2-1.0 REASONS FOR COLD WAR IN EUROPE Flashcards
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Ideological differences
1917
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
> RUSSIA BECAME COMMUNIST > IDEOLOGY CONFLICTED WITH US CAPITALIST IDEOLOGY
USA PROVIDED MILITARY AID TO RUSSIAN ANTI-COMMUNIST FORCES (whites)
5,000 American troops in a bid to prevent communist victory
Britain France USA fought against communist forces (Reds)
- LENIN VIEWED THESE INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORT OF THE WHITES WERE IN A BID TO UNDERMINE THE SURVIVAL OF COMMUNISM AS WELL AS RUSSIA
1922 - officially formed Soviet Union
Distrust and tension grew
LARGE GLOBAL SUPERPOWER USSR WITH RIVALING US IN IDEOLOGY AND COMINTERN ENCOURAGING POLITICAL UPRISING INTERNATIONALLY
(significant uprising of communism made known to world stage)
COMINTERN
Ideological difference
March 1919 Founded Comintern
- INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST ORGANISATION CREATE AN INTERNATIONAL SOVIET REPUBLIC
> ENCOURAGING COMMUNIST UPRISINGS AROUND THE WORLD
“By all available means including armed force”
- COMMUNIST PARTIES FORMED AROUND THE WORLD
NECESSARY ALLIANCE
Jun 1941 Soviet Union entered WW2, Dec 1941 USA entered the WW2
- WORKED TOGETHER WITH BRITAIN TO FIGHT COMMON ENEMY > FORMED GRAND ALLIANCE
- ALLIANCE FORMED OUT OF NECESSITY
DISTRUST AND COMPETING VIEWS REMAINED
Marriage of Convenience
CONTINUED DISTRUST
- PERCEIVED DELAY IN OPENING A SECOND FRONT
- NOT DEALING WITH HITLER EARLIER
- DISAGREEMENTS DURING NEGOTIATIONS FOR A POST WAR SETTLEMENT
Distrust
PERCEIVED DELAY IN OPENING A SECOND FRONT
1943 Britain France USA invaded Italy (Germany’s ally)
- felt that it was not yet time to open a second front
- Supported SU through economic aid and military supplies
Jun 1944 Opened a second front with D-day landings
- Stalin believed allies did so in order to minimize their losses to secure a swift and secured victory
> prolong fighting so Germany and SU would weaken and destroy each other
> BLEEDING OF THE USSR
Distrust
NOT DEALING WITH HITLER EARLIER
1930s - Stalin tried to form anti-Hitler alliance with Britain and France
> they deliberately held back and delayed it
> practiced policy of appeasement instead
- Stalin believed that west soft on HItler to encourage him to attack USSR instead of western Europe
Distrust
DISAGREEMENTS DURING NEGOTIATIONS FOR A POST WAR SETTLEMENT
Feb 1945 - Yalta conference > Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt
Jul - Aug 1945 - Potsdam conference > Stalin, Truman, Clement Attlee
Yalta Conference
Feb 1945
SOVIET NEEDED TO FIGHT JAPAN TO ENDTHE WAR IN THE ASIA PACIFIC
> ROOSEVELT MADE MANY CONCESSIONS FOR STALIN
DISAGREEMENTS
1. POLAND
- Stalin wanted borders of USSR redrawn to be moved westwards to include parts of Poland
- Churchill and Roosevelt did not approve, wanted Poland to be able to hold free elections
2. ECONOMY OF GERMANY
- Stalin wanted to ensure Germany’s economy did not revitalize > weak Germany could no longer pose a threat
- Western powers wanted revival of Germany’s economy > believed important for Europe’s recovery
Potsdam Conference
Jul - Aug 1945
SOVIET AND WESTERN RELATIONS WORSENED CONSIDERABLY SINCE YALTA CONFERENCE
- SU broke agreed upon points in Yalta > arrested non-comm Polish leaders established comm gov in Poland
- Truman learnt that A-bomb successfully tested > US military upper hand did not need SU to end war in Asia Pacific
NEGOTIATIONS DID NOT PROCEED AS SMOOTHLY AS YALTA
DIAGREEMENTS
- REPARATIONS ON GERMANY
- TYPES OF GOV IN EASTERN AND EXTENT OF SOVIET INFLUENCE IN THE REGION UNDECIDED
STALIN ACTING ON HIS OWN ACCORD > insisting no gov in eastern Europe hostile to USSR, pro comm gov established
A-Bomb
AMERICAN NUCLEAR MONOPOLY
SINCE 1942 - SECRETLY DEVELOPING BOMB UNDER MANHATTAN PROJECT
- CHOSE NOT TO TELL SOVIETS UNTIL FIRST SUCCESSFUL TEST > AROUSE THEIR SUSPICION
Aug 1945 - Truman used A-Bomb on Japan
hoped to use it as political leverage over SU in post war Negotiations
POST WW2 USA
WORLD’S RICHEST COUNTRY AFTER WW2
Gross national product skyrocketed from $200 billion in 1940 to $300 billion in 1950
- WANTED TO REBUILD EUROPE AND NOT REPEAT MISTAKE OF WW1 BY PUNISHING GERMANY SEVERELY
POST WW2 USSR
ENORMOUS LOSSES - HIGH CASUALTIES - ECONOMY DEVASTATED
24 million of population dead 30,100 factories destroyed
- reparations from Germany and aid from eastern European countries enable them to recover quickly
1945 - Red army in Baltics, central Europe, Poland most of eastern Europe and east Germany
> areas under red army seem to be under soviet control - gave SU much prestige on par with US militarily
- WANTED TO PUNISH GERMANY AND KEEP EUROPE WEAK, NO LONGER POSE A THREAT
> De-industrialize De-Nazify De-militarize
SECURITY IN SITUATIONAL TERMS
US IDEALLY US STYLE GOV AND MARKETS ESTABLISHED AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE
