Full set of notes on KQ4 - Who was to blame for the Cold War. Includes fully evaluation of the causes of the Cold War, as well as context for the end of WW2 and the events that led to the war. This document helped me achieve a Grade 9 at GCSE.
Reasons for the Breakdown of the USA-USSR’s relationship
- 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
Yalta Conference – February 1945
- The mood at the Yalta conference was good
- Russia was happy that the Americans had opened up a second front in the
West
- It was clear that the Nazi’s were being swept away
- Japan was still a problem
- Several agreements were made in their discussions
- 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 – although Stalin would be
allowed some influence in Eastern Europe – the Russians had lost 20 million
men in the war
- A ‘Committee on Dismemberment of Germany’ would decide whether to split
Germany into 6 nations
- Russia would join the UN
- They disagreed 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 as long as his
Soviet Sphere of Influence didn’t include Greece
Reasons for Worsening Tensions
- A change in Leadership
o Roosevelt had died and was replaced by the inexperienced Truman –
who was looking to assert his authority
o His black-and-white nature meant conflict with Stalin was inevitable
, o The USSR accused him of using ‘the language if a Missouri mule driver’
o Atlee had also surprisingly beaten Winston Churchill in the British
election
o Which gave Britain less international clout
- The Atomic Bomb
o USA had not told the USSR about its development and use at Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
o Stalin was worried they would be turned on him
- The Situation in Eastern Europe
o Stalin though promising to honour self-independence at Yalta had left 3
million men in Easter Europe and was in no rush for them to leave
o 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
o Stalin had dragged his heels about helping the US in Japan
Potsdam Conference – July 1945
- By July 1945 the divisions rand 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
o A ‘payment in kind’ method was agreed
o Which mean that the allies would swap resources from their four zones
o Other than this, little else was agreed
o Quite how Germany should be split in the future and the number of
reparations could not be decided
o The USSR wanted more for the 20million Russians who had died
- The 4 D’s
o They did agree to DeNazify, Demilitarize, Democratize and Decentralise
Germany though
o The 4 zones should stay (decentralization) whilst denazification took
place through the Nuremberg trials - where top Nazis were judged and
sentenced – and the banning of the Nazi Party and other extremist
parties
- Poland
o The Big 3 also agreed to give Poland free elections
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