...THE IRON CURTAIN The Second World War lasted for a period of six years starting from September 1939 and ending in the year 1945. Being a war of large scale involving belligerent super powers with their own sphere of interests, it ended with the surrender of Germany, Japan and the liberation of Western Europe. The Yalta conference in February 1945 was attended by Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. Apart from other settlements was a Memorandum of Understanding between the three allied powers to divide Germany into British, American and Russian zones in addition to further bifurcation of Berlin. The war struck European society’s agitation against the old order came in the shape of supporting ideologies having moderate, socialist, and communist views. Stalin being the staunch supporter of communism had by 1946 succeeded in establishing pro-communist coalition governments in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The surge of communism in Eastern Europe was augmented by the fact that the local administrative setups of different governments were bent on cleansing their social lives from anarchic ideologies formed previously in the garb of patriotism. Non adherence to paying taxes was one of the practices prevalent in those times. Spread of communism in Eastern Europe began with taking control of the Police and using it for economic and social reforms. The pace of reform and development on the Eastern side was fast and visible. The logical and possible fallback of this advancement...
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...of the Berlin Wall 5/15/2016 ------------------------------------------------- The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was undoubtably the most important event in Europe that signified the end of USSR's autocratic control of Eastern Europe, and certainly marked the climax of revolutionary changes in Eastern Europe. Resistance to the Soviet Government's reign over its Eastern-European satellite states had increased dramatically after Gorbachev's transition into power and the end of the Cold War, until the 'coup de grace' which was the fall of the Wall signified what was to be the end of the USSR's communist control over Eastern Europe. Events across Eastern Europe, such as the formation of Solidarity in Poland, the dismantling of the Iron Curtain and mass demonstrations across Eastern Europe had all lead up to the final and most significant event of resistance in Europe: the fall of the Berlin Wall. After the end of the Cold War, the USSR along with its satellite states was going down a negative spiral: its resources were drained by the arms race with the USA and by the USSR's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, agricultural production and public services were poor and the people were consequently demoralized. These flaws in the USSR had parallel effects to its satellite states in Eastern Europe. The people in the USSR and Eastern Europe were increasingly frustrated and critical of the communist government in place. This frustration sparked the rising resistance to the communist...
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...During the years 1945-1948, the development of the Cold war seemed to have been catalysed by various factors. The Second World War created a power vacuum in Europe into which the USA and the USSR were 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...
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...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...
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...fate had not yet been decided but in the meantime it had been divided into four areas by the former Allies. The tension between the remaining post war Superpowers, the United States and The Soviet Union were ever increasing. Britain became economically and militarily dependant on the US as its empire floundered. British rhetoric and ‘scaremongering was born of Britain’s desire to keep America involved in Europe.’ Stalin began to consolidate the Soviet area and the anti-Western language of the Soviet regime became just as scathing as Churchill’s. The ‘Iron Curtain’ was now in place and America, Britain and Russia were coming to realise that their respective ideologies were for the most part irreconcilable. Although it is often said that nothing is inevitable, there are times when the consequences of decisions and policies gather momentum and become an unstoppable force. By considering their differences and how the individual iron willed leaders involved expressed their intentions and shaped their stances against each other it will become apparent that the consequences and the forces that the East and the West put in motion made the Cold War inevitable after 1945. By 1946-47 the Western leaders who ‘emerged on the winning side’ of World War Two had realised that what Lenin had said was true. ‘As long as Capitalism and Socialism exist, we cannot live in peace; in the end, one or the other will triumph. A funeral dirge will be sung either over the Soviet Republic or over Capitalism’...
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...Though the Allied powers won a hard fought victory over the Axis, they could not, among themselves, decide what the post-war era should be like. Differences in ideas for conditions after the war, such as spheres of influence for world powers or how to control armament in militant countries, led to disagreements between the major allies in the Grand Alliance, which included the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Britain and the US were seen by the Soviets as being Western powers who had not been historically friendly with Russia, and could be potentially aggressive towards the East. For this reason, the USSR aimed to secure buffer zones and important locations and resources in Eastern Europe as preventative measures. The Western powers, mainly America, feared the Soviet Union was becoming too strong and could potentially be a threat if alliances were broken. At different conferences held by the Big Three powers, many plans were made, both militarily and politically, which affected the outcome of the war. At these conferences, the arguments between the US and the USSR shaped the conditions for the years to come. The Soviet Union feared possible future aggression from the West. At the beginning of the war, the Soviets were on the side of Nazi Germany due to their non-aggression pact. Because of their past allegiance with the enemy, the other main Allied Powers trusted them only grudgingly. Relations between the countries were not good, and Stalin feared that this...
