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The end of the Second World War - Coggle Diagram
The end of the Second World War
Contrasting ideologies:
Communism (USSR)
based on the ideas of Karl Marx in the 19th century and developed by Lenin in Russia.
all businesses are owned by the state and all profits go to the state.
one-party state, other parties are banned.
economy is controlled by the government.
lower average standard of living, but wealth more equally shared. based on ideas of fairness and equality.
Capitalism (USA)
developed out of the Industrial Revolution and the new social group of the middle class.
private businesses and making profits is allowed.
usually multiple political parties, and the government is usually elected by the people.
free economy.
great differences in wealth but most have a reasonable standard of living. Based on the idea of 'opportunity for all'.
The Grand Alliance
: despite the huge amount of mistrust, the Second World War brought the East and West together. The two sides united to fight their common enemy: Nazi Germany. By working together, the East and the West were able to defeat the Nazis.
YALTA CONFERENCE
February 1945
aims
Winston Churchill (Britain)
: aware of Stalin's aims and wanted to protect British interests.
Wanted a close relationship with the USA
. Struggled to understand Stalin's point of view. As a strong anti-communist, he was naturally mistrustful of Stalin.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA): Committed to working with the USSR and got on well with Stalin.
Believed that only capitalist Europe could prevent a future war. Some argue that he misunderstood Stalin's aims and assumed they wanted the same thing.
Joseph Stalin (USSR):
wanted to ensure that the total devastation suffered by the USSR during the war could never happen again.
Believed that creating a sphere of influence around the USSR was the best way to ensure security.
Recognised the need for cooperation with the West.
outcomes
the liberated countries of Easter Europe would be allowed to hold free elections.
the UN would be formed to ensure future cooperation.
Germany was to be divided into four zones - USSR, USA, Britain, and France. Berlin, which was within the USSR zone, would also be divided in the same way.
'The Declaration of Liberated Europe' was signed, although there were difference in how this document was interpreted by the three leaders at the conference, particularly when it came to Poland.
POTSDAM CONFERENCE
July 1945
aims
Clement Atlee (Britain)
: focused on domestic plans, e.g. the creation of the welfare state.
Worried about Soviet expansion.
Wanted a secure Germany. Saw Britain as weaker and needing American friendship.
Harry S. Truman (USA):
wanted self-determination for the countries of Europe.
Distrusted Stalin and his intentions
. Thought America had the upper hand because of the atomic bomb.
Joseph Stalin (USSR): saw America as a rival and wanted security for the USSR.
Thought he was in a powerful position with the Red Army occupying Eastern Europe.
Distrusted America now it had the atomic bomb
.
outcomes
the divisions of Germany were confirmed.
the Nazi party was banned and its leaders put on trial.
Germans living in Poland, Hungry, and Czechoslovakia were to be returned to Germany.
Poland was to lose some territory to the USSR.
ATOMIC BOMB:
Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
August 1945
ended the war in the Pacific.
Although Stalin had been informed by his spies of the bomb's existence, Truman didn't inform him officially.
This added to tension and distrust.
The surrender of Japan removed the need for Soviet troops in the Pacific and therefore the need for the Grand Alliance to continue.
SOVIET EXPANSION
at the end of WW2, the USSR effectively controlled most of Eastern Europe.
The Red Army (Soviet army) already occupied the land that they had taken from the Nazis, including Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia.
Communism was popular in Eastern Europe, after the horrors of the Nazi occupation.
The Soviets made it very difficult for non-communists to gain power in these countries by rigging elections and arresting and executing opponents.
Western response to the Soviet expansion
The Long Telegram:
As tensions grew, the US embassy in Moscow began to report back on developments within the USSR.
On
22 February 1946
, George Kennan, the well-respected second in command at the embassy, sent a report back to the USA, saying:
he believed that the Soviets wanted to spread the USSR's influence as widely as possible
the USSR saw the USA as its enemy
any attempt at cooperation between the USA and the USSR would fail.
'The Long Telegram'
(8000 words) confirmed President Truman's own fears and had a large influence on his future approach towards the USSR.
Churchill's Iron Curtain speech:
On
6 March 1946
, Churchill made a speech about the situation in Europe. As Britain's former prime minister and wartime leader,
his views were to be taken seriously.
He said:
the USSR was attempting to spread its influence across the rest of Europe and increase its power.
an invisible line had split Europe in two, between the East and the West. He called the line an
Iron Curtain.
The term was widely used for the remainder of the Cold War. Truman, who was at Churchill's side when he made the speech, respected and shared Churchill's view.
In Moscow, the speech was viewed as a deliberate misrepresentation of the USSR's aims.
Poland:
January 1947- became communist through rigged elections.
Hungary:
August 1945 - economic crisis, so communists took control.
Bulgaria:
November 1945 - communists won rigged elections.
Romania
: March 1945 - after a series of communist demonstrations forced the king to implement communism. In November 1945 communists won through rigged elections and the monarchy was abolished.
