The Cold War

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

By February 1945, it was clear that Germany was losing the European war and therefore allied leaders (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill) met at Yalta in Ukraine to decide what would happen to Europe after Germany’s defeat.

Agreed that:

• Stalin would enter the war against Japan after Germany surrenders
• Germany would be divided into four zones (American, French, British and Soviet)
• Berlin was deep in Soviet zone and therefore Berlin itself would be divided into four zones
• They would hunt down those war criminals responsible for the genocide
• Countries who were liberated from the German army’s occupation to be able to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted
• All the big three would join the UN
• 20 million soviet people had died and therefore Stalin was concerned about the future security of the USSR. It was agreed that eastern Europe would be seen as a ‘soviet sphere of influence’

Disagreed about:

• What to do with Poland. Stalin wanted to move the border of USSR westwards into Poland, and Poland could move its border westwards into Germany. The Red army were in total control of Poland and eastern Germany. Roosevelt and Churchill didn’t like the plan but they accepted it on the promise that USSR wouldn’t interfere with Greece where Britain was attempting to prevent the communists taking over
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In the agreement, it seemed like the Soviets (including Stalin) did not like or trust Churchill and found him deceiving. Roosevelt and Churchill also seemed to be teaming up against Stalin and communism.
Potsdam Conference (July 1945)

Allied troops had reached Berlin, Hitler had committed suicide, Germany had surrendered and therefore the war in Europe was won.

Main changes include:

Stalin’s armies were occupying most of Eastern Europe:

Soviet troops liberated many countries in Eastern Europe but left his own troops there rather than withdrawing. By July, most of Eastern Europe was controlled by Stalin’s troops and many people evacuated in order to avoid a communist take-over.  A communist government had been established in Poland, ignoring the wishes of the majority of Poles. Roosevelt and Churchill protested, but Stalin insisted that control of Eastern Europe was a defensive measure against future attacks.

America had a new president:

Roosevelt had died and was replaced by Vice- Harry Truman. He was more anti-communist and suspicious of Stalin. Truman saw Stalin’s actions as preparations for a Soviet take-over of the rest of Europe.

Allies had tested an atomic bomb:

In July, the Americans had tested an atomic bomb at a desert site in the USA. Stalin was informed about it at the beginning of the Potsdam conference.

As Churchill had been defeated in the British election, his absence led to increased rivalry between Stalin and Truman.

Disagreed about:

• What to do about Germany
       o Stalin wanted to cripple them to protect USSR from further threats
       o Truman did not want a repeat of the TOV
• Reparations (same as above)
• Soviet policy in eastern Europe
       o Stalin won agreements from the Allies allowing him to set up pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe
       o Stalin argued that if the majority of Eastern Europe was united, no one would dare attack them
       o Truman didn’t like this and started to adopt a ‘get tough’ approach towards Stalin

Stalin’s control of Eastern Europe

Stalin used a variety of drastic techniques to get into power such as attacking Church leaders in Hungary and executing leaders of other parties such as in Bulgaria. His justification for taking over areas such as Poland, Hungary and Romania were because troops could go through these countries to the USSR.

The secret police imprisoned anyone who opposed the communist rule. In October 1947, Cominform (Communism Information Bureau) was formed to coordinate the work of the communist parties of Eastern Europe. Cominform regularly brought the leaders of each Communist Party to Moscow, to be briefed by Stalin. This allowed Stalin to keep a close eye on them.  Tito in Yugoslavia was expelled for his hostility in 1948.

It was agreed for the countries in Eastern Europe were to be a Soviet ‘Sphere of influence’ not a complete communist take-over. The other leaders believed that democratic governments who are friendly towards the USSR should exist. Stalin’s actions seemed to lead to the spread of communism.
Britain and USA had supported royalists in a civil war which had defeated communism.

Why was the USA so worried about Communism?

USA and the USSR both emerged from the war as ‘super powers’. Many soviets still remember that US troops had been sent to fight against the Communists in Russia’s Civil War. In American polls before the war, it showed that Americans trusted Communists less than Nazis. The USA was also appalled that Stalin had signed his pact with Hitler in 1939.

USA USSR

Free democratic elections Elections, but all candidates belonged to the Communist party
Industry was private (capitalist) Industry was state owned
Individual rights are more important Good of society as a whole was more important

USA promoted freedoms which USSR wouldn’t:

• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of worship
• Freedom from want
• Freedom from fear

The reaction of the West

Greece:

In 1944 there was a civil war between Communists and monarchists who wanted the return of the king of Greece. Churchill sent British troops to ‘support help restore and supervise free elections’. They however were supporting the monarchists. The USSR protested to the UN who refused to take any action. Truman helped prop up the Kings government which led to the royalists being in charge.

Czechoslovakia:

Communists took charge of Czechoslovakia. The communists had supposedly purged anti-Soviet leaders and killed the pro-American minister. Congress accepted the Marshall Plan.

The Truman Doctrine:

The USA was prepared to send money, equipment and advice to any country was, in the American view, threatened by a Communist take-over. Truman accepted that Eastern Europe was now communist and therefore introduced the policy of containment.

Marshall Plan:

Truman believed that Communism succeeded when people faced poverty and hardship. The American General George Marshall realised that the economy of Europe was ruined. The countries owed $11.5 billion to the USA. There was an extreme shortage of all goods. Most countries were still rationing bread and there was a coal shortage so bad that in Britain the electricity was turned off for a period each day. He proposed $17 billion to be available over four years which was directed towards ‘hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos’

It was good for America because:

• They wanted to create new markets for American goods
• Didn’t want a repeat of the depression of the 1930s

Stalin refused to accept the aid, or let anyone in Eastern Europe accept it as he feared that the Marshall Aid would weaken his hold on Eastern Europe.

