CAUSES OF COLD WAR

Ideological differences between the USA and USSR.

During World War Two the USSR and USA were allies. To a large extent this was not a strong
alliance. They were only allies because they had a common enemy-Nazi Germany.
Towards the end of the war, suspicions between the USA and USSR began to grown mainly
because they had different ideologies and the alliance began to fall apart.
The USA was capitalist and the USSR was communist. Both the Americans and the Soviets
believed their way of life was better and feared the other way of life.
Ideological differences were important in the development of the Cold War because:

 The USA believed the USSR wanted to make the world communist and so it was suspicious
of anything the USSR did.
 The USSR believed the USA wanted to destroy communism and spread capitalism and so
it was suspicious of anything the USA did.
 For example, at the end of WW2, the Soviet Union took control of countries in Eastern
Europe. The Americans and the West believed this was because Stalin wanted world
communism and that they needed to stop the spread of communism.

However, the Soviets argued all they wanted to do was protect the Soviet Union from a future
invasion. The USSR had been twice invaded by Germany and Stalin wanted to build a buffer
zone of friendly states around the USSR to protect it.

YALTA CONFERENCE
Yalta Conference, February 1945
The leaders of Britain (Churchill), America (Roosevelt) & USSR (Stalin) met at Yalta in early
1945 to discuss what was going to happen to Germany and the rest of Europe after WW2.
The Germans were near to defeat.
At Yalta the leaders agreed:
 Germany would be divided into four zones: US, British, Soviet & French.
 Berlin (which was in the Soviet zone) would be divided into four sectors.
 Hunt down the Nazi war criminals.
 Allow free elections in the liberated countries of Europe, including Poland.
 Eastern Europe was to be a Soviet „sphere of influence‟.
 The United Nations would be set up
 The Soviet Union would enter war against Japan once Germany was defeated.

The Yalta Conference was important in the development of the Cold War because:
It revealed tensions over Germany & Europe:
 Stalin wanted to secure the Soviet Union from a further invasion

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 However, western powers (especially Churchill) feared the Soviet Union wanted to dominate
Europe and spread communism.
 Western powers also feared the Soviet Union wanted a Soviet controlled government in
Poland

POTSDAM CONFERENCE, JULY 1945

By the time of the Potsdam Conference:
 Germany had been defeated; Soviet troops had liberated countries in Eastern Europe but
had not removed troops.
 Stalin had set up a communist government in Poland (ignoring Yalta).
 Roosevelt had died and was replaced by Truman who was more suspicious of Stalin.
 America had successfully tested the atomic bomb but had not told Stalin about it until later.

At Potsdam the leaders agreed to:

 Divide Germany and Berlin (as agreed at Yalta)
 Demilitarise Germany
 Re-establish democracy in Germany
 De-nazify Germany.
 Make all decisions about the future of Germany together.

The Potsdam Conference was important because:

 It revealed differences over Germany & Europe: Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak, the
west wanted to make Germany strong.
 It further developed tension as Truman wanted free elections in E.Europe but Stalin
refused.
 It convinced Truman that Stalin wanted to take over the whole of Europe and made Truman
determined to stand up to Stalin. He said he was going to „get tough‟ with Stalin.
 It revealed a lack of trust between the USSR and USA; Potsdam saw both sides take an
aggressive stance especially as the USA had not told Stalin about the atomic bomb.

THE IRON CURTAIN

(Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe)
The Soviet Union saw a „buffer zone‟ as essential to the security of the Soviet Union to prevent
a future invasion.
At the end of the war it was clear that Europe was divided between the democratic west and
countries occupied by the Soviet Union in the East.
Churchill called this division an iron curtain.
Between 1945 -1948 the Soviets went about taking over countries in Eastern Europe (Poland,
Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia).

