HISTORY CHAP4 NOTES

COLD WAR

Cold War: a state of political hostility between countries characterised by threats, propaganda and other measures short of open warfare

  • relationship between USA AND USSR from 1945 - 1991

October 1944: Churchill and Stalin discuss post-war ‘spheres of influence’

  • a territory where one country has political or economic control
  • agreed to assign their respective influences in Southeastern Europe

4th - 11th February 1945: Yalta Conference

  • BIG THREE: CHURCHILL, ROOSEVELT AND STALIN

Aims:

%%AGREEMENTS AT YALTA%%

Germany after defeat:

  • unconditional surrender
  • no separate peace
  • temporarily divided into 4 occupation zones
  • DEU eastern border moved westwards → towards GBR
  • reparations total of $20B → half to USSR

Establishment of UN:

  • consist of all states at war with DEU
  • security council: 5 permanent members with power of veto
  • arrange UN to convene in San Fran at June 1945

USSR and Japanese War:

  • Stalin agreed to intervene in war against Japan after DEU defeat
  • USSR given territory lost to Japan using 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War
    • Outer Mongolia and Manchuria became Soviet ‘spheres of influence’

Poland:

  • provisional government established
    • members of pro-Soviet Lublin gov. and exiled London poles (fled from DEU and USSR armies in 1939)
  • free and fair multi-party elections held ASAP

YALTA VS POTSDAM

  • April 1945: Roosevelt died → succeeded by vice-President Truman
  • Truman: inexperienced dealing with international affairs
    • believed Stalin should keep agreements made at Yalta
  • Churchill: PM at beginning of conference → elections in the middle of conference
    • replaced by CLEMENT ATLEE (Labour Party)

POTSDAM CONFERENCE

  • Truman informed Stalin that USA successfully tested an atomic weapon
    • DURING WAR: GBR AND USA keep development a secret
    • Soviets already knew → British intelligence informed Stalin about atomic bomb
  • MARKED A SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION WITH ALLIES RELATIONS

Manhattan Project: the US research project tasked to develop an atomic bomb

%%AGREEMENTS AT POTSDAM%%

  • Polish-German border settled at Oder-Neisse Line
  • Germany denazified and war crime trials held in DEU AND JPN
  • DEU governed by Allied control council in Berlin
    • each decision required unanimous verdict
    • country treated as a single economic unit

==DISAGREEMENTS AT POTSDAM==

Poland: Allies disagreed over future government of Poland

  • didn't want Soviet-controlled government to continue and run the country
    • 1944: set up in liberation of Poland → dominated by socialists
    • refused to acknowledge the authority of exiled Polish gov. based in London

Germany:

  • Stalin wanted to dismember Germany → prevent them from developing its own industry
  • USSR wanted access to DEU industrial heartland in Ruhr
  • Stalin wanted foothold in Japan → TRUMAN REJECTED DEMAND

IRON CURTAIN

  • political boundary dividing Europe into 2 separate areas from 1945 - 1991
  • symbolise the efforts of USSR to block itself and satellites states from open contact with the West and its Allied states
  • EAST SIDE: countries that were connected to or influenced by USSR
  • WEST SIDE: countries influenced by USA or nominally neutral
  • 7000km long physical barrier of fences, walls, minefields and watchtowers that divided E and W