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Cold War Atmosphere of suspicion, distrust, rivalry and hostility between the US and the Soviet Union. The Superpowers: from friend to foe Twentieth Century Viewpoints pp122-. Origins of the Cold War lie early in the 20 th C. Russian Revolution shocked Western democracies.
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Cold WarAtmosphere of suspicion, distrust, rivalry and hostility between the US and the Soviet Union
The Superpowers: from friend to foeTwentieth Century Viewpoints pp122- • Origins of the Cold War lie early in the 20thC. • Russian Revolution shocked Western democracies. • From 1918 – 1920 the ‘west’ supported the Whites in the civil war in the Russia. • By the 1920s-1930s the West feared that communism would spread throughout Europe.
The Superpowers: from friend to foe, cont’d • Russia was politically isolated by the Western powers (no Soviet representatives at the Treaty of Versailles), US refused to recognize the Soviet government until 1933. • Russia was not invited to join the League of Nations until 1934. • West was very uneasy during the ‘Dirty Thirties’ as their economies were crashing and Stalin was transforming the USSR.
Background to the Cold War • Grand Alliance (US, GB, USSR) was a marriage of necessity as they faced a common enemy (Germany) during the war • At Tehran (‘43) & Yalta (45) & Potsdam (45) the Allies worked out the broad outline for a settlement once Germany was defeated • 3 issues: boundaries in Poland, types of government in Eastern Europe & future of Germany • There were fears about the European balance of power
Ideological differences between American capitalism & Soviet communism fuelled mistrust • Soviets wanted a ‘buffer zone’ of protection as they feared ‘western encirclement’ • US had atomic weapons & healthy economy which were a powerful threat to USSR
Dispute over boundaries of Poland festered & fostered dissension between US & USSR • Eastern Europe was in the Soviet ‘sphere of influence’; Stalin’s promise of free elections in Poland was an empty one
The most contentious area of all was Germany, where the US & USSR faced one another in their respective occupation zones.
http://www.transchool.eustis.army.mil/Museum/images/SectorMap.gifhttp://www.transchool.eustis.army.mil/Museum/images/SectorMap.gif
Truman DoctrineMarch 1947 • Pledge of the US to assist any nation having a totalitarian regime forced upon them against their will • Firm commitment to oppose the spread of communism anywhere in the world and by the use of military power if necessary • Success – defeat of Greek communists in 1949 • Led to – US involvement in wars in Korea & Vietnam
Marshall Plan1947 • European Recovery Plan--provided money for the reconstruction of 16 nations outside the Soviet sphere of influence (including Germany) • Based on the premise that economically stable countries would not turn to communism • Allowed European nations to re-establish trade with the United States • Stalin forbade Communist states to take part in the scheme
Berlin Blockade - June 1948 • First major clash of the Cold War • Stalin worried that the West was trying to create a separate West German state (this was a violation of the Yalta agreement which had decided • that Germany should be reunited as soon as possible) • Stalin’s response was to cut off all road and rail links between Berlin & the West; there was an existing agreement to keep air corridors open but not rail or road
Berlin Blockade cont’d US: worried about the “Domino Theory”: if one Western ally fell to Communism, others would follow.
Berlin Blockade • Western allies began massive airlift June 1948 • 12000 tonnes of goods per day; 15000 tonnes of food to meet minimum standards of the 2.5 million residents • Planes landed continuously (sometimes every 3 minutes) despite bad weather, radar foul-ups • US stationed B-29 bombers in Britain to discourage Soviets from shooting down cargo planes
May 1949 - Stalin lifted the blockade • British, French & USA finalized plans to join occupation zones to one unit • Late May 1949 - Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) with a democratic government under German leadership • Soviet portion became the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) in October 1949 • This formalized the division of Germany; separated by barbed wire and land mines
US Policy of ContainmentGF 179-184 & 187 (Web) • Marshall Plan • Truman Doctrine NATO • Domino theory • McCarthyism (Red Scare)
NATOApril 4, 1949 5 Brussels pact signatories • Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands & Great Britain • Joined with Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Canada & the United States Became the North Atlantic Treaty Organization An act of aggression against any of the signatories would be seen as an attack against all
Soviet Sphere of Influence (GF 184/185 & DeMarco 168/169) Satellite States (buffer zone) Cominform Comecon Warsaw Pact
Stalin’s reaction to Marshall PlanCominform & Comecon Cominform 1947 – Goal was to consolidate communist countries in Europe under the control of the USSR (not promote international communism) Comecon 1949 – To coordinate the economic & social development of Soviet’s satellite states in Eastern Europe
Warsaw PactMay 14, 1955 Soviet Bloc countries: • Albania • Bulgaria • Czechoslovakia • East Germany • Hungary • Poland • Romania & Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact
