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Origins of the Cold War 1945-1949 - Coggle Diagram
Origins of the Cold War 1945-1949
Potsdam Conference 17th July-1st August 1945
Key Changes from Yalta
Roosevelt died and replaced with Truman
Halfway through Potsdam, Churchill beaten in general election and replaced with Clement Attlee
agreements :
Divide up Germany
demilitarise, disarm and denazify Germany
reestablish democracy in Germany after Nazi dictatorship
reparations - USSR would receive 1/4 of all industrial goods in western zones of Germany - temp compromise whereby both USA and USSR would take reparations from own zone, with GB and USA granting 25% of these to the Soviets
Polish frontier to be moved westwards
disagreements :
what to do with Germany (especially Berlin) - Stalin wanted huge compensation to cripple Germany, whereas GB and USA wanted Germany to be self sufficient so they did not drain on their economies
free elections - Truman wanted free elections in E.European countries that had been liberated. Stalin did not want US interference
failed to reinforce the idea of international cooperation
failed to address growing suspicion between USA and USSR
Potsdam = war time alliance breaks apart
Atomic supremacy :
USA detonated the atomic bomb the day before Potsdam
Provided the US diplomatic leverage
Potsdam was characterised by Truman's abrasive diplomacy and the determination of Stalin to not be intimated by USA's atomic monopoly
This threatened Stalin's desire for security
Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
Stalin :
WW2 devastated the USSR - estimated 25 million casualties.
Stalin and foreign minister Molotov viewed GB and USA as anti-USSR
However, Stalin wanted to keep cooperating with the West
Poland was crucial issue between East-West relation
Roosevelt :
He was convinced that Stalin shared the same understanding and values inherent in the configuration of the post-war world
Was criticised for a degree of naivety and underestimating the needs of the USSR in terms of Eastern Europe
Churchill :
Convinced that it was Stalin's intention to expand Soviet power in post-war Europe
Believed USSR could threaten Britain's imperial interests and therefore essential that GB est a close alliance with USA
Relations between Truman, Stalin and Attlee
Stalin :
By Potsdam, Stalin was convinced that the USA and its allies were potential rivals for dominance in Europe - reinforcing his obsession for Soviet security
Stalin saw US as having an anti-Soviet agenda
Truman :
Wanted a post-war world based on national self determination, open world trading system based on international economic cooperation
wanted to limit expansion of the territorial influence of other states
Attlee :
confirmed that Stalin was an expansionist in Europe
thought it was vital that USA act as primary defender of Western zones of Germany against Soviet threat
'Long Telegram' - 22nd February 1946
Feb 1946, the State Dept cabled the US Moscow embassy and asked for an analysis of the Soviet position on the post-ww2 world and their intentions
received back an 8000 word telegram from George Kennan
Kennan hated communism and the Soviet gov. However, he had lived in Moscow since 1933 and knew what he was talking about
The telegram formed the basis of American foreign policy towards the Soviets for the next 25 years
Kennan believed that the collapse in East-West relations was due to the Soviet intent to demonise the west for domestic political reasons
He emphasised that the USSR viewed the West as hostile and menacing
He predicted the USSR would collapse and that they were weaker force
This telegram gave the US vital information to act upon in order to base their foreign policy on containment - saw USSR as aggressive and expansionist
Greek Civil War 1946-1949
Context :
US and USSR regarded each other as a threat to national security
Greece was a catalyst that triggered a change in US FP
Stalin had agreed as % agreement that Greece should remain in Western sphere of influence
After Greece was liberated from Nazi occupation, civil war erupted between monarchists and communists
Britain had been providing aid to anti-communists but in Feb 1947 announced this was no longer available and appealed to USA to continue this aid.
Significance :
Estimated that more than 50,000 combatants died in conflict, and more than 500,000 Greeks temporarily displaced from their homes
Believed communists aided by Stalin and royalists aided by the US
Truman Doctrine - March 1947
it established that the US would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from communism
became fundamentally important from 1947
international relations would be founded upon division, each side was suspicious of each other
Doctrine became the working basis of east-west relations for at least 25 years
Truman did not turn to the UN to help with the Greek Civil War, as the USSR may have vetoed it.
Possible motives for the doctrine
protect democracy and freedom - it was a response to Soviet aggressive political, strategic and ideological expansionism in E.Europe.
Truman needed to demonise the USSR and communism in the minds of American public
to provoke the Soviet Union - make them feel threatened by USA's power
the doctrine formed an important element of the USA's aim of developing its global economic power
it was the first step in the creation of containment as the basis of US post-war FP
Iron Curtain Speech - 5th March 1946
Winston Churchill (no longer PM), delivered a direct attack on Soviet policies to an American audience
He stressed the necessity for the US and GB to act as guardians of peace and stability against Soviet communism, which had lowered an 'iron curtain' across Europe
'Iron Curtain' referring to the ideological barrier created by USSR in Europe - Stalin argued this was for security of Soviet Union
Convinced Stalin that the USA was complicit in a plot with Churchill and Britain to carry out an anti-Soviet ideological assault