Class notes History

Who was the blame for the cold
war
Table of content
- Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?
- How had the USSR gained control of eastern Europe by 1948?
- How did the USA react to Soviet expansionism?
- What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?
- Who was the more to blame for starting the Cold War: the USA or the USSR

Introduction
 Communism was led by the USSR
 Capitalism was led by the United States
 It started at the ending of ww2 where the temporary alliance between USSR and the USA
was terminated as the common enemy- Germany
 The 2 superpowers clashed on an ideological, political, military, and economical scale with
each thinking that their respective ideas were the best
Reason why it started

1. USSR is at fault:
 Stalin desired to dominate the world under communism (takeover eastern Europe
was his first step)
1. USA is at fault:
 Wanted to control and influence her sphere of influence without any intervention by
another nation but she would not allow the USSR to do the same for her sphere of
influence
(Any action taken on the part of the USSR is seen to be defensive)
1. USA not the USSR is at fault:
 The Cold war is seen to be an inevitable was that was beyond the control of the 2

The Yalta Conference
 Agreements:
 Stalin would enter the USSR
 Germany would be divided into 4 zones
 Punish the individuals who were responsible for the concentration camps and the ill
treatments of the Jews
 Free and fair elections
 All powers would join the UN
 Disagreements:
 Stalin wanted to move borders westward into Poland #
 Roosevelt and Churchill were not very fond of this idea, but accepter because both of
them could not do much as the Red Army (Soviet-Russian army) control both Poland
and East Germany
The Potsdam Conference

 The allies’ relationship was affected