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Tension and Conflict between East and West, This led to an increase in…
Tension and Conflict between East and West
Yalta and Potsdam Conferences 1945
Yalta February 1945
Leaders of USSR (Stalin) , USA (Roosevelt) and Britain (Churchill) met at Yalta to agree on what should happen after the war was over
AGREEMENTS MADE IN YALTA
Stalin would join the war against Japan once Germany surrendered
Germany would be divided into four zones ran by the Four Powers (USA, Britain, USSR, France)
Nazi war criminals would be hunted down and prosecuted
They would join the United Nations Organisation
free elections would be held in Eastern Europe once the Nazis were gone
They agreed that Eastern Europe would be a "Soviet Sphere of Influence" meaning the Soviets would have some control
DISAGREEMENTS MADE AT YALTA
Poland
Stalin wanted to move the USSR boarder further into Poland
USA and Britain did not like this but agreed
Potsdam Conference July 1945
There was new leaders: Truman (USA) and Atlee (Britain)
Truman was much more anti-communist than Roosevelt had been
Stalins armies controlled much of Europe
He had set up a communist government in Poland and wanted to set up pro-soviet governments throughout Europe
Truman saw this as Stalin attempting to build a Soviet Empire
DISAGREEMENTS AT POTSDAM
Stalin wanted to cripple Germany, Truman disagreed
Stalin was demanding $10 billion compensation from Germany
USA was developing an atom bomb in secret, which grew distrust between the two sides and they were supposed to be allies (USA and USSR)
This bomb was revealed to Stalin at Potsdam by Truman
6th August 1945 USA drops an atom bomb on Japan
Some historians believe this to be done as a partial warning to Stalin
Iron Curtain, Marshall Aid, Berlin Blockade 1948
Iron Curtain 1946
By 1946 communism had been successfully spread through Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union
Albania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania all had communist governments which were loyal to Stalin
Stalin used secret police in these countries to keep control
"Iron Curtain" is what Churchill nicknamed the divide between the East and the West
Cominform 1947
This was set up to coordinate the work of all the different Communist Parties and to spread Stalins ideas
Truman responded to this increase in communism in the East with a policy called the
"Truman Doctrine"
This explained that the US would provide any democratic nations with military, political and economic assistance if they were under threat
He did this to try and reduce the amount of communism spreading
One example of this in play is the disagreement over Greece and Turkey
There was a Civil War in Greece between the monarchists and the communists
Stalin was also trying to take control over their neighbouring country, Turkey
This all concerned the US as it would allow the Soviets to spread communism further into the Middle East
Turkey was also important to the US economically, as they had large preserves of oil
The US Congress granted Truman to give $400 million of aid to help the situations in Greece and Turkey
1 more item...
Marshall Aid 1948
General Marshall was sent by Truman to assess the situation in Europe after WW2
It was found that countries economies has been ruined and they'd been left with a shortage of supplies
The Marshal Plan was Marshalls response to seeing the Europe situation
He proposed that they aid $17 billion to help Europe
He thought that in tackling the issue of poverty, communism would be much more difficult to spread
In 1947 Truman attempted to get this approved by the Congress but failed
BUT after the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia, the Congress was so shocked they granted the Marshall Aid
Stalin was suspicious of the Marshall Aid so he banned his communist states from applying for it, as a result he set up his own called
Comecon
He also called Marshall Aid Dollar Imperialism
Some could argue that the Marshall Aid was the USA's attempt at buying the loyalty of the European countries
Berlin Blockade 1948
Britain, France and the US combined their zones of Berlin into one, the West of Berlin
In response to this, Stalin started the Berlin Blockade out of fear that Germany was being built up too quickly
June 1947 Stalin closes the links between the East and West of Berlin which left Berlin without supplies
when sending supplies to Berlin, using tanks and military machinery could be seen as an act of war, so planes were sent
This was known as the
Berlin Airlift
They flew in on average 1,000 tonnes a day of oil, food and produce
After the blockade ended (12th May 1949) Germany was split into two countries
WEST = Federal Republic of Germany
EAST = the German Democratic Republic (under Soviet control)
Tension in Asia 1948-1954
The spread of communism through Asia
Korea divided into North and South in 1948
Vietnam withdrew from French control in 1954 and communist forces gained control
Korea
1948 - divided into two countries , South Korea which was supported by the US by wasnt ruled very democratically, and North Korea which was communist and supported by the USSR and China
June 1950 Invasion begins. Both North and South Korea claimed the whole country but once the North invaded the South they quickly took charge and most of the South was taken over
In July in the UN, the US suggests that the USSR should step in and help the South
This would have been vetoed (blocked) by the USSR, but they were boycotting the UN!
