Questions to consider before reading:
1. What are the differences between capitalism and communism?
2. Are these differences incompatible and why?
3. Can war time alliances during WWII survive ideological differences?
The War of Nerves
The Cold War was a conflict of influence and appearances between
the Soviet Union and the United States. While some argue that it truly
began during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, when we talk about the
Cold War we are referring to the time period at the end of WWII up to
the crumbling of the Eastern Block and Soviet Union in 1989-1991.
There is no one way to view the Cold War. Some historians take a
realist approach, depicting the conflict as a power struggle between
two super power countries that behaved the same in global issues.
Other historians who were influenced by Marxism and the New Left
movement in the 1960’s take a revisionist approach. Revisionists claim
the Cold War occurred because of the actions of capitalist/democratic
countries (primarily the United States) that were motivated by
imperialism and money. Revisionists argue the United States should
have been more accommodating to the Soviet Union. As more documents
have been released by both countries in the past years, yet another
view point has emerged. These post-revisionists believe that power
politics played a role in the Cold War, but the main reason was due to
misunderstandings both countries had about each other.
During WWII the United States and the Soviet Union were allies.
They were united to fight a common enemy: Hitler. Once this threat was
gone the ties that bound them quickly disappeared. The Soviets never
fully trusted the Western Powers. Prior to WWII Stalin made a nonaggression pact with Hitler instead of siding with Britain and France.
On June 29th 1939 an article in the Russian paper, Pravda, stated, “I
believe that the British and French have no wish for a treaty of
equality with the USSR.”1 Britain and France had sent low-level
officials to meet with the Soviets to discuss a treaty. Stalin was
unimpressed and most likely offended; he did not believe they would
stand strong against Hitler. Stalin was afraid they would create
another Munich-style agreement if Hitler decided to invade Poland.
This would put Hitler on Stalin’s front door. By August of 1939 the
USSR signaled to Germany that they were ready to negotiate. Stalin
simply did not trust the West and ignored Britain’s warning about
Hitler’s preparations for invading the Soviet Union.
There was no magical moment between the allies when Britain, the
United States and the Soviet Union joined forces. They were united out
of necessity, not out of a sincere desire to be friends. Stalin needed
help, his forces were over burdened and they needed relief. He wanted
Churchill and Roosevelt to open a second front in Western Europe. For
nearly two years the United States and Britain dragged their feet.
First they choose to battle in Africa and then they invaded Italy. It
wasn’t until August of 1944 that they finally landed on the beaches of
Normandy, forcing another front on Germany.
The lack of trust can also be seen in the wartime conferences.
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met in Yalta in February 1945. By this
time Stalin’s Red Army occupied most of Eastern Europe. Germany’s fate
was decided here. She would be demilitarized and divided into four
occupational zones controlled by Britain, France, the United States
and Russia. These four countries would govern Germany together in the
Allied Control Council (ACC). They also discussed the question of
Polish leadership. Churchill supported the London Poles who had fled
to Britain during the war. Stalin favored the Lublin Poles who were
1
Simon Sebag Montefiore. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. London, 2003.
communist. Stalin promised to arrange free elections in Poland and
other Eastern European countries. Stalin also agreed to join the fight
in the Pacific after the war in Europe was over.
The Potsdam conference occurred in July 1945. Stalin, Churchill
and Truman (Roosevelt had passed away) met to discuss the post-war
world. By this time the fighting in Europe was over, Hitler had
committed suicide on April 30th 1945. At this meeting Truman hinted to
Stalin that the US had an atomic bomb. Outwardly Stalin showed no real
emotion, but as soon as he was behind closed doors, he was on the
phone to Russia demanding they speed up their own nuclear program. On
August 6th and 9th the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and initiated the arms race.
At Potsdam it was decided that each German zone would be governed
in their own way, but the economy would be a united effort. The
Western Zones created a program of reeducation and denazification to
abolish the Nazi Party, tear up its roots and foster democracy. The US
Army in Germany along with specialists and psychologists attempted to
understand what had happened in Germany. They used questionnaires,
visits to concentration camps and videos of the liberation of
concentration camps to force the civilians to come face to face with
the horrors of Nazism2. These measures were not well received, many
refused to watch the videos. In the Soviet zone Denazification
occurred differently. They focused on punishment of Nazis. The future
communist leader in East Germany, Walter Ulbricht stated, “The tragedy
of the German people consists in the fact that they obeyed a band of
criminals…The German working class and the productive parts of the
population failed before history.”3 Ulbricht was more concerned with
securing communist power in East Germany. This was not an easy task
2
3
Judt. Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. 56.
