Who was the

most to blame
for the Cold
War?

Cold War

20th century conflict between USA and USSR.

No direct military engagement occurred.
The two nations feared each other and had
opposing ideologies.
USA- Believed that the USSR wanted to spread
communism across Europe.
USSR- Just wanted to guarantee their countrys
security and believed that USA had a desire to
build a global economic empire.
This conflict resulted into the division of Europe
into two blocs.

In what ways was USSR to

blame?

Stalin imposed Soviet systems throughout the

Eastern Europe.
USSR did not trust USA
The formation of:
a) Warsaw Pact
b) Communist Information Bureau
(COMINFORM)
c) Council of Mutual Economic Assistance
(COMECON)

How can USSR be

defended?

Britain refused to share details of the German

secret Enigma codes.
The western allies intentionally delayed opening a
second front in the west in order to weaken the
Soviet Union.
The USA built an atomic bomb without telling the
USSR
Stalin only wanted USSR to recover from its
losses and damages from the war.
Stalin feared that Germany would rise again.

In what ways was the USA

to blame?

They stopped lend-lease arrangements with the

USSR.
They wanted to control their sphere of influence
without the intervention of any other nations.
Had other purposes for the Marshall Aid.
Broke some rules of the Potsdam agreement.
Truman had been aggressive and was trying to
isolate USSR.

How can the USA be

defended?

Countries under the control of the US were

allowed to elect freely.
The Truman doctrine was a defensive reaction to
the communist threat in south-east Europe.
Truman took two years to develop a response to
the soviet policies in eastern Europe.
Stalins attitude to the London Poles showed his
desire to break with the wartime agreements.

Source 12

Why did you Americans wait till right now

to begin opposing us in the Balkans and
Eastern Europe? You should have done this
three years ago. Now it is too late.

Source 13

The foreign policy of the United States, which reflects the

imperialist tendencies of American monopolistic capital, is
characterized in the postwar period by a strivingfor world
supremacy. This is the real meaning of the many statements
by President Truman and other representatives of American
ruling circles: that the United States has the right to lead
the world. All the forces of American diplomacythe army,
the air force, the navy, industry, and scienceare enlisted in
the service of this foreign policy. For this purpose broad
plans for expansion have been developed and are being
implemented through diplomacy and the establishment of a
system of naval and air bases stretching far beyond the
boundaries of the United States, through the arms race, and
through the creation of ever newer types of weapons.

Source 14

The ruling clique of American imperialists

has taken the path of outright expansion,
of enslaving the weakened capitalist states
of Europe. It has taken the path of
hatching new war plans against the Soviet
Union and the new democracies. The
clearest and most specific expression of
the policy is provided by the TrumanMarshall plans.