Causes of the Cold War

Direct Cause: Dividing Germany Following the temporary agreement among the Allies (who were allied throughout WWII) at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (1945) – which carved up defeated Germany - it was clear that the Soviet Union intended to establish communism in the nations it had conquered from the Nazis. This was most of Eastern Europe, including East Germany and East Berlin (Germany’s capital). After 1945, no real progress had been made in determining the fate of postwar Germany. Differences over issues led to a breakdown in negotiations between the Soviets on the one hand, and the British, French, and Americans on the other.

By summer 1948, U.S., Britain, and France announced their intent to integrate their zones of occupation, and in retaliation the Soviet Union closed off all access to the western zones of Berlin (which lay entirely in the Soviet zone of occupation in Germany). Then, since the main power plant for the city of Berlin lay in the Soviet zone, the Soviet authorities shut off all electricity to West Berlin as well. Clearly the Soviet goal was to force the western nations either to abandon their efforts to integrate their occupation zones, or to pull out of Berlin. In the U.S., President Truman was outraged that the Soviets were effectively using the people of West Berlin as hostages. He ordered that plans move forward for the creation of a new German state, formed from the three western zones of occupation. At the same time, he ordered an airlift of food, coal, and other supplies to the people of West Berlin. All through the fall and winter a constant flow of planes arrived in Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, and it soon became obvious that Stalin’s tactics had failed. By late March the blockade was almost entirely lifted, and a final settlement between the Soviets and the West would be reached on May 12. Not one, but two Germanies would emerge from the crisis—the U.S.-backed Federal Republic of Germany (a.k.a. West Germany), and the Soviet-backed German Democratic Republic (a.k.a. East Germany). The “IRON CURTAIN” had descended upon Europe and the this division would remain until 1990.

Indirect Causes: 1) WWII The defeat of the Nazis by the end of WWII ( ), laid the groundwork for the Cold War: a)It made the allies carve up defeated Germany into occupation zones, and Berlin too b)It made the superpowers super: U.S. rose out of WWII the wealthiest nation in the world (having profited from the war and not having war on their soil), militarily strong and technologically advanced. While the Soviet Union suffered in WWII, it’s massive size, population, and wealth of resources allowed it to bounce back with military strength and world- presence.

Indirect Causes: 2) Ideology The competing superpowers had opposing ideologies (we discussed in the 5 Ws). The Soviet Union sought to establish communism in where ever possible, the U.S. feared the spread of communism, saw it as a threat to American way of life (democracy, elections, free market economy), and sought to contain it and promote capitalism and democracy in Western Europe and other countries vulnerable to communism.

Indirect Causes: M.A.D. After the atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was evident that the U.S. had unleashed a frightening power that had the potential to destroy the earth. Canadian scientists were involved in the Manhattan Project that brought the atomic bomb into existence. Canadian uranium was used too. Both superpowers began stockpiling nuclear weapons after WWII – supporting the notion of “Mutually Assured Destruction” if either power used their weapons against one another.