Topic 1: Yalta and Potsdam

YALTA

●​ FEB 1945
●​ Germany had to pay 20 bil dollars
●​ Germany and Berlin divided into 4 occupancy zones – USSR, France, Britain and USA
●​ UN established
●​ USSR to aid US in war against Japan
●​ Gave USSR Poland if they left Greece

POTSDAM
●​ USA had just tested first atomic bomb in secret
●​ Meanwhile, Roosevelt had died, and America had a new president, Truman, who was
inclined to ‘get tough’ with the Russians.
●​ Relations between the superpowers had worsened considerably since Yalta. In March 1945,
Stalin had invited the non-Communist Polish leaders to meet him, and arrested them.
●​ JULY 1945
●​ Each side would take reparations from their zones – unfair to Stalin because his side was
poor
●​ Stalin wanted to cripple Germany but Truman didn’t want repeat of Nazism or TOV
●​ Truman suspicious of Stalin due to spreading Soviet takeover in Europe, Stalin refused to stop
soviet spread
Why were the Yalta and Potsdam conferences a failure?
There were a few reasons why Yalta and Potsdam were deemed failures. Firstly, the futures regarding
the eastern European countries were never agreed upon so their future was put at stake. At Yalta, it
was agreed that all countries which were under Nazi control would hold free elections to decide
upon the future of their government. However, by the time of the Potsdam conference, Stalin had
imposed communist governments in some of these states and no free elections had been held.
Truman believed that Stalin should have abided to the rulings agreed at Yalta however Stalin wanted
to continue expanding his influence. As no long-term future was agreed for these states, Stalin
continued to expand his influence and soon after the USSR had liberated most of Eastern Europe.
This is one reason why Yalta and Potsdam were a failure.​
Another reason why Yalta and Potsdam were a failure as it increased tension between the USA and
the USSR. At both conferences, especially in Potsdam, the Western powers and the USSR disagreed
over the future of Poland, the future of Germany and disagreed over how much reparations Stalin
got from the war. They were having trouble agreeing as all three countries had different ideologies
and because they were opposites of each other they could not agree on a compromise over these
issues. The conferences, particularly Potsdam, significantly increased the tension between the two
sides and put roots down for what would become the Cold War, and because they were not able to
agree over big issues the conferences can be seen as a failure.
Why were there tensions in between the two conferences?
Relations between the superpowers had worsened considerably since Yalta. Firstly, in March 1945,
Stalin had invited the non-Communist Polish leaders to meet him, and arrested them. Also, Roosevelt
had died, and America had a new president, Truman, who was inclined to ‘get tough’ with the
Russians. USA had also just tested their first atomic bomb meaning that they didn’t need USSR’s help
in Japan
Topic 2: Policy of containment

●​ Containment was a United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of
communism abroad.
●​ First laid out by John F Kennan who believed if communism wasn’t contained it would spread
to neighbouring countries, eventually USA, domino effect

TRUMAN DOCTRINE

●​ Truman persuaded congress to provide 400 million dollars in economic and military aid for
Greece and Turkey
●​ To defend free countries from aggressive communist neighbours
●​ “to support free peoples” around the world who were “resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures.”

MARSHALL PLAN

●​ designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern European countries in

order to create stable conditions in which democratic institutions could survive in the
aftermath of World War II.
●​ 16 countries signed up to the Marshall Plan
●​ It was formally called the European Recovery Program.
●​ Lasted 4 years starting 1948
●​ Gave 13.3bil dollars

Topic 3: Berlin Blockade

●​ STARTED JUNE 1948

●​ Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, gas, electricity and water access to Allied-controlled areas
of Berlin
●​ Stalin wanted to remove any symbol of western life from his zone
●​ OPERATION VITTLES:
●​ Britain, France and US choose not to back down and pledge to supply the city’s inhabitants
with giant airlift
●​ Lasted 11 months
●​ 300,000 flights
●​ Over 2mil tonnes of cargo to the city
●​ Coal, food, petrol transported
●​ By 1949 planes landing every 2 mins
●​ Soviets tried to stop operation by jamming signals and flashing searchlights
●​ 101 deaths

Topic 4: Marshall Plan

●​ designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern European countries in

order to create stable conditions in which democratic institutions could survive in the
aftermath of World War II.
●​ 16 countries signed up to the Marshall Plan
●​ It was formally called the European Recovery Program.
●​ Lasted 4 years starting 1948
●​ Gave 13.3bil dollars
Topic 5: Who was to blame for the beginning of the cold war