- STATES RESOLVE DISPUTES DIPLOMATICALLY THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- REBUILD CAPITALIST EUROPE WITH GERMANY IN THE CENTRE
- US ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE TO HELP REBUILD THEIR DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND FINANCE THEIR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
SECURITY IN SPACE
PAST 15O YEARS RUSSIA FREQUENTLY INVADED
24 million Soviet citizens died, tens of thousands of cities towns and villages levelled, 30,100 factories destroyed
- PREVENT SIMILAR ASSAULT IN THE FUTURE
- RED ARMY TO CONTROL STATES SURROUNDING RUSSIA TO SET UP BUFFER ZONE FROM WESTERN POWERS
- PREVENT CAPITALIST IDEOLOGICALLY HOSTILE EUROPE TO ENCIRCLE AND THREATEN THEIR SECURITY AND SURVIVAL
1944 - 1948 > Red army moved westwards towards berlin established comm gov in each country spread sphere of influence
by 1948 most had comm gov - considered purely defensive action to protect against western aggression
LONG TELEGRAM
Feb 1946
George Kennan long telegram - opinion on Soviet policy
- provided necessary impetus for USA to shift its foreign policy away from isolationism and adopt policy of containment
- no longer follow isolationist policy to protect Europe must be actively involved in Europe
> adopt tougher global strategy to deal with soviets
- need not involve war
LONG TERM PATIENT BUT FIRM AND VIGILANT CONTAIMENT OF SOVIET EXPANSIONIST TENDENCIES
- SEEN BY SU AS AGGRESSIVE BID BY USA TO BUILD ITS OWN EMPIRE IN EUROPE
IRON CURTAIN SPEECH
March 1946 - Churchill metaphor for ideological and political divide
- STRENGHTENED WESTERN VIEWS OF WESTERN POWERS ON SOVIET HOSTILITY
- VIEWED EUROPE AS CONTINENT SPLIT BETWEEN TWO OPPOSING IDEOLOGIES AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE
TRUMAN DOCTRINE
Mar 1947 - Truman speech to American congress promised American support for
> “ free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures”
REASON
1946 COMMUNISM GAINING PROMINENCE IN GREECE AND TURKEY
- GREECE ECONOMICALLY WEAK VULNERABLE TO COMM
- GREECE FACING CIVIL WAR IN 1947 > DEPENDANT ON US TO REBUILD COUNTRY
- FEARED EUROPE INFLUENCED BY DOMINO THEORY
- THREATEN AMERICAN INTERESTS IN EUROPE
MARSHALL PLAN
Jun 1947 - US $13 billion in economic aid
- COMITTED USA TO PROVIDING ECONOMIC AID TO RECONTRUCT EUROPE AND ITS ECONOMIES
- ECONOMICALLY STRONG EUROPE VITAL TO USA (foreign market for export revenue)
1948 - 1952 fastest period of growth in European history
industrial production increased by 35%
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SURPASSED PRE WAR LEVEL
SOLVED POVERTY AND STARVATION PROBLEMS
STANDARD OF LIVING INCREASED
SOVIET RESPONSES TO MARSHALL PLAN
Sept 1947 - Cominform (communist info bureau)
- implement soviet style communism and trade mainly with Cominform members > sharpen political to economic divide
Jun 1949 - Comecon (council of mutual economic assistance)
- coordinate Cominform economic policies
RESPONSE TO MARSHALL PLAN CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
- SU sold oil at low prices to Soviet bloc > huge financial loss for SU
BERLIN BLOCKADE
Jun 1948 - West introduced new currency Deutsche mark despite soviet objections
Jun 1948 - East introduced new currency Ostmark to rival Deutsche mark east and west separated economically
Berlin middle of soviet zone - pocket of influence 150km inside soviet zone - supplies sent by crossing soviet territory
Jun 1948 - imposed a blockade > 2.5 million people west Berlin affected
BERLIN AIRLIFT / OPERATION VITTLES
Jun 1948 - flew supplies into west berlin for next 11 months
- constant stream of airplanes 30 seconds one plane reaches west Berlin
> bring food clothing oil materials > destroyed effectiveness of blockade
May 1949 - blockade ends Stalin entered negotiations
Sept 1949 - Berlin airlift ended more than 2.3 million tons of supplies flown into west berlin
HUMILIATED SOVIET UNION
BOOSTED CREDIBILITY OF WEST HIGHLIGHTED SINCERITY IN AID
FORMAL POLITICAL DIVISION
1949 French zone merged with bizonia forming trizonia
Federal Republic of Germany (west)
German democratic republic (east)
- political hostility deepened - formally divided into two
NATO
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION
April 1949
- military alliance come to one another defense in event of attack by external party
- berlin blockade highlighted necessity
USA take lead in defense of Europe against Soviet expansion
WARSAW PACT
MAY 1955
NATO immediate threat to own security - inclusion of west Germany in NATO in 1955 further heightened perceived threat
- formalization of military alliance
- PLEDGED TO DEFEND ANY OTHER MEMBER COUNTRY WHICH MIGHT BE ATTACKED BY EXTERNAL PARTY
- MILITARY COMPLEMENT TO Comicon and Cominform
MAIN OBJECTIVE PROVIDE SU WITH DEFENSE FROM INVASION FROM WESTERN EUROPE
