chap 7: Origins and the development of the cold war in Europe 1945-1955

Question 1

What are some impacts of WWII on Europe?

Answer 1

1. Europe in ruins
   Details:
   - 36 million casualties
   - infrastructure of roads,railways, bridges and canals have been destroyed from the war
   - Diseases and malnutrition were widespread, desperate shortages of food and medicine
   -homeless, over 50 million people lost their homes
2. A new political landscape
   Details:
   - Three great powers were: France, Britain and Germany
   - Britain: it had exhausted the resources of its people during war -> virtually bankrupt
   -France: was once occupied by Germany, so no longer as strong
   -Germany: laid in ruins after being defeated in the war
   -US and USSR emerged as ‘superpowers’ due to their geographical size,population ,economic output and military strength

Question 2

Why are there early tensions between the US and USSR ?

Answer 2

1. Competing ideology
   - US(democracy) and USSR(communism), each believed its ideology should be adapted by other countries
   Examples of differences
   Democracy
   -individual have the right to choose their own government
   - To create a world where individual liberty e.g. freedom of speech and rights are protected
   -Sustain the capitalist world economy
   -valued individual freedoms
   Communism
   -Destroy capitalism through class struggles and communist revolutions
   - create an ideal utopian world where all people are equal,with all property and work shared among people
   -one-party dictatorship (electrons held but all candidates belonged to the communist party )
   - value individual freedoms as less important than protecting the interest of the society
2. History of suspicion and distrust
   Evidence 1
   - democratic countries looked at communism as a threat
   Reason
   - In communist manifesto, one of the main aims was for a worldwide communist revolution to take place and overthrow capitalist states
   Lead to: key capitalist states like the US and Great Britain being scared of communism
   Led to,
   Evidence 2
   - decided during the Paris peace conference 1919, that Germany would not be broken up
   Reason
   - Since Hitler was strongly anti-communist, wanted Germany to act as a buffer state(barrier) to communism (later then lead to the reunification of Germany by Hitler)
   Evidence 3
   - 1918-1921, During civil war, the Americans supported the non-communist against the White (communist organisation)
   - The Whites won, allowing the communist to consolidate its power
   Evidence 4
   - 1920 -, Red scare in non-communist countries (especially in US)
   -US government arrested and imprisoned many people, suspecting that they are spies of communist states
   Evidence 5
   - Fear of communism - a policy of appeasement to Hitler
   Reason
   - since Hitler was strongly anti communist, Britain and France wanted Hitler as an ally against the USSR
   -To the USSR, the appeasement policy was a threat to its security because it was not sure whether Britain and France would support Hitler if he were to attack the USSR
   Evidence 6
   - To counterbalance Evidence 5, Stalin signed a Nazi-Soviet Non aggression pact with Germany
   Reason
   -To safeguard its own interest even though Hitler was strongly anti communist
   - Better for Stalin to sign a peace deal because he would not receive support from the non communist countries
3. A marriage of convenience
   Hitler’s operation Barbarosa on the soviet union - British prime minister encouraging an alliance with the Soviet union to get rid of their common enemy Germany.

During the WW2, First distrust during WW2 was
1. The delay in the opening of the second front
-Stalin was concerned about the great pressure that the soviets were facing Eastern front (fighting with Germany)
-urge Britain and US to open the second front, second front to open in 1943 as agreed in the tehran conference
-The second front only opened in 1944
-Stalin felt that the US and Britain wanted them to fight with Germany longer intentionally, wanting to weaken both forces so the non communist states can impose their conditions on the soviet union

Question 3

What are some wartime alliances break down and its effects on the escalation on tensions between the US and USSR?

Answer 3

Wartime conferences: Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam (Tehran is just a repeat of Yalta)

Yalta conference, February 1945: there was a great difference in the views of US and USSR about post war
US (views)
- Peace, safety and prosperity in a post-war world
-democracy and capitalism is a model for development
- recovery of Western Europe for its own stability and prosperity from Trade
Reasons
1. They were alarmed by the fact that the soviet union supported the non-communist countries in Eastern Europe, suspected that Stalin was trying to take over Eastern Europe
USSR (views)
- wanted buffer states (prevent another invasion of USSR)
- wanted buffer states that were friendly to the USSR
- wanted great war reparations from Germany
Reasons
1. It was invaded by the US twice through Poland
2. Suffered heavy casualties of 20 million deaths and devastation of USSR’s industries and cities
Agreements of Yalta conference
1. USSR will enter the war with Japan
2. Germany will be divided into 4 occupation zones: Britain, France,US and USSR
German’s capital city, Berlin also broke into two four zones (located in the soviet zone)
3. Nazi criminals will be tried before an international court
4. Countries liberated - hold free elections
Free elections - choose your own government
5. US, Britain, France and USSR to join united nations, an organisation that aims to keep peace after war