Judt, Postwar: A History, 59.
since the Russians had a terrible reputation in Germany. The Soviets
paid less attention to the racism of the Nazis and more attention on
the businessmen (capitalists), politicians and teachers and others who
were responsible for promoting the social class that supported Hitler.
In effect they rewrote history to make it seem that the East Germans
had actually not been supportive of Hitler and that the majority of
support came from the Western German capitalists.4 The process of
Sovietization was well underway in Eastern Europe.
Questions to consider:
1. How strong were the ties that bound the allies together during
WWII?
2. What evidence do you see of a rift between the Western countries
and the Soviet Union?
Rebuilding the World Cold War Style
The Communist leader of China, Mao Zedong once said, “Power comes
out of the barrel of a gun.”
5
In October of 1944 Churchill met Stalin
in Moscow. At this meeting the two leaders attempted to decide the
fate of Europe in their famous Percentages Agreement. The Percentages
Agreement split up influence in various regions based on whose army
had dominance. For instance, in Greece Britain took 90% influence
while the Soviet Union would get 10%. Yugoslavia was split 50-50%. By
the time Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946,
where he accused the Soviets of dividing Europe, he had already agreed
to this division over a year beforehand.
4
5
Konrad Jarush. After Hitler: Recivilizing Germans 1945-1995.
Chang and Haliday. Mao: The Unknown Story, 49-50.
The Sovietization of Eastern Europe can be broken down into a
general pattern. During the fighting in WWII the Red Army would go in
and “liberate” the occupied country and establish control. Local
armies and police forces would be created under communist influence. A
process of de-Nazification occurred; many Germans were forced out
while others fled. Rumors of the atrocities the Red Army committed
against Germans ran rampant and were not entirely untrue. Many German
women were raped and men tortured and imprisoned. Communists who had
fled to Russia during the war were returned to take leadership
positions in the new governments. Initially membership within these
communist parties quickly grew because the Red Army was seen as
liberators. There was still a fear of Germany, and many wanted to see
radical change. Left Wing political parties sprang up everywhere as a
response against the Nazis. Many of these were forced to join with the
Communist party who dominated them. Provisional governments would be
created and dominated by the communists who would then hold rigged
elections to ensure their victory.
Poland and Russia had a checkered past. Russia had taken Polish
land numerous times and Poland had unsuccessfully tried to invade
Russia. Stalin wanted a friendly regime on his border. It was decided
at Yalta to allow free elections in Poland. The West believed this
meant there would be a free democratic government while Stalin viewed
this as allowing a few non-communists in the government. Leaders of
the Polish Home Army were invited to Moscow where they were arrested
and accused of sabotage. Boleslaw Beirut (communist) took power as
president with a majority communist cabinet. The head of the London
Poles, Stanisalw Mikolayczyk, was made deputy Prime Minister, but he
didn’t really have any power. Elections were held in January 1947,
afterwards Mikolayczyk fled to the West in exile denouncing the
elections. Power was consolidated under the communist leadership of
Secretary Wadislaw Gomulka.
Czechoslovakia was a tender issue for the West. She had been
sacrificed to Hitler under the Munich Pact and now she was to be
handed over to the Soviets. The Czechs had a strong following of
communists and were treated as a liberated ally. Edward Beneš returned
after the war to take control. In February of 1948 the Minister of
Interior replaced police commissioners with communists. The government
voted to reverse this but the minister refused. The non-communists
resigned and anti-communist protests occurred. Two ministers died
after “falling” through windows. Beneš resigned and was replaced by
Klement Gottwald, a communist who then took control of the other
political parties. The Western powers did nothing. Czechoslovakia was
once again sacrificed to the wolves.
While the majority of Eastern European countries fell to
communism due to Sovietization, Yugoslavia became communist on its own
accord. Joseph Broz Tito was the leader of the communist Partisan
movement that was organized to fight the Germans and Italians.
Yugoslavia surrendered to Germany in April 1941. An often overlooked
fact is that Tito did not lead his Partisans against the Axis powers
until June 1941 when Hitler invaded Russia. Prior to that Tito was
respecting the non-aggression pact between the Soviets and Germany at
the expense of his country.
