Origins of the Cold War 1945-49

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  • Created by: Erin W
  • Created on: 11-06-17 13:47

Tension Between Russia and West before 1945

  • Russia not allowed to join League of Nations - an organisation set up at end of ww2 to keep world peace.
  • Britain only recognised the Communist Party as government of Russia in 1924.
  • Hitler came to power in 1933 - he was very anti-communist but signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact (Non-agression Pact) which angered the West.
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Yalta Conference

  • February 1945.
  • Held  in Yalta, Crimea.
  • Codenamed Argonaut Conference.
  • 'The Big Three' - Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
  • Held to decide what would happend at the end of the war.
  • United Nations would be set up to avoid future wars.
  • Decided that Germany would be divided into four zones - controlled by Britain, France, USA, and USSR.
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Potsdam Agreement

  • July 1945
  • Held in Potsdam, Germany.
  • Germany had been defeated - Hitler dead.
  • 'The Big Three' - Harry Truman (USA), Stalin, Clement Atlee (UK).
  • USA had developed atomic bomb - this angered Stalin and USA wouldn't share technology.
  • Decided exactly how Germany was to be divided.
  • Border between Germany and Poland changed - more land given to Poland.
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Spread of Communism 1945-47

  • Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia all became communist.
  • West suspected USSR caused this.
  • Stalin denied this but said a 'buffer-zone' was needed to protect USSR from attack.
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'Iron Curtain' Speech

  • March 1946
  • Churchill (no longer PM) invited to Fulton, Missouri.
  • Made a speech - criticised Stalin and communism.
  • Describe spread of communism as an 'Iron Curtain' descending across Europe.
  • He called on US government to join Britain to help stop communism.
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Kennan's 'Long Telegram'

  • 1947
  • George Kennan - American diplomat in Moscow.
  • Sent a message (telegram) to Truman.
  • Claimed USSR could not be trusted - Stalin wanted to spread communism around the world.
  • Kennan argued USSR need to be 'contained'.
  • Truman believed Kennan - it fitted with his own suspicions.
  • Resulted in the policy of containment.
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Truman Doctrine

  • 1947
  • Truman announced that USA to stand up against USSR.
  • Truman feared Greek communists taking power in Greece.
  • Communism spreading to Middle East would disrupt oil trade - worried Truman.
  • USA would support any country trying to resist communism.
  • US Congress gave Greece $400m.
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Marshall Plan

  • 1948
  • US Secretary of State George Marshall agreed with Truman.
  • USA would invest money into countries that agreed with America to help them stop communist takeover.
  • Some already communist countries refused trade with USA - therefore didn't receive any funding.
  • Over $13bn invested over four years.
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Cominform and Comecon

  • Stalin furious with Mrshall Plan
  • He saw plan as an attack on the USSR and other communist countries.
  • He set up two organisations - Cominform and Comecon.
  • Cominform - encourage political cooperation between communist countries in Eastern Europe.
  • Comecon - Soviet version of Marshall Plan - encouraged economic cooperation between communist countries in Eastern Europe.
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Division of Germany

  • Four zones of Germany to be administered by Britain, France, America, and USSR - Berlin also divided.
  • Berlin also divided between the four powers.
  • Western powers wanted Germany to recover from the war and form barrier against communism - money invested through Marshall Plan.
  • USSR wanted Germany to remain weak - to stop threat of invasion.
  • 1948 - Western zones were prosperous, Soviet zone was poor.
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Berlin Blockade

  • June 1948.
  • Four Western zones merged into one.
  • Allies brought in new currency - Deutschmark.
  • Stalin angered by this - 24th June 1948 Stalin closed all road, rail, and canal links with West Berlin.
  • Truman airlifted supplies to West Berlin - 13,000 tonnes of supplies every day for a year.
  • Stalin admitted deafeat - blockade lifted on 12th May 1949.
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Results of Berlin Blockade

  • Policy of Containment worked - Communism failed to spread to West Berlin.
  • NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) set up in April 1949 - twelve countries agreeed to cooperate to resist communism.
  • West Germany allowed to join NATO - revived Soviet fear.
  • Soviets responded to NATO with Warsaw Pact - communist countries agreed to join together.
  • May 1949 - Federal Republic of Germany (West) established.
  • October 1949 - German Democratic Republic (East) established.
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