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The Red Army had remained in these countries when they liberated them from the Nazis. They
then helped a communist takeover, by arresting opposition and fixing elections so that the
communists won.
They were known as satellite states because although countries like Poland appeared to be
independent they were actually controlled by the Soviet Union.
Although Yugoslavia became communist, it was not controlled by the Soviet Union.
The expansion of the Soviet Union was important because:
 Major differences began to develop.
 The Soviet takeover of E.Europe was seen by the West as just the beginning of Soviet
expansion and the spread of communism.
 It led to the development of an „Iron Curtain‟
 It led to the US policy of containment which was first expressed

TRUMAN DOCTRINE, MARCH 1947

This was a policy of containment.
Truman announced the US would support countries needing protection from threats
inside/outside their border. He basically meant the US would protect countries threatened by
communism.
The Truman Doctrine was announced because:
 Britain was unable to continue to support the Greek government in a civil war against
communist rebels. If the USA did not step in, Greece was at risk of turning communist.
 The US wanted to stop the spread of communism.
 The US was concerned about Soviet expansion in Europe because they saw communism as a
threat.

The Truman Doctrine was important in the development of the Cold war because:
 It marked a turning point in US foreign policy by committing the USA to a policy of
containment.
 It showed that America was willing to use force to stop the spread of communism.
 It increased tension as Truman publicly stated that the world was divided between two ways
of life: Free and un-free.
 It led to the introduction of the Marshall Plan.
 It made Stalin suspicious of the USA as he saw this as a declaration of war against
communism.
 As a consequence Stalin formed Cominform to tighten his control over Eastern Europe

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MARSHALL PLAN, JUNE 1947
 Announced by US Secretary of State, George Marshall.
 Officially called the European Recovery Plan.
 Supported the Truman Doctrine by providing economic aid to countries in Europe
 Aid was in the form of cash, machinery, food, technology.

The Marshall Plan was introduced because:

 The US wanted to stop the spread of communism.
 Truman believed communism generally thrived in poor areas where there high
unemployment & poverty.
 The plan also boosted the US economy by providing them with markets to sell their products
to.

The Marshall Plan was important in the development of the Cold War because:
 It increased tension between the USA and USSR. Stalin accused the USA of using the plan
for their own selfish interests. He believed the USA wanted to dominate Europe, promote
capitalism & boost the US economy. Stalin called the Marshall Plan dollar imperialism.
 It strengthened the division in Europe as Stalin prevented European countries like
Czechoslovakia and Poland from becoming involved.
 It contributed to the first major crisis of the Cold War, The Berlin Crisis of ‟48-49 when
West Berlin started receiving Marshall Aid.
 Led to Comecon (The Molotov Plan).

COMINFORM & COMECON

Cominform was created in 1947 by Stalin to spread communism protect communist states
from US aggression.
It was a response to the Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan.
It gave orders to the communist parties of other countries.
In 1948 Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform because its leader, Tito, would not follow
Stalin‟s wishes. This suggested to the West that Stalin wanted complete control of the
communist world and increased suspicion that he just wanted to increase Soviet control.
In 1949 the USSR introduced Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). It was also
known as The Molotov Plan.
Comecon was the Soviet response to the Marshall Plan and provided countries with economic
aid from the USSR.
Comecon and Cominform were important in the development of the Cold War because:

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 The USA saw Cominform & Comecon as serious threats as they strengthened the
Soviet‟s control over communist countries and also suggested that the Soviet Union wanted to
spread communism.
 They also strengthened the division of Europe between those in Cominform, controlled by
the Soviet Union and those that were free.

BERLIN BLOCKADE & AIRLIFT 1948-49

 June 1948 Stalin blockaded all routes by road, rail and canal to West Berlin to try and force
the Allies out of Berlin.
 12th May ‟49 Stalin called off the blockade because the allies got round the blockade by
carrying out the airlift, dropping supplies over Berlin.

 Berlin was in the heart of the Soviet zone and Stalin wanted the Allies out:
 Western powers could observe the Soviets.
 Stalin didn‟t want capitalist way of life on show.
 West Berlin was receiving Marshall Aid.
 The trigger for the Berlin Blockade was the introduction of the Deutschmark.
 The Soviet Union was annoyed at the formation of Bizonia and the Western powers plans to
create a West German State.

