The Cold War : Origins

IB 20th Century Eastern Affairs

How did the liberation of Europe lead to the Cold War?

Thesis?

The Cold War began because the Soviet Union, seeking to both
spread communism and to protect themselves from Western
imperialism, occupied and imposed control in eastern Europe .

Does the evidence support this thesis?

Allied Advances
How did WWII contribute to the start of the Cold War?
Negotiations Among the Allies:
Fall 1943: the first meeting of the Big Three in Moscow
Here they agree to set up the European Advisory Commission to finalize plans for the postwar Allied occupation of
Germany
They also agreed to a joint Declaration on General Security which proposed the creation of international
organization for maintaining global peace and security
FDR hoped that the United Nations would make unnecessary spheres of influence in Europe under the argument of
security; In other words, he hoped that the security provided by the UN would mean that Stalin would not pursue
the spread of Communism in Eastern Europe

WWII Conferences

WWII Conference Outcomes

USSR

USA/UK
What was agreed to at Moscow (1943)?

What was agreed to at Tehran?

What did the countries WANT at Moscow (1944)?

How did WWII contribute to the start of the Cold War?

Negotiations Among the Allies:
Fall 1943: the first meeting of the Big Three in Moscow
Here they agree to set up the European Advisory Commission to finalize plans for the postwar Allied occupation of
Germany
They also agreed to a joint Declaration on General Security which proposed the creation of international
organization for maintaining global peace and security
FDR hoped that the United Nations would make unnecessary spheres of influence in Europe under the argument of
security; In other words, he hoped that the security provided by the UN would mean that Stalin would not pursue
the spread of Communism in Eastern Europe
How did the Tehran Conference undermine the hopes of FDR?
November, 1943 the Big Three meet again in Tehran to determine whether or not a second front in Europe would be
opened to relieve the pressure of the Nazis on the Soviet Union
GB and the US had two choices: They could land in the Balkans, or in France
By choosing France, it ensured that Stalin and the Red Army would now be the ones to liberal both Eastern and
Southeastern Europe . . . opening the door for a Soviet sphere of influence in these regions
Churchill makes it worse . . .

10/90

25/75

50/50
25/75

90/10

What is the significance?

Idealism or Pragmatism?

What was the role of?

ACCs

Governments-in-Exile

Partisan Groups

How did liberation create the context of the Cold War?

This liberation of Eastern Europe by Soviet forces and Western Europe by mostly Anglo-American forces created the
context for the Cold War
Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Hungary and Romania were allies with Germany in the war
As they were liberated the ACC (established in Moscow in 1943) held the power in these territories
The ACC in Italy was run by British and Americans; the USSR has no troops in Italy and therefore the ACC in Italy
had no Soviet officials
The inverse existed in Romania, Bulgaria, Finland and Hungary; Soviet run ACCs with no British or American
representatives
Meanwhile . . . during the war governments in exile were set up in London for the occupied counties of Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Greece and Yugoslavia these governments in exile were mainly politicians who escaped
The problem? Being in London they lost control of partisan groups (resistance fighters in occupied Europe) and in
all these places, except for Poland, Communist partisan groups emerged as the strongest local forces who refused
to take orders from the governments in exile
After liberation, Stalin encouraged, through ACC officials, the local Communists parties to create popular fronts or
alliances with liberals, socialists and peasant parties eventually these fronts became the means by which
Communism seized power in E. Europe

And then theres Poland

Natural/Historical
Alliances & Antipathies

Warsaw Uprising

Ambiguous compromises
made at Yalta

What was the Polish Question?

Poland = natural allies with France/West
is Roman Catholic
was created by the Allies after WWI
and was defended by Britain and France upon German invasion in 1939
It was exceedingly important to Stalin that there be a Soviet-friendly government in Warsaw (buffer state)
As early as 1940, he conducted purges to ensure allegiance to the USSR in some cases this backfired
As Germany pushed through Poland into the Soviet Union the Poles had seen the USSR as enemy #2
Upon liberation, Stalin ensured that the non-Communist resistance was systematically destroyed
Undermining Polands government in exile, Stalin set up the Committee of National Liberation which he saw as the
future of the Polish government
This Committee appeared to appeal to a wide cross-section of the Polish people; this allowed Stalin to maintain the
illusion he would consider free and fair elections in Poland it was a ploy
The Warsaw Uprising tried to overthrow Germans before Soviets got there unsuccessful
Compromises at Yalta:
Curzon Line confirmed
Land exchanges affirmed
Govt reorganization