1 -- Reasons for Cold War [done] Flashcards
What are the main differences in the capitalist & communist ideologies?
2 main differences
1. POLITICS
[communist] One party state with no elections
[capitalist] 2 or more political parties governing
2. ECONOMY
[communist] Property, land is owned by state; wages are controlled by state; centrally planned economy
[capitalist] Property, land is owned by companies or individuals; wages, profits and resources are controlled; free market economy
Content Concepts
Increased mistrust, tensions. Worsened relations.
Things showing the division between the 2 SOI lead to greater awareness of the polarity. That hence leads to a worsened relationship.
What led to tensions between USSR and USA before & during WWII?
1 before, 2 during
-
Western intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918
- Western countries sent funds and troops to fight
- helped the anti-communist White Army against the Red Army
- USA was afraid of a worldwide communist revolution that would end capitalism & threaten its trade
- Stalin was convinced the West wanted to destroy communism
-
Policy of Appeasement & Munich Conference, 1938
- Stalin wasn’t invited to the Munich Agreement where the future of Czechoslovakia was discussed
- he felt the conference gave Hitler confidence to pursue Eastwards towards the Motherland
- The West thought appeasement was meant to buy time to rearm and prevent another war
- USSR thought they wanted Hitler to proceed to USSR and weaken it for them
-
Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939
- Mutual non-aggression was agreed between the 2 countries for at least 10 years
- Poland was to be divivded between them into 2 spheres of influence
- The West felt the pact caused WWII as it allowed Hitler access to Poland with no resistance
- USSR used the pact as a means to protect itself from German attack & buy time to organise its military
What led to tensions between USSR and USA during WWII?
2 factors
-
Perceived delay in opening of 2nd front for Operation Overlord
- The D-Day landings on Normandy Beach kept getting delayed, prolonging the fighting between Germany & USSR’s front
- The West had to have air & sea control, bomb the supply railways and wait for good weather to launch the operations
- The USSR thought the West was trying to use Germany to weaken USSR’s forces & urged them to do it soon but they didn’t comply
-
Detonation of atomic bombs
- The Manhattan Project developed atomic bombs in secret with an elite team of scientists
- The bomb dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan, killing more than 100,000 people in Japan
- USA wanted to quickly end the war with Japan to reduce their losses
- Stalin felt threatened by the bomb which it thought USA would use to destroy Russia and communism
How did the end of WWII lead to the start of the Cold War?
Loss of common enemy
- USA and USSR lost their common enemy, which was Germany, and removed the needs for them to be allies after the war
Difference in priorities
- USA was concerned with its trade and economy, and was afraid that USSR trying to spread its ideology and influence would make it lose its markets and trading opportunities
- USSR on the other hand was afraid of USA’s influence encircling it and threatening its survival
- After the war, USSR also used ‘salami tactics’ to overtake the governments of the countries around it into something it could control. This would be a defensive measure to help its survival by improving its sphere of influence so it wouldn’t get surrounded.
- However, USA thought it was trying to spread outwards and become aggressive in nature to overtake and expand into US SOI.
How did Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech (1946) lead to the start of the Cold War?
- The speech condemned Soviet policies for taking away self-determination for people in Europe
- It described an iron curtain descending on Europe which divided it into 2 spheres of influence
- The West thought it necessary to use force and contain the spread of communism
- Stalin thought USA was trying to start a war, and felt his actions were justified as he wanted to protect USSR from future attacks (buffer zones)
How did Kennan’s Long Telegram (1947) lead to the start of the Cold War?
- The telegram stated that the USSR saw the outside world as hostile and would create its own SOI to protect itself
- USA should stop being isolationist and be more active in trying to contain communism, to prevent it from dominating the world
- USSR thought the containment policies was USA increasing its SOI in the East to snuff out communism
How did the Truman Doctrine (1947) lead to the start of the Cold War?
- USA should help countries threatened by communism
- Greek & Turkish governments were at least of being overthrown by communist groups
- Britain was drained financially after WWII and couldn’t continue to support them
- Truman followed his speech with massive economic & military aid to the 2 countries to help them defeat the communists
- USA thought containment was necessary to check USSR’s aggression and protect USA’s SOI
- USSR thought the doctrine was trying to snuff out communism etc.
How did the Marshall Plan (1947) lead to the start of the Cold War?
- The plan provided more than $15 billion to rebuild WE, develop their economies & reconstruct their cities
- Aid was given to 16 countries, including France and Britain
- Aid was extended to USSR and its satellite states, but Stalin refused it
- With a revived Europe, USA could continue to conduct trade and allow it to resist falling to communism out of poverty
- Stalin called it ‘dollar imperialism’ where USA tried to buy the support of countries with money and contain USSR’s SOI
How did COMINFORM (1947) and COMECON (1949) lead to the start of the Cold War?
-
COMINFORM (1947)
- Set up to spread communist propaganda
- Coordinate activities of communist parties in all states against the West
- Members can only trade with other COMINFORM members -
COMECON (1949)
- Set up to provide members with raw materials, food, machinery and equipment & help economic trade in EE
- Mainly benefited USSR which forced members to sell resources at low rates for Soviet oil
- USA thought USSR was trying to tighten its control of the communist SOI in EE
- USSR felt COMINFORM helped communist countries to fight against USA’s dollar imperialism and wanted to counter it (anti-propaganda)
- USSR felt COMECON would encourage and coordinate trade policies between communist countries (improve economy)
(as a response to Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine)
How did the Cold War manifest in Europe through the Berlin Blockade?
- Stalin aimed for Germany to become communist under the Soviet SOI, and carried out a blockade in 1948 aimed to starve the West Berliners into submission
- he imposed a blockade on West Berline by cutting off all land and water pathways into the area, and cut off food and electricity supplies
- USA and Britain agreed to transport supplies into Berlin by air
- Berlin Airlift began over the next 11 months after the blockade, and at the height of the airlift 1 plane arrived every 30 seconds carrying supplies
- Soviets did not shoot the planes down for fear of being seen as engaging in an act of war
- in May 1949, the Berlin Blockade ended, and Stalin was humiliated as his plan had failed while also boosting the credibility of the West powers
This further showed the divide between EE and WE, and increased tensions between the 2 spheres of influence.
How did the Cold War in Europe manifest through the formation of military alliances?
Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949
- an initiative of USA, who feared that West European countries might deal with their worries by negotiating with the Soviet Union
- Truman settled on an American-Europe Alliance which would allow the USA to strengthen security of Europe
- Western European countries were also concerned about USSR using force to spread communism, and were interested in having US troops stationed near them
- NATO members would come to each other’s aid if they were attacked by an external party, and USA would also help
Formation of Warsaw Pact in 1955
- the formation of NATO was immediately seen as a threat to the USSR’s security
- the Warsaw Pact was formed with the USSR’s Eastern Europe satellite states
- member countries would also come to the aid of any member country that was attacked by an external party
- the USSR held majority of the decision making power in the Warsaw Pact, since the entire thing was just a way to defend the Soviet Union against invasion from Western Europe
A: Although the Warsaw Pact countries and NATO did not wage war against each other, the presence of 2 polar groups reflected the bi-polarity of the Cold War in Europe, and led to increasing tensions in Europe.
