History Revision Material
The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries
CONTEXT: The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance and Emergence of Superpower Rivalry
o Strong alliances to prevent war, control allies, and oppose rivals are essential to successful
diplomacy
o The Anglo-American-Soviet Alliance (1941) was conceived out of necessity
o “Did not consist of a long period of working together for common aims, as most successful
alliances do.” -Arne Westad
o A joint aim to defeat the Nazi’s brought them together:
- a rich capitalist nation with a liberal anti-imperialist, President Roosevelt
- the world’s first communist nation and its totalitarian leader Stalin
- the most successful colonizing nation and its conservative leader Churchill
o On the eve of Germany’s defeat in 1945, the Grand Alliance began to breakdown, the
relationship that followed became known as the Cold War
o Cold War: A state of confrontation that exists between two countries, especially with opposing
political systems, which expresses itself through propaganda, economic measures, and a general
policy of non-cooperation
o “The deep distrust, as well as embedded detestation of the Soviet Union, embellished by
gruesome reports of Stalin’s Purges’ would ensure that the Alliance would not endure.” -Kershaw
o The Western worldview was based on a combination of idealism and self-interest. Concepts such
as self-determination and freedom of speech were foreign to the Russians. Divergent
perspectives sowed the seeds of mistrust
o It would be difficult to gather support for an alliance with communist Russia
o The weakening of the British Empire after WW2 and the expansive natural resources of the USA
and Soviet Union made the two nations dominant world powers
o The USA was economically superior, the Soviet Union was geopolitically gaining ground
o Roosevelt had cultivated a friendly rapport with Stalin, to whom he referred to as ‘Uncle Joe’
o When FDR passed away Harry Truman became President and took a more hard-line approach to
US-Soviet relations
o Both sides felt the need to gather allies as the world entered the nuclear age
o The US testing of the first atomic bomb came as a surprise to Stalin, the unwillingness of the US
to share secrets and excluding the Soviet Union from the last days of war with Japan (Yalta)
intensified rivalry in East Asia
o Communist victory in China in 1949 was the final straw
World Leaders
Franklin D. Roosevelt – President of the US from March 1933-April 1945
o Elected leader of a liberal-democratic nation
o Believed in personal liberty and self-determination
o Supported the UN and the Four Policeman concept for post-war peace (US, Soviet Union, Britain,
and China governing by hegemony)
o Opposed balance of power diplomacy
o Wanted political and diplomatic decisions based on realpolitik, in favour of expansion of
American ideals and interests
o Supported a revived German economy with liberal democratic leadership
o Worked to soften the image of Stalin to gather support of the American population
o Churchill: ‘In FDR there died the greatest American friend we have ever known.’
o Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov: he saw dollars, saw America as rich and the Soviet Union as
poor, woke up only when half of Europe passed them
Harry S. Truman – President of the US April 1945-January 1953
o Was Vice President and took over when Roosevelt died, elected president for a second term
, o Did noy consider himself a diplomat, ‘I usually say yes or no to questions after hearing all the
arguments’
o Continued Roosevelts policies toward the Soviet Union but spoke more bluntly of their
leadership
o Made the decision to use atomic weapons against Japan
o The author of the US containment policy and the Truman Doctrine (US to provide military and
economic assistance to democratic nations under threat from authoritarian forces)
o “If we see that Germany is winning the war, we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we
should help Germany and in that way let them kill as many as possible.”
Joseph Stalin – General Secretary of the Soviet Union from April 1922- March 1953
o Appointed leader of a communist single-party state
o Very concerned with security; favoured buffer states to protect the Soviet Union
o Formed an alliance with Hitler (Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939) causing mistrust among his partners
o Strongly insisted his allies open a second front to take of pressure
o Responsible for the death of millions of his own people during the ‘purges’
o Wanted the post-war map to reflect the borders of the 1941 Nazi-Soviet Agreement
o Had an advantageous position during the conferenced because the Red Army already occupied
Eastern Europe and was marching towards Berlin
o Truman: ‘He is honest – but smart as hell’
Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of the I from May 1940- July 1945 and October 1951- April 1955
o Elected leader of a capitalist constitutional monarchy
o Was a conservative
o Wanted to maintain the British Empire: ‘I have not become the King’s first minister in order to
preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.’
