Cold War in Europe, overview and possible arguments that can be used
Includes timeline of the whole Cold War and everything that led up to the Cold War
Unit 1: 1917-1945 ● The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 created the first alternative to the
capitalist model. Communism emphasised that society was more
important than the individual, whereas the capitalist system promoted
individuality.
○ Since the revolution in 1917, it has caused distrust between
the Soviet Union and the West
● GB, the USA, and the Soviet Union formed an alliance at the end of
1941 to defeat Nazi Germany
○ However, tensions quickly emerged between the three
powers over the conduct of war particularly over the
‘second front’
● 20 million Soviet citizens died between 1941 and 1945
● The Soviet Union wanted to retain control of eastern european
countries that the Red Army had liberated in 1945 as a buffer zone
against future attacks
○ Whilst the West believed that the countries should choose for
themselves as democracies
● Poland was the country that caused most disagreement between
the powers as the war came to a close
● At Yalta and Potsdam, the wartime allies agreed to divide Germany
into four zones of occupation and that the USSR would receive
reparation payments and for losses suffered
● The wartime alliance quickly fell apart once Germany had been
defeated
● In 1945, the USA enjoyed a monopoly of atomic weaponry
● Truman was far more suspicious of Stalin than his predecessors
had been and embarked on a policy of containing communism in
Eastern Europe
Unit 2: 1946-55 ● In 1946, Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain Speech, warning of the
dangers of Soviet expansionism
● The Soviets established a buffer zone of Soviet-friendly states in
Eastern Europe by 1947
○ The communists seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948 to
complete the Eastern bloc, but Britain and the USA
successfully resisted a communist takeover in Greece while
Yugoslavia became communist but successfully resisted
Soviet domination
● The USA decided on a policy of containment - trying to ‘contain’
communism - in the Truman Doctrine.
○ Marshall Aid helped Europe to recover but divided the
continent in two; those countries who received aid and
those who refused it under Soviet pressure
● In response to German currency reform, the Soviets tried to force the
Allies out of Berlin through the Berlin Blockade.
○ The airlift was successful for Britain and the USA confirmed
their commitment to Germany
● 1949 - Germany four zones became two zones, with the three
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