Yugoslavia
: Communist resistance fought against Germany in WW2. But the leader of this resistance, Tito, later also the president, didn't want to listen to the orders of Stalin. Tito got help from the West, which annoyed Stalin, as it meant that communists were taking money from the capitalists.
Czechoslovakia
: was already a more-or-less communist country. In 1948, with the help of the USSR, the army took control of the country. Communists were elected through rigged elections.
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
March 1947
American policy toward communism after the Second World War.
Truman outline the policy in a speech to Congress, saying:
communism posed a threat to the USA and the rest of the world.
the USA would support any country under threat from communism.
the focus must be on 'containing communism' - keeping it within the countries where it was already established.
The purpose of Truman's speech was to make it clear to the USSR that its expansion into Europe has to end.
It was also a response tot he situation in Greece and Turkey, where it seemed likely that communism as about to take hold.
MARHSALL PLAN
While the Truman Doctrine established the USA's policy, it was the Marshall Plan that put it into practice.
Purpose:
to aid economic recovery in Europe in order to stop people from turning to communism.
to support the containment of communism within Eastern Europe.
to create a market for American goods in order to build up the American society.
Plan:
$13.15 billion was divided among the countries that were willing to accept aid.
aid was offered to all the countries in Europe, east and west.
aid was supplied in the form of money or resources (e.g. machinery for farm work). All resources had to be bought from American suppliers.
RESULTS
Marshall aid was vital for the recovery of Western Europe. It allowed economies to be rebuilt and the standard of living to rise.
The American economy also benefitted.
It demonstrated that the USA was committed to involvement in Europe for long term.
Communism became less popular in Western Europe.
The division of East and West became even more firmly established, as Stalin forbade countries behind the Iron Curtain from accepting aid.
Yugoslavia was the only communist country that also received aid.
STALIN'S REACTION
COMINFORM
response to the Truman Doctrine.
Stalin saw the Truman Doctrine as a direct threat to communism.
He created the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform) to ensure unity in Eastern Europe.
All Cominform member countries would meet regularly in Moscow to ensure that they were all following the same policies.
COMECON
response to the Marshall Plan
Stalin saw the Marshall Plan as an example of '
dollar imperialism'
by the USA. He thought that the USA gained power over the countries that accepted their aid and was fearful that they were using this power for world domination.
He made it clear that Eastern European countries should not accept any aid from the USA.
In 1949, he created Comecon, a Soviet alternative to Marshall aid. Countries who signed up to Comecon were agreeing to work together and share resources in what was officially a union of equal partners.
In reality, all decisions were made in Moscow.
BERLIN BOCKADE AND AIRLIFT
CAUSES
The division of Berlin had been agreed at Yalta and Potsdam and had been in place since the end of the Second World War. Initially, the Allies worked together to run Berlin through the
Allied Control Council
(ACC). This became increasingly difficult as time went on.
The Western Allies were keen for Germany to be rebuilt and unified, but Stalin opposed this as he saw Germany as a potential threat.
In
March 1948
, the
Western Allies agreed to unify their sectors of Germany and Berlin, and to introduce a new currency
. Stalin did the same for the East.
The USSR's ultimate aim for the withdrawal of all Western officials from Berlin. From
April 1948
, the Soviets began to make life difficult for them.
THE BLOCKADE
From April 1948, the 'mini blockade' began. It included blocking military supply routes, traffic restrictions and closing bridges for 'maintenance'.
Tensions increased after a British and a Soviet plane collided on 5 April and violence broke out.
On 24 June 1948, Stalin launched a full blockade. Transport links were blocked into West Berlin - no food, fuels or medical supplies could reach people in the non-Soviet part of the city. Electricity supplied from within the Soviet sector was cut.
For the 2.5 million inhabitants of West Berlin, the situation quickly became very serious.
THE WESTERN RESPONSE
Truman and Atlee were both determined not to give in.
The West's first response was a counter-blockade that stopped trains travelling out of West Berlin. This had a limited impact.
On
26 June 1948
, British and American planes began delivering supplies to West Berlin.
At its peak, a plane was arriving every 3 minutes and around 4000 tonnes of supplies were delivered every day.
On
15 April 1949
, nearly 12,000 tonnes of coal were delivered in what became known as the '
Easter Parade
'.
Tensions remained high
throughout this period and war seemed a real possibility - neither side was willing to back down.
On
12 May
, Stalin gave in and ended the blockade.
THE CONSEQUENCES
The blockade and airlift had
pushed the two sides to the brink of war
and East-West relations were the worst they had ever been. Berlin remained a key location for the remainder of the Cold War.
On
23 May 1949
, West Germany became the
Federal Republic of Germany (FDR)
, an independent democratic country.
In
October 1949
, the
German Democratic Republic (GDR)
was created as a Soviet-style communist state.
In
April 1949
, the USA, Britain and 10 other non-communist countries formed the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
. The USA was committed to supporting and protecting Western Europe. A Soviet rival, the
Warsaw Pact
, was created six years later.