Cold War Origins and Nature

Important knowledge and themes

When did the Cold War start?• Although it is generally accepted that the Cold War started within 100 days of the

end of World War II in Europe (i.e. by the Potsdam Conference), some historians argue it started before this time

• Did it begin in 1917? The Bolsheviks (Communists) took power in a bloody revolution, fought non-Communist forces (comprising of and supported by Western powers) in the Russian Civil War (1918-22) and formed the USSR or Soviet Union in 1922. This immediately created friction with the West as many believed that Capitalism and Communism were incompatible systems

• The Soviets believed that Western countries were greedy, corrupt, decadent and imperialist countries who were responsible for WWI, a view they believed was confirmed by the Great Depression and WWII. They believed that history was on their side and that it was inevitable that Communism would triumph

• The West saw the Communists as not just anti-business, but anti-freedom and anti-democratic, prepared to takeover other countries and suppress citizens in the name of Communism

• Did it begin in 1938/9? Stalin saw the Western policy of Appeasement as an attempt to encourage Hitler to attack the USSR.

• Did it begin in 1943? Stalin was angered by the UK/US decision to delay the opening of the Western Front in Europe. Instead of liberating France (which did not happen until 1944), Churchill and Roosevelt decided to attack through Italy. Stalin believed they were deliberately prolonging the war on the Eastern Front to maximize Soviet casualties.

Yalta Conference- Feb 1945• Churchill (UK), Roosevelt (USA)

and Stalin (USSR)• Made a number of post-war

agreements including punishment of Nazi war criminals and the creation of the UN

• Disagreements over how to treat Germany (the USSR wanted punitive compensation) but agreed to split the country and Berlin into 4 zones of occupation

• Compromise made over Poland- it could be in the Soviet sphere of influence as long as Greece remained in the Western sphere

Potsdam- July 1945

• Atlee (UK), Truman (USA) and Stalin (USSR)

• Change of leaders crucial to unravelling agreements- Truman/Atlee inexperienced and Truman more aggressive than Roosevelt

• Truman angry at pro-Soviet governments set up in Eastern Europe

• Truman informs Stalin of the development of atomic bomb and his intention to use it

Where did it all go wrong? Yalta and Potsdam• Change of leadership- were Churchill and Roosevelt able to

control Stalin?

• Was Truman overcompensating and overly aggressive? Was Stalin misunderstood and merely being pragmatic?

• Was the Cold War inevitable? Ideological/geopolitical rivalry and Superpower status

• Do elements of the post-war conferences support this? On some level were the leaders establishing post-war ‘rules’ (e.g. spheres of influence)?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki- August 1945

• While ostensibly an act to bring about the surrender of Japan in WWII, many saw it as a act of ‘atomic diplomacy’, designed to intimidate the USSR

• USSR begin to develop a nuclear bomb (do so in 1949)

“Iron Curtain” Speech- 1946• Churchill’s speech

highlighted the advent of the Cold War

• While the West viewed it as an attempt to publicize the ‘Sovietization of Eastern Europe”, the USSR saw it as an aggressive speech blaming them for causing the Cold War when they were merely trying to protect Soviet interests

“Sovietization” of Eastern Europe- 1945-6

• This refers to the construction of a Soviet sphere of influence and the establish of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe

• This was usually accomplished through the use of “salami tactics”

• Stalin (through the coordination of Cominform) encourage Communists in Eastern European countries to form coalition governments with other parties

• Gradually, the Communists would slice off non-Communist elements until the government was purely Communist

Truman Doctrine- 1947• During the Greek Civil War, Britain

could no longer afford to keep supporting non-Communist factions

• The US agreed to replace the British in Greece

• Concerned by the spread of Communism in Europe, the Truman Doctrine promised to contain Communism and committed the USA to intervene in different parts of the world if necessary

• Containment was based on the ideas put forward in George Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’, which he also discussed in an article for Foreign Affairs magazine under the pseudonym ‘Mr X’

• The Truman Doctrine eventually was a major factor behind wars in Korea (1950-53) and Vietnam (1964-75), as well as support for the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan (1979-89)

Marshall Aid Plan-1948• To investigate how to contain the threat of

Communism in Europe, Truman sent Secretary of State George Marshall on a fact-finding mission

• Marshall concluded that because of the physical damage to infrastructure, industry and agriculture as a result of World War II, combined with the high levels of debt, Europe was more at risk to embracing Communism

