7: Cold War Origins and Early Development (1919-1955)

Definition and Overall Character of the Cold War

The Cold War refers to a prolonged period of political, economic and military tension between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that lasted from the mid-1940s until the late-1980s. It was not an openly declared shooting war between the two superpowers; instead it was characterised by ideological hostility, competitive alliance building, proxy wars, an accelerating arms race (conventional and nuclear) and continuous diplomatic confrontation. The term captures both the absence of direct U.S.–Soviet combat and the ever-present possibility that a crisis might escalate into nuclear catastrophe.

Pre-WWII Tensions and Ideological Distrust (Before 1942)

Before they were wartime allies, Washington and Moscow already distrusted each other. The roots lay in clashing world-views:

• The United States stood for democracy (multi-party elections, protection of civil liberties) and capitalism (private ownership, market competition). Americans believed prosperity and liberty flowed from free institutions and free enterprise.

• The Soviet Union espoused communism—a one-party political system in which the state owned land and industry and distributed resources through a centrally planned (command) economy. Soviet leaders regarded capitalism as inherently exploitative and likely to encircle or sabotage socialism.

Foundational flash-points reinforced the suspicion:

– 1918\text{–}1921 Russian Civil War: U.S. and British troops landed in Russia to assist anti-Bolshevik “Whites.”
– Paris Peace Conference (1919): many Western delegates wanted a strong Germany to serve as a bulwark against communism.
– Inter-war Appeasement: Western willingness to conciliate Hitler partly reflected a hope that Nazi Germany would counter Soviet power.

Each state therefore assumed the other sought ideological expansion: Americans feared a red tide sweeping West; Soviets believed U.S. financiers were constructing a global capitalist empire.

World War II: A “Marriage of Convenience” (1942-1945)

When Hitler’s invasion (Operation Barbarossa, 1941) forced the USSR into the Allied camp, Washington and Moscow cooperated out of necessity, not trust. While fighting a common enemy, rancour persisted:

• Second-Front Controversy: Stalin begged for a Western European invasion beginning in 1941, but Operation Overlord (D-Day) did not occur until 6\ June\ 1944. Western leaders claimed military prudence; Stalin concluded they wished to bleed the Red Army and Germany simultaneously.

Elbe Day (25 April 1945) symbolised the victory partnership—U.S. and Soviet troops shook hands on a ruined bridge—but camaraderie proved fleeting.

Immediate Post-War Deterioration (1945-1947)

Human & Strategic Setting

Europe lay in ruins: 36\ million dead, cities levelled, transport networks shattered, disease and homelessness rampant. Traditional powers (Britain, France) were exhausted, leaving the U.S. and USSR the only states with the resources and will to shape the future international order.

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

The “Big Three”—Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin—agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones, recognised Eastern Europe as a Soviet “sphere of influence” and promised Soviet entry into the war against Japan. Yet bargaining already exposed clashing aims:

• Stalin wanted a buffer of dependent states and harsh reparations from Germany.
• Roosevelt sought democratic self-determination and a revived German economy (vital for European trade).
• Churchill prioritised sustaining Anglo-American partnership to shore up Britain’s declining power.

The treatment of Poland foreshadowed trouble: Roosevelt conceded the USSR’s revised borders only after extracting a (soon-ignored) pledge of non-interference in Greece.

Potsdam Conference (July–Aug 1945)

By the time Truman and Attlee replaced Roosevelt and Churchill, goodwill had eroded. Key aggravations:

– The U.S. had secretly tested the atomic bomb (Manhattan Project) and, days after Potsdam began, employed it in Japan—proof of immense American power withheld from Stalin.
– Stalin installed communist regimes across Eastern Europe through “salami tactics,” intensifying fears of limitless Soviet expansion.

Disputes sharpened over:

• Germany: Stalin demanded crippling reparations; Truman insisted on rehabilitation to avoid a replay of the Treaty of Versailles debacle.
• Compensation: How much industrial equipment the USSR could remove from the western zones remained unresolved.

Divergent wartime experiences reinforced incompatible post-war priorities: the U.S. mainland was unscarred and focused on global markets; the USSR had lost at least 20\ million citizens and wanted physical security and industrial booty.

Escalation into Open Rivalry (1947-1955)

Truman Doctrine & Containment (1947)

Inspired by diplomat George Kennan’s Long Telegram, President Truman proclaimed that the U.S. would “support free peoples” resisting armed minorities or outside pressure. In practice containment meant furnishing states threatened by communism with money, arms and advisers. First test cases:

• Greece: civil war between royalists and communist partisans.
• Turkey: Soviet pressure over the Dardanelles.

Congress approved aid worth \text{US}\$400\ million, anchoring both countries in the Western camp.

Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program, 1948)

Secretary of State George Marshall argued that economic desperation bred extremism. Washington offered \text{US}\$13\ billion in grants and loans to all European countries willing to draft coordinated recovery plans and reveal their financial books. Results were dramatic: Western Europe’s industrial production jumped, currencies stabilised and unemployment fell, diminishing communist parties’ appeal. Moscow, however, denounced the program as “Dollar Imperialism,” forbade Eastern bloc participation and devised counter-measures.

Soviet Counter-Institutions

• COMINFORM (1947) – an information bureau to enforce ideological conformity and direct satellite communist parties.
• COMECON (1949) – an economic framework promising mutual assistance but often funnelling raw materials to the USSR and obliging satellites to purchase Soviet machinery.

These steps solidified an economic and political bifurcation of Europe into rival blocs.

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949)

When the Western zones merged into a “Trizone” and introduced a new Deutschmark, Stalin sealed all land and water corridors to West Berlin, aiming to starve the city and derail German consolidation. The Western reply was the Berlin Airlift: round-the-clock flights delivered food, coal and medicine for 11 months, exploiting an air corridor the Soviets dared not close. In May 1949 Stalin abandoned the blockade, a propaganda defeat that underscored U.S. commitment.

Consequences included:

– Formal division of Germany: Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in May 1949 and German Democratic Republic (GDR) in October 1949.
– A precedent for future crisis management by brinkmanship short of war.

Formation of Military Alliances

• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, April 1949): members pledged collective defence—an attack on one equals an attack on all. The prospect of U.S. nuclear backing reassured Western Europeans and institutionalised the U.S. presence on the continent.

• Warsaw Pact (May 1955): the Soviet response, binding the USSR and its satellites into a unified military command. It cemented Soviet control over Eastern European armies and formalised the division of Europe into two hostile, heavily armed camps.

Neither bloc wanted a direct superpower confrontation in Europe because both now possessed atomic weapons (the USSR detonated its first bomb in 1949), making any conflict potentially apocalyptic.

Comparative Analysis: Yalta vs. Potsdam

Yalta produced broad, hopeful agreements yet left details vague; Potsdam revisited those issues amid deteriorating trust.

• At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill accepted a Soviet sphere in Eastern Europe in exchange for promises of free elections; by Potsdam Stalin had violated that spirit, installing loyal regimes.
• Reparations and Germany’s future were postponed at Yalta; at Potsdam they became flash-points, with Truman rejecting the punitive course Stalin favoured.
• The atomic factor was absent at Yalta but loomed large at Potsdam, giving Truman confidence and Stalin anxiety.

Thus, Yalta sowed seeds of discord; Potsdam exposed and magnified them, accelerating the slide into Cold War.

Broader Ethical, Philosophical and Practical Implications

The confrontation forced both sides to rationalise global policies in moral terms—defence of freedom versus defence of socialism—mobilising public opinion and legitimising intervention in distant regions (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Latin America). Nuclear proliferation raised unprecedented ethical questions about deterrence and civilian survival. Domestically, fear of subversion justified anti-communist purges (McCarthyism) in the U.S. and harsh police states in Eastern Europe.

Numerical & Statistical References (LaTeX Notation)

• European war dead: 36\,000\,000.
• Truman’s emergency aid to Greece & Turkey: \text{US}\$400\,000,000.
• Marshall Plan outlay: \text{US}\$13\,000\,000,000.
• Duration of Berlin Airlift: 11\text{ months}.

Glossary of Key Terms

Elbe Day – symbolic U.S.–Soviet meeting on 25\ April\ 1945.
Iron Curtain – Churchill’s metaphor (1946) for Europe’s ideological divide.
Salami Tactics – gradual elimination of opposition in Eastern Europe.
Satellite States – countries formally sovereign but effectively subordinate to Soviet directives.
Containment – U.S. grand strategy to restrict communist expansion.
Long Telegram – George Kennan’s 8\,000-word cable (1946) prescribing containment.
Dollar Imperialism – Soviet label for perceived U.S. economic domination via the Marshall Plan.

Essay-Style Discussion Questions

1. To what extent were ideological differences, rather than security concerns or personalities, the primary cause of the Cold War?
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. containment in Europe between 1947 and 1955—consider Greece, Turkey, the Marshall Plan, Berlin and NATO.
3. “The Berlin Blockade marked the decisive turning point in the Cold War’s European theatre.” Discuss with reference to earlier and later events.
4. Compare and contrast the aims and outcomes of the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences; how did each contribute to deteriorating relations?
5. Did the emergence of the U.S. and USSR as post-WWII superpowers make the Cold War inevitable, or were alternative outcomes possible?