USSR

●​ Communism forced into liberated countries which aggravated western powers – went
against Yalta conference agreements of hosting elections (COMMUNIST EXPANSIONIST
IDEOLOGY)
●​ Berlin Blockade
●​ COMINFORM endured capitalist society was undermined through nationalist communist
parties

USA

●​ Creation and use of atomic bomb in Japan was a threat to USSR because they kept it a secret
●​ USSR saw Marshall Aid plan as USA trying to take over European economy and ot make them
in debt to USA
●​ Creation of Bizonia in Western Germany went against Potsdam
●​ Containment policy
●​ Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid were seen as provocative as they isolated USSR

USSR was to blame for the beginning of the Cold War. How far do you agree with this?

The Cold War was a rivalry of ideologies between USA and USSR for a period of over 40 years,
beginning in 1945 post World War II. It was a war that didn’t involve direct military action but was
pursued primarily through economic and political actions, espionage and propaganda. The premise
of this statement can be seen as valid due to the USSR’s communist expansionist ideology and the
Berlin Blockade. However the USA can be partially blamed too due to the secret use and creation of
the atomic bomb and their containment policy.

Firstly, the USSR can be blamed for the start of the Cold War because of their communist
expansionist ideology. Between 1945 and 1948, the communist sphere of influence expanded
significantly in Eastern Europe. Communist governments had been injected in Albania, Bulgaria, East
Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary through rigged elections. By expanding and
taking over these states Stalin was defying the terms created at the Yalta Conference; in which it was
decided liberated European countries should host free elections. The Western powers saw this as an
aggressive move, and caused them to feel threatened as they felt they were next to fall victim to this
expansion. This created hostilities between the countries and therefore was a factor that lead to the
start of the Cold War

However, the USA can be blamed for the start of this conflict due to the fact that they kept the
Manhattan Project a secret. The Manhattan Project began in 1942, and the first atomic bomb was
tested in July, 1945. The Americans didn’t tell their Allies about this project, but Soviet spies were still
able to infiltrate the project. Truman only revealed the existence of the bomb to Stalin at the
Potsdam Conference in 1945. Although Stalin already knew of it the idea of this new nuclear
superpower was incredibly intimidating. This added to tension between the countries as Stalin’s
distrust for USA intensified. In addition to this, Stalin felt further alienated as USSR didn’t receive any
share of victory in the Pacific as the atomic bomb meant Soviet help wasn’t needed. Therefore,
Stalin’s feeling of betrayal after being kept in the dark about the atomic bomb led to hostilities
increasing between the 2 countries.

On the other hand, the Berlin Blockade, conducted by Stalin, was a major reason as to why USSR can
be blamed for the start of the Cold War. The Berlin Blockade was imposed in June 1948 after the
introduction of the new currency in the western zones of Germany, cutting off all land access for the
Allies to West Berlin. Soviet forces blockaded all rail, road, gas, electricity and water access to this
part of the city, and in response the Allies performed Operation Vittles. This was a huge airlift in
which, by 1949, a plane was landing in Berlin once every two minutes with supplies for the city’s
inhabitants. After 11 months, the Western powers had sent 2million tonnes of cargo to the
blockaded city, and Stalin therefore ended the blockade in May 1949. By constructing this blockade
Stalin was trying to prove the power he holds in order to drive the western powers out of Berlin. This
direct attack on the 2.5 million civilians of the city heightened tension between the countries as this
was the first direct attack to the opposite power.

Finally, USA can be blamed for the start of the Cold War because of their containment policy against
the Soviets. In 1947, Truman proposed 400million dollars from congress for economic and military
aid for Greece and Turkey. This policy was to “to support free peoples” around the world who were
“resisting attempted subjugation”. The doctrine was made as Truman feared without his help Greece
and potentially Turkey and France could fall under the communist influence, and they believe a
domino effect would lead to them becoming victim to the expansion too. The second part of the
Truman Doctrine was a financial aid known as the Marshall Aid Plan which was to help any country in
Europe whose economy was struggling after World War 2. Stalin didn’t accept this aid and forbid any
Eastern bloc country to take it as he saw it as a “capitalist trap”. The fact the USA was giving money to
help countries prevent getting taken over by communism increased tension between the two
countries as it held Stalin back from expanding.