Tito was not the only Yugoslav fighting against the Axis powers
though, there was also Mihailovic, who fought for the exiled
government and led the Chetniks. The Chetniks were anticommunist.
Stalin was unsure who would be more successful and made up excuses as
to why he could not give Tito help. When it became obvious that Tito’s
forces were superior, Britain was the first to give the Partisans aid
well before Stalin sent troops.6 The Red Army was not the liberating
factor in Yugoslavia, although they later claimed they were.
Tito had strong feelings of loyalty to Russia, but those feelings
did not overpower the love he had for his own country. Stalin’s ego
and need for control pushed Tito away. Stalin was slow to act in
supporting Tito, not only during the war but after as well. He
instructed Tito not to make claims on a government in Yugoslavia too
soon. He did not help Tito out in rebuilding industry. Joint-Stock
companies were created between Russia and Yugoslavia that benefited
Russia and but were more of a burden for Yugoslavia.
7
There was also
conflict over how the Red Army treated the Yugoslavs partisans as
inferior. They also looted Yugoslav villages and raped women. When the
partisan Milovan Djilas criticized this behavior Stalin became
offended. He could not take any criticism, especially from someone who
was beneath him. Yugoslav communists began to see little difference
with how Stalin treated them and how the Western powers treated their
colonies.
The Sovietization that occurred in Eastern Europe could not apply
to Yugoslavia. The Red Army was not there in mass numbers to enforce
Soviet control, something else had to be done. The Cominform was
created in 1947 to unite all communist countries. In reality it was
created to control the communist satellites and make sure they toed
the Soviet line. It was initially based in Belgrade (Yugoslavia). Once
Stalin realized Tito could not be controlled like Beneš or Gottwald,
he began to threaten him. Stalin was angry that Yugoslavia was trying
to make arrangements to unite with Albania; to take them over and make
them a state of Yugoslavia. Stalin accused the Yugoslavs in a private
letter of not following Marxist doctrine and of acting like Trotsky
6
7
Armstrong. Tito and Goliath. 29
Armstrong, Tito and Goliath, 69.
and Bukharin (communists who held different views than Stalin and were
executed for it). Tito asked the Soviets to make their sources known
so he could refute them. Stalin replied that the inability of the
Yugoslavs to admit their wrongdoing showed their arrogance. He used
the Cominform to publically denounce Tito and turn all the communist
countries against him.
Tito would not give in and bow down to Stalin. He had two
choices: 1) admit he was wrong (to which he would most likely be
killed as a heretic and be replaced by someone who would submit to
Stalin) or 2) take a stand and face isolation and a possible invasion
by the Red Army. Harry Hodgkins wrote of the historical tenacity and
pride of the Yugoslav people. Milovan Djilas’ mother stated that even
though he was now her only son, she would rather see him in his grave
than submit to the Russians.8 The Yugoslavs had fought for liberation
from the Axis powers, they were not about to give up their
independence now. As a result of the Tito-Stalin split, Yugoslavia
became isolated from her communist allies and was forced to make ties
with Western countries.
Many people have claimed this split occurred due to a difference
of ideology, which is what the Soviets initially accused them of. This
is not necessarily the entire truth since Yugoslavia did not
substantially deviate from the Soviet model. The split occurred
because Tito acted independently of Moscow and showed signs of wanting
more power and influence in his surrounding areas, particularly
Albania. His stand against Stalin would become more important
globally. It would affect the growth of communism in other countries
and Moscow’s ability to control them and claim unique authority over
communist ideology. The Cominform wrote: The attitude toward the
8
Harry Hodgkins, Challenge to the Kremlin. 39.
Soviet Union is now a test of devotion to the cause of Proletarian
Internationalism.9 Thus to go against the Soviet Union is to go against
the communist movement. Yugoslavia was made an example of and many
communists in other countries were purged for having “Titoist”
beliefs.
Questions to consider:
1. How was the Soviet Union able to spread its influence after WWII?
2. What made Yugoslavia unique and important?
The West stands up
Europe was not the only area the Soviets wanted to spread their
influence. Iran protested to the United Nations in January 1946 that
the Soviet Army occupied the northern part of their country and was
installing a communist government in Azerbaijan (their neighbor). The
UN told Russia they must get out of Iran by March 2nd. They did not.
