World War II, The Atomic Bomb, and the
Origins of the Cold War
The creation of the Grand Alliance, the Victory of the Grand
Alliance, the Atomic Bomb and the Coming of the Cold
War were not inevitable or clearly foreseeable.
The Orthodox View
• The Soviet Union is responsible: Soviet Insecurity
drove them to confront the United States.
• There was nothing the US could have done. The
Ideological perspective here is that Communism is a
danger/aggressive.
• Thus Soviet leaders are driven position to put forward
dogma which pictures the outside world as evil,
• destined to be wracked with growing internal
convulsions until it is given final coup de grace by
rising power of socialism and yield to a better world.
• This thesis provides justification for that increase of
military and police power in Russia state,
The Revisionist View
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The United States is responsible:
United States needs to have markets
and resources to feed its economy.
The Soviet Union impeded these goals
and therefore had to be confronted.
Economic Issues drive US policy.
The Ideological perspective here is that
Capitalism is the danger/aggressor.
Post-Revisionism
• There is truth in both arguments.
• The Soviet Union under Stalin was paranoid and
difficult to deal with.
• The United States was driven in large part by the fear
of another depression.
• Other issues played a serious role in the origins of the
Cold War:
• Domestic Policy, Security, Allies, and perceptions.
The End of WWII/The Bomb/ Cold War
• The former contend that the bomb was
necessary as a military means to hasten the
end of the war with Japan, while scholars of
the latter - the "atomic diplomacy" –
• claim the bomb was meant as a politicaldiplomatic threat aimed against the Soviet
Union in the emerging Cold War.
• Bernstein advances a third interpretation,
arguing that the bomb, although primarily
aimed at the speedy surrender of Japan, had
a "bonus" effect of intimidating the Soviet
Union.
Big Ideas Regarding the
Origins of the Cold War:
• Number #1
• Nuclear weapons changed how international relations
were conducted. The nature of security changes from
physical to psychological.
• Number #2
• In seeking the their legitimate security needs, both the
United States and the Soviet Union made each other
increasingly insecure.
• Number 3
• The United States and the Soviet Union both created
empires in Europe, the USSR by force and the US by
invitation.
The Roots of the Cold War
– World War II and the
Diplomacy
Three Visions of the World From
3 leaders
1.Franklin Roosevelt – US
President
• World View - Collective Security /
Internationalism (Economic Integration) - The
Four Policeman (US, GB, USSR, China)
• envisioned a postwar order in which the victors,
along with China, would act as a board of directors
of the world,
• enforcing peace against any potential Danger
2. Winston Churchill
• World View - Balance of Power
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•
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reconstruct the traditional balance
of power in Europe.
rebuilding GB, FR,, and even
defeated GRM.
With the US these countries could
counter balance the Soviet
colossus to the east.[1]
– Danger to the World Order –
American Return to Isolation,
England Alone & Separate Peace
3.Joseph Stalin
• World View – Power Politics
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•
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communist ideology and traditional Russian
foreign policy.
He strove to cash in on his country’s victory
by extending Russian influence into Central
Europe.
Turn the countries he conquered by soviet
armies into buffer zones to protect Russia
against future German aggression.[1]
– Danger to the World Order –
• Stalin's Paranoia
• The Role of Intelligence
•
The Conferences
–
1942 - Russia: The Grand Alliance Complete
– Molotov – may 20-june 2 1942 (London and
Washington) - The Second Front
– Churchill & Roosevelt – June 18-25 1942
(Washington) - The Second Front & The Atomic
Bomb
–
Churchill & Stalin – Aug 12-15 1942 (Moscow) The Second Front and Torch
The War Conferences
– Casablanca – January 14-25 1943 - Churchill &
Roosevelt
– Cairo – November 22-26 1943 - Roosevelt,
Churchill & Chiang Kai-shek
• Tehran - Nov-Dec 1943
– -“Big Three” (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) Agreed to
an American-British (& Canadian) invasion
through France.
