2) The development of the Cold War 1946-1955 Flashcards
- ‘Iron Curtain’ speech - Soviet control of Eastern Europe: including Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia - the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid - Cominform and Comecon; conflicts over Germany including the Berlin blockade and airlift; creation of West and East Germany - NATO - the Warsaw Pact - atomic weapons.
How and why did the USSR extend its control over eastern europe?
- At yalta Roosevelt had persuaded Stalin and Churchill to accept the decleration on liberated europe- by 1948 it was clear it had not been upheld.
- after the war the USSR was the most powerful country in europe and the red guard had 11 million men and women- dwarfing western forces
- Stalin wished to ensure the future security of the USSR and wanted to develop subservient eastern european states
- Stalin would not be in ful control of his ‘buffer zone’ until 1948 using salami tactics
How did Stalin control the Baltic states?
- Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia were independent of Russia by 1918- their role was key in allowing the USSR to control the batlic sea
- After invasion of Poland the foreign ministers of these states were summoned to Moscow and threatened with invasion if they did not conform to Soviet assistance- all 3 countries signed and in June 1940 were occupied by the Red army
- Their presidents were deported to moscow where they would die in prison
- Pro-soviet govts were enforced and in rigged referrendums won 90% of the votes to be added into the USSR
- During barbarossa many of the baltic states members invited the Nazis as liberators
- Summer 1944 USSR reoccupied the states and any hopes of independence were dashed, there was a brutal crackdown by the NKVD on resistance and 500,000 people were deported
- West accepted takeover with minimal opposition at Tehran in 1943
How did Stalin control Poland?
- Vital to soviet buffer zone
- 1945 Poland had two rival govts: Lublin Poles (communists) and the London Poles (based in pre-war govt)
- Stalin was determined to oust the western backed poles and enforce soviet backed poles
- At Yalta the soviets agreed to a coalition but when 16 representatives of the London Poles met for talks in March 1945 they were arrested by the NKVD, tortured, and put on show trials
- Assissted by the NKVD, Gomulka was ruthless in ensuring the peasant party was intimidated with executions. And in Jan 1947 votes the communist bloc gained 80% of the vote
- Stalin had achieved his aim
How did Stalin control the Hungary, Czech, and Romania?
Romania:
- Decision to redistribute land to the peasantry increased the popularity of the communist- led coalition (Democratic front) in the elections of Nov 1946 and, helped by the intimidation of non-coalition parties and ballot rigging, the Democratic front won 70% of the votes
- Presence of the Red army ensured communists felt secure in attacks on other parties. King Michael was forced to abdicate in Dec 1947 and Romania became pro-Soviet and a one party state
Hungary:
- Stalin was much more cautious in his approach to Hungary- he agreed to divide dominance 50/50 in the percentages deal with Churchill
- A genuine coalition govt was established in 1945 with a communist minority. But they used agriculture to their agvantage and secrued popularity with a programme of land redistribution.
- Nov 1945 communists won 17% of parliament seats in relatively free elections- smallholders party gained 57%
- Comm leader Imre Nagy now had control of the police, enabling him to intimidate nin-communists and arrest opposition-party leaders
- The prime minister and his son were kidnapped and elections in Aug 1947 were rigged and by 1948 communsists had taken complete control
Czechoslovakia:
- Stalin was seemingly most liberal in Czech. He was friendly with pre-war pres Edvard Benes and even allowed the **govt in exile to return **and form a coalition with the communists in 1945
- Communism genuinely popular as many felt a bitterness to the west. Comm party won 38% of vote and a coalition was formed with the socialist and peasant parties
- Klement Gottwald, comm leader, was appointed prime minister and dominated other parties without persecution
- Situation only changed when USA offered marshall aid in 1947 and the Czechs enraged Stalin by appearing enthusiastic about applying
How did Stalin control the Yugoslavia and Greece?
