Cold War and Post WWII Tensions

Increasing Tension Between the Allies After World War II

• Increasing tension between the Allies (USA, Britain, France) after World War II due to conflicting ideologies and goals.
• The end of World War II in the Pacific, marked by atomic bombs and the beginning of the Nuclear Age.
• Definition of 'superpowers' (USA and USSR) and the meaning of 'Cold War'.
• Areas of conflict and competition between the superpowers during the Cold War, including crises like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary, and the Berlin Wall.
• The end of the Cold War in 1989, symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall.
• Focus is on the shift in the balance of power after World War II and the rivalry between the USA and the Soviet Union.

Key Questions

• Who were the Allies, and why did tensions rise among them after World War II in Europe?
• How did the atomic bombings of Japan lead to the Nuclear Age and contribute to the Cold War?
• What are 'superpower' and 'Cold War' defined as?
• How did capitalism and communism fuel the Cold War?
• What factors led to the end of the Cold War?

The Cold War

• The Cold War was a relationship primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.
• It dominated international affairs for decades.
• Major crises included the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary, and the Berlin Wall.
• The growth of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was a significant concern.
• The increasing tension between the USSR and the West (USA) after World War II, driven by communism and capitalism.

Key Terms

• Allies: Nations that allied against the Axis powers during World War II (primarily Great Britain, United States, and Soviet Union).
• Atomic Bomb: A nuclear weapon whose enormous explosive power results from the sudden release of energy upon the splitting or fusion of the nuclei of atoms.
• Capitalism: An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.
• Communism: A political and economic ideology advocating a classless society in which the means of production are owned communally and private property is abolished.
• Marshall Plan: A US-sponsored program designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern European countries in order to create stable conditions in which democratic institutions could survive.
• Truman Doctrine: The principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection.
• Ideologies: Systems of ideas and ideals, especially ones that form the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

The Soviet Union versus the West

• Before World War II, both America and the USSR viewed each other negatively.
• Their alliance during the war was solely due to a common enemy: Nazi Germany.
• Post-war, pre-war attitudes resurfaced, and ideological differences (communism vs. capitalism) intensified tensions.

Europe in 1945

• Europe in 1945 differed significantly from 1939 due to the war's impact.
• The Allies (Britain, France, USA) began to disagree with Stalin (USSR).
• Tensions were evident during conferences at Casablanca, Yalta, and Potsdam.
• The common enemy (Nazi Germany) united them during these conferences.
• The conferences aimed to organize the world post-World War II.

Yalta Conference

• A key issue was how to treat nations under Nazi occupation.
• Stalin's concept of a "free and democratic government" differed from the Allies'; he wanted governments subordinate to Moscow.
• Stalin aimed to control German-occupied nations and deployed the Red Army to occupy countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Serbia, and Belgium.
• The Allies had limited power to stop the Red Army's advance.

The Red Army

• The Red Army was a communist army composed of workers and peasants.
• Red symbolizes courage, toughness, and revolutionary political views.
• By 1945, it was well-equipped and experienced in victory.
• After Germany's surrender in May 1945, the Red Army and Russia controlled much of Eastern Europe.

Post-War Tensions

• The death of Roosevelt led to Harry S. Truman becoming US President, who was less sympathetic to Russia.
• Truman was President of a country armed with the atomic bomb.
• The Potsdam Conference failed to reaffirm free elections in Eastern Europe and didn't establish a new border between Poland and Germany.
• During the Potsdam Conference, Stalin learned about the atomic bomb.
• The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) demonstrated Russia's technological inferiority in modern weapons.

Seeds of the Cold War

• By the end of 1945, the seeds of the Cold War were sown.
• America and Russia were no longer united by a common enemy.
• Russia had considerable conventional military power, while America possessed atomic bombs.

Analysing a Cartoon

• Denotation: What you see.
• Connotation: How it affects those looking at it.
• Meaning: How we make sense of what we see.
• Origin: Who created the cartoon?
• Date: When was it published?
• Details: What is it about?
• Cartoon analysis involves interpreting visual elements to understand the intended message and historical context.

Reasons for Poor Relations

• After World War II, Europe declined, and power was split between the USSR and the USA.
• Both countries wanted dominance, leading to conflict.
• The Soviet Union gradually extended its influence in Europe.
• By 1944, the Red Army had liberated and controlled much of Eastern Europe.
• The Soviet Union gained the Curzon Line (border with Poland) and control of eastern Germany at the Yalta Conference in 1945.
• The Red Army manipulated post-war elections, intimidating voters and altering voting lists, resulting in communist dominance in coalition governments.