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...lacking any strain. Nonetheless, it is similarly claimed that the traits of the leaders of the three countries are a substantial influence to the Cold war conflict; Roosevelt and Truman of the United States, Stalin of the USSR and Churchill of the United Kingdom. This is because the attitudes of the three regularly clashed. It is furthermore disputed that national interests of the separate nations throughout and post-World War II formed strains among the countries of the USA and the USSR, since they both saw the others objectives as a danger to their individual national security. To assist the Cold War from occurring, it is said Winston Churchill is the crucial individual due to his ideological differences with Stalin. Churchill’s 1946 ‘Iron Curtain’ speech certainly caused tension: it unveiled to the world Stalin’s increasing “Soviet sphere” and “increasing measure of control from Moscow”, strongly showing his disapproval of Stalin’s swooping over Eastern Europe and inferring his strongly anti-communist stance. However, this speech was given in 1946, and Churchill was no longer the Prime Minister; that role had passed to Clement Attlee, inferring that he felt he was only able to make such a blunt statement of his views once he was out of power. Conversely, when he...
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...“The lives of all the people in Stasiland are shaped by the wall.” In Berlin, the Iron Curtain had many purposes. It was there to protect, to separate and to enforce a way of life for East Berliners. Firstly, The Wall gave meaning to people’s lives in different ways. It defined where they were to go, who they were to see and who they were to be. For the countless Stasi and informers, it gave them a purpose and an importance in society, and after The Wall came down, that purpose was lost and yearned for. Secondly, The Wall and the controlling ways of the Stasi loomed over the lives of East Berliners, and its implementation was just one of many extreme measures to minimalise Capitalism and encourage Communism. Thirdly, although The Wall was taken down in 1989, the detrimental effect of the Stasi regime on those in East Berlin remains to this day. The Iron Curtain “went up overnight” and disappeared without a trace, but the impression left on East Berlin has found to be inescapable. The Wall determined the lives and actions of those in East Berlin. It was the final stage in the Stasi’s attempts to keep people within the “land gone wrong”. It “went up overnight”, and people were instantly separated from their loved ones, their schools and even their jobs. The wall may have been simple for the Stasi to assemble, but for Berliners like Frau Paul, it was difficult to overcome the challenges that it created. When Frau Paul gave birth to sickly Torsten, the only choice was to send...
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...1)The new international order after 1945; The human capacity for self-destruction had reached in World War II with an estimation of 55,000,000 people had died, 27,000,000 in the Soviet Union alone (most of the dead were civilians). In the first years after World War II there were three main issues: the influence of Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, the political struggle for Western Europe and the role of United States in the world.In this moment a new powers (Western allies and Soviet Union) established new spheres of influence. 11 February 1945 – Yalta Peace Conference – a meeting between the tree big countries (United States, Soviet Union and United Kingdom) speaking about the future of Europe. The main concerns were: Polish questions, future of Germany and the condition of the entry of Soviet Union into war with Japan. Each president decide to arrive to Yalta for different reasons: Roosevelt decide to create United Nations, Churchill feared the growing of power of the Soviet Union in Europe and Stalin was intent on protecting Soviet Union against another German invasions. Roosevelt attained his goal and in addition Stalin accepted the American proposal on the use of the veto in the Security Council. All men agreed to move the Polish boundary western to the 1919 Curzon Line and to restore Western Byelorussia and the Western Ukraine to the Soviet Union. 2 August 1945 - Postdam Peace Conference - Trumann, Stalin and Churchill met to reach a new accord on postwar Germany...
