2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 – 1963 The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949 — AQA A-Level History
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2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 – 1963 The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949 explained
In 1945, the Grand Alliance fractured due to conflicting capitalist and communist ideologies.
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At Yalta, despite tensions over Poland, relations between Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill remained cooperative, securing agreements on Germany's division. By Potsdam, the dynamic had shifted. Roosevelt's death brought Truman, who adopted a hardline stance, while Churchill's defeat introduced Attlee, altering the diplomatic chemistry. Potsdam witnessed the breakdown of the Grand Alliance, as Stalin, Truman, and Attlee clashed over German reparations and Soviet control in Eastern Europe. The US atomic bomb test further emboldened Truman, destroying the fragile trust established earlier and cementing the US, British, and USSR divide.
Developing tensions: the Soviet Union occupation/control of eastern and southern Europe; Kennan's Long Telegram; the Iron Curtain speech; Cominform; the Greek Civil War and the Truman Doctrine on containment
Post-1945 tensions escalated as the Soviet Union established control over eastern and southern Europe, installing compliant regimes. This prompted Kennan's 1946 Long Telegram, arguing the USSR was inherently aggressive and laying the foundation for US containment. Churchill's Iron Curtain speech then publicly condemned Soviet domination, hardening Europe's division. The crisis deepened with the Greek Civil War, where communist insurgents threatened the government. This triggered the March 1947 Truman Doctrine, officially committing the US to a policy of containment. In response to this US assertiveness, Stalin established Cominform in September 1947 to coordinate communist parties and consolidate control.
The USA’s involvement in Europe: policy towards Britain and Europe; the launch of the Marshall Plan; US attitudes to Germany and Berlin
Following WWII, the USA abandoned isolationism for active European involvement. When Britain could no longer support Greece and Turkey in 1947, it prompted the Truman Doctrine's containment policy. Broader US policy towards Britain and Europe focused on economic recovery to prevent communist expansion, leading to the launch of the Marshall Plan in June 1947. This injected billions into Western Europe to stabilise capitalist democracies. Simultaneously, US attitudes to Germany and Berlin shifted from punitive measures to rehabilitation. Recognising that a prosperous Europe required a revitalised German economy, the US prioritised rebuilding its zones, viewing West Berlin as a crucial democratic outpost behind the Iron Curtain.
Conflict over Germany: developments within the sectors, including Bizonia and currency reform; the Berlin blockade; the creation of East and West Germany; formation of NATO
Post-war conflict over Germany escalated as the Allied powers pursued divergent policies within their occupation sectors. The US and Britain merged their zones into Bizonia in 1947 to streamline economic recovery, later introducing the Deutschmark in 1948. This currency reform, enacted without Soviet agreement, triggered Stalin to launch the Berlin blockade, cutting off land access to West Berlin. The West responded with a massive airlift, sustaining the city until the blockade was lifted in 1949. This crisis cemented the division of the country, leading directly to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the German Democratic Republic (East). Furthermore, the heightened security threat accelerated the formation of NATO in 1949, establishing a formal Western military alliance.
Your focus
- Compare the diplomatic outcomes and atmosphere of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences.
- Analyse the impact of leadership changes on the breakdown of the Grand Alliance.
- Explain how conflicting ideologies shaped the post-war objectives of the US, Britain, and the USSR.
Show all 12 objectives
- Describe the methods used by the USSR to establish control over eastern and southern Europe.
- Explain the ideological and practical links between the Long Telegram, the Greek Civil War, and the Truman Doctrine.
- Evaluate the significance of the Iron Curtain speech and Cominform in solidifying the division of Europe.
- Explain the reasons for the USA's changing policy towards Britain and the wider European continent after 1945.
- Analyse the motivations behind the launch of the Marshall Plan and its impact on European alignments.
- Evaluate the evolution of US attitudes towards the economic and political future of Germany and Berlin.
- Trace the developments within the German occupation sectors, focusing on the economic impact of Bizonia and the 1948 currency reform.
- Analyse the causes, events, and consequences of the Berlin blockade and the subsequent Allied airlift.
- Explain how the crisis over Germany culminated in the creation of two separate German states and the formation of the NATO alliance.
2R The Cold War, c1945–1991 – 1963 The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949 exam tips
Marking Points
- Assess the impact of ideological differences between capitalism and communism on the underlying mistrust between the Big Three.
- Evaluate the agreements and disagreements at Yalta, particularly concerning the Declaration on Liberated Europe and the borders of Poland.
- Analyse how the change in leadership from Roosevelt and Churchill to Truman and Attlee altered the diplomatic dynamic at Potsdam.
- Explain the significance of the successful US atomic bomb test in hardening Truman's attitude towards Stalin at Potsdam.
- Identify the specific points of breakdown at Potsdam, such as disagreements over the scale of German reparations and the nature of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
- Explain the methods used by the Soviet Union to secure political and military control over eastern and southern European states.
- Analyse the significance of Kennan's Long Telegram in shifting US foreign policy towards the concept of containment.
- Evaluate the impact of Churchill's Iron Curtain speech on public perception and diplomatic relations between the East and West.
- Assess the role of the Greek Civil War as the immediate catalyst for the announcement of the Truman Doctrine.
- Define the Truman Doctrine and explain how it formalised the US policy of containment against Soviet expansionism.
