origins of the cold war -> developing tensions up to 1948 - Soviet hegemony in Eastern and Southern Europe and the US response

Question 1

why did Stalin believe he was entitled to control of many Eastern European states?

Answer 1

the percentages agreement + the Yalta conference confirmed to Stalin that Eastern Europe and the states thee USSR had liberated from Nazi occupation would fall within the Soviet sphere of influence

Question 2

was there support for communist regimes in Eastern Europe?

Answer 2

• yes, a substantial degree of support for policies put forward by communist groups
• communist parties called for radical change from the situation that had existed before WWII
• little desire to restore old regimes (e.g. fascism)
• desperate need for restoration after devastation of war -> fitted with communist’s message of building a new society
• communists advocated land reform -> redistributing land from large landowners to smaller farmers, popular with peasants
• communists actively resisted Nazi German occupation of their countries during the war and gained respect -> Yugoslavian local communist resistance + Partisans under Tito liberated the country from Nazis

Question 3

what other political groups were calling for radical change in 1945?

Answer 3

• in the countryside, peasant parties were popular + posed a threat to Communist’s ability to succeed in elections
• Stalin’s strategy to form agreements and government coalitions with other left-wing parties, such as socialists and peasant groups
• known as ‘salami tactics’

Question 4

what was the reality of the ‘salami tactics’ ?

Answer 4

• appeared to ‘strengthen’ pro-communist powerhouses, but in reality they dominated the party
• thought to be more acceptable to the West than immediately installing communist-led one-party states.

Question 5

what were Stalin’s intentions in Eastern Europe?

Answer 5

• influence, rather than ideological expansion was Stalin’s initial focus
• however, his actions in Eastern Europe were motivated by a determination to do whatever was necessary to safeguard Soviet international interests and Soviet territory
• can be seen as ‘defensive expansionism’
• initial intent to establish a buffer zone against a potential invasion from the West based on satellite states was completed by 1948

Question 6

where did Stalin have pro-communist regimes in place in 1948?

Answer 6

Poland -> elections in Jan 1947 took place amidst violence + manipulation, so the Peasant’s Party was effectively neutralised as a political force
Hungary -> the smallholder’s party was subjected to similar pressures and effectively destroyed by time of elections in August 1947
Bulgaria
Romania -> by December 1946, had CP and its allies fully in control
Albania
Czechoslovakia

Question 7

what was political life like in Stalin’s buffer zones?

Answer 7

• remained a semblance of a parliamentary gov + democratic norms
• in reality, Soviet secret police + the Red Army’s bayonets were decisive factor in shaping political life
• some important reform + reconstruction measures introduced
• no attempt to introduce Soviet-style regimes until 1947-48
• Soviet actions viewed as a contravention of the Declaration on Liberated Europe reached at Yalta in Feb 1945 + Greek Civil War (march 1946 - Oct 1949) seen as evidence of Soviet aggression.

Question 8

how was there compliance to communism in post-war Czechoslovakia?

Answer 8

• Communists had figured predominantly in anti-fascist wartime resistance and emerged as committed patriots
• the Communist party emerged as the largest single party + won 38% of votes in relatively free elections held in May 1946
• war had left workers in states with unemployment + economic chaos -> communism offered better prospect than capitalism + dominance of an economic elite associated with it

Question 9

what was the case of Poland in 1945:

Answer 9

• despite Polish gov existing in exile in London, the pro-Stalin Lublin gov established + became Stalin’s instrument of political control
• Stalin failed to conform to range of agreements at Yalta regarding Poland
• agreement to free elections at Yalta enabled him to preserve the role of the Lublin gov
• Provisional Government of National Unity formed in June 1945 -> contained parties from both ends pf political spectrum

Question 10

what did Stalin’s tactics in Poland focus on?

Answer 10

• Stalin didn’t simply impose a pro-Soviet communist regime in Poland
• focused on a number of approaches
• such as appearing to allow free multi-party elections with clear intent to ensure he would emerge

Question 11

how did Stalin combat the Peasant Party?

Answer 11

• communists weakened this group by strengthening their own links with the Polish socialists
• Jan 1947, communist + peasant groups merged (com dominant)
• Deputy Prime Minister, Wladyslaw Gomulka (Polish communist) not fully pro-Moscow
• opposed Soviet policies -> felt irrelevant to Poland
• 1948: accused of ‘nationalist deviation’ and replaced by a compliant pro-Stalinist Boleslaw Bierut

Question 12

how did Romania view communism?

Answer 12

• communists were popular as they offered an alternative to the pre-war regime
• the Red Army occupied Romania -> Soviets treated Romania as occupied territory
• these factors made it relatively easy for Stalin and opposition was minimal

Question 13

what were the issues between Michael I and Petru Groza?

Answer 13

• King Michael was not content with the direction of Groza’s government
• attempted to force Groza’s resignation by refusing to give royal assent (sign any legislation)
• Groza enacted laws without obtaining Michael’s signature
• despite King’s disapproval, the first Groza gov brought land reform and women suffrage

Question 14

who was elected in Romania in 1946?

Answer 14

• 19 Nov 1946: communist-led bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) claimed 84% of votes
• elections had intimidation, electoral fraud, and assassinations

Question 15

what did the new communist government in Romania impose throughout 1946 and 1947?

Answer 15

• eliminated the role of the centrist parties (moderate)
• imprisoned some of their leaders
• other political parties forced to ‘merge’ with the communists
• 1946-47: hundreds of participants in Romania’s pro-Nazi gov during WWII executed as war criminals

Question 16

what happened on the 30th December 1947 in Romania?

Answer 16

• 1947: Romania remained only monarchy in Eastern bloc
• Groza summoned King Michael to Bucharest and presented him with a pre-typed letter of abdication
• forced to sign as Groza held him at gunpoint
• Parliament abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania as a People’s Republic

Question 17

how was communism reacted to in Bulgaria?

Answer 17

• Gradualism, manipulated elections and the forced the removal of opponents characterised the takeover
• the strongest political opponent facing the communists was the Agrarian Party, led by Nikola Petkov
• Despite winning over 20% of popular vote in the October elections, Petkov was faced with trumped-up charges and executed
• his party forcibly absorbed into Bulgarian communist movement
• by April 1947, all other political groups were banned

Question 18

how was communism reacted to in Hungary?

Answer 18

• communists used tactic of allying with other political groups to challenge power of greatest opponent, the Smallholders Party
• many Hungarian communists didn’t display the degree of loyalty to Moscow that Stalin wanted
• they formed close links with Yugoslavia where a non-Soviet regime was in place
• SU intervened through fore resulting in a puppet government that disregarded the Smallholders Party, placed communists in important ministerial positions and imposed several restrictive measures
• in 1949, the Hungarian communist leader, Laszlo Rajk, was executed for ‘anti-Soviet’ activities
• by 1949, all political opposition to the Moscow-backed Hungarian communists had disappeared

Question 19

what was the state of Czechoslovakia after the war?

Answer 19

• after its liberation in 1945, soon fell behind the ‘Iron Curtain’
• Soviet and American troops jointly occupied Czechslovakia
• both sides pulled out 1 Deceber 1945
• Soviets kept a number of divisions on Czechoslovakia’s borders
• Czechoslovakia caught between Poland and Eastern Germany on the north and Hungary on the South -> made Soviet influence pervasive

Question 20

what were Czechoslovakia’s attitudes to communism?

Answer 20

• industrialised unlike rest of Europe and had a large, unionised working class
• Czech communists popular among rural peasants -> given them land at the end of the war
• Czech communist part leader, Klement Gottwald, became prime minister (won 38% of votes)

Question 21

what was the difference between the Prime Minister, Klement Gottwald, the President Edvard Benes and the Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk? (Czechoslovakia)

Answer 21

• neither the President, Edvard Benes, nor the foreign minister, Jan Masaryk were communist
• Klement Gottwald was the Czech Communist Party leader
• both tried to maintain a balance between the East and West

Question 22

what issues arised between Gottwald and Benes in February 1948?

Answer 22

• in Feb 1948, Gottwald refused to cooperate with Benes on a plan to reorganise the police and the Cabinet broke up
• Gottwald issued an ultimatum for a new gov under his power
• Soviet mission flew to Prague to demand Benes’ surrender
• Feb 25 1948, Benes capitulated and the Communists assumed control and attempted to create an alternative right-wing group
• Masaryk assassinated two weeks later at the Defenestration of Prague
• The highly respected President Edvard Benes agreed to support a communist-dominated government and resigned in June 1948, leaving pro-Moscow communists in complete control

Question 23

how did George Kennan view the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia?

Answer 23

• as ‘defensive’
• Stalin had neither issued direct orders to Czech Communist Party nor offered to move troops to the border to intimidate non-Communists
• others in gov saw it differently

Question 24

why were communist parties rising in popularity in Italy and France after WWII?

Answer 24

• communists had been predominant in the resistance against the Nazis in both countries
  -> their resistance to Nazi german occupation during war represented the defence of national sovereignty which many non-communists agreed with
• there as an economic crisis after WW2 which discredited capitalism
  -> on journalist wrote: “Nobody in Europe believes in the American way of life… [people] want Socialism”

Question 25

what is evidence of the Communist’s rise of influence in Italy and France?