The resolution passed without opposition
In September the UN forces (consisting of mostly US and British soldiers) were sent over to fight the communist North Korea
This was led by the American General MacArthur
Why was the Korean War so significant?
It was the first example of when the East and Wests conflict played out in physical action
Both sides used this war as an experiment to test out new kit such as faster tanks and advanced jet aircraft
The event became a
stalemate
and a peace treaty was later signed in 1953
Stalemate
: a situation which makes further action seem impossible
The UN proved that they could take effective action; even though this was only possible because the USSR boycotted the UN
The USSR learned their lesson and took their seat back at the UN Security Council, making sure not to miss any more important meetings
Vietnam
Between 1945 and 1954 Vietnam was under French control, until a group of communist fighters called the Viet Cong rebelled against the French rule
The US provided financial aid to France to fight the communists
In 1954 the French removed their control over Vietnam, and it was temporarily divided into North and South
The US continued to send aid to the anti-communist South Vietnam, while North Vietnam was supported by China and the USSR
The Arms Race1940s -1990s
Military Alliances
During the Berlin Blockade, Truman saw how easy it was for the USSR to invade Western Europe
Truman wanted to set up US troops in Western Europe bases to prevent the spread of communism and help Western Europe
During 1949, NATO was formed (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
This allowed the US to set up these bases in Western Europe, each of the members agreed to defend all the bases
In 1953 there was a change in leadership in USSR, Stalin was replaced by Khrushchev
Khrushchev created a military bloc called the Warsaw Pact in 1955
This pact was just a collective defence treaty which included all communist countries in Eastern Europe except for Yugoslavia
They did this because they felt angry at America
In 1955 the Soviets were even more surprised when West Germany joined NATO and was allowed its own army
On the 6th of August 1945 the US dropped the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima
Then on the 9th of August they dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki
By 1949 USSR already had their own atom bomb which shocked the US as they thought it would take them longer
Then later in 1952 America developed the Hydrogen Bomb which was X1000 more powerful than the atom
USSR did the same a year later in 1953
America increased their spending on military and defence technology
40% of the American Defence spending went towards air forces during the Cold War
The Space Race 1955
During 1955 Eisenhower (US president) announced that USA had a plan to create a satellite which could orbit earth from space
Despite these plans, the USSR beat the Americans by launching their own satellite SPUTNIK in 1957
Later in 1957, the USSR sent up a dog named LAIKA in a second bigger satellite
Because of being beaten, the US increased their funding in the space program
In 1958 they released their satellite EXPLORER I and NASA was established
USSR shocked USA again by flying the first man to space in 1961 , Yuri Gargarin
President Kennedy set up the Apollo Programme, which intended on putting the first man on the moon
This was achieved in July of 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man ever to walk on the moon
Space Race Technology
The technology used to send rockets into space could also be used to launch nuclear missiles
This is one of the reasons why both countries spent so much money on their space programmes
Krushchev built a top-secret rocket base known as Baikonur
this created more tension between East and West
During 1957, USSR tested the worlds first ever ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)
This could be shot into space and then fired down towards any target on earth
In 1959 America developed their own ICBM
Later in the 1960s the US produced the Polaris Missiles
These were missiles which could be fired from submarines, which were much harder to detect
In the later 1960s, American media reported a "missile gap" between the USSR and the US
this caused widespread panic
Eisenhower in fact knew that there was no missile gap due to secret intelligence but he never revealed this to the public
The Hungarian Uprising 1956
Nikita Khrushchev was now in power as of September 1953 and was very different to Stalin
Khrushchev wanted to peacefully co-exist with the West
He also endorsed De-Stalinisation
This included:
shut down Comiform
Release political prisoners
Improve relations with Yugoslavia
Remove Soviet troops from Austria
1949 Stalin appointed Rakosi as the leader of Hungary
Rakosi was very loyal to Stalin because of this strict control was put over Hungary which was enforced by the AVH (secret police)
Catholicism was banned which was a popular religion in Hungary
Due to Stalins death in 1953 and Khrushchevs "De-Stalinisation" the Hungarians hoped that this would take effect in Hungary and Rakosi would be removed
