Quick questions on Origins of the Cold War 1945 to 1949: QCE Modern History Unit 4

The USA, USSR and Britain were allies only because of the common enemy of Nazi Germany. The alliance was instrumental from the start.

Yalta (Feb 1945). Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill agreed: - The post-war zones of occupation in Germany (US, UK, French, Soviet). - A four-power occupation of Berlin (despite Berlin lying inside the Soviet zone). - Free elections in Poland and Eastern Europe. - Soviet entry into the war against Japan in exchange for territorial concessions.

The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) ended the Pacific war and demonstrated American military supremacy. Some historians (Gar Alperovitz, revisionist) argue the bombs were partly directed at the USSR as a diplomatic signal; others (orthodox) emphasise the military rationale of ending the war quickly to avoid invasion. The USSR developed its own atomic bomb by August 1949, ending the US monopoly and entering the era of nuclear parity that would shape every subsequent crisis.

By the end of 1945, the Red Army occupied Eastern Europe. The Western Allies occupied Western Europe. The practical division was set by the meeting of forces in May 1945. Free elections in Hungary (1945), Poland (1946-47), Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were progressively undermined by Soviet-backed communist parties.

The American policy response was containment, formulated initially by George Kennan in the "Long Telegram" (Feb 1946) and the anonymous "X" article in Foreign Affairs (July 1947).

The Western Allies (USA, UK, France) merged their occupation zones in Germany (Bizonia by 1947, Trizonia by 1948) and introduced a new currency (Deutschmark) in their sectors and in West Berlin. Stalin responded by blockading all road, rail and canal access to West Berlin from June 24, 1948.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization united 12 founding members (USA, Canada, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Italy) in a mutual-defence pact. Article 5 ("an armed attack against one or more of them...

QCAA Modern History rewards engagement with historiography. The Cold War's origins have been interpreted three main ways:

Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill agreed: - The post-war zones of occupation in Germany (US, UK, French, Soviet). - A four-power occupation of Berlin (despite Berlin lying inside the Soviet zone). - Free elections in Poland and Eastern Europe.

Truman, Stalin, Attlee (who replaced Churchill mid-conference). Confirmed German zone arrangements. Approved reparations from the Soviet zone.

In a speech to Congress, Truman pledged American support for "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". The immediate context was Greece and Turkey (where Britain could no longer afford to support anti-communist governments), but the doctrine framed the entire Cold War.

Secretary of State George Marshall proposed economic aid to rebuild war-damaged Europe. The USA disbursed about $13 billion (around $130 billion in 2020 terms) across 16 Western European countries. The aid was offered to Eastern Europe as well, but Stalin forbade acceptance; the plan therefore consolidated the economic division of Europe.

The USSR was the primary cause. Stalin's expansionism in Eastern Europe forced American containment. Schlesinger, Feis, Bemis.

The USA was equally or more responsible. American economic interests, atomic diplomacy, and aggressive containment escalated tensions. Williams, Kolko, Alperovitz.

Both sides bear responsibility. Misperception, structural bipolarity, and ideological incompatibility produced the conflict; specific events became the catalysts. Gaddis, LaFeber.