Topic: 4.1 The Outbreak and Escalation of the Cold War.
Reasons for Cold War
|What are the reasons for the Cold War? |What are these reasons about? |Why did these reasons cause the Cold War?|
|1. Differing political systems |The West was capitalist while the East |This led to Cold War because as their |
| |was communist. The West believes in |political beliefs were different, both |
| |democracy where the people elect the |sides saw each other with suspicion and |
| |government and the government carries out|distrust. This led to strained |
| |the wishes of the people. The East |relationship with one another, leading to|
| |believes in communism where the |the Cold War. |
| |government imposes its decisions on the | |
| |people with the citizens having little or| |
| |no freedom of rights. | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|2. Different economy system |A capitalist economy encourages private |This led to Cold War because as their |
| |ownership, profit and free competition. A|economic beliefs were different, both |
| |communist economy is controlled by the |sides saw each other with suspicion and |
| |government; the state controlled and |distrust. This led to strained |
| |planned all economic activities and owned|relationship with one another, leading to|
| |the wealth and resources. |the Cold War. |
|3. History of distrust |Even before the end of the Second World |This led to Cold War because it meant |
| |War, there was a lot of distrust between |that both sides lost confidence and trust|
| |the West and the East. This led to |in each other. It also led to increased |
| |incidents where both sides could not |bad feelings and mistrust between the |
| |agree with one another. An example is |two, leading to the Cold War. |
| |when USA informed the other allied powers| |
| |like Britain and France that it planned | |
| |to drop the atomic bombs on the Japanese | |
| |cities. However, the USSR was not | |
| |informed of this until much later. The | |
| |USSR thus became suspicious that the USA | |
| |was planning to destroy the USSR with the| |
| |nuclear weapons. | |
|4. The USSR and Satellite States |The USSR suffered badly during the WW2 |This led to Cold War because both sides |
| |with over 20 million people dead. It |could not agree on the fate of the |
| |wanted to ensure that it was secured from|Eastern European countries. This led to |
| |any future attacks by extending its |unhappiness and distrust of each other |
| |sphere of influence over the Eastern |which eventually led to the Cold War. |
| |European countries. The USSR stated that | |
| |this was solely for defensive or security| |
| |reasons. The USA and West saw it as the | |
| |communist aim of expanding and spreading | |
| |communism further. | |
|5. Personality clashes |During Potsdam Conference, USSR was led |This led to Cold War because it meant |
| |by Stalin and USA by Truman. Truman was |that both of them could not agree with |
| |anti-communist and did not trust the |one another and began to offend one |
| |Soviet Union. Stalin and Truman found it |another, leading to the Cold War. |
| |hard to understand each other. | |
|6. Withdrawal of aid to the USSR |Before war: the USA was a superpower |This led to Cold War because the two |
| |while the USSR was developing. The USA |sides viewed the withdrawal of aid in |
| |thus provided financial aid to the USSR. |different ways. There was increased |
| |Post war: both the USA and the USSR were |tension and distrust between the two |
| |superpowers. USA stopped giving financial|powers, leading to the Cold War. |
| |support to Soviet Union. USA saw no need | |
| |to do so as Soviet Union was a | |
| |superpower. USSR felt that this was to | |
| |cripple Soviet Union, which was unlike | |
| |USA, badly affected by the war | |
Impact of Cold War on Europe
|What were the impacts? |What are these impacts about? |Why was this an impact? |
|1. Europe was divided |Europe was divided into two blocs between|This was a negative impact of Cold War on|
| |1945 and 1948. The East comprised mainly|Europe because it further contributed to |
| |of Communist governments and the West |the bad blood between the two |
| |consisted of democratic countries. |superpowers. |
| |The USSR expanded its control over | |
| |Eastern Europe by setting up Communist | |
| |governments in these countries. The USSR| |
| |could then influence these. Communist | |
