Origins of the Cold War

End of WWII

• Axis Powers (Germany and allies) initially occupied much of Europe.
• Allied forces (USA, Britain, USSR) pushed back Germany leading to its defeat.
• Race to Berlin indicated early Cold War tensions.

Yalta Conference - February 1945

• Allied leaders met to discuss postwar reorganization of Europe.
• Agreements:
  • Germany divided into 4 occupation zones (UK, French, US, Soviet).
  • Free elections in previously occupied countries.
  • USSR to aid USA against Japan.
  • Nazi war criminals tried (Nuremberg Trials).
• Disagreements:
  • Poland's borders.
• Key Figures: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin.
• Cooperative atmosphere initially.

Potsdam Conference - July-August 1945

• Changes since Yalta:
  • New British Prime Minister: Clement Attlee.
  • New US President: Harry Truman (anti-communist).
  • US tested atomic bomb.
  • Stalin set up puppet communist government in Poland.
• Discussions on Germany's division continued.
• Key Figures: Clement Attlee, Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin.
• Truman informed Stalin about atomic bomb; Stalin was already aware due to espionage.

Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - August 6 & 9, 1945

• Ended the war in the Pacific.
• Highlighted atomic bomb's power and destruction.
• Long-term effects: radiation exposure, cancer, birth defects.

Division of Germany

• Treated as an economic unit with potential political reunification.
• Became a Cold War symbol of East-West tensions.

Spheres of Influence

• Superpowers (USSR in East, USA in West) maintained control over Europe.
• Satellite States: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany with Soviet-friendly governments.
• 1948: Communist coup in Czechoslovakia confirmed USSR’s expansion intentions.

Iron Curtain

• Term by Winston Churchill describing division in Europe.
• Communist parties gained totalitarian power in Eastern Europe.

NATO - 1949

• Military alliance between US and Western Europe.
• Seen by USSR as Western aggression.

Warsaw Pact - 1955

• USSR and satellite state alliance.
• Soviet troops in satellite states: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania.

Truman Doctrine

• US policy to counteract Communist threats with aid.
• Policy of Containment: Prevent spread of communism.

Marshall Plan

• $17 billion aid to rebuild Europe and deter communism.
• Seen by USSR as "Dollar Diplomacy," increasing tensions.
• Stalin set up Comecon and Cominform in response.

Berlin Crises - 1948-61

• Berlin's division highlighted Cold War tensions.
• Western zones thrived economically; Soviet zone became a dictatorship.
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift 1948-49:
  • Stalin's blockade aimed to isolate West Berlin.
  • Western airlift maintained supplies, leading to Stalin lifting the blockade in 1949.

Berlin Wall - 1961

• Over 3 million fled East Germany by 1961, seeking better life in the West.
• East Germany and Soviet authorities constructed the Berlin Wall to halt emigration.