The document discusses the origins and escalation of tensions during the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. It provides background on the Yalta and Potsdam conferences where the Allied powers discussed post-war plans. At these meetings, disagreements started to emerge between the US and USSR over the occupation and control of Eastern Europe. The document also describes how Stalin solidified communist control over Eastern European countries and established what Winston Churchill called the "Iron Curtain." This increased tensions further and led to responses from the US like the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan to contain the spread of communism. The Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union in 1948, and the Western Allied Berlin Airlift in response, marked a major escal

1. Option B : Key
Question 4
Who was to blame
for the cold war?

2. Background
 The Allied forces had pushed Nazi
Germany back in 1944-5, after launching
D-Day and fending off a desperate
German counter-resistance. Hitler was
pronounced dead and the war in Europe
came to an end. The Big 3 (USA, USSR,
Britain) agreed to meet in Yalta in the
Crimea, to discuss what to do with victory

3.  Why did the Cold War start?

There is no known reason(s) for why the Cold War started; however, it has
been a popular topic of debate amongst historians. Over the years, historians
have coined three justifications for the start of the Cold War. The three are
however very much conflicting.
1.The USSR is at fault. This is so because Stalin had desired to dominate the
world under Communism. His takeover of Eastern Europe was seen to be his
first step towards this.
2.The USA is at fault. This is so because the USA wanted to control and
influence her sphere of influence without any intervention by another nation
but she wouldn’t allow the USSR to do the same for her sphere of
influence. As a result, any action taken on the part of the USSR is seen to be
defensive.
3. Neither the USSR nor the USA is at fault. This is so because the Cold war is
seen to be an inevitable war that was beyond the control of the two.
The Cold War however can be traced back to as early as 1917 when the
Russian Revolution War began. With this revolution, Communism became the
ruling force in Russia which fueled the Western powers want to “kill” its
influence. The Western powers were staunch anti-Communists who did not
agree with the ideals of Communism.

4. Yalta, Feb 1945
 The mood at Yalta was good; the Russians were happy that the
Americans had opened up a second front in the West, and it was
clear that the Nazis were being swept away. Japan was still a
problem though. As they discussed what to do, several
agreements were made.
 Russia would give the US a helping hand and join the war in
Japan (in return for 'influence' on their Asian borders).
 Germany would have to suffer the humiliation of total surrender,
and would be divided into four zones according to where the
different allied troops were.
 Berlin would suffer the same fate.
 All Nazi-controlled states would get free elections, though Stalin
would be allowed some influence in Eastern Europe; the Russians
had - after all - lost 20 million men.
 A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" would decide
whether to split Germany into 6 nations.
 Russia would join the UN
 They was disagreement on Poland though. Stalin wanted to move
his border into Poland. Churchill and Roosevelt disagreed but
came to an understanding that he could do this, so long as he
didn’t interfere in Greece.

5. Reasons for worsening tensions
 A change in leadership - Roosevelt had died, and was replaced
by the inexperienced Truman, who was looking to assert his
authority. His black-and-white nature meant conflict with Stalin
was inevitable; the USSR accused him of using 'the language of a
Missouri mule driver'. Atlee had also surpisingly beaten Winston
Churchill in the British election, which gave Britain less
international clout
 The atmomic bomb - The USA had not told the USSR about its
development and use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Stalin was
worried they would be turned on him.
 The situation in eastern Europe - Stalin, though promising to
honour self independence at Yalta, had left 3m men in eastern
Europe and was in no rush for them to leave. Communist officials
- some trained in Russia like the German Walter Ulbricht - were
also appearing in these countries, which went against the idea of
free elections.Stalin had dragged his heels about helping the US
in Japan

6. Potsdam, July 1945
 Germany had surrendered in WWII and Hitler had committed
suicide. The three allied powers once again met, but this time in
Potsdam, Germany. The relationship of the three allied leader
were however affected this time around for the following reasons:
1. Stalin was having his armies occupy most of Eastern
Europe. By July 1945, the USSR was controlling Poland, Finland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states.
2. President Roosevelt of the USA died and Vice-President
Harry Truman took over. He was however an aggressive leader.
3. An atomic bomb was tested in the desert of the USA.
N.B: Halfway through the Potsdam Conference, elections occurred
in Britain where Churchill was replaced by Clement Atlee who also
took his position at the Potsdam Conference.

