Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in

1945?
USA, Britain and USSR worked together during the 2nd World war because they
shared the hate to Hitler.
The alliances started to break down because the clash of ideologies and the
changes at the conference, the conference of Yalta and Potsdam. This were
peace conferences that met to decide what to do why the countries that lost
war.

Conferences
Yalta February 1945: they agreed in almost everything. They agreed that they
would have a new league of Nations called United Nations (ONU) and that they
would let some countries (USSR) to have sphere of influence on other countries.
They agreed that Germany would have to be divided in to 4 parts and control
each of them by other countries. They disagreed because Stalin wanted more
influence in Poland, Ussr had possession of Eastern Europe.
On May of 1945 the USA tried a new nuclear weapon and the USSR wasn´t good
with that.
Truman: new president of USA very anticommunist
Potsdam 1945: they disagreed in almost everything. Soviets wanted Germany to
be punished and control all the Easter Europe.

Clash of ideologies
USA and USSR emerged as powerful nations after war. There was clash between
capitalism and communism.
They wanted to have influence over the other countries, so they want the other
countries to have the same ideologists.
Industry, elections, individual rights.

Allies against Hitler

USA, USSR and Britain allied to defeat Germany during SWW. It was a
strategic war allies, it didn´t had any other relationship.
USSR: Communist country since many years.
Britain and USA: Hated communist’s ideas and helped enemies of
communists in the past.
 This made USSR wary of USA and Britain, but by 1945 they defeated
Germany.

Rivals with differing world views

There was clash of ideologies between communist and capitalist, and also
were two countries with national pride and sense of identity.
Beliefs of the two sides:
USA and the USSR believed that their way of life was best and were proud
of the leading role they took to defeat Germany
A clash of ideologies
The USA The USSR
The USA was capitalist. Business and property The USSR was communist. All industry was
were privately owned. owned and RUN BY THE STATE
It was a DEMOCRACY. Government was It was a DICTATORSHIP. Elections were held,
chosen in free elections but candidates belonged to the Communist
Party
It was the world's wealthiest country. But It was an economic superpower because its
some people were very wealthy while others industry had grown, but the standard of living
were very poor in the was lower. They got unemployment
and extreme poverty.
For Americans, being free of control by the For communists, the rights of individuals were
government was more important than seen as less important than the good of
everyone being equal. society as a whole.
Believed other countries should be run in the Believed other countries should be run in the
American way communist way.
People in the USA were alarmed by The role of a communist state was to
communist theory, which talked of spreading encourage communist revolutions worldwide.
revolution. USSR's leaders tended to take practical
decisions.
Policy doing the right thing rather than USSR saw the USA's actions as selfishly
serving the interests of the USA. building its economic empire and political
influence.

Superpowers
USA and USSR emerged as two world superpowers after SWW. Also
countries as Britain and Frances relegated to a second division.
Roosevelt: president of USA
 Stalin: leader of USSR
In 1930s USA followed and isolationist policy but in 1940s it changed. They
wanted to stop communism. There would be no more appeasement of
Dictators, now every communist action meets an American reaction.

The Yalta Conference, February 1945

USA: President Roosevelt (franklin)
Britain: Prime minister Churchill
USSR: Soviet leader Stalin
In February 1945, Germany was losing the war, so the big three met
together at Yalta in Ukraine to decide what to do with Europe.
The Yalta conference went well and they could aggrade on important
matters.
Agreements at Yalta
 Japan  Germany
Stalin agreed to go to war with Japan when Agreed Germany should be divided in
Germany was defeated fourth parts.
 Elections  United Nations
Countries that were control by Germany The Big three would join the United
will have free elections to choose the Nations organization, which would keep
government they wanted after war finish. peace after war.
 War criminals  Eastern Europe
Punished war criminals who were Agreed that eastern Europe should be seen
responsible of what happened in as a “Soviet Sphere of Influence”
Concentration camps.
Disagreements at Yalta (because of Poland)

• Stalin wanted the border of the USSR to move westwards into Poland.

• Churchill did not approve of Stalin's plans for Poland, but he couldn’t do anything
about it because Stalin's RED ARMY was in control of Poland and eastern Germany.

• Roosevelt was unhappy, but Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to accept it, as long as the
USSR didn´t interfere in Greece where Britain were preventing a communists taking over.
Stalin accepted this.

