Complete Cold War (Conflict and Tension between East and West ) Grade 9 Summary Notes for AQA and Edexcel
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Course
History
Institution
GCSE
Book
Oxford AQA GCSE History: Conflict and Tension between East and West 1945-1972 Student Book
An in-depth, yet concise pdf of the summary of the entirety of the Cold War for GCSE, for both the AQA and Edexcel course. It is 32 pages long and almost 10,000 words. I personally used these notes to get a Grade 9 in my AQA History GCSE so I can confirm these notes are great for any student, espec...
What were superpower relationships like at the Yalta conference?
Notes:
• they met in February 1945
• Churchill was aware of Stalin’s ambitions to expand his territory and European
influence
o saw Britain’s best interests through a close relationship with the USA
• Roosevelt was committed to working with the USSR to rebuild Europe
o believed that only a capitalist Europe would prevent another war
• Stalin’s main aim was to ensure that another war of that effect would every happen
again
o many of his advisors were distrustful of the USA but he saw utility in a good
relationship with them
• it was decided that Germany should be divided into 4 zones (USA, USSR, Britain and
France)
• Berlin would also be divided into 4 zones despite being in the soviet zone
• liberated countries in Western and Central Europe would be allowed to hold free
elections
• Soviets wanted a communist government in Poland, but the UK and the USA wanted
the old Polish government to return
• the UN would be formed to ensure future international cooperation
Conclusion:
the superpower relations were strong although differences in their ideologies began to
create tears in the said relationship. Stalin wanted to prevent another war from affecting
the USSR but the west feared of a Soviet dominated Europe and the spread of communism
,The Potsdam Conference July 1945
Question:
What were superpower relationships like at the Potsdam Conference?
Notes:
• Germany had been defeated
• met in July 1945
• Harry Truman replaced the late Roosevelt
o had an unfriendly relationship with Stalin
o believed Stalin was not interested in cooperation and was concerned about
the growth of Soviet power
o used the atomic bomb as a way on ensuring his needs
• Clement Atlee replaced Churchill when their Tory party was defeated
o also concerned about the growth of Soviet power
o realised that Britain was no longer a dominant force and so saw it vital to
maintain a good relationship with the USA
• Stalin was convinced that the USA was a power rival in Europe
o trusted Truman much less than Roosevelt especially with his unannounced
atomic bomb revealed at the conference
• Stalin wanted Germany to pay reparations to the USSR but Truman and Atlee
opposed this
• they wanted Germany to be self-sufficient
• with the exception of Yugoslavia and Greece, almost all of E. Europe was occupied by
the Soviets and so had communist governments
• they decided to demilitarise Germany and make all decisions about it together
Conclusion:
superpower relations began to crumble as their differences over Germany and Europe
began to reveal themselves. the west wanted to make Germany self-sufficient whereas the
Soviets wanted to cripple them. furthermore it convinced Atlee and Truman that their
suspicions of Soviet growth were true and so gave birth to Truman’s ‘get tough’ policy. a
lack of trust was also revealed as the USA had not told Stalin about the atomic bomb
,The Atomic Bomb
Question:
What effect did the atomic bomb have on the CW?
Notes:
• Truman saw huge advantage in having the world’s first nuclear weapon
• Stalin might have known about the bombs because of spies but this secrecy only
added to both parties’ distrust
• 6 August Enola Gay was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 70,000 people instantly
• three days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000
• the use of the weapons removed the needs to soviet troops to get involved with the
battle against Japan
• Stalin was determined that the USSR should have its own atomic bomb
• Truman was determined to stop Soviet expansionism and the spread of communism
Conclusion:
the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was major in the cold war, and signalled USA
intentions to dominate the post-war period. Stalin would have felt as if the atomic bomb
was an unofficial threat to the Soviets, and so was determined to build his own bomb,
essentially beginning the arms race. it also showed that the USA was not above using force
to achieve its ideological aims
, The Iron Curtain March 1946
Question:
How did the iron curtain speech affect superpower relations?
Notes:
• Soviets felt the need for a ‘buffer zone’ to prevent the security of the SU in case of a
future invasion
• between 1945-48 the soviets went about taking over many countries (Poland,
Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia)
• they used salami tactics, which involved setting up coalition governments, employing
soviet men in high positions, arresting oppositions and fixing elections to gain power
• these countries were known as satellite states since the SU had influence over them
• the Long Telegram was a report written by George Kennan in 1946, outlining Soviet
ambitions to spread its influence and USA role as its enemy
o it is seen as key in shaping US foreign policy since the report confirmed
Truman’s fears
• in March 1946 Churchill delivered a speech in the USA criticising USSR actions,
describing the building divide between E and W Europe as an ‘iron curtain’
• Stalin viewed the speech as an attempt to paint the Soviets in an aggressive and
untrustworthy manner
Conclusion:
the iron curtain speech further deteriorated superpower relations as Truman’s fears of
soviet expansionism were confirmed through the set up of communist governments in
satellite states, the information detailed in the Long telegram, and Churchill’s iron curtain
speech. The speech also suggested to Stalin that Churchill was working with the USA to
negatively affect how the world saw the SU, arguing that it deliberately misunderstood
Soviet actions in E Europe
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