Background to the Cold War
- Created by: Norsefire
- Created on: 30-03-16 17:05
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- Background to the Cold War (pre-1945)
- 1941
- Hitler invades the USSR - Stalin now on the same side as Britain
- December: Japan attacks Pearl Harbour - US joins the war
- Grand Alliance is formed. Ideologies are set aside, realism the dominant ideology. Focus on the present.
- 1943
- Teheran Conference
- Grand Alliance meet
- Discuss Poland - provisional govt. waiting in London - USSR resistant
- USSR wanted UK/USA to open a second front, but they refused
- Strains never too serious - held in good spirits
- Teheran Conference
- 1944
- Percentages (Naughty) Agreement
- Stalin and Churchill meet in October to discuss interests in Eastern Europe using percentages
- By this stage - a power vacuum in Europe had increased tensions and ideologies remained opposed
- WWII had put isolationist US and USSR on world stage
- Percentages (Naughty) Agreement
- 1945
- Soviet attitudes
- Main aim: to safeguard and rebuild the USSR
- Policy was to try and capture as much of Eastern Europe as possible to strengthen Soviet influence
- Wanted to create a buffer zone to protect against invasion.
- Wanted to regain territories lost to Germany and hold onto land gained by Nazi-Soviet Pact.
- Wanted economic help from USA
- US attitudes
- Roosevelt believed in compromise with the USSR. He had a good relationship with Stalin.
- Truman inexperienced - adopted a more hostile policy (containment). Reaction against British appeasement.
- US underestimated Soviet desire for security
- Events
- UN formed
- Based on Wilsonian Liberal principles
- Aim - to be an organization of free, democratic states
- Opening of markets seen as essential to US after the war
- Yalta
- Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt meet
- Agreements
- Germany, Berlin, Austria divided
- UN formed
- Based on Wilsonian Liberal principles
- Aim - to be an organization of free, democratic states
- Opening of markets seen as essential to US after the war
- Principle of free elections agreed in Eastern Europe
- USSR joins war against Japan - granted half of Sakhalin and economic rights in Manchuria in exchange
- Poland's borders settled. USSR given significant amounts.
- Poland main source of disagreements. Stalin allowed London govt. into coalition and promised free elections
- Molotov-Truman talks
- Truman tells Molotov that the USSR must stick to Yalta agreements
- Truman 'insulted' Molotov - showed Stalin that Truman was taking a harder line than Roosevelt.
- Truman tells Molotov that the USSR must stick to Yalta agreements
- Potsdam Conference
- Truman, Churchill, Attlee, Stalin meet
- Roosevelt had died; Churchill had been replaced by Attlee.
- Truman hadn't informed Stalin about the atom bomb, which increased Soviet distrust.
- Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima
- Stalin became distrustful. He became hardened against the West but didn't soften his policies.
- UN formed
- World War II
- Created a power vacuum, devastated Europe, highlighted emergence of US/USSR as major powers
- Soviet attitudes
- 1941
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