Yugoslavia:
- Only eastern European country to escape Stalin’s grasp
- Tito led the Yugoslav comms and resisted soviet influence. Liberation in 1945 and his army of 800,000 put him in a strong position
- Yugoslavia also furthest away from buffer zone so Stalin could afford to leave it out
- Yugoslav soldiers mainly liberated the country rather than the Red Guard giving Tito an independent advantage. He could pursue his own path as he owed nothing the the soviets
- Soviets feard that Tito was attempting to separate from the bloc and insisted he remain faithful to the USSR- but usual tactics of intimidation did not work and Yugoslav comms were fiercely loyal to Tito
- Stalin had to be satisfied with cutting off diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia
Greece:
- After the Ger and Italiens occupied Greece in April 1941, 2 resistance groups were established- EDES and ELAS. EDES were the nationak democratic Greek league, and were made up of personnel from the pre-war Greek army. It was republican and liberal in outlook and had the backing of the Greek govt in exile in London. ELAS were the National Popular Liberation Army an were the military wing of the Greek Comm party
- Both groups were supplied by the allies and began a guerilla war occupying the axis forces
- The 2 groups fought each other as well as the Gers. In late 1944 the Germans began to ithdraw troops, GB sent a small set of troops to occupy Anthens and ensure a smooth tranisition of power
- Relations broke down quickly between the GB military and ELAS. The Comms feared arrest after a call to disband guerilla groups and rose in revolt attempting to seize Athens. Heavily outnumbered the British were crushed. Churchill was concerned and personally visited Athens in Dec 1944 to negotiate but the fighting continued and the new govt swung in favor of the British and regained control by Jan 6
- A few weeks later there was an armistace agreed by ELAS to surrender its weapons, but the truce was short and the comms took advantage of other newly comm countries and went on the offensive in March 1946
What was the cominform?
Was intended as propaganda to prevent any communist party being lured into the USA’s ‘dollar diplomacy’
- aimed to provide information to strengthen the ‘anti-imperialist and democratic camp’
- Established in 1949 and abolished in 1956
Explain the main ideas of Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech March 1946:
- often seen as a public western recognition of the soviet threat
- Described the ‘iron curtain’ descending across Europe and called for a USA GB alliance to resist soviet expansion
- stated that Eastern Europe had been placed under a totalitarian regime
- Stalin reacted badly and accused Churchill of attempting to provoke war
- Concerned that GB and USA had allowed the USSR to dominate Eastern Europe, and that the USA mightwithdraw from European affairs
Key ideas:
- The USSR controlled Eastern Europen countries equally
- Europe was firmly divided
- the west needed to negotiate a position of strength
- The USSR would expand infinitely
What were the reactions to Churchill’s iron curtain speech
- Stalin reacted badly- argued the USSR was entitled to expanding due to their high death toll in WW2. Also that Churchill was attempting to provoke war
- May in the USA thought the speech was irresponsible
- Less important than the ideas of George Kennan-who wanted complete resistance and opposition towards soviet expansionism
- Churchil’s views were not widely praised, but it did fit with the USA foreign policy under new pres. Truman which moved away from isolationism and intended to meet the threat of communist expansionism
How effective was the USA at countering the influence of the USSR in Europe?
- US was foreign policy switched to oppose the USSR’s expansion
- Kennan’s ‘long telegram’ Feb 1946 set out his views that the USSR saw the USA as an inherent threat and proposed containment which was endorsed by Truman
Why did the Truman Doctrine occur and what was it?
- British weakness fored Truman’s hand- by 1947 after supporting the Greek civil war GB faced bankrupcy
- Atlee said to Truman that GB would have to pull 40,000 troops from Turkey and Greece, and Truman was concerned Greece and Turkey would fall to the communists
- March 12th 1947 Truman appealed to Congress to strengthen non-communist forces in areas thought to be vulnerable to possible communist domination: put foward doctrine promising to support ‘free peoples everywhere who are resisting the attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures’
- Truman sent $300 million to the Greeks and was vital in defeating ELAS and the conflict ended in 1949 and left 150,000 dead
What was Marshall aid?
- named after secretary of state George Marshall
- Effectively caused the split of Europe into two blocs
- By mid 1947 Truman realised that without massive economic assistance Europe would take decades to recover
- Truman feared the economic hardship would increase communist support- in Italy comms had 31% in 1948
- The Marshall Plan offered huge amounts of aid
- Donated $3,176 million to Gb and $2,706 to France
- By 1952 the USA had donated $13 billion to Western Europe
More significant than Truman doc for growing tension
How did the USSR react to the Marshall Plan?