– The plan: Western Allies meet up w. Soviet
Allies in a north-south dividing line in defeated
Germany,
– Planned partition postwar Germany.
Yalta Conference Feb 4-11 1945 - Roosevelt,
Stalin & Churchill
• 11 million Soviet soldiers occupying much of E
& C Europe.
• Stalin wanted to create of buffer zone of proSoviet govts.
• FDR -self-determination for liberated Europe
– “democratic institutions of their own choice.”
– free elections became a dividing point.
Yalta continued
• FDR wanted Soviet help
vs. Japan,
• Soviets would get-2 JPNS
islands, warm-water ports,
& RR rights in Manchuria.
• Plan Creation -United
Nations was agreed upon
• Germany would be
partitioned into four zones
(GB, US, Fr & USSR)
• .The attempt to address the security needs of the
Soviet Union, create a balance of power, establish
a workable international system.
Potsdam July 17-Aug 2 1945
Truman, Churchill / Attlee & Stalin
-Stalin had two ideas: a new war should
be prevented, and the Soviet
Union should get share of the
spheres of influence,
-Soviets had lost more people and
wanted post-war communist
neighbors.
-The United States and Great Britain had to pay for
the enormous Soviet war effort.
-Truman, demanded free elections in E. Europe.
-Stalin responded, “A freely elected govt. in any of
these East European countries would be antiSoviet,”
Division of Germany
The Origins of the Cold War
The Long Telegram – George Kennan (22
February 1946)
• Created because Soviet did not support a World
Bank and Monetary Fund
• The USSR saw itself at a perpetual war with
capitalism;
• The Soviet government's structure prohibited
objective or accurate pictures of internal and
external reality to keep order
• It would be too costly to disarm Soviet Union
• Suspicion in key part of Soviet Foreign policy
and must be dealt with
-The Soviets viewed US was taking
too heavy a hand in determining
what form of government nations
ought to adopt.
-Stalin went on to create what
Winston Churchill called the Iron
Curtain
“from Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the
Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across
the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals
of the ancient states of central and eastern
Europe -- Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna,
Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia. From
what I have seen of our Russian friends and allies
during the war I am convinced that there is
nothing they admire so much as strength and
nothing for which they have less respect than
military weakness.”
CHURCHILL Iron
Curtain Speech
March 5, 1946
USSR Takes Eastern Europe
after WWII
• IRON CURTAIN-(Churchill)Separate East
communist and West democracy
– USSR Army stayed in areas they freed from
Nazi’s
Division of Europe
By early 1947 the Truman admin had three
major decisions concerning Europe:
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•
•
1. to restrict Soviet and Eastern European
access to American trade and capital,
2. restore Western European productivity
and commerce, and to 3. reindustrialize
Germany.
Thus, in seeking approval for aid to Greece
and Turkey from Congress, Acheson and
other officials again emphasized the
Communist danger.
The Truman Doctrine milestone in American
history four reasons : March 12, 1947
*economically and militarily aid countries
fighting communism (Greece)
1. Truman used the American fear of
communism both at home and
abroad to convince Americans they
must embark upon a Cold War
foreign policy.
2. Congress was giving the President
great powers to wage this Cold War
-Truman's personal popularity began
spiraling upward after his speech.
3. first postwar US anticommunist intervention other
nations civil war
• In the future, America would intervene in similar wars for same
reason and different results
• Greek affairs started bad but success in the (stopped
communist rebellion)
– 1947 US discussed sending two divisions of Americans to
save the situation.
– unnecessary, Yugoslavia left the communist bloc in early
1948, stopped aiding Greek rebels
• As it was, the success in Greece seemed to prove that
Americans could, if they wished, control such conflicts by
defining the problem as "Communist"
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4. Doctrine used to justify aid program to prevent
the fall of the Euro and US economies
Later programs expanded globally.
Problems of reconstruction and U.S. need of world
trade were complicated to Americans,
Anticommunism easy to understand and supported.