7. Potsdam, July 1945
 The following disagreements occurred between the three
allied leaders at the conference:
1. Stalin wanted to cripple Germany so she would be
protected from future threats but Truman did not want a
repeat of the Versailles treaty.
2. Stalin wanted Germany to compensate her for the
20million Russian who died while Truman did not want a
reoccurrence of the mistake made with the Versailles
Treaty.
3. Stalin had received the “go ahead” from the initial
representatives from the USA and Britain to set up
governments in Eastern Europe but Truman was not fond
of this and assumed a “get tough” approach towards Stalin.

8. Potsdam, July 1945
 By July 1945, the divisions ran deep - by the time they met at
Postdam, the 'Yalta feel' was gone. There were divisions over all
the main issues; what to do with Germany, and how best to move
forward with Europe in general. The following points were agreed:
 Reparations - a 'payments in kind' method was agreed, which
meant that the Allies would swap resources from their four zones.
Other than this, little else was agreed - quite how Germany
should be split in the future, and the amount of reparations could
not be decided. The USSR wanted more for the 20m Russians
that had died –
 The 4 D's - They did agree to denazify. demilitarize, democratize
and decentralise Germany though. The 4 zones would stay
(decentralization) whilst denazification took place thorugh the
Nuremberg trials (where top Nazis were judged and sentenced)
and the banning of the Nazi Party and other extremist parties.
 Poland - The Big 3 also agreed to give Poland free elections

9. Soviet Expansion in Eastern
Europe

10. What was the Iron Curtain?
 This was the name that Churchill gave in a famous speech in
March 1946 in Fulton, Missouri (USA) to the way Stalin had
gained pro-USSR, Communist governments in Poland, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The border between these
eastern countries and the western countries was now known as
the Iron Curtain. It symbolized the secrecy and division between
communism and capitalism and is seen as a definite marker that
the Cold War had begun and was acknowledged.
 How did Stalin gain control of eastern Europe?
 Liberate…but stay: Stalin had liberated country after country in
eastern Europe from the Nazis as they marched to Berlin. Instead
of taking his troops back to Russia though, he left them there –
they then fixed/pressured people into voting Communist
Comminform – this was set up in October 1947 and was meant to
be a co-ordination organization so that all eastern European
countries did as Stalin wanted. Examples:

11.  THE “IRON CURTAIN” SPEECH (March 1946)

At Fulton, Missouri, in March of 1946, Winston Churchill
made speech that would forever be famous. This
speech is termed the “Iron Curtain” speech which
declared that Europe was divided into two by Soviet
policy. Under this, Western Europe was free and
democratic led by the Western powers while the East
was under Soviet rule and subject to Communism. The
East was behind an “Iron Curtain”. As a result of this
speech, Stalin accused Churchill of trying to stir up war
with the Soviets.

12. Communism in Eastern Europe
 Albania – communists gained control directly after the war
 Bulgaria – a left-wing coalition won elections in 1945. The Communist
members then executed the members who were not communist!
 Romania – In 1945 a Communist was elected President. By 1947 they had
killed the monarchy
 Hungary – Communists, under Rakosi became the largest party in elections
with Russian involvement. Initially did not gain a majority, but Rakosi
threatened Russian involvement until other parties were banned. They then
persecuted politicians and Church leaders
 Czechoslovakia – A coalition government was set up and led by the non-
Communist Benes. However, the Communists' leader Gottwald made sure they
controlled the radio, the army and the police. Gottwald became prime minister
and set up a secret police force. Non-Communists were arrested. In 1948,
Communist workers went on strike, the non-Communist minister Masaryk
committed suicide and Gottwald took over the government.
 Poland – Stalin had promised to set up a joint Communist/non-Communist
government at Yalta, but then he invited 16 non-Communist leaders to
Moscow and arrested them. Thousands of non-Communists were arrested, and
the Communists won the 1947 election which strengthened their power.
 Yugoslavia – Marshall Tito had been resisting the Nazis throughout the war.
Though he was Communist he had his own style, making Stalin annoyed!

