...The American policy of Marshall Aid sparked both huge appraisal and significant opposition, and to this day it is debated whether it was purely a policy of self-interest and an imposition of America’s political and economic views on a weak and vulnerable Europe, or alternatively one of the greatest acts of altruism and generosity in modern history. It was enormously successful, ‘It was the most unambiguously and triumphantly successful of all America’s post-war policies’ , and helped to create a foundation on which Europe could become an economic power. While there were benefits to America which may have been interpreted as attempts to increase American power and inflamed opposition to the Marshall Plan, the administering of economic aid to Europe provided such a firm foundation for Europe to recover and progress that it must be said that the benefits of the Marshall Plan to Europe outweigh the apparent use of the Aid to pursue America’s interests. Sources such as the Harvard Address show us that an element of self interest was required for the Marshall Plan to be an efficient investment for America, but that the core idea of the Aid was fundamentally to help pull Europe out of the turmoil caused by the most destructive War in history, and that it was largely successful in doing so. The benefits to America both economically and politically were hugely significant. Hugh Brogan argues that ‘The health of the American economy needed a healthy Europe for mutual trade’ , by rebuilding...
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...How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-48 owed more to Soviet expansionism than to the USA’s economic interests? It is evident that, as Source 7 argues, the development if the Cold War in the years 1945-48 owed more to Soviet expansionism. However, it was not the main factor. The USA’s desire to boost their economy and influence in Eastern Europe, discussed in Source 8, and the need to secure the USSR’s boarders, the focus of Source 9, also l,aged s key role in the development of the Cold War. Perhaps one can argue that all three aims of both superpowers acted as catalysts and contributed to the development of the Cold War. In essence, Source 7 argues that the USSR had an “ambitious aim” of insuring Communist control in its sphere of influence. This is true in the sense that Stalin aimed to take advantage of the military situation in Europe and strengthen Soviet influence which resulted in occupying as much of Eastern Europe as possible. Following the Yalta and Potsdam conferences of 1945, Pro-Communist governments were set up in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. As well as this, the Soviet Union allowed Communist politicians to hold key positions in Coalition governments before elections were held meaning that elections could be manipulated to ensure communists controlled the levers of power. As a result of such measures, by the end of 1947 every state in Eastern Europe, except from Czechoslovakia, was controlled...
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...June 2013 – A World Divided: Superpower Relations, 1944 – 1990 Use sources 7, 8 and 9 and your own knowledge. How far do you agree with the view that, in the years 1945 – 1950, the Cold War developed as a result of US and Soviet security needs? Explain your answer, using sources 7, 8 and 9 and your own knowledge of the issues related to this controversy. (40 marks) | Agree | Disagree | Source 7 | * Blames the US for its need to have total control of all democratic countries and zones ‘sphere of…’ * Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan & German and Japanese ‘rehabilitation’ * Truman’s response was violent ‘hydrogen bomb…’ * SEATO – America’s ‘alliance system’ | | Source 8 | * Each side felt they had to adopt these safety measures in order to protect their security * The Russians had to help Eastern Europe and the Americans had to help the West * Each side felt the other was a threat of Communism or Capitalism – felt like they had to protect their ideologies | | Source 9 | | * The Cold War developed as a result of conflicted ideals and interests * Both powers wanted an increase in their global power * Each side had no fear of war ‘armed to the teeth’ * Each side used underhanded methods to get their way * Neither side understood the government and the people of its enemy | The view that, in the years 1945 – 1950, the Cold War developed as a result of US and Soviet security needs is partly true as both sides feared what the other would...
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...The Marshall Plan was significant as it initiated an economic divide in Europe, by triggering a response from USSR. However, it was not the primary cause as political and military rivalry also contributed to the division of Europe. The introduction of the Marshall Plan by the Americans signified the move from the second stage of the recognition of incompatibility between the two superpowers to the final stage of initiation of action, and hence was significant in showing how the change in relations from co-operation to rivalry eventually led the the separation of Europe into two spheres of influence. Another factor that played a major role in the separation of Europe was the difference in security aims of the Americans and Soviets. Military rivalry, ultimately, is to be primarily blamed for the complete separation of Europe as the arms race that broke out contributed to the severing of friendly and diplomatic ties between the Soviet Union and United States of America. Politically, containment also led to the division of Europe. It influenced American foreign policy towards USSR in a long run. Its objective was to contain the power influence of USSR. One example is the implement of Truman doctrine which clearly showed USA’s political commitment to take over seemingly democratic countries and intervene parts of the world that would fall into Communism. Another example is the Berlin Blockade which was seen by the west as evidence of USSR aggression. And USA response...