So Americans embarked upon the Cold War for the
good reasons given in the Truman Doctrine, which
they understood, and for real reasons which they did
not understand.
From 1947 on, therefore, any threat to that Western
system could be easily explained as communistinspired,
George Kennan's Containment • "only five centers of industrial and military
power in the world which are important to us
from a standpoint of national security." : US,
GB, GRM, USSR, JP
– Only nations who could develop a
possible threat
• Only one was hostile at that time (Soviet
Union)
– Key interest of the US in world affairs was
to see to it that no others fell under such
control.
– CONTAINMENT-Stopping the spread of
Communism
– Soviets goal was to spread communism
Marshall
Plan,
June
5,
1947
-IN 1947 George C Marshall met with
Stalin in Moscow discuss Germany
issue
-Marshal felt Stalin hoping for
economic fall of W Europe to make
spread of soviet influence easier
-Goal to help W European economic
fall & prevent spread of soviet
influence
-This influence would take American
allied nations and world trade
partners
-cold devastate us security and econ
-US dedicated to help supported W
European economies with massive
amounts of capitol
-Plan was a success W Europe began
to thrive
Marshal Plan Countries we helped Recover
after WWII
Early Soviet Response Cominform
-Soviet-dominated organization of
Communist parties -September, 1947
Poland
-conference in response to question
Eastern European governments
taking Marshall Aid in July 1947.
-Purpose of Cominform was to
coordinate actions between
Communist parties under Soviet
direction.
-Cominform was dissolved in 1956 after
Soviet rapprochement with
Yugoslavia and the process of DeStalinization
The War Scare of March 1948
(Czechoslovakia)
• (European Recovery Plan) Bill1948, supported when Soviet
influence overthrew democratic gov in Czechoslovakia.
• "pattern" of Soviet aggression and Communist subversion”
• The President expressed support for the Brussels Pact, the
forerunner of NATO, and asked for congressional approval
• of the Marshall Plan,
• universal military training (UMT),
• selective service because "
Berlin Air lift 1948
• Stalin wanted all of Berlin so he cut the city off
from basic supplies(Berlin Blockade)
– Force them to join Communist side
• West Berlin –FR US, GB and East Berlin
USSR
• US, GB drop supplies by air.
– Berlin would be separated Berlin Wall.1961
Alliances
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Military
1949- NATO- North Atlantic Treaty
Organization- Demo countries
1955-Warsaw Pact- Communist E. Euro
countries
Economic
1948 OECD- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Western
European nations
1949 COMECON- Council of Mutual
Economic Assistance- Soviet Bloc nations
and other communist nations
USA VS USSR COLD WAR
(Super Powers)
• USA promote “self
determination”
• Aid rebuild Euro gov to
organize trade
• W. Europe key trade
partner help both
economies
• USSR Promote
Communism
• Control E. Europe
protect USSR
• Use E. Europe to rebuild
USSR
• Capitalist
• Socialism
– Resources and capital
The United Nations
• 50 nations-3/4 of world population
• English, Russian, French, Spanish,
Chinese
• 8-weeks to form charter
• Oct. 24th UN Day
• Six major parts
Part 1-Security Council
• Police authority to prevent war.
• 11 members with 5 perm seats, and 6
open seats with a two-year term.
• US, USSR, G.B., France, & China
• Need seven members to decide, but all
five perm seats have to agree.
• Each perm seat has a veto.
Part 2-General Assembly
• Town hall style meeting
• Elects the other six security members.
• Appoints Trusteeship council and all other
council and committee leaders.
• Appoints the world court judges.
• Elects a Secretariat
Part 3-Economic Council
• Study economic, social, cultural, and
health problems in the world.
Part 4-Inter. Ct of Justice
• Decides legal disputes and provides
recommendations to the General
Assembly.
Part 5-Secretariat
• Administrative work of the UN.
• Prepares General Assembly meetings.
Part 6-Trustee
• Look after areas under colonial rule.
• No longer part of the UN.