Causes of Truman Doctrine

• By 1947, the USA was becoming increasing nervous about Stalin’s long-term plans for Europe

• America watched as countries in Eastern Europe turned Communist (either through choice or force) and became very worried

• They were keen to stop this expansion of communist power

• At the same time, there was a civil war in Greece between the Communists and the Royalists (who were capitalist)

• Britain had been funding the Royalists but, in 1947, Britain said that they could no longer afford to do this

• The USA started funding the Royalists as America was determined to stop communism from spreading into Western Europe

The Key Features of the Truman Doctrine

• Truman announced the funding for the anti-communist Royalists in an important speech to Congress in 1947: the ideas that he outlined in this speech became known as the Truman Doctrine  

• In the first part of his speech, Truman argued that the world was being divided into two camps – capitalist (free) and communist (not free) 

• He also said that the USA would use both its military and economic power to protect the “free peoples”

• He did not explicitly name the USSR (but it was clear that Stalin was the main target of the Truman Doctrine)

The Consequences of the Truman Doctrine: 

• The Truman Doctrine had a number of important consequences – the Royalists defeated the Communists, relations deteriorated between the USA and the USSR (Stalin knew that the Truman Doctrine was directed mainly at him) and the USA created the Marshall Plan

• Stalin also created Cominform in 1947, which was designed to co-ordinate the policies of Communist states in Eastern Europe

• It made sure that Eastern Europe states adopted Soviet foreign policy and adopted Soviet-style economic policies e.g. state ownership of farms and factories 

• Cominform also ensured that all Communist party officials in Eastern bloc countries were loyal to Moscow

The Causes of the Marshall Plan (sometimes known as Marshall Aid)

• The Marshall Plan was a very generous American aid programme, proposed in 1947, offering money to countries which had suffered damage in the Second World War

• Officially, its name was the Europe Recovery Plan but it is far better known by its nickname (George Marshall was the Secretary of State who announced it)

• The Marshall Plan was presented as a way to help countries to rebuild their economies after the war and it is true that many Americans were shocked by the images of devastation from Europe after the war

• However, its most important aim was to contain communism: Truman believed that, if people had money and jobs, they would not support communism

• It was also designed to ‘attract’ Eastern bloc countries to leave the Soviet bloc as Truman knew that the Soviet Union could not compete with the sums of money on offer

• However, there was also an important domestic motivation for the USA – the money would be spent on US goods which would, in turn, help the US economy

• Despite this, many US politicians in Congress were nervous about giving away so much money arguing that the money could be better spent in the USA

• However, they changed their minds after the violent Soviet takeover in Czechoslovakia in 1948 convinced them that America needed to act to prevent Soviet dominance in Europe

The Key Features of the Marshall Plan 

• The Marshall Plan was a $17 billion aid programme

• It was offered to all European countries

• There were important conditions which affected how the money could be spent – essentially, it had to be spent in ways which would develop capitalism

• Britain was the main recipient receiving £3 billion dollars, but 16 other European countries also benefited including France, Germany, Portugal and Ireland

• In total, the USA gave away $13.75 billion

• The money was mainly spent on American goods and raw materials.  

The Consequences of the Marshall Plan 

• Marshall Aid led to a massive redevelopment of Europe as economies were rebuilt

• The American economy also boomed on the back of European orders

• Stalin was furious about the Marshall Plan and accused the Americans of ‘dollar imperialism’

• Stalin reacted by banning Eastern bloc countries from accepting Marshall Aid and, in 1949, he also announced the launch of Comecon  (a Soviet version of Marshall Aid)

• However, the Soviets had much less money so Comecon was never as effective

• The true aim of Comecon was to reorganise the economies of the Eastern Bloc so that they would better support the USSR e.g. directing Eastern European countries to produce goods which were needed in the USSR

The Berlin Blockade

Causes: How did the Berlin Crisis Develop?