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...Communism, just the mention if the word brings fear to the heart. Thoughts of dictatorship, control, persecution, and socialism fill the mind. Communism ruled the eastern half of Europe for about seventy years. Westerners wondered what really was taking place in the region. The Iron Curtain separated the eastern half of the continent from the rest of the world. A war for power and control was taking place. Socialism was drilled into the inhabitants of the dictator controlled countries. But, in 1991 it was said to have fallen. The Soviet Union did fall, but communism has not completely faded away. It has a lasting impact on the people that lived through it. The first communist international organization was founded in about 1836 by a group of German workers. Communism, a branch of socialism, envisages a society where there is equality for all people. The equality is achieved by distributing equal wealth to all the members of the society; thus making everyone at par with the other. The father of communism Karl Marx and Friedrich Angels, changed the political sphere of the world. Some regarded communism as a Utopian idealism that can never be attained in a society while its proponents believed that it was the answer to all their miseries and sufferings. The communist supporters believed in declaring an open war on their opposition, and this is clear from the most popular last lines of the manifesto: "The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that...
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...The outbreak of the Cold war could be blamed on one of the three without a doubt. Ideologies differed heavily, and, Stalin, according to Truman, wanted to create a ‘sphere of influence’; ‘expanding Communism’. The traditional, or orthodox, view of the Cold War is that it started because of Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe after WWII. The orthodox view places blame for the Cold War firmly on the Soviets, and claims that the mutual buildup of arms, the espionage, and all the other stuff was just the West responding to the Soviets enlarging their area of influence and exercising influence on the governments behind the Iron Curtain. However, Stalin stated precisely that his desire was to create security for the Soviet Union, based on previous invasions from the West, especially from Germany, who crippled the country twice. It was merely a case of USA versus the Soviet Union, and Britain playing more of a supporting role for the US. The ideologies in conflict were Communism versus Capitalism/democracy, again between the two huge superpowers. Nonetheless, it could also be argued that personalities had been the prime cause. Before Truman became president and Attlee Prime Minister, Churchill and Roosevelt were in post. They were considerably easy with Stalin, and were willing to make ‘arrangements’ to meet his needs. And by many this was considered dangerous for Western countries as the threat of communism was potential. Thus, Truman became president and was much tougher in his approach...
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...How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8 owed more to Soviet expansionism than to USA’s economic interests? My opinion is that the development of the Cold War was due to Soviet expansionism rather than the USA’s economic interests in the years 1945-48. The Sources all present to some extent the idea that Soviet expansionism was to blame. 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...
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...June 2010- Section B – How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8 owed more to Soviet expansionism than to Usa’s economic interests? I do agree with the view that the development of the Cold War owed more to soviet expansionism than USA’s economic interests in the years 1945-48. All three of the sources show evidence that soviet expansionism played a huge role in the development of the Cold War. Source 7 especially emphasises Soviet expansionism as the most important factor claiming the USSR were “seeking to expand its influence into Western Europe” causing Western Attitudes to harden. However there is 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. Such as in source 8 which claims the USA wanted a war with the USSR to help its economy, emphasising the impact of the 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 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 accepted the Soviet’s influence in Eastern Europe, the West became suspicious of the USSR’s...
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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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...allies against Hitler and Fascism. Whether the schism between the superpowers was caused by their differing ideologies (the capitalist West and the communist East) or a clash between national interests and strong personalities is a matter for debate. Winston Churchill could be said to have helped cause the Cold War because of his ideological differences with Stalin. His 1946 ‘Iron Curtain’ speech certainly caused tension: it unveiled to the world Stalin’s increasing “Soviet sphere” and “increasing measure of control from Moscow”, strongly showing his disapproval of Stalin’s swooping over Eastern Europe and inferring his strongly anti-communist stance. However, this speech was given in 1946, and Churchill was no longer the Prime Minister; that role had passed to Clement Attlee, inferring that he felt he was only able to make such a blunt statement of his views once he was out of power. Conversely, when he was in high office, Churchill was able to work well with Stalin – he called him “Uncle Joe”, inferring they were more than just cordial allies working purely against Stalin. In fact, the Iron Curtain speech could be seen as hypocritical as Churchill made an agreement with Stalin which allowed him to have 75% of influence in Bulgaria and 90% in Romania, two of the places he referenced in the speech. Conversely, it could be construed that Churchill knew he had to work with Stalin the best he could, but nonetheless did not share his ideas. While their relationship during the war...
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