13. Reactions to Soviet expansionism

14. Conflict in Greece, 1945
 After Germans left Greece there were two rival groups left: the
Monarchists and Communists. Greece was seen as a backdoor to
western Europe and the home of democracy. As a result, Churchill
sent troops to Greece in 1945, under the pretence of maintaining
order, but in reality to help the Monarchists. The USSR appealed
to the new United Nations but it did nothing as the United States
had a veto– Stalin therefore paid for the Communists in Greece to
keep fighting. It was now a proxy Civil War, backed by two
different sides.
 The British could not afford to spend more money on war, so
declared they were leaving Greece. Fearing the spread of
Communism, the Americans stepped in and paid for the British to
stay. The US was now fighting the USSR through the UK and
Greece! In the end the monarchists won, but were always very
weak. Greece showed the world that America was no longer
isolationist but interventionist.

15.  CASE STUDY OF GREECE (1947}

From 1944, Britain had been supporting the Greek government in
its civil war against the Communists. However in February 1947
Britain ended her support. The Greek government turned to the
USA for help. Truman provided $400 million in the form of
aid. Truman did this because he thought that once one country
fell to Communism, the nearby ones will also fall in its trap. This
thought is referred to as the “domino theory” – where one falls
nearby one will too. This resulted in the USA taking up a policy of
containment. This here is the Truman Doctrine. (See information
under next heading)
In the end, Greece ended up defeating the Communists resulting
in the rivalry between the USA and the USSR increasing. The
USA was now fully committed to its policy of containment. The
events in Greece led to the creation of Cominform – the
Communist Information Bureau – which linked Communist parties
in Eastern Europe and the world together.

16. The Truman Doctrine, March 1947
 The Truman Doctrine was a political idea which promised
money, equipment and advice to any country which was
threatened by a Communist takeover The aim was to stop
communism from spreading any further – a policy known
as ‘containment’. The struggle in Greece had persuaded
Truman this was necessary
 Marshall Plan was where aid was given to European
countries to get their economies up and running again. It
was introduced in March 1948 after Czechoslovakia became
Communist however it was sent to Congress by General
George Marshall and Truman in June 1947 after Marshall
saw the destruction in Europe but Congress said no at that
point. Aid was given in the form of food, grants to buy
equipment, improvements to transport systems, and
everything "from medicine to mules".

17. Marshall Plan and Marshall Aid
 Truman felt Communism thrived when poverty was greatest; he sent his
General, George Marshall to report on the economic state of Europe
 Marshall came back saying Europe was ruined – it owed $11.5 billion to the US
 Powercuts were a regular occurance and people still used ration coupons,
especially due to harsh winter of 1946-7. Industrial production was half prewar
levels.
 Marshall therefore suggested the Marshall Plan (or the European Recovery
Program). It claimed that about $17billion would be needed to rebuild Europe’s
economy.
 Initially the US Congress rejected this idea and the amount of money.
However, after the incident in Czechoslovakia, it made it available over 4 years.
(In Czechoslovakia a coalition government was in power until it tried pursuing
anti-Stalin policies. The Communists came down hard and purged the
government of all non-communists. One pro-American leader Jan Masaryk was
found dead under his window. USSR said he jumped).
 Greece and Turkey were first to receive aid.
 The USSR rejected Marshall Aid entirely and responded by setting up
Comminform (1947); a political equivalent to Marshall Aid and Comecon
(1949); an economic union to co-ordinate economies. These gave him even
more power in E.Europe.