The Berlin Blockade was important in the development of the Cold War because:
 It massively increased tension as it showed how divided the USA and USSR were over
Germany (Strong V weak)
 It led to the Berlin Airlift which showed Truman was determined to stand up to the Soviet
Union and was serious about containment. Truman wanted Berlin to be a symbol of freedom
behind the Iron Curtain.
 It made Stalin even more determined to get the atomic bomb. Stalin had not dared shoot down
the planes in the airlift as he could not risk a war because the USA had the atomic bomb.
 It led to the official division of Germany: GDR (East Germany) and FGR (West Germany).
 It convinced the allies that the Soviet Union was a threat and led to the formation of NATO

NATO, 1949
The Cold War and Superpower rivalry increased in the years after the Berlin Crisis of 1948-49 as
rival alliance systems were formed.

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By the mid 50s the Superpowers were members of two rival alliance systems, NATO and the
Warsaw Pact.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
 The Berlin Crisis triggered the formation of NATO as the Berlin Blockade highlighted the
Soviet threat to Western Europe.
 It showed that western European states even joined together were no match for the Soviet
Union and showed they needed the formal support of the USA.
 In carrying out the Berlin Airlift, Truman confirmed he wanted to contain communism.
 In April 1949 NATO was formed. It was a defensive alliance meaning if one member was
attacked all other members would defend it. However its main purpose was to prevent Soviet
expansion.

NATO was important in the development of the Cold War because:

 It increased the chances of an actual war as it meant that the USA could build air bases in
Western Europe where planes equipped with nuclear bombs could be stationed ready for use.
 The Soviet Union saw it as an aggressive move as NATO was formed as an alliance against
the Soviet Union.
 It led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact, a Soviet military alliance, which resulted in
Europe being divided into two armed camps

THE ARMS RACE

When America dropped the atom bombs on Japan in 1945 a nuclear arms race started between
the two superpowers.
Until 1949 the Americans had the advantage: the USSR would not risk a war against the USA.
In 1949 the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb (A-bomb)
In 1952 the USA developed the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb).
In 1953 the USSR developed their own H-Bomb.
The arms race was important in the development of the Cold War because:
 The arms race increased the climate of fear between the two superpowers.
 It created the possibility of a nuclear war when the two powers disagreed.
 Each side was afraid that the other might try to win a „hot war‟ by launching a pre-emptive
strike.
 Although some historians argue the nuclear arms race made war less likely as both sides
realised declaring war on the other could results in them destroying each other (MAD theory).

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THE WARSAW PACT, 1955
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance for mutual defence which the USSR signed along with
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany and Albania.
All the forces of the pact countries were placed under the leadership of the Soviet Union and
Soviet troops were stationed in the countries of the pact.
It was formed when West Germany joined NATO in 1955 as the Soviet Union was concerned
about the re-emergence of a strong Germany.
The Warsaw Pact was important in the development of the Cold War because:
 It meant that Europe was now divided into two rival alliances and if there was a war all the
countries in NATO and the Warsaw Pact would be involved. It made it look like the Cold War
was going to be a permanent state.

 It increased the Soviet Union‟s power over its satellite states as it placed Soviet troops in
those countries.

 It showed that even though there was a thaw in relations (following Stalin‟s death)
Khrushchev was committed to maintaining the security of the communist states that
surrounded the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union itself

DEATH OF STALIN, KHRUSHCHEV & THE „THAW‟ IN RELATIONS

Stalin died in 1953. After Stalin‟s death there was an improvement in relations. This became
known as a „thaw‟ in the Cold War.
There was also an improvement in relations because Khrushchev was in power. Khrushchev
criticised Stalin and spoke of peaceful coexistence.
The death of Stalin was important in the development of the Cold War because:
 It improved relations as the West saw Stalin as a main cause of the Cold War and were
more willing to work with the Soviet Union following his death.
 It led to Khrushchev coming to power and Khrushchev‟s policies were not seen as
aggressive by the West. Khrushchev changed Soviet foreign policy from one of confrontation
to peaceful coexistence. Khrushchev argued that the USSR had to live in peace with the USA.
The USA believed this new approach could end the Cold War.
 Khrushchev also pulled the Red Army out of the Soviet occupied zone of Austria. (Austria
had been divided like Germany at the end of the war). Khrushchev seemed to be a man that did
not want to dominate the world.
 Khrushchev also criticised Stalin in his secret speech in 1956 and began a policy of
destalinisation, reversing some of Stalin‟s measures. This made him popular with the West.