Cold War Origins: World History PDF
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This document provides an overview of the origins of the Cold War touching upon key events like the end of World War II, the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, and the division of Europe and the role of important historical figures such like Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill. It is a useful document for learning about world history in an educational setting.
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Origins of the Cold War - End of WWIIorigin of the cold war - Allies came together to defeated facism - Once “common allies” defeated allies began to drift apart - WW2 conferences -> seeds of Cold War planted...
Origins of the Cold War - End of WWIIorigin of the cold war - Allies came together to defeated facism - Once “common allies” defeated allies began to drift apart - WW2 conferences -> seeds of Cold War planted - Disagreements/distrust between “the big three” (us, ussr, Great Britain) - post ww2 boundaries of poland - Types of government to be instilled in the eastern block - future of germany - Atlantic charter 1941 - post war principals (Roosevelt and Churchill) - free trade - no territorial expansion - right to choose own government - VE Day (victory in Europe) May 8, 1945 - VJ Day (victory in japan) August 14, 1945 - Soviets begin to occupy many countries in Eastern Europe - Berlin is subdivided(although within eastern partof Germany) allied controlled areas of city and soviet controlled ones - still within east germany - soviets stay in Eastern Europe after ww2 - communist governments, loyal to the soviets put into place (satellite states) - The Cold War- a struggle between the USA + its alliesand the Soviet Union + its allies - the struggle referred to as “the Cold War” but no war openly declared - both sides use spies and propaganda to strengthen position, while building arms in case of open fighting - why did the Cold War break out? -> look back at end of WW2 - By end of war, allies drove out German forces out of western europe - Britain, France, and the us occupied the western part of eurpoe - USSR occupied eastern part - Side note about USSR:after the removal of the royalfamily, there were several years of civil war in which the US backed the “whites”, but the “reds” (communists) eventually won - Teheran conference(nov 28 - dec 1, 1943) - firstmeeting of big three: Stalin, FDR, Churchill - Ussr would declare war on japan after the defeat of germany - accept onlyunconditional surrenderand no separatepeace agreements for any ally - red army would liberate and occupy central and eastern europe - germany and Berlin (the capital city) would be divided into zones of occupation by the soviets, American, and British - American and British forces would liberate and occupy the western part of europe - greement lead to creationof the spears of influencethat dominated the Cold a War in Europe until 1990 - National self-determination and free electionswereto determine the form of governments in the liberated states *did not actually happen* - poland's border would shift to the left and absorb some of Germany - Yalta conference(feb 4 - 11, 1945) - Churchill, FDR,Stalin - Distrust between wartime allies began to grow - they agreed on the structure of the German and British zones of occupation: three zones, soviets in the east, British and American in the west (which was further subdivided to give France a share of the western zone) - governments in liberated nations (freed from fascist control) were set up democratic governments - Agreed to set upUnited Nationsto replaceLeagueof Nations - soviets promised to enter the war against Japan within three months of an allied victory in Europe (may 1945): ussr to be granted asphere of influencein Manchuria and some Japanese territory - Germany was required to pay reparations again *never imposed* - the allies could not agree on what government would be recognized in Poland - FDR dies after end of conference, replaced by Truman (who is more anti-communist) - Potsdam conference(July 17-aug 2, 1945) - Churchill,Truman, Stalin - Devastation of europe and Asia and 1945 left two states - the United States and the Soviet Union - with inordinate influence on the future course of international affairs - These two countries emerged from the Second World War stronger than before they entered it - fast resources had been mobilized with maximum effect: more weapons, more citizens under arms than ever before - expanded territorial control and influence far beyond previous limits - Often seen as the beginning of the Cold War due to mistrust and disagreement - The allies could not agree on which government represented the poles - london polish government -> exiled in Britain and favoured by the west - Lublin government -> favoured by the soviets - Allies discussed conduct of war in Japan, but concealed atomic bomb secret - the soviets had not yet declared war on Japan (will actually happen on Aug 8, 1945 but Japan surrenders Sept 2, 1945), soviets regan control of Lüshun (port Arthur), the Manchurian railway system and the southern half of Sakhalin island lost in the 1904-05 Russian Japanese war - agreed to give us and Britain western sphere of influence, soviets administer eastern sphere - Churchillreplaced byclement Attlee,leader of theLabour Party, which had defeated churchill’s Conservative Party in the election held during this conference Teheran (Feb. 1943) Yalta (Feb. 1945) Potsdam (July. 1945) State of the War O nly unconditional surrender tomic bomb was kept secret. A SA and USSR emerge from the U