- Stalin worried that US economic power would undermine Societ influence and refused his satellite states access to USA aid
- Czech and Poland were keen to receive aid but were pressured into withdrawing applications
- Soviets labelled it ‘dollar imperialism’
- Comm leaders of Eastern Europe and France, Italy, and Yugoslavia were invited to a conference in Poland 1947 which aimed to counter the threat of the Marshall plan and established the Cominform
- Stalin relied on purges to enforce his wish: he removed Gomulka from office in Hungary, Tito refused to follow and Yugoslavia was expelled from the cominform in 1948
- French and Italy were desperate for US aid and signed up, but the communists in these countries attempted to make the plan unworkable and organised waves of strikes- but these failed to stop US shipment and drove non-communist parties together
- The Marshall Plan ensured that the communists did not get a foothold in Western Europe
What were the results of the Marshall Plan?
- Strengthened anti-communist feeling in USA called Red scare
- Strengthened hostility between two blocs of divided Europe
- $13 billion in total donated by USA in total
Why was Marshall aid significant?
- Forced Stalin to draw a firm line between states which he wanted within his buffer zone/ satellite states and was the origin of the 2 blocs of east and west Europe
How did the USSR attempt to recover eastern Europe?
The introduction of the Comecon- soviet version of Marshall plan
What was the Comecon?
Comecon founded in 1949- reversal of Marshall Plan
- USSR benefitted from the supply of manufactured goods from more-developed eastern european countries
- Council provided support for collectivisation and the development of heavy industry
- Forced satellite states to reject Marshall aid
- Initial membes were the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia
How was Germany split once the Nazis surrendered?
- May 1945 Germany and Berlin were split into 4 zones led by: USA, France, GB and the USSR
- At the start the allies had the same goals for Germany the: demilitarisation and denazification
What was Bizonia?
May 1946 the USA and GB believed their western zones of Germany should be allowed to recover. They joined together to make a joint zone called Bizonia
- Was offered to France as well but they declined
- After the Marshall plan was announced Germany received huge economic assistance ($1.4 billion) from the US- auelling economic growth
What caused the USSR and the west to had a divide over the future of German recovery?
Introduction of currency reform by western powers:
- The old reichsmark was now worthless due to inflation and printing by soviets
- June 1948: To recover the west introduced the new Deutschmark into the 3 western zones without consulting the USSR
How did the USSR retaliate against the introduction of the Deutschmark?
Introduced the Ostmark
But most importantly: the Berlin Blockade
- Soviets wanted to put pressure on the west’s weakest point- West Berlin
What were the political developments in West Germany in 1946?
West:
- 2 most popular parties were the Social Democrats (SDP) and the Christian democratic union (CDU)
- Adenauer leader of the CDU became leader
What were the political developments in East Germany in 1946?
East:
- Allowed multiple parties to form but promoted the KDP, the German Communist Party.
- Due to its close links with the USSR the KDP faced hostility in the eastern zone
- The KDP performed poorly in local elections held in Berlin 1946 where the SDP emerged victorious
- Soviets forced the SDP into a coalition with the KDP to form the Socialist Unity Party- SED
- The SED brought soviet policies and nationalised banks and industry, also re-distributing land
What and when was the Berlin blockade?
June 1948- May 1949:
* The 3 western sectors of Berlin were all in the East German zone
* Transport links had to travel 100 miles of soviet held territory
* There were 4 railroads and 2 waterays into the city- 23rd June 1948 after the introduction of the Deutschmark Stalin blocked these all and cut all electricity
* Stalin refused to allow Berlin to become an outpost of western democracy and and planned to force the western powers out of Berlin
How did the west respond to the blockade?
- Ernest Bevin- GB foreign secretary believed this was the start of a soviet takeover of Germany (he was an important symbol in the fight against communism)
- The US military commander in Berlin, General Lucius Clay believed the soviets were bluffing and called to breakdown armoured blockades- but Truman was keen to avoid an armed confrontation and supplied west berlin by air
- Stalin thought the west would be incapable of supplying west Berlin for long and let it proceed
Give details of the USA’s Berlin airlift
- Began 26th June and by July 1,000 tonnes of supplies were being flown in daily. By december it was 4,500 daily
- Life was difficult for the west Berliners but the gamble paid off and the west didn’t have to abandon the city
How did the Berlin Blockade end?