The division of Germany 

• At the end of WW2, the allies had agreed to divide both Germany and Berlin into four zones of occupation

• Germany was supposed to be kept as one united country and was supposed to have free elections

• However, the Soviet Union quickly worked to ensure that the Communists took control in the eastern zone of Germany

• The capital city Berlin also proved problematic

• The city was in the heart of Soviet controlled eastern Germany but the Western powers were allowed access to the city by road, rail, canal and air routes

Future plans for Germany

• The USA believed that the problems of the Treaty of Versailles had led to the outbreak of WW2 and were keen to avoid making the same mistake again

• Germany had been devastated during the war and was suffering shortages of food and fuel

• The West wanted to speed up Germany’s economic recovery and to make Germany a strong trade partner so that resentment didn’t build up again

• The USSR, however, wanted to secure itself from future attacks

• They wanted to make sure Germany was weak and refused to allow the eastern zone to trade with the western zones

Bizonia and Trizonia

• In order to speed up economic recovery and encourage trade in their zones, the British and American’s merged their zones into one unit known as Bizonia, in January 1948

• This was then unofficially expanded to include the French zone and was known as Trizonia.

Stalin’s fears

• Stalin feared the benefits and affluence that capitalism and Marshall Aid would bring to West Berlin

• This would undermine communism in the astern part of the city and it would look less economically prosperous

• Stalin’s fear were only heightened when in June 1948, the Western powers announced plans to create a new currency, the Western Deutschmark, for their zones and West Berlin

• The USSR retaliated by creating its own currency, the Ostmark, in the Soviet zone and East Berlin

Events: The blockade begins

• On the 24^th of June 1948, tensions in Berlin reached crisis point

• Stalin accused the West of interfering in the Soviet zone

• As a result, he cut off road, rail and canal traffic to West Berlin in an attempt to starve the allied zones

• Stalin’s aim was to prove a divided Germany would not work and to force the USA, Britain and France to pull out of their sectors, giving full control of Berlin to the USSR

• He also hoped this would force them to abandon plans for the development of their zones, keeping Germany united and weak

USA actions 

• The only way for the west to gain access to West Berlin was therefore by air

• US president Truman reacted to Stalin’s blockade with the Berlin Airlift

• It was an anxious moment when the first planes flew over Berlin to land in the West Berlin airport of Tempelhof, however the USSR fired no shots

• Planes transported supplies to West Berlin around the clock

• Initially this was 7000 tonnes a day but soon increased to 1000 tones

• During the airlift West Berlin was supplied with food, clothing and fuel but there were still severe shortages (watch the video to see what it was like for those in West Berlin)

• The airlift lasted for ten months but in the end it was successful

• In May 1949, Stalin ended the Blockage 

Consequences: Official division of Germany

• In September 1949, West Germany officially became the independent state of West Germany (FDR, Federal Republic of Germany)

• One month later, the USSR also established an independent state of East Germany GDR, German Democratic Republic) which immediately became a satellite state of the USSR

Creation of military alliances

• The Berlin blockage was the first military confrontation of the Cold War and raised the possibility of actual war

• As a result of this fear the Western nations create an alliance in 1949 called NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)

• Its members agreed that if any NATO country came under attack, all members of NATO would come to their defence

• 5 years later in 1955 the USSR also created a military alliance of eastern European nations called the Warsaw Pact

• This included East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary

Increased tensions

• Truman’s none aggressive airlift made Stalin’s military blockage look aggressive

• In addition, Stalin’s plan had failed and he was left humiliated

• The West had stood up against the USSR and has won

• In addition this impacted the already developing arms race as each side continued with commitment to ever more deadly nuclear weapons

Arms Race and Space Race

Building the most destructive bomb

• The first part of the arms race in the Cold War was a contest to develop the most destructive nuclear weapons possible

• The USA tested the first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert, July 16th 1945

• The bomb was the first nuclear weapon and had a much bigger destructive power than any other weapons that were available at the time

• The USA planned to use the bomb to defeat the Japanese in the Second World War, but Truman also hoped that they would be able to use it to pressure and threaten Stalin into following the US plans for Eastern Europe agreed at Yalta

• As a result, the USA did not inform Stalin of their programme to build the atomic bomb

• Stalin and the Soviet Union were shocked and alarmed when they learned of the atom bomb as they believed that it had been kept secret because the USA intended to use it against them in the near future

• Consequently, Stalin massively developed the USSR’s own atomic research programme to try and create and atomic bomb of their own, trebling the pay of his scientists to encourage them in their work

• This proved to be a success and in 1949, news of the first Soviet atomic bomb was announced

• The US public were shocked by the announcement of the Soviet Union’s atomic bomb as they had been confident of the USA’s lead in the arms race

• President Truman was determined that the USA would regain the lead and as a result order a new, even more powerful weapon to be built – the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb)

• In retaliation, the USSR massively increased its own defence spending and also ordered the development of a H- bomb

