Origins of the Cold War

Section 1

A Clash of Interests

• Clash between the U.S. and Soviet Union was heating up before WWII ended

• Roosevelt hoped that an Axis defeat and creation of the United Nations would lead to peacetime

• U.S. and Soviet Union grew more hostile towards each other

• Cold War- era of confrontation and competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union from 1946-1990

Soviet Security Concerns

• Tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union increased because the 2 had different goals

• Soviets were concerned for their country• Had been invaded twice by Germany in 30

years• Soviets wanted to keep Germany weak and

other countries between Germany and Soviet Union under Soviet control

Cont.

• Soviet leaders were also Communists• Believed that communism was superior economic

system that would ultimately replace capitalism• Leaders felt Soviet Union should encourage

communism in other nations• Understood that capitalist countries would try to

destroy communism• Made Soviets suspicious of other capitalist

countries

American Economic Concerns

• American leaders were focused on economic problems

• Officials blamed the Depression for WWII• Without Depression, Hitler wouldn’t have

come to power and Japan wouldn’t have wanted to expand empire

• Advisers also thought Depression was so bad because countries cut back on trade

Cont.

• When nations cut themselves off economically, then it forces them to go to war to get needed resources

• 1945- Roosevelt and his advisers were convinced economic growth was the key to world peace

• Promote economic growth and world trade• Also wanted to promote democracy and free

enterprise

Cont.

• Believed that democratic government with protections for people’s rights made countries more stable and peaceful

• Felt free enterprise was the best route to prosperity, private property rights and limited government interaction in the economy

• Do we have limited government interaction in the economy today???

The Yalta Conference

• February 1945 Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in Yalta to plan postwar world– Soviet resort on Black Sea

• Seemed to go well

• Several agreements later played role in causing Cold War

Yalta Beach

Poland

• First issue discussed at Yalta• Polish leaders fled when Germany invaded• 1944, Soviet troops drove Germans back• Soviets freed Poland from German control• Soviets encouraged Polish Communism• 2 governments claiming Poland, Communists

and non-Communists

Cont.

• Roosevelt and Churchill said the Poles should be allowed to choose their own government

• “This is what we went to war against Germany for,” Churchill explained, “that Poland should be free and sovereign.”

• Stalin disagreed• Stalin stated that Poland government had to

be nice to Soviet Union…“life or death”

Cont.

• 3 leaders compromised• Roosevelt and Churchill recognized the Polish

government set up by Soviets• Stalin agreed that the government would

include members of prewar Polish government and that free elections would be held

Declaration of Liberated Europe

• Read this section– Declaration of Liberated Europe

Dividing Germany

• Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed to divide Germany into four zones

• Great Britain, United States, Soviet Union, and France would each control a zone

• Same four countries would also divide Berlin• Roosevelt and Stalin both agreed Germany

should pay reparations for war damage

Germany Divided

Tensions Begin to Rise

• Read this section

Truman Takes Office

• Read this section

The Potsdam Conference

• July 1945 Truman met Stalin at Potsdam• Both came to work out a deal on Germany• Truman was convinced that the German

economy was critical to Europe and it needed to be allowed to revive itself

• Stalin had already begun stripping Germany of machinery and sending it back home

Cont.

• Truman took a firm stand against anymore heavy reparations

• Soviets wanted huge reparations for their loses• United States and Great Britain controlled

Germany’s industrial heartland, while Stalin controlled mostly agriculture

• Truman used the atomic bomb to his advantage to “bully” Stalin to agree to his demands

The Iron Curtain Descends

• Read this section– Satellite nations– Iron curtain