History A Making of the Modern World (Cold War 1943-91, Unit 1)
- Created by: S_webb
- Created on: 03-06-16 16:32
Fullscreen
- In 1941 the "Grand Alliance" was created between the UK, the US and the USSR to fight against the Nazis.
- The leaders of this alliance met at three conferences.
- At Tehran in November- December 1943 it was agreed to open a second front to split the German defences and take pressure off the USSR. It was alos agreed that the USSR would invade Japan after German defeat and that Poland would gain land from german but lose land from the USSR. Churchill also wanted an invasion of the Balkans, but Stalin and Roosevelt felt that the Allies would thus be too diffuse and would be weakened.
- At Yalta in February 1945 it was agreed that a defeated Germany would be reduced in size, demiliterised and forced to pay repatriations. War criminals would be tried before an international court and the UN would be set up to replace the League of Nations. The USSR would also declare war on Japan three months after German defeat and Poland would be run on a "broader democratic basis" despite being in the Soviet sphere of influence.
- At Potsdam in July and August 1945, Truman had replaced Roosevelt as the U.S. president and thus the good relations that had built up between Roosevelt and Stalin were scuppered. Truman trusted Stalin far less and delayed the first meeting until after the atomic bomb had been tested; Stalin was angered that he had not been told about this. It was, however, agreed to set up a Council of Foreign Ministers to organise the rebuilding of Europe, divide Germany and Berlin into four zones and give the USSR a quarter of the industrial equipment from the other zones in return for raw materials. There were, however, disagreements on reparations, the atomic bomb, Poland and Greece, where a civil war between monarchists and communists had been taking place since 1944.
- In 1946 a "war of words" took place between the East and West, showing the degree of distrust which had built between the former allies. This came to a head with the American Long telegram and Soviet Novikov telegram, which stated that the other side no longer wished to cooperate.
- The unofficila "declaration" of the Cold War occcured when Truman issued his "Doctrine" stating that America would seek to contain communism whereever possible. The doctrine was issued in reponse to the situation in Greece specifically and the allure of communism in the post-war economies of Europe in general. It was accompanied by "Marshall Aid", $13 billion in aid to rebuild Europe. In order to recieve this aid, countries had to agree to trade freely with America.
- The Soviets set up various "satellite states" in Eastern Europe; nominally independent, these were in reality bound to Moscow. They were Yugoslavia (1945, but split in 1948 and even accepted Marshall Aid), Albania (1945), East Germany (1949), Bulgaria (leftists won in elections 1944…
Comments
No comments have yet been made