Cold War

• American and Soviet soldiers meet
• Final defeat of Germany by Allies

• two separate spheres of influence
• Germany dividing line between superpower blocs

• West Germany
• September 1949

• East Germany
• October 1949

• German invasion of Poland
• Britain and France declare war on Germany
• Beginning of Winter War between USSR and Finland

• Hitler's blitzkrieg through Europe
• Takeover of Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France
• Battle of Britain

• Operation Barbarossa
• Atlantic Charter
• Pearl Harbour

• German assault on Stalingrad
• German defeat at El Alamein in North Africa

• German defeat at Stalingrad
• Allied invasion of Italy
• Tehran conference

• D-Day landings
• Rome falls to allied forces

• Warsaw falls to Soviet troops
• Yalta Conference
• Russian forces in Berlin
• Roosevelt dies - replaced by Truman
• UN meets at San Fran
• German surrender
• Potsdam Conference
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan's surrender

• Kennan's Long Telegram
• Iran crisis
• Churchill's Iron Curtain speech

• Truman doctrine
• aid to Greece and Turkey
• Marshall Plan proposed
• Cominform creation

• Czechoslovakian Coup
• Marshall Plan passed by Congress
• Berlin airlift

• COMECON established
• NATO established
• Berlin Blockade ends
• USSR explodes its first atomic bomb
• FRG established
• GDR established

• Nazi attack on Russia in June 1941
• UK and US send aid
• Image of USSR kept negative
• Stalin demanded a second front - would not be opened until much later
• Stalin suspicion of deliberate delay to weaken USSR

• November 1943
• Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
• First meeting

• allies winning war after victories in 1942
• soviets pushing germans into retreat
• uk and us driven germans from north africa, invaded mussolini's italy
• discussion on second front in europe and war against japan

• what to do with it once defeated
• no agreement reached except that the objective was its unconditional surrender
• roosevelt supported operation overlord as priority

• stalin's concern of security
• ussr would keep territory seized in 1939
• poland would be given territory on western border with Germany
• poland would not be able to accept
• possibility of puppet regime in poland - would look to ussr for security

• soviets would keep territories seized between 1939 and 1940 - baltic states, parts of finland, romania
• against the 1941 atlantic charter

Stalin wouldn't open second front until war with Germany was won

• us wanted to replace league of nations
• designed to settle international disputes through collective security

• February 1945
• Black Sea, Russia
• Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
• Stalin's diplomatic position strengthened due to occupation of most of eastern europe

• Germany almost defeated
• Normandy landings on 6 June 1944
• Soviets and US&UK ready to invade Germany
• Japan under heavy aerial bombardment from us
• us in control of the air and sea in the pacific

• would be disarmed, demilitarized, de-nazified, divided
• four zones of occupation
• would be run as one country - Allied control council would govern it
• responsible people would be tried
• germany would pay 20 billion, 50% would go to ussr

• curzon line between poland and ussr
• oder-neisse line
• stalin agreed to more democratic government in poland following free elections
• disagreement between uk and ussr - support for london poles vs lublin poles
• soviet intentions towards poles dubious - katyn forest massacre, refusal of aid in warsaw uprising

stalin agreed countries would decide who governed them i free elections

• stalin promised second front as soon as war with germany was finished
• demanded territory as reward

• ussr would join un
• security council

big three signing a declaration on liberated europe, pledging support for democratic governments based on free elections

• president roosevelt died, replaced by truman
• adoption of more hard-line policy towards ussr by us
• germany surrendered on 7 may 1945
• churchill's conservative party lost elections - clement attlee's labour party succeeded
• soviet red army occupied territory up to deep inside germany
• 17 july 1945 us successfully tested atomic bomb

• potsdam, germany
• july 1945
• stalin, truman, clement attlee

• germany's surrender
• americans poised to invade japanese mainland
• us planning atomic bob against japan

• could not agree on process of dealing with germany
• they would do it in their own ways in respective zones
• german economy would be run as a whole - limited to domestic agriculture and industry
• soviets would receive 25% of reparation bill from western zones in exchange for food