| |governments to follow policies that were | |
| |non-threatening to it. The countries | |
| |with Communist governments were known as | |
| |satellite states. The West criticised | |
| |the USSR for setting up such governments | |
| |without holding free elections and for | |
| |their harsh tactics. Churchill’s ‘Iron | |
| |Curtain’ speech was made in response to | |
| |the spread of communism in Eastern | |
| |Europe. | |
|2. Truman Doctrine was announced |Following Soviet expansion in Eastern |This was an impact of Cold War on Europe |
| |Europe, President Truman decided that the|because it indicated that the Americans |
| |USA must stop Communism from spreading. |were determined to resist the global |
| |On 12 March 1947, he announced the Truman|expansion of communism and to protect the|
| |Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine provided |capitalist system. |
| |American aid to Greece and Turkey in | |
| |order to prevent the spread of Communism.| |
| |Agreeing with Truman’s sentiments, | |
| |Congress soon voted $400 million of aid | |
| |to Greece and Turkey. The Truman | |
| |Doctrine was a milestone in the US | |
| |postwar foreign policy. | |
|3. Marshall Plan was put into action |Following the Truman Doctrine, the |This was an impact of Cold War on Europe |
| |Marshall Plan was introduced. The Plan |because the Marshall Plan brought |
| |sought to make Europe rich and strong |economic recovery and thus stopped the |
| |again and prosperous enough to resist |spread of communism in Western Europe. |
| |Communism, by providing financial help. | |
| |Between 1948 and 1952, 16 countries in | |
| |Western Europe received a total of US$13 | |
| |billion in aid, loans and goods. Soviet | |
| |satellites were forbidden from accepting | |
| |American financial aid. Stalin felt that | |
| |the West was using this to expand its | |
| |influence over Europe. | |
|4. Germany was divided |A crisis ensued among Britain, France, |This was a negative impact of Cold War on|
| |the USA and the USSR over how to |Europe because it worsened relations |
| |administer Germany in 1948. Germany was |between the Western powers and the USSR. |
| |to be divided into four parts and Berlin |However, it did not develop into a ‘hot’ |
| |into four zones. In 1948, Britain, |war. |
| |France and the USA decided to join their | |
| |separate zones in Germany. In order to | |
| |help the West German economy recover, | |
| |they agreed to create a new currency. | |
| |Afraid that Germany would grow strong and| |
| |threaten the USSR, Stalin planned to | |
| |seize control of West Berlin through a | |
| |blockade. He had hoped to force the | |
| |Western powers to leave the city by | |
| |blocking all supplies of food to West | |
| |Berlin. The USA was determined to | |
| |support West Berlin as it represented the| |
| |democratic system. After the crisis, the | |
| |British, French and American zones | |
| |combined to form the Federal Republic of | |
| |Germany (West Germany). The Soviet zone | |
| |became the German Democratic Republic | |
| |(East Germany). As a result of the | |
| |blockade Germany became two separate | |
| |countries. | |
|5. NATO and Warsaw Pact were set up |The division of Europe into two spheres |This was an impact of Cold War on Europe |
| |of influence forced both sides to set up |because the military alliance established|
| |military alliances. In April 1949, the |enabled the two superpowers to check on |
| |USA set up the North Atlantic Treaty |each other. |
| |Organisation (NATO) for collective | |
| |security against any Soviet attack. | |
| |Similarly, the USSR set up an alliance | |
| |known as the Warsaw Pact in 1955, uniting| |
| |all Communist countries in Eastern Europe| |
| |except Yugoslavia. | |
|6. Berlin was divided | | |
| | | |
Reasons for Marshall Plan
|The reasons |What were these reasons about? |Why were these reasons important? |
|1. To bring about economic recovery in |When WWII ended, the situation in Europe |This led to the introduction of the |
|Europe |was desperate with there being shortages |Marshall Plan because USA could offer |
| |of food and other necessities. Money was|financial aid to Europe so as to restore |
| |urgently needed for the reconstruction of|the economies of Europe and end Europe’s |
| |houses, industries and communication |‘hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos’.|
