Transcript USA – The Roaring 20’s

Origins of the Cold War
1945-1960
Pub Quiz Revision!
List the key details of what was agreed
at Yalta
• Germany divided into 4 zones
• Berlin also divided into 4 zones
• Stalin to have some influence in Easter Europe but
free and fair elections allowed – especially Poland
• Germany would pay reparations to the Allies
• Polish exiles who were anti-communist to be included
in the new Polish government
What was different at Potsdam?
• Different leaders for GB and USA – Atlee and Truman
• The USA had developed and tested an atomic weapon
• Stalin had arrested the non-communist politicians in
Poland and forced a pro Soviet government into
existence
• They did put in place some of the Yalta agreement
• The four zones were given formal boundaries and
USSR would receive equipment and materials as
reparations
Iron Curtain Speech?
• Given in Fulton, Missouri by Churchill in 1946
• He said it stretched from Stettin in the Baltic
to Trieste in the Adriatic
• It was a controversial speech – many
Americans thought he had gone too far
• It drew a definite, geographical line between
the two sides
• Stalin and the Soviet Union said it was
declaration of war
What was The Truman Doctrine?
• Truman pledged to help and aid any country that was
threatened by communism
• He pledged to ‘CONTAIN’ communism
Details of Marshall Aid?
• American General George Marshall’s idea
• Idea was protect vulnerable countries and economies from
Communism
• Congress passed Marshall Aid in March 1948
• Open to all countries, inc Communist
• $15 Billion sent overseas and stimulated economic recovery
• Communist countries had to reject the offer
• Stalin claimed it was ‘DOLLAR IMPERIALISM’ and that the USA
was Empire Building
Any details on Comecon and
Cominform?
• Stalin’s reaction to the Truman Doctrine
and Marshall Plan
• 1947 Cominform set up to help spread
the communist message and ward off the
Truman Doctrine
• 1949 Comecon set up. Designed to give
economic assistance to satellite states. A
direct response to Marshall Plan.
Soviet Expansion into Eastern Europe
• Soviets looked to further increase their ‘sphere of
influence’ behind the Iron Curtain
• In Hungary non-communists won the first post war
elections, however power was seized by Rakosi (Communist
Party leader) with help of the secret police and military
• Complete control in Hungary by 1948
• In Czecholslovakia, similar situation. Democratic coalition
govt set up but Gottwald, leading communist, worked to
undermine the govt and control the police, army and
media. PM Masyryk fell from a window and eventually
Gottwald seized power.
• In both instances, the presence of the Red Army was
critical.
Why did the Soviet Union blockade
Berlin?
• West Berlin had begun to recover economically and
USSR felt threatened
• The Allied zones were joined to create Bizonia and then
Trizonia in 1947
• June 1948 – a new currency, the Deutschmark, was
introduced to the Western zones
• East Germans were attracted to this new, stronger
currency and went to the west to change it up
• Devalued the Eastern mark badly – economic crisis in
the East
• 24th June 1948 – Stalin orders a blockade of West Berlin
How did the Allies react to the
Blockade?
• Set up an airlift – flew supplies inc coal, food, grain etc into
the three open airports down the air corridors
• West Berliners joined the airlift and helped unload and
distribute supplies at all the airports
• They counter blockaded the USSR and reduced power and
food supplies into the East
• Stalin had to call off his blockade when he realised that Berlin
could be supplied indefinitely
• In 1949 – Trizonia officially became West Germany and the
Soviet zone became East Germany
Details of the Korean War?
• Post WW2 it had divided in half – communist in the North,
democratic in the South
• Both the USA and USSR were supplying the South and North
Koreans respectively with economic and military aid
• In June 1950 the North attacked the South – massive gains
• The UN passes a resolution to help the South, the USSR was
boycotting the UN at this stage
• 16 UN countries, led by the USA, go to Korea and force the
NKPA back from the Pusan Pocket and also land at Inchon
Details of the Korean War? (2)
• UN forces push on towards China, who responds with troop
involvement
• UN forces pushed back beyond the 38th parallel
• USA puts even more men into action – stalemate comes on
the original division line
• McArthur was to attack China, potentially with Nuclear
Weapons. Removed by Truman
• Cease Fire agreed in 1953
• SEATO set up in 1954 to contain the spread of Communism in
East Asia
NATO v Warsaw Pact –
Safer or More Dangerous?
•
•
•
•
•
1949 NATO esatblished
Western allies European shield against Communism
An attack on one is an attack on all
Made it very clear who was on whose side
Made any attack escalate into mass war – could deter war or create
disaster
• US troops placed in NATO countries
• West Germany accepted into NATO in 1955 – 10 days later the USSR
created the Warsaw Pact. Highlights the importance of Germany and
Berlin
• Did this alliance system make war more or less likely?
Start of the Arms Race
• USA’s development of the atomic bomb had shifted the
balance of power massively
• USSR worked overtime to develop atomic weapons and did so
by 1949
• They then developed even bigger and more powerful
weapons – H bombs – by 1953
• USA places strategic nuclear warheads in Europe
• The USA maintained a large lead in atomic weapons but USSR
had massive conventional weapons lead (troops, tanks etc)
• Risk of a hot war developing was increased if one side could
ensure a pre-emptive strike would be successful
Peaceful Co-Existence?
• Policy devised by Khrushchev – 1953 onwards
• Released Austria as a sovereign state
• 1956 Secret Speech denouncing Stalin and the worst excesses
of his regime
• Policy of Destalinisation was introduced – statues removed,
cities renamed and the secret police were less tyrannical
• Khrushchev wanted to peacefully co-exist with the West
whilst recognising their differences
• This led to a thaw in relations
• However, it also encouraged calls for reform in the Satellite
States, which would ultimately bring about the Hungarian
Uprising that launched the crises of the Cold War
Why was the USSR so worried about
the Hungarian uprising?
• Nagy was a popular and effective leader
• Feared Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact
• Could pave the way for other satellite states to
leave
• Feared continuing reforms after Poland
• USSR seen as weak if it does not respond
• Feared Khrushchev’s thaw and peaceful coexistence had gone too far
What was the biggest cause of the Cold War?