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...How did the Cold War develop between 1944-53? 1947 – Truman Doctrine (March) Marshall Plan (June) 1948 – Communist regime established in Czechoslovakia (Feb) Berlin blockade begins (June) US relationship with Europe after WWII: * Truman was under pressure to adopt a more hard-line approach towards communism following Kennan’s Telegram and Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech and the threat of communist takeover in Greece. * No suggestion that the US envisaged any long-term military or political entanglement in Europe beyond the time it took to establish political and economic reconstruction there. * Each side regarded the other as a threat to national security and being expansionist and a global strategic threat. * By September 1946 the emergence of the Cold War was seemingly irreversible. Why Truman introduced his Doctrine (first step containment?) * Keep the SU from aiding the Greek communist movement * Protect democracy and freedom in response to Soviet aggression and ideological expansionism in Eastern Europe * Demonise SU and Communism * Threaten and provoke USSR * Truman wanted a Cold War because that would justify the US’s role as a defender of the freedom and function as world power * Develop the US’s global economic power – if the US is protector, other sates would be militarily and economically dependent of the US – close trade relations. Truman emphasised in his doctrine the differences between Capitalism...
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...Which of the external factors was most important in the Communist take over of Czechoslovakia in 1948? World Count: 3100 By Tomas Topolanek IB Extended Essay Subject: History School: International School of Prague Supervisor: Lawrence Hrubes Date: 17 September 2011 Session: 2012 Candidate Number: 000889-046 Abstract: The year 1948 was an essential period of time for the Czechoslovak history and its future. From the foundation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Czechoslovakia was still under worldwide influence of world powers such as Soviet Union, United Kingdom or United States. In order to answer the question, “Which of the external factors was most important in the Communist take over of Czechoslovakia in 1948?” Firstly I wanted to focus my essay only on how were the Communist reliable of takeover Czechoslovakia in 1948. After investigation it was discovered that the Czechoslovak history from year 1948 was mostly affected only by the external factors. A number of secondary sources are used including textbooks and biographies; both online and print, one of the secondary source was in Czech language. The scope of the investigation is focused on years from 1938 to the final takeover in 1948. Several external examples are used, why external factors were mostly important in Communist take over. Two very significant important factors what happened were the conference in Yalta, and the Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty of Alliance signed by Czechoslovak president...
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...in fact due to ideological differences, which is backed by evidence from all three sources. Overall, the development of the Cold War from 1945 – 48 owed more to the USA’s economic interests than any other factor. There is evidence in all three sources of ideology coming in to play during the development of the Cold War. “Russia wanted friendly governments on its western borders” is a clear statement that Soviet ideology of creating “buffer” states to protect them from “future attacks from the west” had a part to play in the development of the Cold War. Source 8 supports this by contributing the capitalist ideology of the US which was to use Marshall Aid (1948) to “bring economic recovery to western Europe”. The relevance of this to development of the Cold War is clarified in source 9, which explains that Stalin did not accept Marshall Aid as “The political dangers were too great”. Although this does point towards ideology being an important factor, the fact that the ideological conflict arises from a US economic policy trumps the importance of ideology in the development of the Cold War and points towards US economic policy being the most influential for the development from 1945 – 48. Source 7 supports the claim that...
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...result of acts and policies such as the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine in 1947. Both providing evidence to support this view are sources 8 and 9, with source 7 giving the impression that it was the errors of Stalin that contributed most. In addition to these two factors, conflicting ideologies also played a small role in provoking the Cold War, as shown in source 8. Despite this, it was fundamentally the economic and national interests of the USA that was mainly to blame for the start of the Cold War in 1945 and its development through to 1949. Europe was destroyed physically and economically after the Second World War. America saw this as a chance to become a world hegemony, as well as economically advancing the nation - source 9 proves this, saying, “The liberal capitalist US economy needed ever-increasing trade and investment opportunities”, as well as “The Marshall Plan was designed to implant an informal American Empire in Europe”. This shows that the USA not only used Europe’s fragile situation after WW2 to prosper itself, but more importantly increase its world influence, aiming to produce some sort of Empire of its own. For this to happen, the USA became hostile towards its rival superpower, the USSR. This point is supported by Source 8 by quoting “the illusion of being all powerful, fostered by American economic strength”, suggesting that the US government blindly influenced Europe, ignoring the Soviet sphere of influence. Supporting the evidence in sources 8 and...
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...came to be known as the "Cold War". Although full-scale war between the U.S. and Soviet Union did not occur, two major wars, (Korea and Vietnam), and many smaller conflicts occurred between 1946 and 1991 over the battle between democracy and communism. The Cold war was a product of many social and political reasons, a few but not limited to: The portioning of North Korea and Germany, the Marshal Plan, the Berlin Blockage and NATO. I’ll begin my explanation with the Yalta Conference, held in Yalta in February 1945 where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill planned the final stages of World War II and agreed to the territorial division of Europe. “At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following Japan’s surrender” (Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State). Stalin's "sphere of influence" consisted of territories that his armies had already overrun....