| |networks, and to jump-start the economies| |
| |of these countries. There was also | |
| |strong public feeling, in some parts of | |
| |US society, that the USA (as a wealthy | |
| |nation) should be doing something about | |
| |the poverty and suffering in Europe. | |
|2. To contain communism |Europe was ruined and – after the coldest|This led to the introduction of the |
| |winter in record – starving. Truman was|Marshall Plan because by doing so, the US|
| |afraid that all Europe would turn |hoped that Eastern European countries |
| |Communist unless the US helped. He |would be attracted to capitalism and thus|
| |believed that Communism flourished where |gain a foothold in the Soviet sphere of |
| |there was ‘misery and want’. The USA |influence. |
| |feared that poor economic conditions | |
| |could result in the election of Communist| |
| |governments, even in countries like | |
| |Britain and France. Therefore, Truman | |
| |decided that the USA should help put an | |
| |end to the poverty that existed and make | |
| |communism less attractive to the people | |
| |of Europe. Moreover, the plan was also | |
| |offered to East European countries. | |
|3. To create new markets for USA |Truman knew that poor economic conditions|- This led to the introduction of the |
| |in Europe would also affect the US |Marshall Plan because by doing so it |
| |economy and Americans, too. would suffer.|would help to improve US economy. |
| |Truman hoped to help the economies in | |
| |Europe recover so that the Europeans | |
| |could demand for US goods. | |
|4. To bring prosperity and success to | | |
|Western Europe | | |
Impact of Marshall Plan
|What are the impacts of Marshall Plan? |What was this impact about? |Why was this impact important? |
|1. Containment through economic recovery |Economic recovery of the Western bloc was|- This was an impact of the Marshall Plan|
| |one impact of the Marshall Plan. |because with the financial aid given, |
| |President Truman persuaded the US Senate |many western European countries were able|
| |to help in the economic recovery of |to recover from the effects of WWII, and |
| |post-war Europe by giving aid to them. |thus, people in the Western bloc were not|
| |He said that the countries were going to |supportive of communism. |
| |have to choose between communism and | |
| |democracy. Providing economic aid was a | |
| |good way to prevent the spread of | |
| |communism in Europe as countries in | |
| |poverty were more receptive towards | |
| |communism. There was also strong public | |
| |feeling, in some parts of US society, | |
| |that the USA (as a wealthy nation) should| |
| |be doing something about the poverty and | |
| |suffering in Europe. The Marshall Plan | |
| |gave out $13 billion across Europe. | |
|2. Worsened relations between USSR and |Instead of offering aid to the USSR under|This was an impact of the Marshall Plan |
|USA |the Marshall Plan, the USA told the USSR |because it signifies a breakdown in the |
| |it could join the Marshall Plan as |relationship between the two superpowers.|
| |aid-giver. While the USA had been | |
| |relatively untouched by the war, the USSR| |
| |had suffered terribly in terms of | |
| |devastation from the fighting, loss of | |
| |armed troops and also civilian losses. | |
| |The USSR refused to join the Marshall | |
| |Plan and told all of its satellite states| |
| |in the Eastern bloc not to accept aid as | |
| |Stalin felt that the Marshall Plan was | |
| |part of Western plans to expand its | |
| |influence over Europe. | |
|3. Economic recovery and cooperation in |In 1949, the USSR set up Comecon among |This was an impact of the Marshall Plan |
|the Eastern bloc. |Eastern bloc countries to counter the |because with time, the USSR |
| |Marshall Plan, although the USSR did not |‘rationalized’ the industries in its |
| |lend much money at first. Comecon was |satellites, Poland-shipbuilding, |
| |set up to exchange economic experiences, |Hungary-trucks. This brought the |
| |extend technical aid to one another, and |satellite states under USSR's control. |
| |to render mutual assistance with respect | |
| |to raw materials, foodstuffs, machines, | |
| |equipment, etc. It was also to tie the | |
| |USSR and its satellites together more | |
| |tightly in various trade dependencies. | |
|4. USSR sets up COMECON | | |
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