The Potsdam Conference, July 1945

USA: President Truman
Britain: Prime Minister Churchill
USSR: Soviet leader Stalin
Three months after the Yalta Conference, allied troops reached Berlin.
Hitler died and Germany was defeated. The war had finished.
A second conference of the Allied took place in July 1945 in Potsdam,
Germany. However, since the Yalta conference, some changes had taken
place that affected the relationship between the leaders.

Changes since Yalta

1. Stalin's armies were occupying most of eastern Europe
Soviet troops had liberated countries in eastern Europe, but instead of go
away, Stalin had left them there. Refugees were escaping from these
countries fearing a communist take-over. Stalin had set up a communist
government in Poland. He insisted that his control of eastern Europe was
a defensive measure against possible future attacks.
2. America had a new president
President Roosevelt died and was replaced by Harry Truman. Truman was
a very different from Roosevelt. He was more anticommunist than
Roosevelt and very suspicious of Stalin, Truman saw Soviet actions in
eastern Europe as preparations to invade the rest of Europe.
3. The Allies had tested an atomic bomb
On July 1945 the Americans tested an ATOMIC BOMB at a desert site in
the USA. At the start of the POTSDAM CONFERENCE, Truman informed
Stalin about it.

Stalin v. Truman
The conference took place but it didn´t went as well as Yalta.
In July there was an election in Britain. Churchill was defeated, and it was
released by a prime minister, Clement Attlee. The conference was
dominated by rivalry and suspicion between Stalin and Truman.
Disagreements at Potsdam
X Germany X Reparations X Eastern Europe
Stalin wanted to Many Russians had At Yalta, Stalin agreed
destroy Germany died in the war and that he could set up
completely to protect the Soviet Union had pro-Soviet
the USSR. Truman been devastated. governments in
didn’t want to repeat Stalin wanted eastern Europe.
the mistake of the compensation from Truman became very
TREATY OF Germany. Truman, unhappy and adopted
VERSAILLES. however, resisted this a resistance attitude
demand. He didn´t towards Stalin.
wanted to do the
same the Treaty of
Versailles did.

How did the USSR gain control of eastern Europe by 1948?

The ‘iron curtain’
Potsdam ended with no agreements at all. The next 9 months, Stalin
dominated the rest of the eastern countries in Europe he was looking.
1946: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania, were all
communist governments that supported Stalin.
Iron curtain: the border between the Soviet-controlled countries and the
West. Named after Churchill.

Stalin strengthens his grip (agarre)

Stalin extended Soviet power in eastern Europe. With communist
governments, Stalin started to consolidated his control in these
countries.
Secret police: arrested anyone who opposed communist rule.

Cominform
In 1947, Stalin set up Cominform (Communist International Bureau), to
co-ordinate the work of the communist parties. Cominform, brought the
leaders of each countries to Moscow so Stalin could inform them and also
allowed Stalin to keep an eye on them.
He replaced the independent-minded leaders with people who supported
and were loyal to him. Tito from Yugoslavia was the only communist
leader that wasn´t in favour of being controlled by Cominform.
How did the USA react to Soviet expansion?
Western powers were worried about Stalin´s takeover of eastern Europe.
Roosevelt, Churchill and their successors agreed that Stalin could have
security governments in eastern Europe. They agreed that eastern Europe
could have a “sphere of influence” but Stalin must have little influence on
them.
Roosevelt and Churchill didn´t expected a complete communist
domination. They expected democratic governments with a friendly
relationship with USSR.
Stalin: saw his policy as making himself secure.
Truman: saw Stalin´s policy as a spread of communism.
Grace and Czechoslovakia were the only countries that weren´t
controlled by communist governments.

Greece, 1947
In Greece, after Germans retired in 1944, were two groups that wanted to
rule the country - the monarchists and the communists.
Both. Resisted Nazis.
Communists: wanted to be a Soviet Republic
Monarchists: wanted the return of the king to rule again.
Truman sent British troops in 1945 to help them organized in order to
decide the new way of Government in free elections. British was in favour
of the monarchists so the king returned to rule the country.
In 1946 USSR protested to the UN that British troops threat Greece
peace. UN didn´t take actions over this issue so in 1947 communists tried
to take over Greece.
British troops couldn´t affront a civil war so they retire their troops.
America paid for some troops to stay in other to support the king´s
government.
In 1950 the country was ruled by the king but they had a very weak
government.
The Truman Doctrine
American intervention in Greece marked a new attitude of USA towards
world politics, this was called “The Truman Doctrine”
The Truman Doctrine: prepared USA to send money, equipment’s and
resources to countries that were threatened by communism.
Truman accept that the eastern Europe was communist so he created the
policy CONTAMINENT to stop the spread of communism.

