ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

By Richard Orton

​benchmarks

​SS.912.A.6.9 Describe the rationale for the formation of the

United Nations, including the contribution of Mary McLeod

Bethune.

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SS.912.A.6.10 Examine causes, course, and consequences of

the early years of the Cold War (Truman Doctrine, Marshall

Plan, NATO, Warsaw Pact).

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The Bretton Woods System

President Roosevelt believed that the best way to generate economic prosperity and economic growth after the war was to increase trade between countries and to create institutions that would keep the trade system stable. In July 1944, Roosevelt organized a conference at Bretton Woods for the world’s nations—except the Axis Powers. The conference established many international economic institutions. Some are still part of the world’s economic systems today.

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The Bretton Woods system would keep the world’s currencies stable and help keep the world at peace. However, it had drawbacks. The gold standard limited the use of monetary policy to fight inflation or get out of a recession. Setting exchange rates meant trade between nations could become unbalanced if the exchange rate did not accurately reflect the market value of goods being traded across borders.

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​The Bretton Woods System

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Creating the United Nations

The new organization was to be called the United Nations (UN). The delegates spent their time at Dumbarton Oaks agreeing on the structural organization of the UN.

​A major advantage of the United Nations was that all the nations that had helped defeat the Axis Powers were given a seat on the Security Council. This allowed the members to work together whenever the United Nations took action. A disadvantage of this structure was that any permanent member could veto an action, slowing the effectiveness of the organization.

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Multiple Choice

What was the result of the 1944 meeting of 39 countries at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.?

• A the formation of the United Nations

• B the development of the Bretton Woods System

• C the beginning of the massive retaliation policy

• D the issuing of the Declaration of Liberated Europe

On April 25, 1945, representatives from 50 countries came to San Francisco, California. These representatives officially organized the United Nations and designed its charter.

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​CREATING THE UNITED NATIONS

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IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS

What problems, if any, do you think might have resulted from the veto power that each of the permanent members of the Security Council had?

In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta, a Soviet resort on the Black Sea, to plan the postwar world. The status of Poland was a key issue discussed there. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and the Polish government fled to Britain. In 1944, Soviet troops drove back the Germans and entered Poland. The Soviets encouraged Polish Communists to set up a new government. As a result, two governments claimed the right to govern Poland.

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​The Yalta Conference

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At first, both Churchill and Roosevelt argued that Poles should be free to choose their own government. However, Stalin pointed out that every time invaders entered Russia, they came through Poland. So the three leaders compromised, and Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to recognize the Polish government set up by the Soviets. Stalin agreed to allow free elections as soon as possible.

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​The Yalta Conference

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The three leaders then issued the Declaration of Liberated Europe. It asserted the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they lived. The leaders promised free elections as soon as possible.

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​The Yalta Conference

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Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin also agreed to divide the defeated German territory into four zones. Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union would each control a zone. Germany’s capital city of Berlin would also be divided into four zones, even though the city was located within the Soviet zone. The Soviet Union further demanded that Germany pay heavy war reparations.

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​The Yalta Conference

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ANALYZING INFORMATION

How might Roosevelt and Churchill be said to have “given in” to Stalin?

Shortly after the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union pressured the king of Romania to set up a Communist government. Then the Soviets refused to allow more than three non-Communist Poles to serve in the 18-member Polish government. The Soviets also failed to conduct free elections as promised. President Roosevelt accused the Soviets of violating the Declaration of Liberated Europe.

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​Rising Tensions

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Yalta was a turning point in Soviet-American relations. Instead of the world becoming more peaceful, the United States and the Soviet Union became more hostile toward each other. The Cold War, a time of confrontation and competition between nations, began during this post-World War II period and lasted from about 1946 to about 1990.

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​Rising Tensions

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After World War II ended, the Soviets wanted to keep Germany weak, so that it was unable to launch another attack on surrounding nations. The Soviet leadership also wanted the countries between Germany and the Soviet Union to be under Soviet control, as a buffer between itself and Germany.

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Soviet and American Concerns

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Poll

Do you think Stalin was right in wanting to keep Germany weak?

• YES

• NO

The Soviets also believed that communism as an economic system would replace capitalism. They were suspicious of capitalist nations, believing that capitalist countries wanted to destroy communism.

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Soviet and American Concerns

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American leaders were concerned about economic problems. By 1945, Roosevelt and his advisers were convinced that economic growth through world trade was the key to world peace. The American leaders also believed that the free enterprise system, with private property rights and limited government intervention, was the best way to ensure prosperity.

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Soviet and American Concerns

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The United Nations held a General Assembly in December 1946 to address the atrocities committed during the war. It passed a resolution that made genocide an international crime. A UN Commission on Human Rights drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document promoted the dignity of every human being and was committed to ending discrimination.

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UN Responses to the War

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Truman Takes Control

Harry S. Truman became president after Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945. Strongly anti-Communist, Truman believed World War II started because Britain had tried to appease Hitler. Truman believed that in order to prevent another war, the United States had to stand up to the Soviet Union. Truman did so at a meeting with Soviet foreign minister Molotov. Truman reminded Molotov of Stalin’s promise to hold free elections in Poland. He demanded that this Yalta promise be fulfilled. The meeting set the stage for future Soviet-American confrontations.

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In July 1945, Truman met Stalin at Potsdam to work out a deal concerning Germany. Truman firmly believed that it was important for Germany to revive its economy. He believed that if this did not happen, Germany might turn to communism out of desperation.

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The Potsdam Conference

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The war had devastated the Soviet economy, and Stalin believed that since Germany was responsible, the Soviet Union needed to receive reparations from the Germans.

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The Potsdam Conference

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At the Potsdam Conference, Truman took a strong stand against heavy reparations. He suggested that the Soviets take reparations from their zone in Germany and allow industry to revive in the other German zones. Stalin opposed the idea because the Soviet zone was mostly agricultural. Truman then offered Stalin a small amount of industrial equipment from the other three zones. He also offered to accept the new German-Polish border that the Soviets had established.

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The Potsdam Conference

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Despite not liking the proposal, Stalin accepted the terms of the conference. American and British troops controlled Germany’s industrial center, and there was no way for the Soviets to get any reparations without cooperating.

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The Potsdam Conference

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Truman was not as successful regarding other issues at the Potsdam Conference. The Soviet army’s presence in Eastern Europe ensured that pro-Communist governments would be established in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.

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The Iron Curtain Descends

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The Communistinfluenced countries of Eastern Europe were called satellite nations. Although not under direct Soviet control, these nations had to remain Communist and friendly to the Soviet Union. These Eastern European governments also followed policies approved by the Soviets in Moscow.

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The Iron Curtain Descends

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After seeing the Communist takeover in Eastern Europe, Winston Churchill coined a phrase to describe what had happened. He referred to “an iron curtain” falling across Eastern Europe. For the next 40 years, this phrase described the Communist nations of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. With the Iron Curtain separating Eastern Europe from the West, the Cold War was about to begin.

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The Iron Curtain Descends

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MAKING INFERENCES

Why do you think Churchill described the curtain between Western and Eastern Europe as an iron one?

Multiple Choice

What was Winston Churchill describing as an “iron curtain” falling across Europe?

• A the industrialization of Western Europe under the Marshall Plan

• B the creation of the Declaration of Liberated Europe

• C the establishment of pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe

• D the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)