• By 1953, the USA was spending almost $50 billion on weaponry compared to the USSR’s spending of approximately of $25 billion

• Both superpowers were successful in their H-bomb projects and within months of each other in 1953, the USA and USSR both successfully tested H-bombs

• The new hydrogen bombs were so powerful that a single bomb could destroy an entire city

Developing delivery systems

• The second phase of the arms race between the USA and USSR was to develop systems to deploy nuclear weapons as quickly and effectively as possible

• Following the Berlin Blockade the USA established NATO, a defensive alliance to try and counter the threat of the Soviet Union

• As a result, the US based B-52 strategic bomber planes in Europe (particularly in the UK and Germany) to protect its allies by having a capability of attacking the USSR if necessary

• Whilst the USSR was behind the Americans in terms of spending it still had enough nuclear weapons to potentially destroy the USA

• Because each side felt threatened by these developments, both sides increased their spending and both sides sought to develop better ways of potentially using their nuclear weapons as the strategic bomber planes were vulnerable to being shot down by enemy fighter planes

• Consequently, both sides began to develop missile technology to carry and deliver nuclear weapons in an attack

• The USSR was first to develop such a missile, and in 1957 successfully tested the first inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM)

• This rocket missile could be precisely aimed at a target and had a range of over 5500km

• This meant that missiles could be fired from the USSR in an attack on the USA causing significant fear and tension, with many ordinary citizens fearing that nuclear war could lead to complete devastation

• The following year in 1959, the USA also successfully tested its own ICBM and in 1959, launched the first submarine capable of carrying and launching nuclear missiles

• This once again caused the arms race to accelerate as it improved the USA’s ability to be able to threaten the Soviet Union with nuclear attacks

The Space Race

• The third phase of the arms race was known as the ‘space race’ as the two superpowers competed to develop rockets powerful enough to leave the earth’s atmosphere

• In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik, which was the first man-made satellite put into orbit

• Although Sputnik itself did not pose a threat the USA it was important in helping the USSR to discover more about the earth’s atmosphere for future space exploration

• In addition, Sputnik was a huge propaganda success for the Soviets as the people in the USA were frightened that they did not have the technology to match the Soviets and that in the future the USSR might use its space and rocket technology to attack the USA with nuclear weapons

• Alarmed by the perceived gap between the USSR and the USA in the space race, President Eisenhower ordered the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 and the same year the USA launched its first satellite, Explorer 1

• However, this was not enough to close the gap with the USSR and in 1961 the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space and the first man to orbit the earth

• Once again this was an important propaganda victory for the USSR as it seemed to suggest that they were more technologically developed than the USA and closer to being able to use space to attack the USA

• Following Gagarin’s mission, the USA successfully sent the first American, Alan Shepard, into space later in 1961

The Hungarian Uprising

Background – The death of Stalin

• Stalin died in 1953 but initially there was no real change in Soviet policy

• However, in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev established himself as the new Soviet leader

• He criticised Stalin’s policies in a ‘secret speech’ and suggested that the USA and USSR could exist peacefully together

• There seemed to be a thaw in the Cold War

• This may have encouraged the people of Hungary to push for reforms

The rule of Rakosi

• Following World War Two, a communist government was set up in Hungary with Matyas Rakosi as the leader

• Rakosi described himself as ‘Stalin’s best pupil’ but the people of Hungary nicknamed him ‘the bald butcher’ due to his brutal and oppressive policies

• He used terror to keep control, killing an estimated 2,000 political opponents and imprisoning a further 200,000

• The secret police were a dreaded part of everyday life and religious teaching was removed from schools

• The head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Cardinal Mindszenty, was imprisoned for life

The Hungarian Economy & Comecon

• The Hungarian economy was controlled by the USSR through Comecon

• This organisation was supposed to ensure that the USSR provided financial support for countries in Eastern Europe

• In reality, it was used by the USSR to control satellite states

• For example, Hungary was forbidden from trading with Western countries and was not allowed to accept Marshall Aid

• Instead, Hungary was forced to trade on uneven terms with the USSR and did not always receive a fair price for the goods it sold there

• In 1956 Hungary suffered a bad harvest

• There were shortages of bread and fuel and people were becoming increasingly angry (the people of Hungary were hungry)

Demonstrations in Hungary 

• In October 1956, demonstrations were held in Hungary

• People demanded more freedom from the USSR

• A statue of Stain was toppled and dragged through the streets

• Khrushchev, the new Soviet leader was furious- he sent troops to Hungary to stop the uprising

Reform under Nagy

• To defuse the situation in Hungary, Khrushchev agreed to make Imre Nagy the new Prime Minister

• Khrushchev hoped that Nagy would help to keep the situation in Hungary calm

• However, Nagy proposed a series of liberal reforms which horrified Khrushchev

• These included free elections, freedom of the press, free speech and the development of trade links with the West

• He also released political prisoners, including Cardinal Mindszenty

• He also wanted to remove Hungary from the newly established Warsaw Pact.