18. The Iron Curtain as described by
Churchill

19. The British army in Greece, 1944, before the
Americans arrived [source:IWM]

20. Truman addressing Congress asking for
Marshall Aid to be given to Europe, 1947.

21. The Berlin Blockade
The escalation of the Cold War

22.  THE BERLIN BLOCKADE & AIRLIFT (1948 – 1949)

In 1948 Stalin had planned to starve the people of West Berlin but this
failed. Stalin closed off all roads and railway systems that led into West Berlin
which was run by the Western allies. To get to West Berlin, one would have to
pass through East Germany ran by the USSR. This closing of the roads and
railway systems to West Berlin was done in an effort to cease the
transportation of goods to West Berlin resulting in the people being
starved. This was therefore the blockade of Berlin.
This came as a surprise to the Western powers. USA was not sure how she
should respond. She had two options:
1. Let Stalin have his way as 2million people would soon starve.
2. Use force by sending troops and tanks to blast the blockade.
If the latter was used, a full scale war could have resulted and this made the
USA wonder if she should use this option. It was a dilemma for the USA. She
needed to make her decision quickly. The government later decided it would
not be wise to provoke the USSR as war could very well result. They decided
that in order for them to undermine Stalin, they had to supply the West
Berliners with suppliers through airlifts.

23. What was the Berlin Blockade, 1948?
 Stalin decided to block all access into and out of
Berlin — which was in the Soviet quarter — when
the USA, Br and Fr joined their zones to form
‘Trizonia’
 Roads and railways were closed. Stalin hoped to
swallow Berlin into his section.
 The US realized this was a major propaganda
opportunity
 They had 3 choices: invade, accept or defy. They
decided to defy the ban by flying aircraft to
supply Trizonia with food and fuel. This became
known as the Berlin Airlift.
 On average, a plane left every 90 seconds to
keep it up — 200 000 in total.
 The USSR lifted the ban in 1949, but 2 new
countries were now created.

24. Why did the Soviet Union blockade Berlin?
 Britain, France and USA had combined their zones in 1946
to form Trizonia – isolating USSR Trizonia had a different
currency (the Deutschemark) and was doing well,
economically
 Stalin had looted his section of Berlin for the USSR as
reperations and it was struggling economically
 Stalin needed to show he was strong against the USA;
Marshall Aid was humiliating and he needed the upper
hand. He had also lost in Greece
 The superpowers had never agreed that the USSR would
allow access into Berlin… this was just assumed and never
written down. Stalin wasn’t doing anything illegal—it was
within his zone to take Berlin
 The USSR’s sector of Berlin was embarrassing compared to
the West’s. Communism was clearly inferior to the
capitalism of the East and it was becoming a chink in
Stalin’s iron curtain

25. What were the consequences of the Berlin
Blockade, 1948?
 NATO: the West felt it needed to be able to protect each other. 13
countries met in Washington in April 1949 and formed NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
 Warsaw Pact: In retaliation Stalin set up the Warsaw Pact – a
Communist equivalent to NATO Separation: Germany was firmly
divided into two nations: West Germany (or the Federal German
Republic) under the USA, French and British section whilst the
USSR’s section was East Germany (or the German Democratic
Republic)
 Economic Difficulties in E.Germany — currency collapse and
hard winter forced prices up
 Improvement in West German-US relationships — the Nazi era
was put behind them as a common enemy—USSR was now the
focus.

26. A map showing the blocked access to
Berlin

27. Berlin Airlift

28. Who was more to blame for the
start of the Cold War?

29. The USA
 Truman was divisiveA-Bomb 1945
 Used harsh language at Potsdam —
Molotov complained
 Invited Churchill to talk on Iron Curtain at
Missouri
 Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and Aid
 Didn’t consider Communism an option—
intervened Whites vs Reds 1919 and
Greece 1946Trizonia

30. The USSR
 Showed they were
untrustworthyOccupation of E.Europe
 lies at Yalta Lies on Nazi-Soviet Pact
 Berlin BlockadeBegan Alliances - Warsaw
Pact led to NAATOInevitable Conflicting
systems of government; Battle for
economic markets

31. A cartoon depicting the the origins of the
Cold War [source: Carlos3653, CCASA 4.0]

32.  THE CREATION OF
NATO (April 1949) &
THE SUBSEQUENT
CREATION OF THE
WARSAW PACT (1955)

NATO is an alliance
between the Western
powers that was created
in April 1949. It stands
for the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation. The
dominant country here is
none other than the USA
with every single
commander of NATO
being an American. This
alliance provided troops
on ground for its
members. As a result of
NATO, the Soviets created
their own version which
became known as the
Warsaw Pact.

33. The end