Answer 25

• the PCI’s (Italian Communist Party) membership increased from about 5000 in 1943 to 1.7 million at thee end of 1945
• in November 1946, the PCF (French Communist Party) became the largest party in Parliament with 182 seats out of 627 in thee Parliament (roughly 29%)

Question 26

why was the rise of communism in Italy and France dangerous for the capitalist powers?

Answer 26

communist popularity, and capitalist weakness meant that the French and Italian communists had a chance at seizing power

Question 27

why did Stalin not encourage the Italian and French communist powers to seize power?

Answer 27

• Stalin who effectively controlled these leaders held them back from seizing power
• Molotov (Soviet foreign minister) said in 1948 that an attempt at an armed Communist uprising would be a ‘dangerous misadventure’
• following thee strategy from Stalin, both parties focused on building alliances with other political groups rather than taking radical measures

Question 28

how was communism reacted to in Yugoslavia?

Answer 28

• the local Communist resistance, the Partisans under Josip Broz Tito had liberated the country from the Nazis before the arrival of the Red Army
• by 1948, it was apparent that Soviet influence over Yugoslavia was limited
• conflict between Stalin and Tito based on Stalin’s determination to impose Soviet control over Southern + Eastern Europe
• Yugoslavs refused to become Soviet puppets

Question 29

what happened in June 1948 for Yugoslavia?

Answer 29

• on 28 June 1948, Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform
• its leaders accused of abandoning Leninism and no longer conforming to an acceptable Marxist-position.
• US delighted with the Soviet-Yugoslavia split, and actively courted Tito with economic and military and economic aid in the late 1940s and 1950s
• any state that the USSR opposed was seen by the USA as its friend

Question 30

when did Roosevelt shift to containment and what did it entail?

Answer 30

• adopted containment in March 1947 to June 1950
• included avoiding war and boosting allies
• passive containment: giving millions of dollars to allied forces (military aid and boosting economies for the policy of containment)
• switched to active containment in July 1950 - June 1953 (Korean War)

Question 31

what triggered the falling out of Eastern Europe?

Answer 31

• The USA was unwilling to accept complete Soviet domination of East Europe
• nearly every important American leader acknowledged that Eastern Europe could no longer maintain an anti-Soviet position
• at the same time, they all wished to promote democracy, freedom of religion and speech, and free enterprise

Question 32

what were the US aims for Poland and the Soviet Union and why was this impossible?

Answer 32

• Secretary of State James Byrnes said: “Our objective is a government [in Poland] both friendly to the Soviet Union and representative of all the democratic elements of the country”
• was an impossible program to have governments friendly to USSR and representing the will of the people
• any freely elected government would certainly be anti-Russian

Question 33

what was Roosevelt’s view on Poland and the Soviet Union’s incompatibility?

Answer 33

• Roosevelt recognised this fact but was unwilling to explain it to the American people
• emphasised Stalin’s agreement to free elections at Yalta in Feb 1945 -> fed soaring American expectations about post-war East Europe
• hoped that Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and the rest of the region would become democratic capitalist states closely tied to the West
• never the slightest possibility that this would happen but when it failed to occur, millions of Americans were outraged

Question 34

why was Poland the key issue after WWII?

Answer 34

• in 1945, the German defeat left a power vacuum and there was the presence of the Red Army which was by then incomparably the strongest power in all Europe
• If the Red Army remained and occupied Poland and East Germany, the US demobilised and if Poland fell into communist hands -> all seemed likely in Feb 1945
• there would be nothing to prevent the Soviets from overrunning all of Europe
• Poland was Soviet’s gateway to overrunning Europe

Question 35

what did Stalin express was his key concern for the Soviet Union?

Answer 35

• emphasised the Soviet Union’s security problem
• feared foreign penetration and direct contact between Western world and their own
• as well as its need to protect itself from Germany and the West by controlling the nations on its border
• Americans increasingly dismissed his statements as lies

Question 36

what did millions of American Democratic Party members of Polish origin believe was necessary?

Answer 36

• millions of American Democratic Party members of Polish origin, aided by the Catholic church, decided that standing up to Stalin was as important as standing up to Hitler
• As Presidents of the time, Roosevelt and Truman were representing the Democratic Party members and needed to answer their voters

Question 37

was Stalin committed to power before or after his commitment to ideology?

Answer 37

• Stalin believed ideology could only be fulfilled if the USSR was powerful and he as leader, was all-powerful
• the purity of communist ideology operating in Eastern European states was not a high priority for Stalin
• leaders of these states had to act as Stalinist puppets
• this level of commitment and loyalty to Stalin and the Soviet Union gave power and this power gave security
• one by one, the Eastern European states were gradually brought into the Stalinist fold