Instead Russia moved troops toward Turkey and used starvation tactics
to control Iran. Iran protested on March 3rd, 4th and 6th,
when finally
the United States presented a formal protest to the UN. The Iranian
communist party, the Tudeh, staged riots and refused to let the
Iranian parliament meet. Churchill gave his “Iron Curtain” speech in
Fulton Missouri on March 5th 1946. Stalin was furious; he tried to use
the speech as a diversion from the Iranian situation by calling
Churchill a warmonger.
The Soviets eventually agreed to leave Iran in May. Iran agreed
to negotiate with the communist imposed government in Azerbaijan over
9
Armstrong. Tito and Goliath. 81.
Soviet-Iran oil contracts. Why did Russia want Iran? It would have
given them control over Iran’s oil reserves. It could have given them
influence over Turkey if Iran was controlled by a puppet (Soviet)
state. Stalin had wanted a more secure footing in the Straits of
Constantinople and a naval base on the Dardanelles. On August 7th 1946,
the Soviets gave an ultimatum on the Turkish Straits and demanded a
new government. Truman felt this would give the Soviets control of the
Mediterranean and Middle East. He told the Soviets any action in the
Straits would bring international action.
10
Question:
1. Why did the US react differently over Iran than in Eastern
Europe?
The First Hot war in a Cold War
Greece became another area of contention in the early Cold War.
During WWII there were various groups of resistance to the Axis. After
the war the Greek government in exile was headed by George Papandreou.
He held a conference in Lebanon of all the various groups. When the
Germans left Greece the British came in with Papandreou and demanded
the disarmament of Partisan groups. Many refused. Fighting broke out
in December 1944 when a communist demonstration was fired upon by
British troops. A truce was created but Aris Veloukhiotis and other
partisans refused to accept the peace and died fighting in the
mountains. Chaos nearly took over and inflation rose.
A Right-Wing government was created and terrorized the
population. The “White Terror” occurred with over 80,000 arrests of
leftist communist supporters. The Greek communist party boycotted the
10
Spalding, Cold Warriror, 85.
election in 1946. Many Leftists fled the White Terror and regrouped in
the mountains to form a resistance. The British supported the rightwing government, the partisans saw the war as a continuation of
fighting to get foreign forces out of their country. The Greek Prime
Minister complained to the UN that Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria
(all communist) were supplying the partisans with weapons.
During the winter of 1947 the British could no longer support the
Greek government as they (British) had too many fish in the fryer.
They were dealing with issues in India, Pakistan, Palestine and Israel
as well as Egypt. The United States was prepared for this and stepped
in to help. President Truman created the Truman Doctrine, which gave
money to countries for weapons and infrastructure to fight communist
aggression. Turkey was also included in this doctrine. The US helped
to crush the communist movement in Greece. The Greek communists were
also hurt when Tito stopped giving them supplies after his split with
Stalin, who did not get involved. He respected the percentages
agreement that put Greece primarily under British influence despite
the strong communist support within the populace.
Tensions in Germany were on the rise again. The United States and
Britain began to coordinate their economic policies without regard to
the USSR. Conferences of Foreign Ministers were created to decide the
German question but they came up with no answers. The French were
initially against any type of German reunification, but eventually
they began to work more with the British and Americans. The United
States decided to introduce a new currency into the Western zones
without approval from the USSR. This went against the Potsdam
agreements, but it was introduced anyway in June of 1948.
To complicate the matter even more, the capital of Berlin was
also divided into four zones. The city was located in the Soviet
sector. While the Western countries worked together it would not have
been an issue for an American to travel through the British or French
sector, it would however be an issue if a Soviet were to do this.
Berlin allowed for Westerners to frequently travel through the Soviet
sector to get to Berlin, creating obvious insecurity. The USSR had
initially attempted to take over all of Germany through the Communist
Party; however it was not as strong in Germany due to horror stories
of the Red Army’s atrocities. West Berlin was an embarrassment for
Stalin. Western money/aid had built up that section of the city which
contrasted sharply with the poorer version of East Berlin.
Stalin was upset over the economic actions of the Western powers,
who had never negotiated access rights to Berlin. Stalin did not want
to be the one to start a war yet he wanted the West out of Berlin.
Stalin’s decision to blockade Berlin would force an ultimatum: either
the West would force their way in and be aggressive and start a war or
they would abandon Berlin. Truman chose neither. In response Western
zones blockaded goods going into the East. Truman and the Western
powers planned to support West Berlin by airlift. For over ten months
two million tons of supplies were flown into Berlin. In May 1949
Stalin lifted the blockade. It was a failure.