- May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade- the west had proved itself
- East German economy was suffering due to the West’s counter block, refusing trade with East Ger
- Made the USSR look like an agressor and the blockade had failed
How did the Berlin Blockade effect the cold war?
- Made the division of Germany inevitable
- The 3 western zones now saw their futures intergrating with the western powers- a policy advocated by Adenauer
- West Berlin became an escape route for East Germans seeking a better life
- Showed the USA had abandoned isolationism and was determined to defend Europe
Who was Walter Ulbricht?
Member of the Ger communist party from 1920- he led the communists in the soviet zone of Ger. where he then became the leader of the SED and head of East Germany
What was the creation of east and west Germany?
West:
* After the blockade was lifted in may 1949 the French agreed to merge their zone into Bizonia creating one state of West Germany
* The provisional town of Bonn was the new west Ger capital and Adenaueur was its first chancellor in 1949 sept
* the french in particular didnt want a recovered Germany but saw Stalin’s actions and felt the need to intervene and support
East:
* The USSR was slower at creating East Ger. But in Oct 1949 the soviets allowed the creation of the German Democratic republic- this new party was a one party state led by the SED
* Walter Ulbricht was its first secretary
What prompts the introduction of such an open and aggressive US policy in 1947?
Containment
- USSR ignored agreements at Yalta and Potsdam over Poland- Stalin agreed to ‘free elections’ but failed by western standards
- German zones were weak and west wanted recvery to boost European economy- breeding ground for capitalist industry
- Kennan telegram 1946
- Iron curtain speech 1946
- Clifford elsey report- documented all Soviet bad faith
- Turkey and Greece communist threat
what was the treaty of Brussles 1948?
- In response to the Czech crisis- GB, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed a collective security treaty
- Promising to come to each others aid if they were militarily attacked- aimed to counter threat of USSR
- But without USA support meant little- Bevin and ,French, Bidault wrote a letter to Truman asking for a permanent USA presence in Europe
How did Truman’s presidency lead to deteriorating relations?
- compromise with ussr no longer seen as productive- Truman refused
- Aimed to limit soviet power and influence- Truman’s actions unecessarily provocative
- Contrast to Roosevelt- Stalin suspicious
How did the west react to the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia?
- GB and USA were shocked by the events in Prague
- Czech was seen as a country that had not fallen into the Soviet orbit
- Truman was now convinced the USSR acted to control the whole of Europe- 17th March 1948 Truman addressed congress with a speech mourning the loss of independent Czech
- Congress approved $5 billion of aid, also approving a bill to reintroduce conscription and increase military spending
- The west was now deeply concerned about the USSR and Stalin’s goal to control Europe
- Marshall plan had been rejected by Congress but this invasion convinced Congress to change
What were the events of the Czech crisis 1948?
- At the start of 1948 Cech had a genuine coalition govt- President Benes and Foregin minister Jan Masaryk both non-comunists envisaged friendly relations between east and west
- The Marshall plan meant the Soviets put pressure on the govt to pull its application for aid, and did so
- This led to the USA seeing Czech as within the soviet sphere of influence
- After a poor harvest in 1947 Czech was economically weak and appealed to the USA- but assistance would only come if Prague formally signed the Marshall plan
- Instead the USSR promised 600,000 tons of grain preventing starvation
- To counter the growth of communsim other parties resigned from govt hoping to force an election. But the communists convinced Benes to have an election without the resigned parties- he reluctantly agreed in fear of civil war
- When Benes died in June 1948 he was replaced by communist Gottwald
What prompted the US policy of containment?
- Stop world wide spread of communism as USA perceived communism was on the march- doesn’t want USSR to fill power vaccum
- Expose falsities of soviet pretensions- Stalin did not impose post war accords on Poland and didn’t follow Potsdam agreements
- Wanted to impose power on post war world
How aggressive was soviet expansionism?
- Salami tactics e.g hungary
- stalin claimed that staes which were turned into communist satellites were for defensive measures and not for expansionism
What was the North Atlantic Treaty 1949?
- 4th April 1949 the North Atlantic treaty was signed in Washington DC forming NATO- a security alliance
- For the USA it tied GB to the recovering Europe
- Reassured anxious govts that soviet expansion would be resisted
- The US military would also now be able to base itself in the middle of europe
What were the effects of the formation of NATO?
