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