• truman = unhappy with border
• insisted on polish government to be reorganized

truman dissatisfied with percentages agreement

percentages agreement

• nagasaki and hiroshima
• unconditional surrender on 2 september 1945
• ussr never really participated

• created in san fran in 1945
• 50 natins signed un charter

• salami tactics
• baggage train leaders return
• free elections not held until 19 january 1947

• stage 1: soviet supervision of organization of governments and establishment of a broad alliance of anti-fascists
• stage 2: each of the parties is sliced off
• stage 3: communist core is left
• local communists sometimes replaced with moscow-trained people

• return to europe at the end of 1946
• men who spent war in moscow
• considered trustworthy by the soviets
• ensured post-war governments stayed dominated by stalinist communists

• communist party won
• polish peasant party had candidates disqualified, arrested, murdered
• 1 million votes taken off register

• 1 january 1946 stalin refuses to remove troops from iran as agreed at Tehran conference
• needed to put down internal rebellion
• actually encouraged communist uprising
• first un crisis

• protests after ww2
• anti-imperialist, nationalist, pro-communist
• uk and us believed they were supported by ussr
• stalin wanted possible control of the black sea straits

• grew stronger post-war
• membership increase due to economic deprivations

• february 1946
• from us diplomat in moscow to us state department
• upon request to clarify soviet motives and possible actions
• 5 parts on nature of soviet conduct and foreign policy
• soviet system buoyed by the threat of a hostile world outside its borders
• frantically hostile to the west
• moscow is highly sensitive to logic of force

• soviet policy grounded in marxism-leninism and tsarist foreign policy goals
• traditional and insecure view
• expandatory nature
• cruel and repressive regime
• inherent opposition between economic systems meant a constant rivalry and that one would destroy the other
• ussr aims to use other marxists as ballast against western, capitalist expansion
• non-communist leftists are more dangerous than capitalists

• usa avoids direct military confrontation with ussr
• its debilitation made it volatile and unpredictable
• engagement in policy of positive propaganda of capitalism and democracy to attract vulnerable countries

• hardening attitudes in us
• role in the development of us policy of containment

• later in 1946
• from soviet ambassador to the us to stalin
• concern about us imperialist actions

• churchill, march 1946
• soviet reaction: quick, outraged response, comparison of churchill to hitler
• within three weeks: ussr withdrew from IMF, stepped up tone and intensity of western propaganda, initiated new five-year economic plan
• hardening of opinions on both sides

• 12 March 1947
• truman's speech to US congress
• us has obligation to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures
• change in us foreign policy
• in response to situation in turkey and greece (uk couldn't offer financial aid after February 1947)
• aim of preserving democracy us aid and military advisers sent to greece
• soviet response: doctrine = evidence for us expanding its sphere of influence, did not recognize legitimacy of american involvement in europe
• beginning of policy of containment
• doctrine = ideological shield

• us secretary of state general george marshall in a speech at harvard uni on 5 june 1947
• belief european economies needed us aid
• followed from truman doctrine
• strict criteria to qualify for aid (examination of financial records of applicant countries) - ussr wouldn't agree
• aim: revive economies so political and social stability to safeguard future of us economy
• succeeded due to czech coup

• rejected as planned
• saw it as example of dollar imperialism
• felt us was establishing european empire by method of economic domination and dependence
• molotov plan: series of bilateral trade agreements - tied economies of eastern europe to moscow

• creation of comecon
• council for mutual economic assistance
• centralized agency - linked eastern bloc countries to moscow
• stimulate and control economic development, collectivization of agriculture, development of heavy industry

• september 1947
• communist information bureau
• increase control over other countries' communist parties
• west's concern: active spreading of communism in western europe

• start in 1920s
• idea of europe divided into two opposing camps
• foundation for post ww2 soviet foreign policy
• feb 1946 stalin delivered speech emphasizing creation of two camps
• inaugural meeting of cominform in poland - soviet delegate zhdanov delivered speech on two camps developed