The Berlin blockade created more problems for the USSR than it
solved. The Soviets could not be seen as the champion of workers when
they were trying to starve Berliners. It was used as propaganda by the
US to justify an increase in defense spending. It also gave purpose to
a new defense organization: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO). In September 1948 the German Parliamentary Council met in Bonn
where Konrad Adenauer was elected president to represent the Western
zone and by August 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany (FDR) was
created. In response the Soviet created the People’s Republic of
Germany (DDR) led by Walter Ulbricht. Thus Germany was officially
divided. In response to NATO the Soviets set up the defensive
organization in the Warsaw Pact.
Questions:
1. Why were the communists unsuccessful in Greece and Germany?
2. If aggressive behavior broke out in Europe, what would be
guaranteed to happen due to the defense organizations?
Home Front Response
Truman saw a clear decline in the Grand Alliance by December of
1945. He wanted to prevent another world war from occurring and
believed the only way to do this was for the United States to play a
role in international affairs. He viewed the events in Eastern Europe,
the Middle East, Asia and Greece as examples of Soviet aggression. He
learned lessons from the events that lead up to WWII and how the world
appeased Hitler. He believed the only way to stop the spread of
communism was to contain it.
Truman stated, “When history says that my term in office saw
the beginning of the Cold War, it will also say that in those eight
years we have set the course that can win it.”11 Truman created the
building blocks for peace through a show of strength and
determination. In 1945 the majority of Americans wanted to treat the
USSR as an ally, but by 1946 fewer people saw the USSR as cooperative.
Americans however preferred UN action over US intervention.
12
BY 1947
American public opinion began to worry about the dangers of Soviet
aggression. The United States had a deep history of isolationism, this
was something Truman was well aware of and had to deal with in order
to convince the American people his policies were worth backing.
11
12
Spalding. Cold Warrior. 10.
Spalding. Cold Warrior. 109.
Truman learned three lessons between 1946-1950: 1) Freedom must
come before order in order for there to be peace 2) governments
decided domestic and international policies
and their principles came
out of justice 3) strength meant security which meant governments and
their people must embrace and maintain liberty and justice.13 When
China fell to the Communists under Mao Zedong in 1949 many people
accused Truman of being soft on Communism
Stalin gave an anti-Western election speech in February of 1946.
He blamed the world’s problems on capitalism’s economic and political
problems. He backed up Marxist ideology that world conflict was based
on capitalism versus communism. It was not that far off from
Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech. It was after this speech that
George Kennan, a Soviet expert, was asked to evaluate Soviet ideology
and intentions. He responded by writing the Long Telegram. Many people
claim this is where Truman’s policy of containment came from, however
the containment policy in the Long Telegram is slightly different from
what Truman implemented. The Long Telegram stated that Soviet actions
were motivated by their history of insecurity, and down played the
role of ideology in Soviet actions. Kennan said that intervention in
the Soviet sphere of influence was a waste of time and that the United
States should be satisfied with its existing areas of influence.
Kennan did not believe the Soviets could be communist and imperialist.
Truman saw them as a world threat.
The document that more likely influenced Truman’s policies was
the Clifford Memorandum, created by Clark Clifford and George Elsey.
While they quoted from the Long Telegram they took a different
approach to explaining communist actions. The Clifford Memorandum
stated that domination was reflected in communist ideology and
13
Spalding, Cold Warrior, 110.
philosophy. This is what motivated the Soviets. They cited specific
examples of Soviet aggression to further explain this. They claimed
these actions were to prepare the Soviets for the eventual
confrontation with the United States. The Clifford Memorandum
suggested the US join up forces with Britain and strengthen their
military since force was the only language the Soviets understood
(interestingly the Soviets felt the same way about the United
States).14
When Britain could no longer support the efforts against
communism in Greece, Truman knew he had to act. He created the Truman
Doctrine which stated that the World was being forced to choose sides:
The choice is often not a free one. One way of life is based upon
the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free
institutions, representative government, free elections,
guarantees of individual liberty freedom of speech and 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.15
The Truman Doctrine was the first presidential doctrine since the
Monroe Doctrine. It is argued that this policy of containment was
hypocritical because it helped to support non-democratic regimes in
Greece and Turkey. The main goal of the Truman Doctrine was to stop
the spread of communism. At least in democratic-friendly governments
there was a better chance of democracy growing than in a communist
government. Truman defined our national security through this foreign
policy. Many people were critical of the Truman Doctrine, such as
14
15
Spalding, Cold Warrior, 119
Tomkins. Cold War, 27.
