Cold War Summary Notes
Topic 1 – The Beginnings of the Cold War 1945-1949

• Background – the ideologies of capitalism and communism and the governments of the USA and USSR. o The USA was a democracy and held free elections whereas the USSR was a Communist state. Elections were uncontested and all candidates were Communist. o In the USA business was privately owned, but in the USSR all business and industry were owned by the state. o In the USA there were great differences between the rich and poor. In the USSR there were tight controls on the amount of money that individuals could own. o Both the USA and USSR believed that other countries should be run in the same way that theirs was. o Many people in each country were strongly against the beliefs of the other.

• It is important to realise that the differences in beliefs between the two countries alone did not cause the Cold War. The two countries had even been allies during World War Two. However, the USA had learned from the experience of the Second World War that they should not give in to the demands of dictators. Any action that was perceived as a threat of the spread of Communism would bring a reaction from the USA.

The Yalta Conference

• This was held in February 1945, before the end of the Second World War, when it was clear that Germany was losing the war in Europe. It was held at Yalta in the Ukraine. • The three main figures at the Conference were Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. They managed to agree on some important matters: o They agreed that Germany would be split into 4 zones after the end of the war. These would be run by the USA, Britain, France and the USSR. Berlin, deep in the Soviet zone, was also to be divided into 4. o They agreed that countries liberated from German occupation would be allowed