"There are now two great nations in the world, which starting from different points, seem to be advancing toward the same goal: the Russians and the Anglo-Americans... Each seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destines of half the world."
Alexis de Toequeville, 1835
Origins of the Cold War: Mutual Suspicion & Fear
By now you are already familiar with the two opposing ideologies that has emerged out of the rubble of the World War II. The table below provides a brief overview of the differing philosophies (beliefs, political approach and economic activity) of the two system each country adhered to after WWII.
After the Second World War, with the decline of Europe, power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States (read page 5 of the text History - 20th Century World: The Cold War to understand the reasons why). However, since these two emerging superpowers follows a system of government that are in conflict or opposed to the another, there can be little compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Second World War, with the decline of Europe, power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States. The question remains: who were in charge of all of this and what were their objectives?
Josef Stalin and His Rise to Power
Despite the differences between their respective world views, objectives, and concerns (and fears), the "Big Three", as they became commonly known during WWII, manage to put their hidden agendas aside and concentrated on the war effort. Their common goal of defeating the Nazi threat finally brought them together in Tehran in November of 1943, one of the many wartime conferences that would inevitably contribute to the coming of the Cold War.
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The Tehran Conference, November 1943
“We came here with hope and determination. We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit and in purpose” Joint statement by Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin The first meeting of the "Big Three" took place in the Iranian capital of Tehran. From November 28 to December 1, 1943, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met to focus on the following areas:
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Task 1: The Tehran Conference
Instructions
THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE - Worksheet.docx Download File
Instructions
- Read pages 9 to 12 of the text History - 20th Century World: The Cold War.
- Download the following document titled "THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE (1943) - Worksheet.docx"
- Using the information on pages 9 to 12 of the text History - 20th Century World: The Cold War, complete the following (see below).
- Feel free to add and use ANY resources possible, but DO NOT COPY AND PASTE.
- Feel free to use the table and adjust the size of each box according to the amount of information you have provided.
- Read the marks scheme below the list in order to understand how the activity will be graded.
- Once completed, save and title the file in the following manner: "THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE (1943) - Worksheet - (Your Full Name).docx". If you are using Pages, follow the same format.
- Once you finish titling the completed work, save the file on a USB flashdrive or stick (or portable hard drive) and submit it to me via these medium (DO NOT EMAIL THE WORK).
THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE - Worksheet.docx Download File
The Yalta Conference, February 1945
“I want to drink to our alliance, that it should not lose its ... intimacy, its free expression of views ... I know of no such close alliance of three Great Powers as this ... May it be strong and stable, may we be as frank as possible.”
Stalin, proposing a toast at a dinner at the Yalta Conference, 1945 The second meeting of the "Big Three" after Tehran took place in the Ukrainian resort town of Yalta between February 4 to 11, 1945. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in hopes of finding an accordance/agreement over the future of Europe after defeating Nazi Germany.
Context: At the time of the conference, the Red Army was within 40 miles of Berlin, while the Allied forces in the west were recovering from the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ in the Ardennes. Agenda: The main concerns and points of interest throughout the Yalta conference can be broken down into three categories:
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Task 2: The Yalta Conference - Activity 1
Instructions
YALTA CONFERENCE - ACTIVITY 1 - Sources.docxDownload File |
Task 3: The Yalta Conference - Activity 2
The war in Europe was nearing its end and decisions had to be made about how to organize Europe after the war. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, or the "Big Three" as they became commonly known during and after the Tehran Conference in November of 1943, met in the resort town of Yalta between February 4 to 11 of 1945. Below are the agreements reached during the conference:
The Allies decided the following:
Despite the agreements and the friendly atmosphere displayed to the public, tensions between the "Big Three" began to unravel behind the scenes. Below are two such examples:
So what really happened between the three during the Yalta Conference?
The war in Europe was nearing its end and decisions had to be made about how to organize Europe after the war. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, or the "Big Three" as they became commonly known during and after the Tehran Conference in November of 1943, met in the resort town of Yalta between February 4 to 11 of 1945. Below are the agreements reached during the conference:
The Allies decided the following:
- Germany was to be defeated and then disarmed. It was to be split into four zones of occupation – the Big Three plus France. Germany would also have to pay reparations.
- In Eastern Europe countries were to be allowed to hold free elections to choose how they would be governed.
- In Poland free elections were to be held. The eastern frontier was to return to the pre-1921 position.
- The USSR was to join the war against Japan three months after Germany’s defeat.
- A United Nations Organization was to be set up.
- The Soviet Union had suffered terribly in the war. An estimated 20 million Soviet people had died. Stalin was therefore concerned about the future security of the USSR. The Big Three agreed that Eastern Europe should be seen as ‘a Soviet sphere of influence’.
Despite the agreements and the friendly atmosphere displayed to the public, tensions between the "Big Three" began to unravel behind the scenes. Below are two such examples:
- The Western Allies were concerned because the USSR wanted Poland’s western frontier moved into Germany and the German population removed. Stalin argued that Poland, in turn could move its borders westwards into German territory. Churchill did not approve of Stalin’s plans for Poland, but he also knew that there was not very much he could do about it because Stalin’s Red Army was in total control of both Poland and eastern Germany. Roosevelt was also unhappy about Stalin’s plan, but Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to accept it, as long as the USSR agreed not to interfere in Greece where the British were attempting to prevent the Communists taking over. Stalin accepted this.
- They disagreed over how much Germany was to pay in reparations. Stalin wanted to fix a sum that the West thought was too large. The decision was postponed.
So what really happened between the three during the Yalta Conference?
Instructions
YALTA CONFERENCE - ACTIVITY 2 - Sources.pptx Download File YALTA CONFERENCE - ACTIVITY 2.docx Download File |
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The Potsdam Conference - July 17 to August 1, 1945
On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered and the war in Europe ended. The allies next met in a suburb of Berlin called Potsdam. However, unlike the previous two conferences (Tehran in 1943 and Yalta in February 1945), the participants in this conferences had significantly changed. To the right are key developments that took place between the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences:
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Task 4: The Potsdam Conference Activity
Instructions
Instructions
- Read pages 16 to 18 of the text History - 20th Century World: The Cold War to get yourself acquainted with the Potsdam Conference.
- Download and read the sources found on the file titled “POTSDAM CONFERENCE – ACTIVITY – Sources.docx”.
- Once you and your group finished reading the sources below, your group must download and complete the table (see below) found on the file titled “POTSDAM CONFERENCE – ACTIVITY.docx”.
- Feel free to use the table and adjust the size of each box according to the amount of information you have provided.
- Read the marks scheme underneath the illustrated table below in order to understand how the activity will be graded.
- Once completed, save and title the file in the following manner: "POTSDAM CONFERENCE - ACTIVITY 1 - (Your Full Name).docx". If you are using Pages, follow the same format.
- Once you finish titling the completed work, save the file and submit it to me via Dropbox (DO NOT EMAIL THE WORK).
Dates To Remember...
Within days of the end of the Potsdam Conference (ended in August 1, 1945), the following events unfolded:
Within days of the end of the Potsdam Conference (ended in August 1, 1945), the following events unfolded:
1. On 6 August 1945, a B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
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2. Three days later (August 9, 1945) a second was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
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The American president Harry Truman deliberately concealed from the Russians during the Potsdam Conference that the United States had successfully completed the atomic bomb. Furthermore, Truman had no intention of letting Stalin know that the US intended to use it on Japan. Hoping that this would act as a leverage against the growing Russian aggression towards Eastern Europe, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instead, divided the world officially into two separate spheres of atomic (and eventually nuclear) powers. Thus entering the world into a state of heightened tension and perhaps can even be argued as the beginning of the Cold War.
The Atomic Bomb Source Analysis
Instructions
(2 Marks)
B) Using Sources B and C and your own knowledge, explain Soviet official and popular reactions to the possession by the
Western allies of the atomic weapon. (5 Marks)
C) Using only Source D and E, show how and why attitudes within the United States differed over the use of the atomic bomb.
(6 Marks)
D) Using your own background knowledge, how far do Sources A to F help explain the strained relationship between the US
and the USSR in 1945 to 1946? (7 Marks)
Instructions
- Read the following sources (Sources A to F).
- Answer the following questions:
(2 Marks)
B) Using Sources B and C and your own knowledge, explain Soviet official and popular reactions to the possession by the
Western allies of the atomic weapon. (5 Marks)
C) Using only Source D and E, show how and why attitudes within the United States differed over the use of the atomic bomb.
(6 Marks)
D) Using your own background knowledge, how far do Sources A to F help explain the strained relationship between the US
and the USSR in 1945 to 1946? (7 Marks)
Exam Questions
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
- In what ways, and with what results, was Germany the key focus of the early stages of the Cold War? (May 2005 & 2007)
- Analyse the origin of East-West rivalry and explain why it developed into the Cold War. (May 2008)
- For what reasons, and with what results, were there disagreements between participants at the conferences of Yalta and Potsdam in 1945? (TZ1 May 2009)
- For what reasons, and to what extent, did the Yalta Conference of February 1945 contribute to the origins of the Cold War? (TZ1 May 2011)
- For what reasons, and to what extent, did the Potsdam Conference of July 1945 contribute to the development of the Cold War? (TZ2 May 2011)
- Assess the role of Truman and Stalin in the origins and development of the Cold War. (TZ1 May 2012)
- “Conflicting views about the treatment of Germany were a major cause of the Cold War.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (TZ2 May 2012)
- To what extent were Soviet policies responsible for the outbreak and development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949? (Nov 2005)
- Analyse the responsibility of the USA and the USSR for the outbreak and development of the Cold War, up to 1949. (Nov 2006)
- “The breakdown of East-West relations was due to the failure of both sides to appreciate the fears of the other.” With reference to the period 1945–53, to what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2007)
- “The importance of ideology as the major cause of the Cold War has been greatly exaggerated.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2008)
- “The events of 1945 marked both the high point and the breakdown of East–West relations.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2009)
- “The Potsdam Conference marked the end of the wartime alliance and laid the foundations for post-war hostility.” With reference to the period up to 1949, to what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2011)