• Marshall proposed that the USA lend money to European countries to rebuild their economies and infrastructure

• Truman accepted this recommendation but Congress at first refused to authorize aid

• When there was Communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia, Congress changed its mind

• The aid was given to individual countries to use as they saw fit but they any goods they purchased with the aid had to come from the USA or Canada

• Marshall Aid was offered to Eastern European countries but Stalin refused to allow them to accept it- this led to Tito leaving the Soviet sphere of influence

• The USSR formed COMECON in response to Marshall Aid

The roots of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid Plan

• Mistrust of the Soviets and post-war conditions in Europe

• Soviet troops in Iran- UN ordered withdrawal

• Soviets suggested joint Turkish-Soviet defense of the Dardanelles- USA persuaded Turkey to reject this

• Greek Civil War- Containment (as outlined by Kennan’s Long Telegram)

• Czech coup (1948)- Marshall Aid Plan

What to do with Germany?• Crush Nazism and put war criminals on trial

• Remember the lessons of 1919- the US and UK did

• Stalin wanted to crush Germany (similar to Clemenceau at Versailles)

• US/UK- how can Germany pay reparations (USSR demanded $10 billion) if they cannot afford to support themselves? US demanded Germany reach a trade surplus that could cover cost of food before reparations could be paid. This issue was discussed at both Conference of Foreign Ministers in 1946 and the Moscow conference in 1947

• Communist actions in Germany created suspicion in the West- Stalin ordered the KPD to merge with the Social Democrats (SPD). After stories of communist brutality were heard in West Germany, this was rejected by SPD voters. 82% of SDP voters in West Berlin sectors rejected this proposal.

• US and UK introduced economic reforms that the USSR saw as threatening- “Bizonia” in 1947 and currency reform in 1948.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift- 1948-9• Stalin saw the creation of ‘Bizonia’ and

currency reforms in West Germany as aggressive

• He was also concerned about migrant flows from East to West Berlin

• He decided to close all road, rail and canal links from Western sectors of Germany to West Berlin in an attempt to eventually seize West Berlin

• In response, the UK and USA decided to airlift supplies into West Berlin

• Although flying over Soviet-controlled airspace was technically an act of war, Stalin decided not to order the shooting down of any British or American planes

• After 10 months of the airlift, realizing that his blockade of West Berlin had failed, Stalin decided to open transport links from the Western sectors of Germany again

The “new” Germany• France also saw the unification of a strong Germany threatening but

gradually came on board with US/UK views- this was largely because the French recognized economic benefits of a strong Germany and because the US agreed to station troops in Western Europe to maintain peace.

• In 1948, “Bizonia” united with the French sector. Currency reforms introduced in the West (creation of a new deutschmark) led to the creation of the Ostmark in the East.

• Two separate German states were being formed- the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany or FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany or GDR).

• The Berlin Blockade was a response to the formation of West Germany

Creation of NATO- 1949• Following the success of

the Berlin Airlift and lifting of the blockade, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed

• This was an anti-Communist security alliance comprising of the USA, Canada and Western European countries

• In 1955, the USSR and its satellite states formed a rival organization to NATO- the Warsaw Pact

All well in both blocs?• Western Europe benefitted significantly from US aid- by 1950

industrial output in France and the FRG had reached pre-war levels. Significantly, aid was given to national governments to distribute as they saw fit.

• Stalin had already seen the need to blockade West Berlin

• There was a Yugoslav-Soviet split. Stalin distrusted Tito, who was attempting to form a Balkan federation. Tito was a rival to Soviet influence in the Balkan region and other Eastern bloc countries voted to remove them from the organization. Economic pressure (and even military threats) was used against Tito but he resisted and acted independently of the USSR.

Cold War origins conclusions• There was mutual distrust of actions- FRG, Greece etc.

• Both sides interpreted events differently- how much was this based on different interpretations of the events of the 20th century (TOK)?

• Both sides had a “sphere of influence”

• Leaders were important- was Stalin pragmatic or expansionist? Was Truman overly-aggressive or merely responding to Stalin’s exploitation of post-war Europe?

• Berlin became the epicentre of the Cold war in the late ’40’s. It would be again in the early ’60’s. It was a Cold War “flashpoint”.

• Europe was different to Asia and Latin America- how?

• Who was to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War?