Cold War 1946-1947 P1 PDF

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Cold War 1946-1947 P1 canned essay ...

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1. Ideological and Political Divide ○

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Two Worlds Speech (Feb 1946) ■ Stalin’s speech - differing ideologies displayed the very different perspectives of the soviets in their desire to prepare for an “inevitable” war to come. ■ Source E displays the potential united nature of the western powers in their collective responsibility for germany. Long Telegram (February 1946) ■ George Kennan argued that, because of its security fears [SOURCE A], internal politics and leadership, and its Marxist-Leninist ideology, the USSR was a dangerous and expansionist state which would never co-operate with the USA. ■ Kennan’s telegram hardened attitudes in the US, and played a key role in US foreign policy towards the Soviet Union Iron Curtain Speech (March 1946) ■ Churchill claimed that the Soviet Union was an expansionist state, arguing for a stronger Anglo-American alliance and the end of compromise. ■ This was an important shift away from the spirit of Yalta and Roosevelt’s policy of attempting co-operation with the USSR, and coincided with Kennan’s long telegram. IN RESPONSE: Stalin compared Churchill to Hitler and saw the speech as a call to war with the soviet union. As a result, the USSR withdrew from the IMF and stepped up anti-western propaganda

2.Economic Policies ○

Economic crisis in Western Europe ■ Loans were linked to the struggle against communism, as the economic and political situation in Western Europe from 1946 to 1947 eventually persuaded Congress to support the more active--and costly--foreign policy desired by the Truman administration.

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Truman Doctrine ■ Argued that all countries had to choose between the freedom of the west or the subjugation of communism. ■ Truman announced US readiness to assist any country resisting armed minorities or outside pressure 1. Congress finally approved aid for Greece and Turkey 2. Stalin saw this as the United States attempting to extend its sphere of influence

USA did so to prevent countries in the Western sphere of influence falling into the Soviet sphere of influence. ■ Policy of containing communism throughout the world 1. Maintained through military and financial assistance Feared that Turkey and Greece would give the Soviets a gateway to the medtarainananain sea and the Middle East ■

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Marshall Plan ■ First and foremost an American program to aid the European nations in post-war recovery, including Eastern European nations within the Soviet sphere of influence ■ However, this would, from the Soviet perspective, allow for the Americans to gain unfettered influence over Eastern Europe and potentially infringe upon the buffer zone composed of communist, Soviet-friendly client states under the USSR ■ This practice of ‘Dollar Diplomacy’ would effectively make the US more influential and the USSR less so, thus making the state of affairs between the two Superpowers not as friendly ■ Both the USA and the USSR saw the Marshall plan as an attempt to weaken soviet control of Eastern Europe and the soviet union saw it as an example of dollar imperialism, designed to establish US influence in Europe.

3. Soviet Expansionism into Eastern Europe As early as February 1946, the USSR had been attempting to increase influence in ‘its’ zone or sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, in part due to Stalin’s desperation to rebuild the Soviet Union’s war devastated economy. By the summer of 1947, following the implementation of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, Soviet influence and control in Eastern Europe was stepped up, resulting in increasingly communist-dominated governments in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Albania. ○

Cominform (1947) ■ On September of 1947, Soviet control of these Eastern European countries took a step further when the communist parties of these states met in Poland. They  agreed to set up the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform) and under Soviet politician Zhdanov’s influence, the Marshall Plan was condemned as preparing to extend US power in order to launch a new world war. ■

Cominform was intended to keep the communist parties in Europe under the control of the USSR, marking the end of the flexible and hesitant foreign policy of the USSR in relation to US actions.

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Zhdanov’s “Two Camps” speech ■ Zhdanov accused the United States of attempting to divide the world into two opposing camps, which later became known as the ‘Two Camps’ doctrine. Accordi ng to him, the post-war world was divided into two camps 1. the Soviet-led, anti-imperialist and democratic camp 2. The US-led imperialist and anti-democratic camp ■ He argued that by the means of the Truman doctrine and Marshall Plan, the US was attempting European domination and preparing for a new war to achieve world domination. He stated that the Soviet bloc was preventing this and trying to preserve world peace.

US Perceptions of the Soviet Threat Roosevelt had been mindful about the USSR’s desire for three things 1. A sphere of influence in Eastern Europe 2. Reparations from former Axis Powers 3. US financial support in reconstructing the USSR Fundamental Disagreement on reparations and the revival of German industry (which the US and Britiain saw as vital to the recovery of Western Berlin and the USSR saw as dangerous) This was seen by the soviet unuion as an attempt to force through the creation of a revived German economy that would be part of the international capitalist system and allied to an increasingly hostile US. Britain and France agreed to develop Bizonia and introduce currency reform as a preliminary way to establish a seperate West German State. 1948 france joins Without consulting the Soviet Union, the allies introduced a new currency, the Deutschmark, to replace the

Berlin Blockade and Airlift Britain and America wanted Germany to recover economically, but Russians gained right to take 10% of industrial equipment of Western Germany What caused it? ● Cold War ○ was just getting started (e.g. Czechoslovakia, March 1948) ● Aims ○ Britain and America wanted to rebuild German economy, while Stalin wanted to keep it weak ● Bizonia ○ January 1947: Integration of the British and American zones to get the German economy moving caused Soviet Union to feel threatened, increasingly isolated ● American Aid ○ Congress voted for Marshall Aid in March 1948 could have bled onto the Eastern European side ■ Russians began searching all roads and rail traffic to Berlin to ensure no aid ● New Currency ○ June 1948: America and France wanted to create a new currency for Western Germany Later introduced a new currency (Deutschemark) for ALL of Western Germany (Bizonia) ■ Russia sees this as a means to undermine their influence in Eastern Europe Also, their currency is much weaker in comparison, as it is not backed by enough gold, which means that the other currency may be more attractive Defending the interests of east German economy ■ Russians stopped all rail traffic and transport into Berlin ■ Seen by Western powers as USSR’s attempt to force them out of Berlin What happened? ● Instead of fighting Truman decided to airlift supplies ● Blockade lasted 318 days Berliners lived on dried potatoes, powdered eggs and cans of meat; only 4 hours of electricity a day ● Soviet authorities were offered to provide West Berlin with essential supplies offer was rejected ● 275, 000 flights carried in 1.5 million tons of supplies; a plane landed every 3 minutes ● Americans were regarded as ‘heroes’ ● Due to the success of the airlift May 12 1949: Stalin reopens the borders What were the results? ● Cold War got worse ● East and West Germany ○ Germany split up ●

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In May 1949: America, Britain and France united their zones into the Federal Republic of Germany (Western Germany), and October 1949: Stalin set up a German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

NATO ○ 1949: Western Allies set up NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) as a defensive alliance against Russia ● Arms Race ○ After Berlin, USA and USSR realized their ambitions for world domination began to build armies and weapons Marshall plan = spread influence US, cannot spread communism ●

London Conferences of 1938 currency reform Combine western zones to create Exclusion of the USSR Untrusted Powers have given up on eastern germany and will now focus on western germany London Program March of 1948→ blockade of military supplies to USSR Implemented currency Lead to blockade Economic and political domination If western base currency spreads to soviet zone, western influence spreads with it mor e valuable and preferable to soviet....