After years of resentment towards Rakosi, October 1956 the revolution began
Students, workers and soldiers attacked the AVH and Russian tanks
A statue of Stalin was smashed
They wanted freedom from communism
On the 24th of October 1956, Imre Nagy replaced Rakosi who not a communist
There was massive reforms in Hungary:
democracy introduced
freedom of speech
freedom of religeon
Soviet troops removed from the capital Budapest
The Catholic church leader Cardinal Mindszenty was released from prison
The problem which followed the uprising:
1st of November 1956 Nagy announced Hungary's independency and their departure from the Warsaw Pact
4th of November 1956 10,000 Russian tanks invaded Budapest, destroying the Hungarian army and taking over the radio
Khrushchev's reasoning for this was that he received some distressed calls from communist leaders in Hungary asking for help
Due to Khrushchev's actions, 4,000 Hungarians were killed and 200,000 had to flee and live as refugees
Nagy was captured and executed, he was replaced by Kadar
Western powers were too distracted by the Suez crisis to take action against Khrushchev
This event showed Khrushchev to be strong, and that he was willing to take necessary action if he had to
Espionage and the U2 Crisis 1960
The U2 Crisis 1960
From the 1950s the US had been flying spy planes over the Soviet Union in order to gain intelligence and detect possible nuclear weapons
These planes were U2 planes and could fly very high up. They had powerful cameras which could read Russian newspapers from 23km above the ground
The USSR was scared as they knew about these planes being flown but didn't have the technology to detect them
May 1st 1960 , they managed to shoot a spy plane down
The pilot of this plane was Gary Powers
He was jailed but later exchanged for a captured Soviet spy
Initially America denied any involvement but eventually had to admit that they did send the plane to spy on Soviets
Because of this Khrushchev pulled out of the Paris Peace Summit
The Paris Peace Summits goal was to improve relations between East and West
Espionage
had reached new heights during the Cold War
This was essentially spying on one another to gain intelligence
This was between the Western Allies (UK, USA, and NATO) and the Eastern Bloc (USSR)
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg
Russian communist spies
Accused of running a spy network in America and stealing secrets about atomic weapons
The couple were the only spies executed during the Cold War
Klaus Fuchs
German theoretical physicist
Considered one of the greatest nuclear spies during the Cold War
Worked for Hitler in WW2 and fed information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviets
The Cambridge Five
group of KGB secret agents who operated in the UK from 1930s to 1950s
They gave information back to the Soviets
The Berlin Wall 1989
East VS West
Berlin was divided into the free capitalistic state of West Berlin and the communist East Berlin which was part of the USSR
The Superpowers (France, USA, UK, USSR) had put a lot of money into their sections
The west was much more progressive than the East
A strong communist leader named Walter Ulbricht ruled East Berlin, he was not well liked
After the events at the Hungarian Uprising, many felt it was impossible to remove the Soviet ruling
Because of this many East Berliners fled and went to West Berlin, this meant East Berlin suffered a "Brain Drain"
The Berlin Wall and its Impacts
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to split East and West Berlin
Soldiers defended the wall, and were ordered to shoot and kill anybody attempting to cross the wall
The only point you could cross was named Checkpoint Charlie
Impact:
It almost led to armed conflict between the Superpowers
US soldiers continued to cross over into the East after the wall was built
A problem arose when in October 1961 Soviet tanks blocked Checkpoint Charlie and refused to move
There was an 18 hour stand off between the US and Soviets
There was a high risk that the tanks would fire but as they both retreated neither shot
The Berlin Wall was demolished in 1989
The Cuban MIssile Crisis
Cuba
Just off the coast of America
Rich Americans holidayed there
The US had several warships stationed off of Cuba
America gave financial and military aid to Cuba as they were allies
The leader Batista was corrupt and unpopular he was replaced by Fidel Castro in 1958
However in 1959 Castro arrested and exiled many opponents and as a result many people fled to the US
As Castro began to dictate Cuba, the relationship between Cuba and America deteriorated
This was especially when Castro took over the American-owned businesses
Cuban exiles urged the President to act
In June of 1960 President Eisenhower gave the CIA and Cuban exiles permission and funding to attempt to overthrow Castro
In the summer of 1960 Castro promises to protect American lives in Cuba and to keep the US naval bases
But by the summer Cuba had signed an agreement with the USSR
In January of 1961 Kennedy breaks of diplomatic ties with Cuba and is now determined to overthrow Castro
Some wanted to invade Cuba but instead 1,400 weapons were issued to Cuban exiles
In April of 1961 the exiles invade the Bay of Pigs
