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

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).

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.