would be accepted. FDR dies shortly after, replaced war as superpowers by Truman. Both were heavily militarized and had lots of weapons. Lots of influence on international events. Seen as the “beginning” of the Cold War due to mistrust and disagreement. Germany ermany and Berlin to be G tructure of zones of occupation S egotiators confirmed a N divided into East/ West zones of agreed upon, split into four demilitarized and disarmed occupation. sections for the USA, USSR, Germany and the four (two- Britain and France. east/west?) zones of occupation Germany was required to pay reparations (this was not enforced). Poland order shifted west, re-establish A B llies fighting over who would llies could not agree on which A Curzon Line. govern Poland, as it was in a government represented the Poles. strategic location for everybody. - London polish government -> exiled to Britain and favoured by the west - Lublin government -> favoured by the Soviets Eastern Europe he USSR would liberate and T Stalin and Churchill wanted to split up some southern European countries like Yugoslavia, but it was stopped by Roosevelt - the Marshall plan - biggest final aid plan, a $13 billion plan to help the recovery of countries in europe - offer for all countries in Europe, communist or democratic - over $100-billion now in todays currency - over the lifespan of the Marshall plan (1947-1952) 17 counties in Europe received funds and technical expertise from the US - all US aid had “strings attached” (conditions related to economic policies) - Soviet leaders considered this “dollar imperialism” - Soviet satellite sites rejected the plan due to diplomatic and political pressure applied by the united states - the Americans required all the recipients of the air to submit a thorough economic assessment and participate in a unified European economy (incompatible with soviet ideology) - the soviets countered it with their ownMolotov plan,for the Eastern European countries - Involvedbilateral trade agreementsthat helped toconsolidate the economies of socialist countries like Poland, chezlobzkia, east Germany, Hungary. Bulgaria. And Romania and solidify soviet presence in Europe Why did the Cold War develop between 1945 and 1949? - orthodox perspective - SSR’s promotion of communism made postwar conflict with the USA inevitable, U along with its hostility of capitalism - interprets that the Soviet Union was responsible for the cold war - argues that the USA’s policy of containment was only in response to the USSR’s aggressive expansionist policies, for example: - The “Stalinization” of Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and east Germany between 1945 and 1947 - the 1948 communist takeover of Czechoslovakia - Berlin blockade of 1948-49 - politically tried to expand though bodies such as Cominform (1947) and Comecon (1949) along with Mao’s seizure of power in China (1949) held out the prospect of a massive sino-soviet communist bloc stretching across eurasia - revisionist perspective - William Williams - Some revisionist historians argue that USA’s policy of capital expansion was primarily responsible for the onset of the Cold War - because of commitment to “pax Americana” -> opening up sensitive areas such as Eastern Europe to American economics - argues that the US wanted global markets to sustain economic growth and prevent recession - one of thefirstimportantconflictbetween the twosuperpowers occurred in 1948 - TheSoviet Union blockade Berlin,cutting supply linesfrom the west - **hoping that the western presence in the city will just give up** - fails when the western zones of the city were supplied by an air lift - increased tension between the west and the USSR - lasted almost a year, ultimately the sovietsbackeddown(choosing not to shoot down any of the planes - formation of NATO (1949) - Worried about the spread of communism,Canada, theUnited States, Iceland and thecountries of Western Europejoined to formthe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - purposes of NATO - combine the defensive strength of its members against aggression, to preserve peace for them all - To pursue collective a relationship between the east and west where disarmament was possible - To provide cooperation in all fields for the alliance members - If one country is attacked, all are attacked - Soviet Response:The Warsaw Pact - In 1955, the Soviet Union organized the Eastern European countries into a rival military alliance - from 1946 to 1989, relations between the west and communist countries were hostile - tensions rose whoever people in communist controlled countries revolted or protested - happened inHungary in 1956and inCzechoslovakiain 1968 - Soviet used force to end the protests Stalin’s Polish Policy - Masked his real intentions with Poland by saying he only wanted independence and a national identity for them - He knew this claim would give him less opposition - ”independent” meaning he wants to install a satellite state - The source compares the similarities between the Balkan states and Ukraine in this scenario The atomic bomb’s impact on international relations - more than military implications -> altered international balance of power as Americans held this deadly weapon - gave the US power to impose their beliefs on the world - Johnson:“adopt the policy of lasting peace… or beburned to a crisp” - offered “peace” that was forced and was never really peace - raised international tensions How reliable is source J: post-war policies of the “Big Three” - Semi-reliable - Partly is true: this is what the big three did try to do - However it negates the fact they were pursuing their gain