George Kennan and Walter Lippmann, who accused him of laying the
groundwork for the destruction of the UN.
Another policy under the Truman administration to support
containment was the Marshall Plan. Europe was battered and bruised
after WWII. Communist parties were making progress in Italy and
France. In France anti-communists were removed from the army, schools,
courts and administrative system through a purge of Nazi collaborators
and were replaced with communists.16 On March 6th 1947 Truman gave a
speech at Baylor University where he laid out the need for economic
recovery for Europe. Truman realized he needed help in order to get
his program passed through congress. He called on Secretary of State
George Marshall, who was respected by everyone. Initially Marshall did
not view the Soviets as a threat. His opinion changed after a meeting
of the Foreign Council of Ministers, where the Soviet Foreign
Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov acted overbearing and uncompromising.
Marshall announced the Marshall plan during his June 5th 1947
commencement speech at Harvard University. The Marshall Plan was a New
Deal for Western Europe.
The aid was offered to any nation in Europe (even communist
countries) to use as they saw fit. Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia
expressed interest in Marshall Aid; however Stalin rejected it and
refused to allow his satellite states to accept the money. In
response, the Soviets came up with the Molotov Plan which was far less
effective than the Marshall Aid. The communist satellites were not as
free to spend it how they liked. The Truman Doctrine was a military
support against communism while the Marshall Plan was economic.
16
Spalding. Cold Warrior, 89.
Questions:
1. What motivated United States policy towards the Soviets?
Korea on the Line
By the end of 1945 Korea was split at the 38th parallel. The Red
Army occupied the land north of the line and the American army
occupied the land south. Both armies had helped liberate Korea from
the Japanese and neither were willing to leave. Yet they did leave
once each side had their respective leader put in place. The north was
ruled by Kim-Il-Sung in Pyongyang and the south by Singh Minh Rhee in
Seoul. Both leaders wanted to unify their country and conducted border
raids. Neither leader could launch a full scale attack without support
from their respective super power.
The Soviet push for influence began to run up against a wall
after the Sovietization of Eastern Europe. The Marshall Plan was a
success, the Berlin blockade failed and the US backed government in
Greece won the civil war against the communists due to the Truman
Doctrine. The lines were drawn. Germany appeared to be permanently
divided into East and West, defense organizations were created with
NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Asia however seemed to hold out some promise
for the USSR. There was the success of Mao Zedong’s communists in
China as well as Ho Chi Minh’s tenacity in fighting the French in
Vietnam. It was beginning to appear that the United States was
uninterested in certain areas of Asia.
Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech on January 12th 1950
about American defensive interests in the South Pacific. Korea and the
island of Taiwan (where the Chinese Nationalists had sought refuge)
were not mentioned in the speech. This led people to believe that the
United States would not get involved in these areas. Before 1950
Stalin had acted cautiously about overstepping his boundaries. He did
not want to provoke a war with the United States. After the Acheson
speech, Kim told Stalin it was time to liberate Korea. Kim-Il-Sung had
asked many times before and had been rejected each time. Kim would
never have acted without Stalin’s approval. Unlike Tito, he did not
have a strong partisan army and was dependent on Stalin, but he was
also a “good” communist. John Lewis Gaddis writes of Kim as, “a
disciplined person, and for him the order of Comrade Stalin is law.”
17
Mao’s China lay on the Northern border of Korea. As a neighbor,
China had a vested interest in keeping the Northern section communist
and possibly spreading it to the South. When Mao went to Moscow after
winning the Chinese Civil War they talked about Korea. Stalin said he
would agree to action if the Americans did not get involved. Kim
assured Stalin the Americans would not intervene. The US had done
nothing to stop Mao in China and they left Korea out of the Acheson
speech. Besides, an invasion would lead to a quick success because it
would spark communist uprisings all over the South.18
Stalin told Kim not to expect too much support from Moscow since
they had more important things to deal with. Stalin told Kim, “if you
should get kicked in the teeth, I shall not lift a finger. You have to
ask Mao for all the help.”
19
Mao was skeptical. He had just finished
fighting a massive civil war and was planning on invading Taiwan to
finish the job. He had requested help from Russia to invade Taiwan and
they agreed. When Kim-Il-Sung spoke to Mao he made it seem as though
Stalin was more interested in Korean unification than he really was.
