Useful for those studying IB SL History on the Paper 2 topic of the Cold War: origins, leaders, and cold war crises. With many evaluated Historiography for you to get a Level 7 &1 ESSAY PLAN
IB HISTORY - COLD WAR SL
RIVALRY, MISTRUST AND ACCORD
1. The breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the start of the Cold War
- The atomic bomb
+ 6/8/1945: the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan => Ended WWII => Serious tension between the US and the
USSR
+ Historiography - Gordon Martel: The purpose of the atomic bomb was to influence post war order of power between two
superpowers => The message behind it was to show the US power and threatened the USSR position
+ Evaluate historiography: Confirmed by Stalin who felt threatened and betrayed as Soviet was supposed to be the one
who end WWII (Yalta Conference). However, the purpose of this drop might be solely due to the desire of ending WWII
of the US as they knew that the Red Army at this point was not as strong as before.
+ Historiography - Post revisionist believed that the purpose of it was to deny the USSR significant movement and action in
defeating and occupying => Stalin was furious and aggressive => Blamed both the USSR and the US mistakes for the
breakdown of the Grand Alliance
+ Evaluate: If Truman had not used the atomic bomb, the USSR would not have felt intimidated => A provocation of
Truman to intimidate Stalin => Breakdown the Alliance
- The new leaders in the US and Britain
+ Roosevlt died => Harry Truman represented the US to the Potsdam Conference => Truman was inexperienced and lack
of knowledge about American foreign policy (the promise of peaceful cooperation w/ each other - UN) and the
technological advantage of American that the atomic bomb gave
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