Political and Economic Factors

• Key ministries (defense, military) were consistently under communist control.
• Stalin encouraged communists to actively participate in Western Europe elections.
• By late 1946, French and Italian communists were becoming powerful.
• Many US politicians initially wanted cooperation with the Soviet Union.
• After Roosevelt's death, Truman adopted a strong policy against Russian expansion.
• In 1947, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan intensified conflict by providing aid to Greece and Turkey to counter communism.

Ideological Differences

• The US had a democratic government with free elections, political parties, rights of assembly, and freedom of speech/press, with a capitalist economic system based on private ownership and profit.
• The Soviet Union had a communist government (one-party rule), without the right to form political parties, freedom of assembly, speech, or press.
• The US wanted free trade, while the Soviet Union traded selectively.
• Russia feared Western influence, which would weaken its totalitarian regime.

Ideological Differences (Table)

Churchill's Fulton Speech

• In March 1946, Churchill's speech at Fulton, Missouri, increased American suspicion of Soviet intentions.
• He described an "iron curtain" descending across Europe, with capitals of Central and Eastern Europe under increasing Soviet control from Moscow.

End of World War II in the Pacific

• After Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945, the war in the Pacific continued.
• Japan refused to surrender, regarding it as ignoble.
• The Potsdam Declaration (July 26, 1945) warned of "prompt and utter destruction" if Japan didn't surrender, but Emperor Hirohito refused.

The End of World War II

• The US forces, aided by Allies, regained territories invaded by Japan, such as the Philippine Islands, Burma, and Borneo.
• The US attacked the Japanese home islands, such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, facing fierce resistance.
• The US air force intensified bombing on the Japanese mainland, but Japan still refused to surrender.

Atomic Bombings

• The USA, after testing an atomic bomb in July 1945, decided to use these weapons against Japan.
• On August 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the first nuclear attack.
• The US claimed Hiroshima had many weapons factories.
• On August 8, 1945, one million Soviet soldiers invaded Manchuria, overwhelming Japanese resistance.
• The US dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, which the US identified has having dockyards that built warships.

Atomic Bomb Casualties

• In Hiroshima, the bomb killed about 80,000 people immediately, with total casualties reaching 140,000 by year-end due to injury and radiation.
• In Nagasaki, the bomb killed 70,000 people initially, with an additional 40,000 deaths from injury and radiation over the following months.

End of WWII

• On August 10, the Japanese Cabinet agreed to accept the Potsdam terms if Emperor Hirohito could keep his position.
• On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender.
• His statement said that continuing to fight would result the obliteration of the Japanese nation and to the total extinction of human civilisation.
• August 14 is considered the end of the Pacific War in Japan.
• The formal Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Reasons for Dropping the Atomic Bombs

1. To End World War II in the Pacific:
   • Truman, the US president, stated that the bombs were dropped to force Japan to surrender.
   • Japan appeared unwilling to surrender, with plans to defend the main islands to the death.
   • An invasion of Japan was estimated to cost up to a million American casualties, plus more Japanese lives. Thus, the use of atomic bombs seemed like a way to save lives.
2. To Prevent USSR Influence in the Region:
   • Japan was negotiating for peace through the Soviet Union, with which it had signed a neutrality pact.
   • The USA worried that the USSR might try to establish influence in the region and therefore wanted to force Japan to surrender unconditionally to the USA.
3. Financial Investment:
   • The bombs cost US$2 billion to develop, so decision-makers reasoned that is would be a waste of money not to use them.
4. To Send a Message:
   • The USA wanted to show other countries that it was a force to be reckoned with, hoping that this would make them more "manageable".

Was the atomic bomb justified?

• The end of WWII saw increased tension between the USA and the Soviet Union regarding post-war Europe.
• The US worried about Soviets growing influence as they had planned to join the war against Japan in mid-August.
• The US believed that if the atomic bomb ended the war it would dominate over the Soviets.
• Not using the bomb would result in US citizens questioning a bomb that cost US$2 billion.

Different Views on Dropping the Atomic Bomb

• Source 4A: Harry Truman, US President (1945-1953), public statement on 9 August 1945:
  • Having found the [atomic] bomb, we have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbour, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.
• Source 4B: Winston Churchill, leader of the opposition, in a speech to the British House of Commons, August 1945:
  • I cannot associate myself with such ideas … I am surprised that very worthy people but people who in most cases had no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves - should adopt a position that rather than throw this bomb we should have sacrificed a million American and a quarter of a million British lives…
• Source 4C: Dwight Eisenhower, US President (1953–1961). While the supreme commander of the Allied Forces, on 1 July 1945 he said:
  • I told him I was against [the atomic bomb] on two counts. First, the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing. Second, I hated to see our country be the first to use such a weapon.
• Source 4D: William Leahy, US Chief of Staff (1942-1949), 1 January 1950:
  • The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender… in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages.