Origins of Cold War Cascade

Origins of Cold War [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list. And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

1. Ideological differences
- a. Capitalist v Communist
  - The USA believed in free enterprise and profit, the USSR in state control
- b. Democracy v dictatorship
  - The USA believed in freedom, the USSR had one political party and the KGB
- c. Germany rebuilt v ruined
  - Stalin wanted reparations to ruin Germany; the USA wanted a trading democracy
- d. Liberated Europe v Iron Curtain
  - Stalin wanted a buffer of pro-Soviet states; the USA wanted free democracies .
- e. Historical grievances
  - Stalin resented D-Day and foreign intervention in the Russian Civil War; the USA resented the Nazi-Soviet Pact

2. The Yalta Conference, Feb 1945: facts
- a. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin
  - Met at Yalta in the Crimea in the USSR
- b. Germany not yet defeated
  - The Red Army were at Germany’s eastern border; the Allies were at the Rhine
- c. Germany divided and denazified
  - They agreed to try Nazi war criminals and divide Germany into four ‘zones’
- d. Declaration of Liberated Europe
  - There was tension about Eastern Europe (they eventually agreed to ‘democratic, self-governing countries’ and to ‘free elections’) .
- e. No agreement on reparations
  - They could not agree about reparations

3. The Yalta Conference, Feb 1945: results
- a. The Allies stayed united
  - They had to – Hitler was not yet defeated
- b. USSR to join the United Nations
  - It was agreed that the USSR would join the United Nations organisation when it was formed
- c. Churchill v Stalin
  - There was growing tension, especially over Poland
- d. Red Army in Eastern Europe
  - Although the Declaration of Liberated Europe promised elections, the Red Army was allowed to stay in (and therefore in control of) eastern Europe .
- e. Stalin to attack Japan
  - Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan, 90 days after the defeat of Germany

4. The Potsdam Conference, July 1945: facts
- a. Truman, Atlee and Stalin
  - Met at Potsdam in Germany
- b. Japan was not yet defeated
  - At first Truman needed to keep Stalin’s support and promise-to-help against Japan
- c. Yalta's decisions were ratified
  - The allies ratified the decisions made at Yalta; Truman recognised Poland
- d. Reparations agreed
  - After a great deal of disagreement, Russia was allowed to take reparations from the Soviet zone, plus 10% of industrial equipment in the Western zones .
- e. Hiroshima changed Truman's attitudes
  - During the conference, Truman received the message that the atomic bomb had been successfully tested, after which he became much more aggressive with Stalin

5. The Potsdam Conference, July 1945: results
- a. Truman v Stalin
  - During the conference, Truman received the message that the atomic bomb had been successfully tested, after which he became much more aggressive with Stalin
- b. Stalin’s anger at the atomic bomb
  - Stalin was angry that Truman did not tell him about the atomic bomb
- c. Truman’s resentment about reparations
  - The West was angry that reparations were so damaging to Germany
- d. Hiroshima
  - After Potsdam, Truman was determined to keep Stalin out of the Pacific, and so he used the atomic bomb .
- e. The Cold War
  - Hitler had been defeated, so the Allies were ‘freed’ to quarrel

6. Hiroshima: causes
- a. Revenge for Pearl Harbor
  - Americans hated the Japanese for the ‘sneak’ attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941
- b. Japan would not surrender
  - The Japanese had twice approached Russia offering to negotiate, but the USA demanded ‘unconditional surrender’
- c. Guam and Iwo Jima
  - Thousands of American troops had been killed conquering two tiny islands; the USA feared millions would die trying to conquer Japan itself
- d. Soviet entry into the Pacific
  - After the defeat of Germany, Stalin got ready to enter the war in the Pacific; Truman wanted to stop him getting influence (as in eastern Europe) over Japan .
- e. A demonstration of power for Stalin
  - Some Americans wanted the Soviets to see what the atomic bomb was capable of

7. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: facts
- a. Enola Gay, 6 Aug 1945
  - The B29 bomber Enola Gay, piloted by Col Paul Tibbets, took off from Tinian
- b. Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima, 8:15 am
  - Dropped the first atomic bomb (nicknamed ‘Little Boy’)
- c. Destruction
  - Flash – heat wave – blast equivalent to 20,000 tonnes of TNT
- d. Death and radiation poisoning
  - The USA estimated 117,000 people were killed – Japan said 250,000 .
- e. Fat Boy dropped on Nagasaki, 9 Aug 1945
  - At least 40,000 people died

8. Hiroshima: results
- a. Death and radiation poisoning
  - The USA estimated 117,000 people were killed – Japan said 250,000
- b. Japan surrendered, 14 Aug 1945
  - The formal surrender was to General MacArthur on 2 Sep on board USS Missouri
- c. A Soviet atomic bomb, 1949
  - Stalin realised this gave the USA a power advantage, and he ordered Soviet scientists to develop an atomic bomb
- d. MAD
  - When the USSR got the atomic bomb (1949), war became Mutually Assured Destruction – the ‘Cold War’ did not become a ‘hot war’ .
- e. CND
  - Many people in the West thought the bomb ‘barbaric’ and started the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

9. Soviet expansion in eastern Europe: causes
- a. Buffer states
  - Russia had lost 20 million dead in the war; Stalin wanted a buffer of friendly states so Russia could not be invaded by Germany again
- b. Spreading communism
  - The defeat of Germany gave Stalin an opportunity to spread communism into eastern Europe
- c. Red Army
  - The Red Army occupied all eastern Europe, and could enforce Russia’s will
- d. Governments in waiting
  - Stalin had trained Eastern European Communists in Russia, and after Potsdam they returned to their own countries with a clear strategy to take over .
- e. ‘'Slicing salami’ strategy
  - Communists got elected, became ministers controlled the army and police, arrested non-Communists, and so took total control bit by bit

10. The Iron Curtain: facts
- a. East Germany, 1945
  - East Germany was given to Russia at Yalta as the Soviet Zone of occupation
- b. Albania, 1945
  - Communists took power without any opposition
- c. Bulgaria, 1945
  - A coalition took power, but the communists executed the opposition leaders
- d. Poland, 1947
  - At Yalta, Stalin agreed to allow the non-communist government-in-exile to form a coalition, but the Red Army arrested them and drive them into exile .
- e. Romania, 1947
  - A left-wing coalition was elected in 1945; by 1947 the Communists had taken over

11. Hungary, 1947: facts
- a. Rakosi returned from Russia, Jan 1945
  - He had been trained by Stalin to take power
- b. Coalition government, Nov 1945
  - The non-Communists won a majority in the elections (the Communists only got 17%) but the Red Army forced them to form a coalition government
- c. AVH, 1946
  - A brutal secret police arrested ‘Nazi collaborators’ and non-Communists
- d. Hungarian Working People’s Party, 1947
  - In 1947 the Hungarian communists won the elections, and Rakosi became Prime Minister .
- e. Single Party elections, 1949
  - In the 1949 elections, only communists were allowed to stand

12. Czechoslovakia, 1948: facts
- a. Kosice programme, Apr 1945
  - Stalin agreed to allow the non-communist government-in-exile to form a coalition under President Benes
- b. The Red Army occupied Prague, May 1945
  - Agreed at Yalta – even though the Red Army had not liberated Czechoslovakia
- c. StB, Jun 1945
  - A brutal secret police arrested ‘Nazi collaborators’ and non-Communists
- d. General Strike, 24 Feb 1948
  - A dozen non-communist ministers resigned, to try to force Benes to stop the communists; the Communists organised a general strike .
- e. Masaryk’s death, 10 Mar 1948
  - Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk (the country's only remaining non-communist minister) was found dead under the bathroom window

13. Soviet expansion in eastern Europe: results
- a. Iron Curtain, 1945–48
  - Most of eastern Europe fell under the power of Stalin and Communism
- b. Churchill’s Fulton speech, 5 Mar 1946
  - Winston Churchill gave a speech in America saying Eastern Europe was cut off by ‘an iron curtain’; Stalin said this was a declaration of war
- c. Truman Doctrine,12 Mar 1947
  - The USA accepted the need to ‘contain’ the growth of Communism
- d. Marshall Plan, 31 Mar 1948
  - The USA pumped $17bn into western Europe to stop it turning communist .
- e. Berlin Blockade, 1948–49
  - West Berlin was surrounded by the communist Russian zone; attempts to make it more prosperous provoked Stalin’s blockade

14. Truman Doctrine: causes
- a. Soviet expansionism, 1945–47
  - Stalin had taken over in eastern Europe, and was trying to take over in Iran
- b. Kennan’s Long Telegram, Feb 1946
  - Kennan warned Washington that Stalin planned world domination and must be resisted
- c. Churchill’s Fulton speech, 5 Mar 1946
  - Churchill gave a speech in America saying Eastern Europe was cut off behind ‘an iron curtain’; Stalin said this was a declaration of war
- d. Turkey, Aug 1946
  - The USSR demanded that Turkey give it joint control of the Black Sea Straits .
- e. Greece, Feb 1947
  - The British government informed Truman it could no longer afford British troops helping the Greek government resist Communist rebels

15. Truman Doctrine: results
- a. Truman Doctrine, 12 Mar 1947
  - Truman defined the USA’s role to defend democracies and ‘contain’ Communism
- b. Aid to Greece and Turkey
  - American sent $400m of weapons, as well as military advisors
- c. Marshall Plan, 31 Mar 1948
  - The USA pumped $17bn into western Europe to stop it turning communist
- d. Berlin Blockade, 1948–49
  - When Stalin blockaded West Berlin, the USA defended it vigorously .
- e. NATO, 1949
  - The NATO alliance was formed to resist Soviet expansionism

16. Marshall Plan: causes
- a. Soviet expansionism, 1945–47
  - Soviet expansionism in eastern Europe, Iran and the Straits; the Kennan Long Telegram and Churchill’s Fulton Speech
- b. Truman Doctrine, 12 Mar 1947
  - Truman defined the USA’s role to defend democracies and ‘contain’ Communism
- c. George Marshall’s visit to Europe, Apr 1947
  - American General George Marshall visited Europe and became convinced all Europe was about to turn Communist
- d. Marshall’s Harvard Speech, Jun 1947
  - Marshall outlined a programme of $17bn aid to revive European prosperity .
- e. Czechoslovakia, Mar 1948
  - At first Congress refused to agree such huge aid, but the fall of the Czech government to communism in 1948 persuaded it

17. Marshall Plan: effects
- a. European Recovery Programme, Jun 1947
  - A meeting in Paris invited countries to bid for grants, goods and weapons; most went to Britain, France, West Germany and Italy
- b. Increased prosperity
  - The Marshall Plan got the European economy going – especially farming
- c. Increased international tension
  - Stalin saw Marshall Aid as a form of economic warfare
- d. Cominform, 1947
  - Stalin forbade Iron Curtain countries to receive Marshall Aid .
- e. Comecon, 1949
  - An economic union of the Communist countries in eastern Europe

18. Yugoslavia: facts
- a. Tito rejected Soviet control, 1945
  - The Yugoslav Partisans drove out the Nazis (not the Red Army) and made Tito president (instead of King Peter, as Stalin had agreed with the USA)
- b. Tito helped the Greek Communists, 1946
  - This was against Stalin’s orders (Stalin had promised to stay out of Greece)
- c. Tito took $150m of Marshall Aid, 1948–51
  - Tito took Marshall Aid against Stalin’s orders
- d. Tito arrested 14,000 ‘Cominformists’, 1948
  - They included Soviet spies and Andrija Hebrang (Stalin’s candidate to replace Tito) who was killed in prison in 1949 .
- e. Cominform expelled Yugoslavia, Jun 1948
  - The Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia and denounced ‘Titoists’

19. Berlin blockade and airlift: causes
- a. The Iron Curtain, 1945–48
  - West Berlin was isolated in and surrounded by Soviet-dominated eastern Europe
- b. Truman Doctrine, 12 Mar 1947
  - Truman said the Blockade was an attempt to starve West Berlin into surrender; his resolve to ‘contain’ Communism meant the USA react aggressively
- c. Trizonia, Apr 1948
  - Britain, France and the USA, wishing to restore Germany’s economy, united their zones
- d. New currency, 23 Jun 1948
  - Britain, France and the USA, without consulting Stalin, introduced a new currency into West Berlin .
- e. Run on east Germany’s banks, 24 Jun 1948
  - East Germans rushed to change their money; Stalin (truthfully) said the new currency was destroying the East German economy

20. Berlin blockade and airlift: facts
- a. Stalin Blockaded West Berlin, 24 Jun 1948
  - Stalin stopped all road and rail traffic into Berlin
- b. American airlift
  - For 318 days the Americans supplied West Berlin by air (275,000 flights carried 1.5 million tonnes of supplies)
- c. B29 bombers in Britain
  - B29 bombers (which carried atomic bombs) were stationed in Britain; American General Clay wanted to invade east Germany
- d. NATO, Apr 1949
  - Twelve Western powers formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to resist Soviet expansionism .
- e. Stalin reopened the borders, 12 May 1949
  - Stalin admitted defeat and reopened the borders

21. Berlin blockade and airlift: results
- a. Increased international tension
  - The Cold War worsened – there was almost a hot war (B29 bombers in Britain/ General Clay wanted to invade east Germany)
- b. Germany split
  - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, May 1949); the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, Oct 1949)
- c. NATO, 1949
  - Twelve Western powers formed NATO to resist Soviet expansionism
- d. Arms Race
  - The USA and the USSR realised that they were in a competition for world domination and began to build up their armies and weapons .
- e. The Berlin Wall, 1961
  - West Berlin became a symbol of Soviet failure, and led to growing tension, culminating in the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961