Due Tuesday-Wednesday

 Theprimary source analysis you

completed with the battle of WWII of your
choice
 Focus on the insights section to discuss
how using a primary source informs your
understanding of a topic
 Perhaps you get a new understanding
 Perhaps a deeper understanding
 Perhaps not there is justification for your
ideas
The aftermath
of WWII
Differences that simmered
during war boil over and
create the Cold War
 Whereis the danger for us if it is uncertain
whether or not we can resolve our fears?
How can we build trust with those who we
fear?

 How does prosperity and the desire for

prosperity shift culture in Canada?

 How is Canadian autonomy and identity

challenged during the Cold War?
It all depends on your point of
view
Who were the players at the
during WWII?
Threads in the fabric of the
post-war world
 The
Soviet view was that their suffering
had made it their war and their sacrifice
made victory possible
 Est. 27 000 000 soldiers and civilians dead
(50% of all casualties from the war)
Good to know…
 Dec 1940 Hitler made final decision to invade
USSR – late start (June)
 Soviet forces were decimated and civilians
starved, killed, forced to work for Nazis
 November 1942 Soviets rally and Germans
defeated at Stalingrad (summer 1943 turning
point – Zhukov too)
 Soviets push Germans back for two years until
May 1945 they accept German surrender
Threads in the fabric of the
post-war world
 Stalin’s
distrust of his allies grew
throughout the war
 Ideological differences preceded WWII
 He was dissatisfied with the lack of a
second front given the desperation facing
the Red Army
 (1941 Germans invade USSR but Dieppe
in 1942 did not help and D-Day was in
1944)
 An exceptional burden was borne by
Soviet women. By 1945 over half the
workforce was female, and on the land,
more than four-fifths. Women fought in
their thousands in the Soviet armed forces
as pilots, sharpshooters, even tank
commanders.
 Richard Overy, The Soviet-German War
1941 - 1945
 Despite the animosity, the
USSR needed the US
 Initial US involvement through the Lend-Lease Act
(1941)
 $11 000 000 000.00 worth of goods and Stalin admitted
to Roosevelt that the USSR would have lost without help
 Fighting without ‘fighting’ as it would:

“…give the President power to carry on a kind of

undeclared war all over the world, in which America
would do everything except actually put soldiers in the
front-line trenches where the fighting is.”
 Robert Taft, Republican Senator who opposed the bill
Yalta from 4-11 Feb 1945
 ‘The high point of the alliance’
 Stalin was in the strongest position -- his
armies sweeping towards Berlin and the
conference was held inside the USSR
 He was well-informed about his allies
 Roosevelt was weakest due to health and
his belief that he and Stalin had a special
relationship
 “Ijust have a hunch, that Stalin doesn't
want anything but security for his country,
and I think that if I give him everything I
possibly can and ask nothing from him in
return, ... he wouldn't try to annex
anything and will work with for a world of
democracy and peace.”
 President Roosevelt, speaking just before
the Yalta Conference
Yalta – Feb 1945
 The upshot was that they decided on
principles of the post-war world
 Demand unconditional surrender
 Germany would be de-Nazified and separated
into four zones of occupation though governed
as a single economic unit
 Set out the plans for the United Nations

 The main issue was dealing with the

defeated/liberated countries of Eastern Europe
 Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia
and Poland were to have pro-Soviet
governments but Stalin promised they would
have free elections

 What could the Western Allies do about this when

the Soviet troops occupied these countries?
 Churchill
was concerned that Stalin
intended to establish a Soviet empire in
eastern Europe and believed that Stalin
had to be prevented from conquering all
of eastern Europe.

 Churchill
came away from the
conference believing that he had
negotiated a workable deal with Stalin,
and that he could trust him
 “Poor Neville Chamberlain believed
he could trust Hitler. He was wrong.
But I don’t think I’m wrong about
Stalin.”

 Winston Churchill, speaking just after the

Yalta Conference
April 1945 – Roosevelt dies
 He is succeeded by Harry S. Truman who
was a very different person and very
different president than Roosevelt.