The Marshall Plan

$17 billion to Europe for reparations and to rebuild it.
Truman though the communism worked when people faced poverty.
He sent George Marshal to evaluate Europe´s economic state. He found a
ruined economy. Europe owned lot of money to USA and were lack of
goods.
Marshal suggested that $17 billion would be needed to rebuild Europe. In
1947 Truman suggested this on the Congress but they refused for a short
time.
In 1948 the murder of a Pro- American minister in Czechoslovakia would
change their minds.

Refugees
Shortage
of food
Homeless
and
clothing
Problems
in post-
Shortage war Cost of
of fuel Europe rebuilding

Debts Damage to
from cost infrastructur
of war e
Czechoslovakia, 1948
Americans attitude changed when communist took over the government
of Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia was ruled by a group of governments, although some
were communist, they resisted the total control of Moscow and wanted
to independent of it.
In March communists murder Anti-Soviet leaders and killed a Pro-
American minister. After this, the Congress accepted the Marshall plan
and send the $17 billion dollars.

Marshall Aid (help)

The Marshall Aid was a generous act by America, but it was also
motivated by self-interest.
 USA wanted new American markets to get goods. The great
*1 depression of the 1930s alarmed Truman, so he tried to prevent
another *1 one.
 USA argued that the aid should only be given to a government and
economy that supported democracy and free markets. Wanted an
“Open Door” which means no tariffs or restrictions to USA
companies.
Stalin was suspicious of the Marshall aid. He didn´t wanted to have any
relationship with it and didn´t allowed the eastern Europe countries to
accept this aid. He thought that anticommunist’s aims would weaken his
control. Also that the USA was trying to dominate states by making them
depend on dollars.

The Berlin Blockade: causes and consequences

The tension between USA and USSR was increasing. Both incremented
their weapons, propaganda develop and denounced the plans or policies
of the other. Besides all this, they never actually fired each other, but in
1948 the confrontation came over Germany.

The problems of Germany

After war, Germany was divided into four zones.
USA plan
Morgenthau Plan: remove all German industry and make it and
agricultural country, so they couldn´t pay modern war. Truman was
alarmed about USSR and decided that a strong Germany might be useful.
If German industries were forbidden they would starve.
1946: Britain, France and USA combined their zones.
They were known as West Germany in 1949.

Stalin blockades Berlin

Stalin needed to show the Western powers that if they intended to
invade the Soviet “sphere of influence” he would fight back.
Berlin: divided into four zones.
Berlin, although it was divided, was in the Soviet zone and was linked to
the wester zones by railways and canals.
In 1948 Stalin blocked this railways and canals so western powers
couldn’t invade zones of Berlin. If USA tried to destroy the blocks it could
be seen as an act of war.
Stalin was expected Truman to retired from berlin, so Berlin could be a
soviet zone.

The Berlin airlift (Puente aereo)

Americans believed the situation in west Berlin was important because if
they retired then western zones would become communists.
Berlin airlift: American aircraft fly supplies to Berlin.
Everyone feared Soviets could shoot them down and that would mean an
act of war. Plans fly over Soviet territory but weren’t fired down.
West Berlin received supplies in this way. Cloth, food, building materials
and oil.
Stalin, in 1949, ended the blockade.

Consequences of the Berlin Blockade

The end of the blockade didn´t end the cold war. It had important
consequences.
 A powerful symbol: Berlin was a symbol of cold war.
For US: an oasis of democratic freedom in a communist repression.
For USSR: a cancer growing in the worker´s paradise of eastern
Europe.

 Cold War flashpoint (punto principal): Berlin was a flashpoint and the
place were US and USSR faced each other directly.

 Cold War patterns (patrones) of thinking and acting: The crisis in

Berlin showed that there wasn´t going to be a fire war, other type
of conflicts would occur. They would fight power wars.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
NATO: Western Powers (France, Britain, USA)
Warsaw Pact: Eastern Europe (communist’s states and USSR)
During the blockade, war between USA and USSR seem possible.
Western Powers met ad signed an agreement that would protect each
other: NATO. NATO allowed west Germany to join.
USSR and communist states in eastern Europe made an alliance to defend
each other: Warsaw Pact.