Kim then went back to Stalin and exaggerated how excited Mao was about
17
John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know. 73.
Gaddis, We Now Know, 73.
19
Gadis, We Now Know, 74.
18
helping him regain the south. Mao was afraid if he denied Korea
support then Stalin might take back his help with Taiwan. A Soviet
military build-up was already underway. They labeled the operational
orders as a “counterattack”. They spread disinformation in order to
cover their tracks. On June 25th 1950 the North Koreans invaded South
Korea. This was more than a simple border raid.
Why did the United States get involved in the Korean War? It goes
back to Truman’s feelings on appeasement. The United States stood by
in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria and again in 1938 during the
Munich Pact, appeasement did not work. If Kim had sent guerillas into
the South like Ho Chi Minh had in Vietnam, American involvement may
not have been as great.20 Truman feared there would be a psychological
collapse of confidence in his European allies if yet another country
fell to communism. He also feared what would happen to Japan and the
Philippines if communism was to spread.
In order to get the American
public behind him, Truman acted through the UN. Some people have
argued that the Korean War was set up by the United States because the
Russians were boycotting the UN at the time and could not exercise
their veto. There is no evidence to support this. In the beginning of
the war the UN/American forces suffered bad defeats. Had this been a
set up one would think they would have been better prepared.
In the Spring of 1950 the United States found evidence of Soviet
air force deployments off the coast of China. The Nationalists of
Taiwan were friendly to the United States, if they were overtaken as a
military base that could then threaten the Philippines. The United
States Seventh fleet was sent to protect it. Mao interpreted this as
an offensive measure. He told his politburo, “If the US imperialists
win in Korea, they may get so dizzy with success that they may
20
Gaddis, We Now Know, 75.
threaten us. We therefore must come to (North) Korea’s aid and
intervene.”21 (Mao’s concerns were not so far off the mark. General
MacArthur had wanted to use atomic bombs on the Chinese border. Truman
was determined to keep Korea a limited war. MacArthur was outspoken
and publically made comments on how the war in Europe was being fought
in Korea and complained that the politicians were merely fighting with
words. Truman had no choice but to replace MacArthur with General
Ridgeway.) Mao warned Kim about a UN invasion at Inchon but his
warning went ignored. When MacArthur invaded, he destroyed the North
Korean troops. Zhou Enlai (Chinese communist Foreign Minister) tried
to deter the UN from crossing over the 38th parallel into North Korea.
He warned themt hat China would enter the war if this happened.
Kim-Il-Sung became desperate and begged Stalin for help. Stalin
told Mao to send in Chinese troops. Mao expressed doubts of success
and that it could cause further conflict with the US. Stalin reminded
Mao he had agreed to help; then Stalin told Kim-Il-Sung to retreat and
evacuate North Korea all together. This shook up the Chinese who asked
if they could count on air support from Russia. Stalin said yes and
then told Kim to ignore his last order to evacuate. Mao would have
gotten involved regardless; he simply got cold feet and jumped in when
he had no other choice.22 It is unknown whether Mao would have sent in
troops had the UN not crossed the 38th, once they did cross into North
Korea, Mao had no choice. The prospect of a US puppet state on his
border was too unnerving.
Mao lured MacArthur deep into North Korean territory to spread
their forces thin and divide them. In November 1950, 200,000 Chinese
joined North Korea and pushed the UN forces back past the 38th
parallel. A stalemate developed. Instead of trying to rollback
21
22
Gaddis, We Now Know, 78.
Gaddis, We Now Know, 81.
communism, Truman realized he would have to live with containing it in
the North. Peace talks began in 1951, but the war itself did not end
until 1953 under President Eisenhower, who himself had threatened to
use the A-bomb.
As a consequence of the Korean war the American defense budget
tripled. Land forces were strengthened in Europe building up NATO even
more. Greece and Turkey were brought into NATO. People began talking
of arming West Germany. A treaty with Japan was made in 1952 which
maintained US military bases in Japan. China was isolated by the
United States and condemned by the UN and eventually lead to US
involvement in Vietnam. SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization)
was created for the South Pacific but it was highly ineffective. All
in all, the first eight years of the Cold War set the stage for future
players. While the strategies of the game (containment, Sovietization)
may have changed as time went on, the goal never did: maintain and
spread influence, never lose ground.
Questions:
1. How does the Korean War reflect the reality of the Cold War?
2. Who started the Cold War?