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...both drawn; large areas of Europe were left without meaningful government or administration. Subsequently much of Europe was left devastated and was in desperate need of reconstruction. The USA and the USSR were to provide the inspiration for alternative methods of recovering Europe, the USA aimed to invest billions into Europe hopefully mending the economy and to prevent the temptation of communism which seemed very attractive to those countries whose economy were in ruins. Moreover by doing this, the American economy also benefitted as countries who accepted the financial aid would have to open up there economy to American capitalist interests. On the other hand the Soviets were looking to expand Soviet territory and create a sphere of influence, whether this was to create a buffer zone for the USSR or to spread communism, it developed the Cold War as America felt threatened. Many historians have differing views on the matter which is evident in sources 7, 8 and 9, all of which feature modern historians posing some very different arguments. Some historians, as stated in the question believe that the expansion of the Cold War within 1945-48 was due to Soviet Expansionism whereas others believed it was because of USA’s economic interests. Either way, it seems most likely that both were attributed to each other however it was the USA’s economic interests what was the most key factor as the policies introduced directly opposed communism therefore causing conflict. Nonetheless, Soviet...
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...How far was the USSR responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War 1945-1949? To a certain extent, the USSR’s responsibility of the Cold War cannot be underestimated as their policies following the Second World War may have been seen as aggressive by USA. The forceful take-over of Eastern Europe through the Red Army occupations, especially in distinctive cases such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, can be seen as being far from the “liberation” over which the two war-time allies had agreed, while the rigging of elections did not conform to the Yalta agreement of the organisation of free ones. Stalin responded to the Americans’ policies of containment by creating his own agencies, therefore creating even more hostility between the two superpowers, while also refusing the existence of anything but Soviet puppet states in Eastern Europe. However, the event which cemented the outbreak of the Cold War was Stalin imposing the Berlin Blockade, taking direct action towards weakening the Americans’ position. One may see that Stalin’s blockade resulted in the official creation of two separate German states, one of the most significant events of the Cold War. On the other hand, revisionists point out that the USSR was taking defensive measures to protect itself from anything that could have caused as much damage as the Second World War, while the Americans, who were superior economically, adopted provocative policies. They challenged the patience of the Russians by hiding crucial events from...
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...Two nations arose from the ashes of the Third Reich, West Germany, the BDR, occupied by the Western members of the Allied powers, and East Germany, the GDR, occupied by the Soviet Union. As a result of conflicting ideals between East and West, the two Germany’s would develop separately until their eventual reunification at the end of the 20th century. It is an indisputable fact that German culture was forever changed as a result of the outcome of World War II, and the horrors perpetrated by Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. From the moment of surrender onwards, the culture of Germany would begin to be defined by the occupiers of Germany. In West Germany, this influence was spear-headed by American implementation of the Marshall Plan. While the Marshall...
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...religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. (Truman, 1947. p.178). Using the doctrine as a prerequisite for intervention into nations that were under Communist threat, the United States became involved in Greece and Turkey. Since the end of World War II, Great Britain had taken the role of providing economic support to both Greece and Turkey. After a few years Britain came to the conclusion that they could no longer support the two nations and requested that the United States provide support. Due to Soviet influence sweeping into the nations the United States agreed to provide military and economic support to the two...
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...Source 7 argues Soviet expansionism as the most important factor as it claims that the USSR were ‘seeking to expand its influence into Western Europe’ and so causing Western Attitudes to increasingly worsen. However there is still evidence in the sources to support the view that the USA’s economic interests owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-48. For example in source 8 it suggests that the USA wanted a war with the USSR to help its economy, emphasising the impact of Truman’s ‘military industrial complex’ on aggressive foreign policy which played a huge role in the development of the Cold War. Furthermore it can be argued that it was the misunderstanding and confusion, caused by fear and suspicion, between the two nations which owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8. Soviet Expansionism played a huge role in the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8. Evidence to support this view is found in source 7 which claims that although in 1945 the West had accepted the Soviet’s influence in Eastern Europe; the West became suspicious of the USSR’s intentions, fearing that the Soviets wished to ‘expand into Western Europe itself’. An example of Soviet expansionism within this time period is the Czechoslovakian Crisis of 1948 where the communists, who feared defeat in the upcoming elections after rejecting Marshall Aid, staged a coup. This shows that Soviet expansionism did occur and had a huge effect on the development on the...
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...started the war, there was mistrust amongst the allies that Germany would again rise and create the turmoil that the continent had just witnessed. And there was also a larger mistrust, bordering on an animosity, between the two superpowers the Soviet Union and the United States as these one time allies vied for supremacy of the world. Caught in between this superpower struggle was the European continent. As the European continent was divided between the superpowers there were many events that occurred that had an impact on the Europe of today. I believe the three most significant events affecting the development of Europe during the Cold War and helping to shape the European continent, was the United States implementation of the Marshall Plan, the signing of the Washington Treaty of 1949 and the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950. Each one of these events would lead to further expansion on the initial premise of each program or policy further enhancing the security or prosperity of the European continent. After the War, "with Western Europe on the verge of not only economic ruin but also political and social upheaval, the region's weary governments were forced into dependence on the United States." Most of the items needed to rebuild Western Europe could only come from the one country virtually unscathed during the war, the United States. But at this time because of the devastation across Europe the European nations could not purchase the...
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