The Cold War

Question 1

Explain the clash in ideologies between the USSR and the USA

Answer 1

1. The USA was capitalist so all business and property was privately owned. The USSR saw the US’s actions as selfishly building its own economic empire and political influence. Also, the USA believed that other countries should be run in ‘their way.’
2. The USSR was communist so all property and business was owned and run by the state. Soviet leaders believed that communism would only work if it spread globally.

Question 2

What policy did Roosevelt set the US against?

Answer 2

Isolation - The US would now actively oppose communism and would no longer keep themselves out of European conflicts.

Question 3

What was agreed at the Yalta conference? and when was it held?

Answer 3

It was held in February 1945 and several things were agreed (WEEJUG) …
1. Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan once Germany had surrendered.
2. Germany would be split into 4 zones: American, French, British and soviet.
3. Free elections would be held in countries liberated from German occupation.
4. A United Nations would be formed to keep peace after the war.
5. Eastern Europe should be seen as a ‘soviet sphere of influence.’
6.The Big Three agreed to punish the war criminals that were responsible for the Nazi concentration camps.

Question 4

what was the disagreement at the Yalta conference?

Answer 4

Stalin wanted to move the border of the USSR into Poland and in turn, Poland could move their border westward into Germany. Both Roosevelt and Churchill disapproved of the proposition but eventually agreed on the condition that the USSR did not interfere in Greece, where the British were trying to prevent a Communist revolution.

Question 5

what significant changes had occurred before Potsdam?

Answer 5

1. Truman had become the new President of America, and was much more anti-communist.
2. The USA had tested their first atomic bomb at a desert site and not informed the USSR beforehand (Truman mentioned this at the conference.)
3. The Red Army occupied most of eastern Europe and Stalin had set up a communist government in Poland.

Question 6

What were the 3 disagreements at Potsdam?

Answer 6

1. Stalin wanted to completely cripple Germany after WW2, but Truman did not want to repeat the mistake of Versailles.
2. Stalin wanted to make Germany pay high reparations to compensate for Russian casualties.
3. Truman was unhappy about Stalin’s ‘soviet sphere of influence’ on Eastern Europe, so developed a ‘get tough’ attitude towards him.

Question 7

when was Potsdam?

Answer 7

July 1945

Question 8

How did the USSR take over Poland?

Answer 8

The communists held rigged elections (which went against agreement to hold free elections at Potsdam)
In 1947, they forced the non-communist leader into exile and officially became the outright Leaders.

Question 9

How did the USSR take over Czechoslovakia?

Answer 9

They imprisoned many non-communists and are thought to have killed the non-communist foreign minister in 1948

Question 10

How did the US react to Soviet expansionism in Greece?

Answer 10

1. In 1946, a civil war broke out between the monarchists and the Communists
2. As Britain could not afford the cost of such a war, Truman paid for some British troops to stay in Greece ( congress approved $400 million in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey combined) By 1950, the US had propped up a weak monarchist government.

Question 11

what was the Truman doctrine?

Answer 11

Marked by US intervention in Greece, the Truman Doctrine was a new era in the USA’s attitude to world politics: one where it was prepared to send money, equipment and advice to any country threatened by communist takeover (containment).

Question 12

what was the Marshall Plan and what were its aims?

Answer 12

1. Following the events in Czechoslovakia, Congress agreed to release $17 billion to help rebuild Europe’s economy.
2. Although Truman claimed the Marshall aid was directed against ‘hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos,’ it was also driven by his belief that Communism succeeded in countries that faced poverty and hardship.
3. Recognising this motive, Stalin forbade any Eastern European states from applying for Marshall Aid. He also believed that Truman was trying to make as many countries as possible dependent on dollars.

Question 13

what/when was the Berlin blockade and why did Stalin do it?

Answer 13

1. June 1948
2. Responding to the reformed currency and reorganisation of the western zones of Berlin, Stalin cut off all roads, railways and canals going from Berlin to west Germany. By cutting off the 2 million strong population of West Berlin from western help, Stalin aimed to make all of Berlin dependent on the USSR.

Question 14

what was the Berlin airlift and what did it force Stalin to do?

Answer 14

1. It was when the Allies supplied West Berlin with a constant stream of aeroplanes that carried food and supplies.
2. It lasted for 10 months, making life possible in Western sectors of Berlin.
3. The Allies’ persistence showed Stalin that they were not willing to give up Berlin, so in May 1949, he reopened communications.

Question 15

what were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 15

1. Germany remained firmly divided for 41 years.
2. It was a powerful symbol of Cold War tensions. On the one hand, it showcased Stalin’s aggression, but on the other hand, it showed that neither country were willing to actually go to war with the other.
3. It triggered the formation of NATO and, in response, the Warsaw Pact.

Question 16

USA - strategy of global containment and Marshall aid

Answer 16

1. The Truman Doctrine was an anti-soviet policy by which the USA would actively oppose Communism through military and financial support.
2. Truman’s financial support can be seen in the Marshall Plan, which loaned $17 billion to European countries. Although Truman claimed this was solely an act of generosity, the plan was partly incentivised by a desire to create new market for American goods and to make more countries dependent on dollars.
3. For example, congress approved $400 million dollars to Greece and Turkey combined, aiming to diminish the threat of communist takeover. In Greece, American involvement resulted in a monarchist government being set up by 1950.
4. Limited because the USA was simply ‘containing’ the spread of communism, so was defending the west against communist aggression.

Question 17

USSR - Forcing communism upon liberated countries

Answer 17

1. Despite promising to hold free elections in Poland at the Yalta conference, Stalin held rigged elections to strengthen communist power. The communists also drove the non-communist leader into exile in 1947 to become the outright leaders of the nation.
2. In Czechoslovakia, communists imprisoned many non-communist politicians and allegedly murdered the non-communist foreign minister in 1948.
3. The Red Army swept through Bulgaria and Romania in late 1944, and as a result, coalition governments dominated by communism were set up.

Question 18

USA - The atomic bomb

Answer 18

1. Truman’s use of the atomic bomb against Japan was not intended to end a war, but more importantly, to intimidate the soviets.
2. In Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech he described nuclear warfare as a ‘solemn moment for American democracy,’ reinforcing the argument that the bomb was dropped for diplomatic reasons. This subsequently sped up the nuclear arms race and thus increased tensions between superpowers.
3. Truman did not tell Stalin about his testing of the bomb until the Potsdam conference, which heightened the tension between the two superpowers.

Question 18

USSR- the Berlin Blockade

Answer 18

1. In June 1948, Stalin cut off all roads, railways and canals going from Berlin to west Germany, isolating the 2 million strong population of West Berlin. This in example of Stalin using aggressive means to try and make areas of Europe entirely dependent on the USSR.
2. Although the Allies’ airlift made life possible for western Berliners in the following 10 months, there were many food shortages and many decided to leave the city altogether.
3. This exemplifies how the Berlin Blockade was a deliberate attempt to starve the city, which shows how Stalin was cruel in order to gain control over Eastern Europe.
4. This aggression sparked the formation of NATO in 1949, which solidified the split of nations into separate military blocks.

Question 19

Conclusion

Answer 19

1. The strongest argument is that soviet expansion was the most important cause of the Cold War, as it increased tension between superpowers and subsequently provoked the USA into pursuing the policy of containment.
2. However, it is important to acknowledge that the conflict was perhaps inevitable because of the incompatible ideologies of the USA and USSR, and the desire of both powers to spread their own ideologies globally.