Disagreements
1. Movement of Poland border
2. Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to accept as long as USSR to intervene in Greece where Britain was trying to prevent the spread of communism

Potsdam conference, July- August 1945
1. Change in leadership
Roosevelt died, succeeded by Harry Truman
Churchill lost general elections in July 1945, replaced by Clement Attlee
- Truman felt that the alliance with the USSR had broken down and felt that USSR was a threat to the security of Western Europe, wanted to get tough with Stalin

2. Increasing soviet control
   - Stalin did not withdraw troops from liberated countries
   -By July 1945, Stalin’s troops controlled the Baltic States, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania
   - Poland remains a source of tension
   - During the Yalta conference, the USSR agreed to hold free elections in liberated countries but it set up a communist government in Poland instead
   - British concerned as it was the main ally of Poland
3. Manhattan project
   - Project of the US and Britain to test and develop the atomic bomb
   - Stalin suspicious of the US and Britain not being sincere ( send spies to find out about the project and he too secretly developed an atomic bomb)
   - the USSR lost military edge over USA as the atomic bomb can easily kill thousands and thousands of troops

Major disagreement
-> Over Germany
- Stalin wanted to cripple Germany completely; did not want to repeat mistakes of TOV
- Stalin wanted compensation from Germany; Truman agreed but changed his mind
- Stalin thought Truman wanted to protect Germany and grew suspicious of him

-> Over Eastern Europe
- At Yalta conference, agreed that Eastern Europe would be a soviet sphere of influence (agreed by Roosevelt and Churchill)
- To Stalin, it meant that he could set up communist government loyal to him and keep them under close control
- To Truman, it was too much. Truman began to suspect Stalin of wanting to control all of Europe.

Worsening relations after Potsdam
1. Atomic bomb
- US (1945) and USSR (Sept 1946 Bomb creation) both created atomic bombs, USA lost its atomic monopoly.

The iron curtain and soviet control of Easter Europe (continuation from Manhattan project cause this is the result of the disagreements between Yalta and Potsdam)
1. As the consequences of the disagreement between Truman and Stalin (replacement of Churchill with somebody else [Clement Attlee] who doesn´t know what happen during the war)
- Eventually, the soviet union got rid of all the non-communist opposition in Eastern Europe + took control of all the governments.
- There were electrons held, Stalin adapted “salami tactics” and removed all political opponents; and
- he establish communist govt in Eastern Europe [Eastern Europe -> Communist State]
(Summary: wanted to set up Satelite states to act as a buffer and also be loyal to USSR e.g. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany)

Definition:
1. Salami Tactics: Tactics that involve supporting coalition government, eventually then kill or intimidate their leaders then takeover. Process of slicing off and killing the leaders who were non-communist.

Example:
Czechoslovakia - Case of Janmasaryk (Politician who was eliminated by the communism / in order to intimidate the non-communist and take over the government.

Measures taken:
- Truman asked Churchill (still highly respected) for help, Churchill started to give “iron curtain” speeches

Iron Curtain: Places that were under soviet control in Eastern Europe, people have lost their freedom and that they were slaves, they had no right to elect
(try to portray Stalin as the dictator who deprived people of their essential freedom)

Impact:
- Huge impact. Alarmed many Americans and get Truman the attention and support he wanted in US to portray Stalin as a potential enemy (After WW2, Americans look at Soviet union and Stalin as liberators)

Question 4

Why did the Superpower rivalry intensify?

Answer 4

Development of cold war, 1947-1955 (worsening of relationship)

Truman unhappy
-> Stalin did not have free elections in liberated Eastern Europe, in particular Poland
-> Soviet Union getting rid of non-communist and allowing the communist to swift powers in Eastern Europe (felt that Stalin cannot be trusted)

Inspiration on how to handle: Stalin came from long telegram
Long telegram: 8000 word telegram written by a US diplomat stationed in Moscow
- suggested that USSR intent on spreading communism across the world and destroy the democratic capitalist way of life of the US (EXPLANATION: USSR wanted to spread communism + destroy capitalist way of life)
- say USA stand oppose to the spread of communism by USSR (EXPLANATION: said that USA must stand firm / stand against the soviet union)