- Confirmed the east/ west divide
- Line of the Iron curtain became fixed
- 1955 the USSR organised its satellite states into defence treaty called Warsaw Pact
- The USA was committed to containment
What were the economic and political costs of rearmament for the western bloc?
- NATO states increased their spending from $4.4 billion in 1949 to $8 billion in 1951- triggering an initial economic boom
- But raw materials like coal, copper, and rubber had to be imported in mass quantaties causing inflation
- Inflation: increased cost of living by 20% in France abd 10% in GB and FRG. There was a shift in investment from civilian to defence and higher taxes causing political instability- created a drastic political divide in GB
When did the USSR test their atom bomb and how did the west react?
- August 1949
- Truman now saw the USA’s main defensive advantage lost
- Truman surpirsed by swiftness of soviet development- this was because in 1950 Klaus Fuchs, a German physicist, was uncovered as a spy for the soviet union
- Truman decided to build up both conventional and nuclear weapons
- The USA produced its first H-bomb in 1952, 400x more powerful than the a-bomb
- The USSR then produced their own H-bomb in 1953
What was guns and butter?
- Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) was convinced that Western Europe faced an economic crisis only solvable with a second Marshall Plan
- The USA could not afford this. The OEEC and NATO sucessfully co-operated to ensure rearmament didn’t collapse the western bloc’s recovery
- Aug the OEEC called for a 25% expansion of westen Europe’s industrial production (helped by production of vehicles)
- Encouraged intergration and economic prosperity
What were the different view of the west about how to integrate their economies?
- USA wanted to rebuild western europe in image of US- believed united economy and deter people from communism, boosting trade, and draw eastern states out of the soviet bloc
- France and smaller states wanted political and economic integration by harnessing west germany’s resources without resurrecting a strong Ger
- GB refused to commit to further integration into Europe and moved towards the USA as a result. GB wanted to use NATO to rearm w. Ger and align it with NATO- france remained unconvinced
What was Stalin’s response to rearmament?
Attempted to counter threat of NATO by:
* launching communist led world peace movement (campaigning for disarmament)
* offering the FRG prospect of a neutral united Germany
When and why was the ESCC formed and what did it do?
European Steel and Coal Community
- May 1950 Schuman (France foreign minister) planned to create European Steel and coal community (ESCC), enabling western allies to exploit Ger materials for their own rearmament and leaving Germany weak
- Approved by Adenauer (west Ger chancellor) as he wanted to forge a partner ship with allies but denied by GB who wanted to recover Ger
- ESCC formed in July 1952- formed foundations for european and political integration
How did Adenauer convince west to allow rearmament?
- Adenauer very keen for Ger to regain military and felt it necessary to counter soviet threat, supported by the USA
- Outbreak of Korean Civil war 1950 strengthened Adeauer’s case. Ulbricht (east ger leader) supported comm N.Korea and suggested the same for Ger
Explain the events of Ulbricht’s attempt to industrialise and recover east Ger
- 1949 Ulbricht and SED used a stalinist approach and began collectivisation with focus on heavy industry (to supply the ussr)
- In e.Ger living standards had dropped due to lack of consumer goods creating resentment
- Many farmers abandoned their land and moved west- 15,000 left due to food shortages
- Ulbricht continued and after Stalin’s death the Kremlin moved to a unified neutral Ger encouraging the SED to slow down industrialisation
- Ulbricht continued and protests ensued, 400,000 people took part- ussr supported SED and sent 200,000 troops and 600 tanks killing 50 and ending the uprising
- Repression increased and 6000 arrested, 20 executed, and 500 life sentences given
How did Stalin respond to the threat of west Ger rearmament and how did the west react?
- Stalin note 1952- proposed a united neutral Germany with free elections (supervised by 4 powers)
- NATO feared this ger would become a communist satellite state. 1955 West Ger was allowed into NATO
- By 1961 West Ger had the 2nd largest army in NATO with 350,000 men
What was the Stalin note?
March 1952
* From autumn 1950- Spring 1952 STalin put foward a series of initiaves attempting to unite a neutral Ger
* March 1952 he made a proposal for free elections in Ger, supervised by the 4 powers in a note, establishing an independent Germany
* It would not be allowed to join the EDC or NATO and would have no reparations with only a small army
rejected by Adenauer who wanted to move towards western power influence