o Supported balance of power diplomacy with spheres of influence as shown in the Percentages
Agreement
o Wanted some aspects of settlement decided before the war was over whilst they still had
leverage
o “Never forget that Bolsheviks are crocodiles… I cannot feel the slightest trust or confidence in
them.”
o FDR: Churchill thinking too much of post-war and fearing the Soviet Union getting too strong,
whether that is bad depends on a lot of factors
The Wartime Conferences
Leaders’ idea of the Post-War world
o FDR: prioritised idealistic aims, such as self-determination for nations liberated from Nazi
tyranny, but was uncompromising on the economic interest of his own nation
o Churchill: acknowledged liberal democratic ideal but was most concerned about the weakening
of British influence around the world
o Stalin: unwavering in his goal to protect his nation from the threat of European Imperialism and
made sure any agreements addressed the need for Soviet geopolitical security
The Tehran Conference
o First time the Big Three met in 1943, held by the Soviet Union embassy after the Anglo-Soviet
invasion of Iran
o Leaders discussed
- opening a second front
- the formation of a United Nations organisation
- the Western borders of the Soviet Union
- the division of Germany after the war
o Overall, Churchill and Roosevelt gave into Stalin’s’ requests
Operation Overlord
o Stalin believed resistance to open a second front was designed to bleed them out to be able to
dictate terms later
, o Eventually it was agreed the second front would be an invasion of France May 1944 (operation
Overlord) to split the military resources of the Wehrmacht
o In exchange for the second front, the Americans wanted an agreement for Soviet assistance to
defeat Japan in Asia, Stalin gave his support to the plan that they would enter the war with Japan
once the war was won in Europe
Borders of Poland
o Stalin was firm on sticking to the frontiers agreed in the German-Soviet border agreement
o He wanted Poland and Bessarabia (Romania) should be a part of the Soviet Union to establish
‘buffer states’ for future invasions
o Churchill negotiated to give into the demand but allow Poland to democratically elect
government
o Poland wasn’t consulted, they were angry their territory had been handed to a former enemy
o Agreement went against self-determination, half of Poland under Soviet control
The Yalta Conference
o Took place in February 1945, allied forced had liberated France and Belgium in the west, in the
East the Soviets were 65 km from Berlin, the end of the war was imminent
o Eastern Europe would exist as a Soviet sphere of influence but with a guarantee of ‘free and fair’
elections in those nations
o To determine the nature of post-war Europe and reach agreements on issues presented as
Tehran
o Aims:
- reach agreement of crucial aspects of the United Nations
- determine occupation zones of Germany, Berlin, and Austria
- decide boundaries of Poland and its government
- reach agreement on free elections in Eastern European countries
- decide when and how the Soviets would join the war in Japan
Breakdown of Trust Over Poland
o In 1939 the Soviet Union and Germany invaded Poland together and divided the nation along the
Curzon Line
o In 1943 a mass grave was found in the Katyn Forest of the Soviet Union near the Polish border
o During the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 the Soviets refused to aid Poland against Nazi occupation,
casting doubt on their future intentions regarding Poland
o The Soviets wanted a government in Poland with which they could have friendly relations
o Agreement: the new Polish government was to hold free elections as soon as possible
o Under Roosevelts proposition the ‘Declaration on Liberated Europe’ was agreed upon, to assist
liberated peoples in setting up free elections. Stalin told Molotov: ‘we can deal with this in our
own way later.’
o Stalin agreed to join the war with Japan in exchange for South Sakhalin Island the territory in
Manchuria, lost during the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05
Potsdam
o The final conference in 1945
o Truman took over for Roosevelt, Clement Attlee joined halfway as British Prime Minister
o Discussion points:
- when and how divided Germany would become a unified country again
- when the democratisation of Germany would take place
- the de-Nazification of Germany and trial of Nazi war criminals
- the demilitarisation of Germany
- percentage of German Industrial materials to be moved to the Soviet Union as reparation
o No agreement could be reached on the long-term future of Germany, Americans and British
were interested in an economically viable Germany; the Soviet Union demanded sharp
reparations
o It became apparent countries in Eastern Europe would remain securely under jurisdiction of the
Soviet Union, and the Germany would remain divided