• red army occupation of eastern europe
• ussr control through satellite empire
• countries kept legal identities but tied to moscow through: comecon, salami tactics, state police, security networks, soviet military power

• 1947
• written by kennan for time magazine
• policy of long term containment
• us should see ussr as rival
• kennan = strong influence on truman, public

• February 1948
• salami tactics weren't working - czechoslovakia moving towards west (interest in marshall plan)
• stalin organized for pressure to be put on government
• twelve non-communist members forced to resign
• czech communist party leader demanded formation of communist-led government
• president Benes agreed due to pressure from moscow and threats of armed intervention
• two weeks after - death of czech foreign minister
• truman named it a coup, used events to push marshall plan through
• purges of disloyal communists through 1948 in entire eastern bloc

• yalta divided germany into 4 zones administered by allied control council (acc)
• berlin's governance responsibility of allied kommandantur (4 military governors)
• germany = one economic unit, would eventually be one independent state
• 1949 - germany divided in two

• key strategic position and differing aims of main powers
• increasing lack of trust between east and west
• specific disputes between post-war powers

• germany = geographic centre of europe, potential economic strength
• ussr - didn't want united germany - threat to security, wanted compensation for reparations
• france - feared united germany rising, against economic recovery speed up
• us - wanted rapid economic recovery to contain communism, us aid
• uk supported us - was bankrupt, needed aid

• both west and ussr concerned germany would join with other side - be a threat
• 1946 speech of hope by secratary of state byrnes in stuttgart: promise germany would be rebuilt, not divided economically, germans would govern themselves democratically, committed us troops to germany, clear stand against ussr

• economic conflict
• political conflict

• original potsdam plan: 25% of german industrial equipment from western zone to go to ussr - in return supplies of food and raw material
• didn't work
• food = problem: refugees, ussr wasn't delivering enough, uk and us stopped supplies to soviet zone
• german coal = wanted by ussr and us (us to assist in economic reconstruction of western europe)

• uk and us zones join
• early 1947

• ussr: stalin's plan to incorporate reunified germany within moscow sphere of influence, using red army to control soviet zone, communist party of germany (KPD) would try get popular support in other zones
• april 1946 soviets forced merger of communists and social democrats in their zone - socialist unity party (sed) - did not win over west germans due to ussr's minimal economic assistance compared to marshall aid, no democracy
• sed leaders plan own regime in east
• us and west: 1948 thoughts about consolidating occupation zones, establishing provisional german government
• london conference of ministers (1947) ended in arguments
• london conference in 1948, excluded ussr - france, uk, us drew up constitution for new west german state, introduced new currency into western sectors

• 1948
• set up by stalin - wanted to force west out of berlin
• berlin = 100 miles within soviet zone
• western forces in berlin relied on food and energy supplies via road, rail, air corridors
• march 1948 stalin places transport restrictions
• response of us - introduce new currency
• ussr began total blockade of berlin on 23 - 24 june 1948: roads, railways, waterways closed, supply of electricity cut, ussr left kommandantur
• first cold war crisis
• west supplied berlin from air
• by early 1949 gamble was failing
• may 1949 end of blockade

• first time since 1945 war became possible
• division of germany: federal republic of germany (frg) in west in september 1949, german democratic republic (gdr)
• continuation of four power control in berlin
• formation of nato

• north atlantic treaty organisation
• soviet threat and berlin airlift emphasized need for us defence commitment to europe
• april 1949 formed by us, canada, brussel pact powers, norway, denmark, iceland, italy, portugal
• us congress approved military assistance programme - help build up europe's armed forces
• major us military presence in europe
• paris pact - west germany admitted into nato in 1955
• ussr announced warsaw pact within a week - all states of eastern europe under single military command - lacked organisation, initially more political than military

• europe divided militarily, politically, economically
• germany wouldn't be reunited
• us abandoned policy of avoiding commitment in europe
• no peace treaty signed with germany - borders not formalized
• most conflicts onwards seen as struggle between communism and capitalism
• us policy of containment - resisting communism anywhere
• un couldn't be effective