The mission fails! The exiles faced 20,000 Cuban troops and tanks and ALL of the Cuban exiles were captured or killed
This was a massive embarrassment for Kennedy and the US
Rising Tension
USSR supplies weapons to Cuba 1962
In September they had supplied the best military in the region
Including jets, missiles, over 5000 Soviet tanks
The US only began to become nervous when the placement of nuclear weapons was put in Cuba
Nuclear Missiles in Cuba
In October of 1962 an American spy plane photographed photographed a new nuclear missile site in Cuba
Kennedy was starting to fear nuclear war and was being advised to destroy the site or to invade Cuba
Kennedy decided on a naval blockade, but after 4 days everybody stepped down
Despite the events, relations improved when Kennedy secretly agreed to remove his missiles out of Turkey, and Khrushchev agreed to remove his missiles out of Cuba
This helped them avoid WW2
The Prague Spring
Oppositions towards communism in Czechoslovakia
The 1960s saw a growing opposition to communism in Czechoslovakia which contributed to Prague Springs
Czechoslovakia was an important part of the Warsaw Pact and they had a growing industry
In December of 1967 the old communist leader resigned
Later in January 1968 reformer Alexander Dubček came into power
Alexander wanted to put a face to socialism
He promoted Brevhnev (the leader of the Soviet Union) and promised to let Czechoslovakia leave the Warsaw Pact
He also reduced the amount of censorship and minimized the impact of the secret police
This all led to communism being criticised in Czechoslovakia in the media and radio
This period became known as the Prague Spring due to the new ideas and forward movements
In Summer of 1968 there was a plan to allow a new political party called the Social Democrats to run again the communists
Brevhnev's Response
The leaders of the Warsaw Pact wanted to stop the action happening in Czechoslovakia so they put pressure on Brevhnev
One way they did this was having the Soviet troops perform exercise on the boarder to provoke fear
Economic action was also considered by cutting off supplies that enter Czechoslovakia
In July 1968 a meeting was help by the Warsaw Pact to try and keep stability in Eastern Europe
As a result Alexander Dubček agreed to ban the Social Democratic party
However on the 20th of August 1968, without warning, Soviet tanks and troops moved into Czechoslovakia
After the Prague Spring, Brevhnev created a clear set of rules which must be followed by each communist government
This was known as the Brevhnev Doctrine
Dubček was removed from power and images of him censored
This led to an increase in tension between the superpowers and a distrust for communism in Czechoslovakia
Detente and Easing the Tension
Détente in 60s and 70s
In 1968 the USA, USSR and UK signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons
There were several reasons as to why this happened:
The US was in debt after the Vietnam War which had lasted 20 years, this caused inflation
The USSR standard of living was terrible
They needed to improve their relationships and increase trade and economic income
There was fear about the growing power of China
This threatened the USSR and the US
There was great fear of nuclear war, which became apparent after the Cuban Missile Crisis
The new leaders of US (Nixon) and USSR (Brevhnev) were more open to talking to each other and reducing tension between the countries
Conflicts in the Middle-East were threatening the oil supply of the powers
Détente means reduction in tension in french
SALT and reducing hostility
The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963 made the superpowers realise how close they had come to a war
A permanent hotline would be made between the US and USSR so they could stay in constant contact
In 1963 the Partial Nuclear Ban Test Treaty was signed to prevent further testing of nuclear weapons
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) took place between America and the Soviet Union
This was done to agree a limit on the number of nuclear weapons
After 3 years of negotiations an agreement was signed in 1972 which limited the number of ICBMs and anti-ballistic missiles on both sides
This agreement also permitted the use of spies on both sides to stay true to the treaty
This agreement lasted five years and was a massive achievement
This led to an increase in tension between superpowers
The Japanese occupation of China ended in 1945, the civil war then restarted in China between the communists and the nationalists
By 1949 the communist leader Mao Zedong succeeded and now the most populated country in the world was communist
By 1950 The USSR signed a Treaty of Friendship with China
Communism was scaring the US, the Truman policy of containment had failed in Asia
In the UN the US failed to recognise the new communist leader
The USSR then protested this by boycotting the UN security council
Although they were unpopular and had poor leadership, the US supported the nationalists
China became communist after the revolution 1949 the Soviet Union later signed a treaty with China 1950
China
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