 “The Russians only understand one

language - how many armies have you
got? I'm tired of babying the Soviets.”
 Harry S Truman, 1945
Potsdam - 16 July to 2 August
1945
 Churchill had completely fallen out with
Stalin since Yalta
 spent the intervening 5 months
bombarding the Americans with
messages about what the Soviets were up
to in eastern Europe.
 28 July, Churchill was replaced by
Clement Atlee who did not play a major
part in confronting Stalin
 The key event of the conference was not
the negotiations – it was the message to
Truman that the Americans had
successfully tested the atomic bomb

 This released Truman from reliance upon

Russian help with Japan and resulted in a
difficult conference, though in the end
the general principles accepted at Yalta
were reaffirmed
Yalta – Potsdam –
July 1945
There is an ever present threat
on everyone’s minds
 Creation of the
UN
 Created formally in October 1945 – on the
principle of collective security

 Withthe purpose of maintaining international

peace and security, by taking effective collective
measures for the prevention and removal of
threats to peace

 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The UN has four main
purposes:
 to keep the peace throughout the world
 to develop friendly relations among countries
 to help nations work together to improve the
lives of poor people, to conquer hunger,
disease and illiteracy, and to encourage
respect for each other’s rights and freedoms
 to be a center for harmonizing the actions of
nations to achieve these goals
 How Would the UN Work??
The General Assembly The Security Council
 The main forum for  Is primarily responsible for
making policies and maintaining international
hosting multilateral peace and security
discussion of  The Big Five have
international issues permanent seats (there
 Can condemn actions are10 non-permanent seats)
through speeches and  The Big Five are GB,
resolutions, impose France, US, Russia and
economic sanctions and China
deploy armed forces  Consent of 9 members is
 Membership is open to required for decisions but
any recognized nation each of the Big Five has
(began with 51, now veto power
193)
How well would the UN deal
with?
Capitalism vs Communism in
Europe – Pt I Reconstruction
 TheUSSR wanted Eastern states as a
buffer zone and to contribute to its own
economic recovery

 TheUS wanted to use European

reconstruction as an economic offensive
to add to US dominance in world markets

 Fearingthe US intentions, the USSR refused

to allow free elections and annexed
neighbouring territories
In 1946 Winston Churchill said
 “From Stetin in the Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended
across the continent. Behind that line lie all
the capitals of the ancient states…The
Communist parties, which were very small in
all these Eastern States of Europe…are
seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian
control. Police governments are prevailing in
nearly every case, and so far, except in
Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy”
Truman Doctrine

 May 1947 – American foreign policy to

stop Soviet expansion
 Truman declared that it was the duty of
the free democratic world to fight against
the tyranny of a state/political philosophy
that restricted basic freedom such as the
right to free elections & freedom of
speech
Economic Tit for Tat
 In 1948 the US created the Marshall Plan
 Funneled over $13 billion to spark economic recovery
in Europe (and lessen the appeal of communism and
provide a market for US goods)

 The USSR then created Comecon (Council for

Mutual Economic Assistance)as a response
 Instead of giving aid to partner states, Comecon
benefitted the USSR at the expense of the Comecon
partner states
 The eastern block countries had also been offered the
Marshall Plan $$ but declined the offer
Berlin Blockade – First Major
Clash
 TheYalta agreements that divided Berlin
did not include phrasing about access
 The deteriorating relationship between the
USSR and the West contributed to fears that
those in Eastern Berlin would head west
Berlin Blockade March 1948-
May 1949
 The Soviets sought to isolate the people of
West Berlin so that there was no possibility for
reunification with the more prosperous
American (as well as French & British) areas
 Soviets stopped all surface travel between West
Germany and Berlin including people and
supplies
 The Truman Doctrine won out as the US made
272 000 flights over 321 days; blockade failed
and West Germany and East Germany
became separate republics
August 1949 Now there’s a
new threat
 Read pages 190 to 201 and complete
questions 3-6 on page 196 and 2 &3 on
page 201
 Cold War Characteristics:
 Although the US and USSR’s military forces never
officially clashed directly, they expressed the
conflict through:
 military coalitions
 extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable
 proxy wars
 espionage
 propaganda
 a nuclear arms race
 economic and technological competitions, such
as the Space Race.
Like it or not Canada was part
of the Cold War
 Igor Gouzenko defected in 1945 claimed
that that Soviet spies had infiltrated
scientific and government agencies
 NATO
 Korean War
 Suez Canal Crisis
 DEW Line
 NORAD
Marshall Plan
 North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
 NATO was a military alliance formed in 1949
initiated by Britain, Canada and the US and was
born out of fear, frustration and hope
 Fear of the USSR
 Frustration with the UN as it seemed unable to protect
its members
 Hope that it would be peace and progress (not an
old style alliance) and that it would keep the US from
isolationist and unilateral activities

 Founding NATO countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,

Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
the United Kingdom and the United States (quickly followed by
Greece, Turkey and West Germany)
NATO
 The US set the policy and priorities for NATO
 An attack on one member constituted an attack
on all members

 Soviet counterpoint was the Warsaw Pact:

 which included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania

 Leads to a system of where two sets of alliances function

as extensions of the US and USSR hostilities involving
espionage, assassinations, promoting revolutions,
counter-revolutions, and an arms race
 Things
went MAD
 Mutually Assured
Destruction
 Bothe US and USSR play
brinksmanship games
 Korean War –Cold gets warm
 Japan had controlled Korea as part of its empire prior
to 1945 (Korea had valuable coal & mineral deposits)
 1948 a UN commission oversaw elections where the
Democratic Republic of Korea (South) was
established, along with the separate Communist
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North)
 Over the next year, the Soviets and Americans
withdrew uniformed forces while leaving “advisers” in
place. North Korea was supported by the USSR and
the new Communist government of China
 In 1950 the North Koreans invaded South Korea and
the UN sent forces (+20 countries involved)
 In 1951 the leader of South Korea, and Kim Il-Sung,
the leader of North Korea rejected pressure to
make peace (each believed they could win)
 Ceasefire agreement in 1953 included the
establishment of boundaries and the release of
prisoners of war. (Even after fighting ended
Canadians served in the area until August 1957).
 Greatly heightened tensions between the super
powers
Quick context
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9f
xvBgu-0
Suez Canal Crisis - 1956
 Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal
Company (Br and Fr) which threatened transport of
oil to Britain
 In response British, Israeli and French took military action
and began trying to oust Nasser
 Nasser got military support from the USSR
 Lester
B. Pearson (Cdn foreign affairs) suggested a
peacekeeping force
 “Peace is far more than ceasing to fire.”
Pearson and Peacekeeping
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvF
kvdta4bo 3 minutes to 7:13
 Canadian members of the United Nations Emergency
Force (UNEF) on the border between Egypt and Israel, 1962.
 Image: Department of National Defence/Library and
Archives Canada /PA-122737
North American Air Defence
Agreement and DEW Line

 (1958)NORAD – joint air defence against the

threat of attack from the USSR
 Integrates the missile bases, radar and fighter
forces of the US and Canada under a joint
command at Colorado Springs
DEW Line
 (1958-60) Distant Early Warning Line was meant to
counteract the threat of long-range bombing by the
USSR through radar stations that could detect
surprise Soviet attacks
 Protection at the cost of Canadian autonomy?
 the sheer magnitude and unprecedented expense of
the project, coupled with Canada’s inability and
disinclination to contribute to it, was widely seen as
presenting a greater challenge to Canadian Arctic
sovereignty than anything that had happened earlier
in the region.
 Sovereignty at stake?
 “It was reasoned that a large, unilateral American
construction project in the North would inevitably result
in the United States military exercising effective control
over the region. The Americans would administer the
territory, would guard it, would observe from it, and,
given the local demographics, would effectively
populate the region. While Canada might retain legal
title to the land, this assertion of de facto control by a
foreign state would have fundamentally undercut the
image of Canadian sovereignty in the North, both
domestically and internationally.”
 http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo8/no2/lajeunes-eng.asp
Who is to blame for the Cold
War?
 The answer depends on the historian

Soviet historians
 Blamed the United States.

The Traditionalists
 All western writers before the 1970s, and
many since, blamed the Cold War on the
Soviet Union and its "attempt to impose its
ideology on the rest of the world".
Who is to blame?
The Revisionists
 In 1959 historians began to suggest that
America was to blame.
 The argument was America was engaged
in a war to keep countries open to
capitalism and American trade.
 Revisionists said that Truman's use of the
atomic bomb without telling Stalin was
the start of the Cold War.
The Post-Revisionists
 Idea first published in 1972.
 argued that neither Russia or America was to
blame, but that the Cold War was the result of
misunderstandings on both sides, and the
failure to appreciate each other's fears.

After the collapse of Communism

 Russian historians such were able to study the
Soviet Union's secret files for the first time.
 These files show that Soviet leaders during the
Cold War were genuinely trying to avoid
conflict with the USA. This puts more of the
blame back on America.
 Modern historians stress the Cold War as a
clash between capitalism and communism.