The Cold War Begins 16.1

 FDR passed away right when tensions w/ the S.U. were breaking down

 “The enemy of my enemy is my friend…”  This is why the U.S. and S.U. were alliances  Common enemy = Nazi Germany  Few similarities otherwise

United States  Democracy  Free elections  Economic + religious freedom  Private property  Individuality Soviet Union  Communist Party made all economic, political, + military decisions  No freedom of worship  No ownership of property  Punished if a critic

 Stalin:  Wanted Germany weak + Eastern Europe to remain under Soviet control  U.S./rest of Allies  Wanted strong, unified Germany + independent nations Eastern Europe

 Yalta Conference  Free elections in E. Europe + to divide Germany  BUT after the war many of the nations that S.U. occupied became satellite states not free states  Controlled by S.U.

 Potsdam - Stalin refused to commit to free elections in E. Europe  Truman believed he was on the path to “world conquest”  Soviet Red Army = big threat  Rivalry began in 1945 that would last for 46 years aka the Cold War  b/c the 2 superpowers never actually fought each other directly in a military conflict

 Churchill called Stalin’s influence = “iron curtain” that ran across Europe  East of the curtain S.U. was installing communist gov’ts + police states in nations  = more power for Stalin ∴ democracies must stand firm

 Gov’ts in Greece + Turkey were being threatened by communists seeking to take over  1947 – U.S. only country w/ the resources to help them…

 Greece + Turkey needed aid ∴ Truman addressed Congress on 03/12/47  Asked them for $ to support the free peoples who are fighting conquest by armed communists  Congress gave him $400 million to aid Greece + Turkey  Truman Doctrine:  Truman’s promise to aid nations struggling against communism

 es/US_History/Cold%20War/Sources%20of%20So viet%20Conduct%20by%20X%20(excerpts).pdf es/US_History/Cold%20War/Sources%20of%20So viet%20Conduct%20by%20X%20(excerpts).pdf  George Kennan, “X,” wrote “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” in Foreign Affairs magazine  He outlined the American policy of containment  Keep communism w/in its existing borders

 Kennan argued that Stalin wanted to expand the Soviet empire  BUT argued Stalin wouldn’t risk the security of the S.U. for this goal  The U.S. needed to ∴ contain and pressure Stalin

 In other words   Stalin wouldn’t risk a war w/U.S. (+ potential destruction of S.U.) just to expand  BUT the U.S. NEEDED to offer a full commitment to keeping the S.U. at bay

 U.S. Sec. of State, George Marshall unveiled a recovery plan for Europe  Stronger economies = more success in defending communism  Early Marshall Plan:  $13 billion in loans/grants to W. European countries to help them rebuild  Satellite states in E. Europe were offered the aid but Stalin refused

 Tensions were highest in Germany:

 West Berlin: “a bone in the throat” of the S.U.  Prosperity and freedom  East Berlin:  Low standard of living and control

 ∴ in June 1948:  Stalin stopped all highway, railway, + waterway passages from West Germany into West Berlin  Berlin Airlift: (blockade lasted June ‘48- Sept ‘49)  Stalin couldn’t control the sky…  ∴ the U.S. and GB dropped supplies into W. Berlin using airplanes

 1949 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed to defend W. Europe against SU  Made up of 12 W. European + N. American countries  “An armed attack on against one or more of them…shall be considered an attack against all of them” Called collective security  1955  West Germany joined in NATO

 In response, S.U. and its satellite states formed Warsaw Pact