- Explain the purpose of Cominform as Stalin's mechanism for tightening ideological and political control over the Eastern Bloc in response to the Truman Doctrine.
- Explain the shift in US policy towards Britain, specifically taking over the financial and military burden in Greece and Turkey in 1947 via the Truman Doctrine.
- Analyse the launch of the Marshall Plan as an economic tool of containment designed to rebuild European economies and prevent communist electoral victories.
- Evaluate the changing US attitudes towards Germany, moving from post-war deindustrialisation to economic rehabilitation as essential for wider European recovery.
- Assess the strategic importance of Berlin to the USA as a symbol of Western resolve and a capitalist showcase deep within the Soviet zone.
- Analyse how divergent economic policies within the occupation sectors, particularly the creation of Bizonia, heightened tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
- Explain the introduction of the new currency (Deutschmark) in the Western zones as the immediate catalyst for the Berlin blockade.
- Evaluate the logistical success and political significance of the Berlin airlift in defeating the Soviet blockade without triggering armed conflict.
- Assess how the resolution of the Berlin crisis formalised the division of Europe, resulting in the creation of East and West Germany and the formation of NATO.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Contrast the personal relationship between Stalin and Roosevelt with the much more abrasive dynamic between Stalin and Truman to explain the shift between Yalta and Potsdam.
- 💡Use the issue of Poland as a continuous thread to demonstrate how tensions evolved from vague agreements at Yalta to outright conflict at Potsdam.
- 💡When discussing ideologies, move beyond simple definitions and explain exactly how capitalist and communist worldviews dictated incompatible post-war aims for Europe.
- 💡Link Kennan's Long Telegram directly to the Truman Doctrine to show the progression from diplomatic theory to official US foreign policy.
- 💡Use the phrase 'salami tactics' to describe how the Soviet Union gradually eliminated political opposition in eastern and southern Europe, such as in Hungary or Poland.
- 💡Evaluate Churchill's Iron Curtain speech not just as a description of Europe, but as a deliberate provocation that accelerated the breakdown of relations.
- 💡Emphasise the chronological causality of 1947: the Truman Doctrine was a response to the Greek Civil War, and Cominform was Stalin's retaliation to US containment.
- 💡Distinguish between Britain's 1947 crisis prompting the Truman Doctrine and the broader European economic crisis that led to the launch of the Marshall Plan.
- 💡Use specific figures, such as the $13 billion provided by the Marshall Plan, to demonstrate the scale of US involvement in European recovery.
- 💡When discussing US attitudes to Germany, contrast the initial punitive approach with the later realisation that German industrial recovery was vital for European stability.
- 💡Clearly distinguish between the long-term causes of the conflict over Germany, such as ideological differences, and the short-term triggers like the 1948 currency reform.
- 💡Use the Berlin blockade as a prime example of brinkmanship and the limitations of Soviet power when confronted with Western logistical resolve.
- 💡Connect the formation of NATO directly to the insecurity felt by Western European nations during the Berlin crisis, marking a definitive end to US peacetime isolationism.
Common Mistakes
- Error: Confusing the attendees of the two conferences. Correction: Ensure you correctly identify Roosevelt and Churchill at Yalta, and Truman and Attlee at Potsdam.
- Error: Claiming the Grand Alliance broke down entirely at Yalta. Correction: Recognise that Yalta represented the high point of wartime cooperation, despite underlying tensions; the actual breakdown occurred at Potsdam.
- Error: Ignoring the role of Britain in the conferences. Correction: Acknowledge that while the US and USSR were emerging superpowers, British interests significantly influenced discussions on Poland and Germany.
- Error: Stating that the Truman Doctrine was a military alliance. Correction: Define the Truman Doctrine as a foreign policy pledge of economic and military aid to prevent the spread of communism, not a formal military alliance like NATO.
- Error: Confusing Cominform with Comecon. Correction: Specify that Cominform was established in September 1947 for the political and ideological coordination of communist parties, whereas Comecon was formed in 1949 for economic integration.
- Error: Assuming the US directly fought in the Greek Civil War. Correction: Clarify that the US provided financial and military aid to the Greek royalist government under the Truman Doctrine, rather than deploying US combat troops.
- Error: Misordering the events of 1947. Correction: Ensure the correct chronological sequence is maintained: the Greek Civil War crisis prompted the Truman Doctrine in March 1947, which subsequently led to the creation of Cominform in September 1947.
- Confusing the Truman Doctrine with the Marshall Plan; the Truman Doctrine was the ideological commitment to containment prompted by Britain's withdrawal from Greece, whereas the Marshall Plan was the broader economic aid package.
- Assuming the US always intended to rebuild Germany; early post-war plans were punitive, and the shift to rehabilitation only occurred as Cold War tensions escalated.
- Claiming the Marshall Plan was only offered to Western Europe; it was offered to the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, but Stalin rejected it, forcing his satellite states to do the same.
- Stating that the Berlin Wall was built during the Berlin blockade; the blockade occurred in 1948 to 1949, whereas the Berlin Wall was not constructed until 1961.
- Assuming NATO was formed solely in response to the creation of East Germany; NATO was a broader response to the Soviet threat highlighted by the Berlin blockade and the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia.
- Confusing the sequence of events; students often place the creation of East and West Germany before the Berlin blockade, whereas the blockade actually accelerated their formal creation.