Exam (elaborations)
The Cold War
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AQA 2R - The Cold War Full notes from the entire course. 70 pages
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AQA 2R – The Cold WarAO1 Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and
(25%) understanding to analyse and evaluate the key features related
to the periods studied, making substantiated judgements and
exploring concepts, as relevant, of cause, consequence,
change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance.
AO2 Analyse and evaluate appropriate source material, primary
(15%) and/or contemporary to the period, within its historical context.
AO3 Analyse and evaluate, in relation to the historical context,
(0%) different ways in which aspects of the past have been
interpreted.
The paper is worth 40% of the A Level
Six Parts:
- The Origins of the Cold War (1945-1949)
- The Widening of the Cold War (1949-1955)
- The Global War (1955-1963)
- Confrontation and Cooperation (1963-1972)
- The Brezhnev Era (1972-1985)
- The Ending of the Cold War (1985-1991)
It is recommended that you use a map (Google Maps is fine) and look at where countries are
in relation to each other. It will provide a lot of context and will provide more understanding
of why there were conflicts in some countries, but not others.
,Section 1
The Origins of the Cold War (1945-1949)
Conflicting Ideologies
Communism comes from Communist Manifesto and Karl Marx. It believes that
private property should not belong to individuals but to the state. The owns
everything and divides it equally (or how it best sees fit as equal). These states often
have large Governments that are interested in watching people’s lives. The USSR
follows this from 1922, and China from 1949.
Capitalism is when individuals are free to make money, own business, sell goods
and services and own private property. Often, but not always, democracy and
capitalism are compatible. Comes from United States and UK.
Tensions at Yalta; Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
Since 1933, Roosevelt was President and championed democracy against Germany
and Japan. Roosevelt is pragmatic and realises Stalin and USSR must be seen as a
superpower.
Churchill was pro-Empire and less pro-Democracy (as Britain enjoyed its many
colonial possessions) but sided with Roosevelt through distrust of Stalin and
socialism.
Tehran Conference (1943) – in Tehran, Iran. Focus was on how to win WW2. US
and UK opened up second front in Europe to relieve pressure on USSR. Decided
Germany would be left weak after end of war as punishment.
Yalta Conference (Feb, 1945) – Second front had done well defeating Germany and
victory looked close. Yalta was called to decide what would happen after the war.
Decided Germany would be split into 4 ones of occupation controlled by France, UK,
Britain and USSR. Germany would pay $20 billion reparations, half directly to Russia
and leading Nazis would face war crimes. Agreed to set up the UN – USSR wanted
all Soviet Republics to join the UN individually, but France and UK wanted only
Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. USSR also agreed to free elections in E. Europe, and
to help fight the war in Japan. However there were disagreements on where to put
the borders of Poland.
The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance at Potsdam; Relations between Stalin, Truman
and Attlee
Potsdam Conference (July/ August 1945) – This was the first post-War conference.
Roosevelt had died, and his Vice President, Truman, took over and Churchill had
been replaced by Labour’s Attlee. Germany had surrendered in May. Attlee was
more focused on British issues, such as the NHS, decolonisation and nationalisation
of industries, and Truman was not previously involved in foreign issues. There were
tension as Truman was anti-Communist and had much less idea of foreign affairs
than his predecessor. At this point they confirmed the four-power split of Germany.
,However, Truman did not want Germany crippled economically, as was agreed at
Yalta, in case this brought back Nazism. Truman said take reparations from the split
of Germany in relation to country’s control. Did not trust Stalin and wanted less
influence from Stalin in Poland and Eastern Europe. Agreed Stalin would get
involved in war in Japan. Ended with nuclear bomb on Japan before Stalin got
involved.
Stalin was unaware that the US would drop a nuclear bomb and this rapidly
destroyed a relationship between the three. The UK and US were on one side of the
war and USSR were on a different side.
The Soviet Union occupation/control of eastern and southern Europe
Stalin wanted a buffer zone to protect Russia after 20m Russians died during WW2.
He did this by taking over and occupying Eastern and Southern Europe. 16 countries
were incorporated into the USSR. Of note for the course:
Country Year Methods used
A communist government took power at the end of World War
Albania 1945
Two.
In 1946 the Bulgarian monarchy was abolished and later that year
Bulgaria 1946 a communist government was elected and gradually eradicated
its opponents.
East Germany was part of the Soviet zone of occupation agreed
East Germany 1945 at the Yalta Conference and in 1945 the Soviets set up a
communist regime.
In the 1945 elections, a communist-led coalition (made up of more
than one political party) government was elected. The
Romania 1945
Communists gradually removed their coalition partners and
abolished the Romanian monarchy.
Fearing that a non-communist government would be elected in
1947, Stalin invited 16 non-communist politicians to Moscow,
Poland 1947
where they were arrested. With their political opponents removed,
the Polish communists won the election.
Although non-communists won the 1945 election, a communist
politician, Rakosi, took control of the secret police and used it to
Hungary 1948
arrest and execute his political opponents. By 1948 the
Communist Party was in complete control of the country.
Czechoslovakia 1948 Czechoslovakia was the last country in Eastern Europe to fully fall
to communism in 1948. At elections that year only communists
were allowed to stand and a communist government was duly
, Country Year Methods used
elected.
Kennan's Long Telegram
In 1946, George Kennan, who was an official at the US Embassy in Moscow, was
asked for a summary of the Soviet’s intentions in Eastern Europe. He wrote an
8,000-word telegram saying the USSR was heavily armed and feared the outside
world. It wanted Communism to spread and could not have peaceful co-existence
with America. He thought America should aim to contain Communism. The USSR
intercepted the telegram. This increased the distrust between the two countries.
The Novikov Telegram: Soviet Ambassador to the USA, Nikolai Novikov, warned the
Soviets that the USA had emerged strong economically and sought world
domination. He said the USSR needed a buffer zone – space between Russia’s
borders and Europe so any further war would take place mostly outside of Russia –
and should absorb Eastern Europe into it.
The Iron Curtain Speech
In 1946, Churchill toured the United States and met President Truman in his home
state of Missouri. Churchill gave a speech in Fulton, Missouri, in which he warned of
the dangers of Communism and the Soviet Union. He warned of an ‘Iron Curtain’
being wrapped around Eastern Europe, which is where the term comes from. The
USSR assumed this was the official position of the West, and especially of the US.
Relations deeply worsened because of this.
Cominform
Cominform – (Inform – Information). It was created by the USSR to help centralise
information about communist parties and movement across the world. It aimed to
help more communism spread across the world.
Comecon – (Econ – Economy). It was created by the USSR as the Council of Mutual
Economic Assistance. This was an economic package, similar to the Marshall Plan,
which helped plan and specialise economies across the USSR. It assisted the
creation of infrastructure like factories and agriculture and planned economies. It
also forced economies and countries to trade with each other and connected the
USSR’s states together.
Both of these organisations helped organise and spread Communism from the
USSR into Eastern Europe. The US became aware of these organisations and
became concerned that the USSR had designs on more than just Eastern Europe.
The Greek Civil War (1946-1949)
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