Khrushchev’s response to Nagy

• Khrushchev believed that these reforms were unacceptable

• He was particularly concerned about the threat to leave the Warsaw Pact- if Hungary left, then other Eastern European countries might try to do the same

• Khrushchev did not want to be seen as weak

• In November 1956, he decided that Nagy had gone too far

The Soviet invasion

• On 4^th November 1956, Khrushchev sent 200,000 Soviet troops and 6,000 tanks to Hungary

• The Soviet army quickly captured airports, roads and bridges

• The Hungarians fought back during 2 weeks of bitter conflict

• However, they were no match for the Soviets

• Although sporadic fighting took place until 1957, it was clear that the Soviets had won

• The Hungarian uprising was over

The Berlin Crisis/Wall

Historical tensions over Germany 

• Tensions over Germany continued in the years that followed the Berlin blockade

• In 1955, the newly created West Germany had joined NATO, and in 1957, it joined the European Economic Community

• This alarmed the USSR- West Germany was both a military and an economic threat

• The fear of another German invasion would not go away

Concerns over Berlin 

• Khrushchev was particularly concerned about the capital city of Berlin, which was divided into a communist East and a capitalist West.

• He was keen to persuade the allies to leave West Berlin completely

• He wanted their removal because West Berlin was an area of capitalist prosperity and a symbol of the success of Western Europe within communist territory

• Furthermore, the USSR claimed that the USA was using West Berlin as a base for spying

• The Soviets argued that they needed to control movement and access into Berlin in order to combat this

The refugee problem

• The main reason why Khrushchev wanted to control Berlin was the refugee problem

• Berlin acted as a gap in the iron curtain and people were using it as a way to escape the Soviet bloc

• Between 1949 and 1961, about 4 million East Germans fled to West Germany through Berlin

• West Germany was seen as highly attractive because its citizens enjoyed freedom and wealth, whereas East German citizens were dissatisfied with their economic and political conditions

• This was a propaganda disaster for Khrushchev because it proved that people preferred the capitalism to communism

• It was also an economic disaster for East Germany; many of those defecting to the West were professionals

• On one day, for example, the entire maths department of Leipzig University left

• Others leaving were skilled craftsmen

• This loss of workers threatened the East German economy

The Berlin Ultimatum 1958

• In November 1958 Khrushchev issued the Berlin Ultimatum

• He accused the Allies of breaking the Potsdam Agreement, and ordered them to remove their troops from Berlin within six months

• President Eisenhower seemed prepared to negotiate

• He did not want to lose West Berlin, but he also did not want to go to war

The Camp David Summit 1959

• In September 1959 Khrushchev and Eisenhower held a meeting in Camp David (the US presidential country retreat)

• During the meeting the two leaders spoke frankly, and despite not agreeing a solution, they decided to hold another meeting the following year

• Additionally, Khrushchev agreed that he would withdraw his six month ultimatum 

The Paris Summit 1960

• Khrushchev and Eisenhower were due to meet in Paris on 14^th May 1960

• However, nine days before the summit conference was due to open, the USSR announced that it had shot down an American U2 spy plane over Russia

• The pilot was captured and put on trial

• Khrushchev was furious and demanded that the US stop all such flights and apologise for spying

• However, Eisenhower refused to apologise

• Consequently, Khrushchev stormed out of the meeting in protest. 

The Vienna Summit 1961

• Still keen to find a solution to the Berlin problem, Khrushchev organised another meeting with the new president of the USA- John F. Kennedy

• He was optimistic that he would be able to easily influence the young and inexperienced Kennedy

• He reissued the Berlin Ultimatum, demanding that western forces leave Berlin

• However, Kennedy refused to withdraw western forces, and instead increased US defence spending by $3.5 billion

• In retaliation Khrushchev announced that the Soviet defence budget would be increased by 30%