1. Truman Doctrine and policy of containment (containing spread of communism) <- caused by long telegram

Evidence:
Truman Doctrine: Provision of money, military equipment and advices to countries which are threatened by the communist influences. Beginning of containment - prevent spread of communism (introduced due to events in Turkey and Greece)
- Turkey and Greece after WW2 was fighting the communist, Greek communist party. Turkish was fighting to gain control of the country
- British was providing assistance to the Greek, however it did not have enough money to support war against Greek communist, hence US fill in the blanks and took over the responsibility
- Turkey was strategically important
BECAUSE:
- Stalin wanted to control the Turkish straits so that the soviet ships could sail from the black seas to the mediterranean sea
- Truman was also concerned that Turkey might become an ally of the USSR (PROBLEM)
- To gain support in US, Truman exaggerated the scale of threat in Greece and Turkey.
- Increasingly, US newspapers supported Truman’s policy of increasing US involvement

EVIDENCE:
- US provided economic and financial assistance to Turkey, of $400 million

US supporting non-communist government in Greece and Turkey fighting against communist (indirectly a fight against spread of communism)

Significance of Truman Doctrines
1. USA would be active in international affairs and prevent the spread of communism

2. The Marshall plan: Economic aid plan (George Marshall) -> rebuilding economy
   - helping European economy’s and countries to recover, this involves the shipping of food, machinery, animals and many other items from the US
   - get people back to work and make money
   (EXPLANATION:
   - communism thrives in poverty, reaches a classless society
   - as non communist govt is able to rebuild economy, create jobs and employment -> bring salaries and wages)

EVIDENCE: US $13 billion assistance to Western Europe.
USA was also looking after its own interest: -> - people will find that they are productively employed; less likely against govt
1. needed Europe to recover -> Europe was its ready market (so all products made in US can be exported)
2. Most of the financial aid went to Britain and France (non communist) not much aid went to communist countries

RESULTS:
- Marshall plan boosted the economy of Britain and France
- help bind US to its allies closer together against communism

3. USSR’s response to Marshall plan; Cominform and Comecon
   a. Cominform
   - sought to unite all communist states, ensure all satellites states adopt soviet style communism
   - trade mainly with other communist countries
   - (1947 - 1948) use Cominform to control all satellite states so US could not gain any influence

b. Comecon (response to Marshall plan)
- promoted trade within communist bloc
favoured the USSR more any other countries
e.g. Poland forced to sell its coal to the USSR at one-tenth the price [exploitation of resources]

Question 5

Why is Berlin Blockade a problem?

Answer 5

Yalta and Potsdam - Germany divided into 4 zones, Berlin also
- Stalin’s action of blocking all rail and road communications leading into West Berlin, controlled by the USA (wanted to show allies that they depended on him in order to gain access to Berlin)

MAIN REASON WHY STALIN DID THIS:
1. Western allies (French, British, US) decided to combine their three zone of occupation and called it the “Trizonia”
2. also introduced a new currency
- Stalin was offended because as an ally who fought Hitler’s Germany, not consulted about the actions taken about Berlin
- also alarmed that the western allies had introduced a new currency in their zone (Stalin suspected the western allies wanted to possibly create a new state)

SOLVE (1)
- cutting off all road and rail communication to west Berlin
- trying to starve the people of Berlin into surrendering to the soviets, get western powers to negotiate with him over what they did (trizonia, new currency)

HOWEVER:
- allies introduced the Berlin airlift
Berlin airlift involve the transportation (10 months) of food and other supplies by air (use air corridors to transport supplies to support the people of west Berlin)
- by May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade

SOLVE (2) - PROXY WAR
results of Berlin blockade
1. creation of East Germany 1949 (division of Germany into East Germany & West Germany)
- May 1949, Trizonia became a new country named West Germany
IN RESPONSE TO THAT
- soviet occupied zone became known as German Democratic Republic / East Germany
- division of Berlin into two (this division in 1961 take the form of a concrete wall) [Berlin wall]

2. Formation of Nato, 1946 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) April 1949
   - formed under leadership of US (consists of democratic countries who formed an alliance to counter any soviet threats) [guarantee security]
   - USSR regarded this as an hostle act (trying to form a sphere of its influence military alliances), saw it as a threat to USSR.

Question 6

Why did tensions continue from 1949 to 1955?

Answer 6

In response to the formation of Nato, USSR form its own military bloc / alliances known as warsaw pact

3. The warsaw pact, 1955
   - similar to Nato, if one member state is attached, all the members would come together for its defence

SIGNIFICANCE OF WARSAW PACT
1. strengthened the USSR as it gave it the command of the armies of the satellite states
2. each bloc stationed with troops both in East Europe and West Europe which created tensions, they felt threatened by one another and therefore they have to draw up their defence
3. entrenched (firmly establish) soviet control and the soviet union use it whenever there was protest or strikes in East Germany
e.g. Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary
(EXPLANATION: Warsaw Pact used to deal with protest -> ccommunist rule remained secure in East Germany)