Soviet Union blockade of Berlin

Stalin feared a recovering Germany and wanted to keep it crippled. It was clear to the allies that Germany should be allowed to rebuild its industries in order to feed its people. France, Britain and USA combined their zones in 1946 to form one zone (West Germany). In 1948 the currency was reformed and within months there were solid signs that Germany was recovering.

Stalin felt that the USA’s handling of western Germany was provocative.  He wanted to stamp his authority on Berlin. Berlin was deep in soviet zone and was linked to the western zones of Germany by vital roads, railways and canals. In June 1948, Stalin blocked all these supply lines cutting off the 2 million population of western Berlin from the Western.  He claimed the closure of these links were due to technical difficulties. He wanted to force the Allies out of Berlin and make Berlin entirely dependent on the USSR.

The USA could not ram the road-blocks or railway blocks as that would be seen as an act of war. Truman wanted to show that he was serious about the policy of containment and therefore decided to airlift supplies. By May 1949 it was clear that the blockade would not make the Western allies give up Berlin, so Stalin reopened communications.

The North Atlantis Treaty Organisation (NATO) was formed when there was a chance of war between USSR and USA during the blockade. It was an agreement for the western powers to work together.

Throughout the cold war the super powers:

• Regularly argued with each other in the UN assembly
• Criticised each other through television programmes, newspapers, art and films
• Commonly sent troops or advisors to help other states or groups disrupt the aims and plans of their opponent

Anti-communism in the USA

Senator Joseph McCarthy had claimed that Communists had infiltrated American society and that he had discovered 57 communists in the State Department alone. This led to a ‘witch hunt’ to find these communists.

The Korean War

Background:

China became communist in 1949, despite being regarded as the mainstay of Far East from America. Between 1946 to 1949, $2 billion had been pumped into China to support the nationalists. Cominform was being used to help communists win power in many countries in the east. The domino effect seemed to be working and therefore USA took action when South Korea was invaded in 1950.

After WWII, the north was communist controlled and the south was anti-communist. It wasn’t very democratic, but was enough for America to support.

Events:

By September 1950, North Korean troops had managed to gain control of all of South Korea except a small corner of south-east Korea. Truman sent advisers, supplies and warships to the waters around Korea. America put pressure on the UN Security council to condemn the actions of North Korea. USSR would usually veto this but they were boycotting the UN at the time in protest of the fact China was blocked entry to the UN as the Nationalists were recognised as the rightful government of China. The resolution was passed and the UN was now committed to using member forces to drive North Korean troops out of South Korea.

18 States including Britain provided troops or support but majority of the UN force was American and so was the commander (General MacArthur). In September 1950, UN forces advanced from Inchon and Pusan. They pushed the North Koreans back beyond their original border (38th Parallel). Despite warnings from the Chinese leader, the Americans continued and now tried to remove communism from Korea altogether.

Late October 1950, 200,000 Chinese troops (‘People’s Volunteers’) joined the North Koreans and launched a blistering attack. They were strong communist, hated Americans and had modern tanks and planes from the Soviet Union. The UN forces were pushed back into South Korea; they then recovered and reached stalemate around the 38th parallel. Truman was satisfied as he wanted to avoid attacking China as it could lead to a war with the USSR. McArthur ignored this and openly threatened China. He was removed from his position. The Armistice was signed in July 1953.

Was containment the right policy?

Some favoured the aggressive policy adopted by MacArthur as opposed to just containing the spread. Even those who didn’t want war with USSR believed in pushing back the frontiers of communism. Dulles set up a network of anti-communist alliances around the world (SEATO and CENTO). USSR saw this is as threatening and accused the USA of encircling the communist world. In response, the soviets set up the Warsaw Treaty Organisation which was between the USSR and all the Communist east European countries (except Yugoslavia).

Stalin had died in 1953 and was replaced by the new soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev who seemed keen to ease tensions with the USA. He even met with western leaders in 1955 and 1960, which is big considering they haven’t spoken in many years.

Worse things done by communists in the cold war include:

• In 1956 Poland protested due to rise in food prices. Red army moved in to restore order
• In 1956 the Red army put down an anti-communist rising which led to the death of 30,000 Hungarian lives.
• In 1962 the Communists built the Berlin Wall dividing East and West Berlin. Border guards shot anyone trying to cross the wall illegally

The Arms Race

Americans had developed the first atomic bomb in 1945. Dropped one on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki where 70,000 people were killed instantly. This led to Japan surrendering in a week.

Between 1949 to 1963:

• H-Bomb (1000x more powerful than an atom bomb) developed (US first)
• H-Bomb small enough  to be dropped from a bomber (US first)
• U-2 spy plane to spy on Soviet weapon development (US)
• USSR develops ICBM
• USSR launch Sputnik missile
• USA develops more sophisticated ICBM’s
• Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space
• USSR detonate the largest H-Bomb ever seen

U-2 Crisis:

In 1956 spying starts with U-2 which flew too high to be shot down. However weapons improved and in 1960, a missile shot down a U-2 piloted by Gary Powers. Powers parachuted to safety but was arrested. USSR accused USA of spying. The USA first denied but then admitted to spying but refused to apologise or prevent no more flights. Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years prison but then exchanged for a captured Soviet spy (Rudolf Abel).