Topic 1: How did the Cold War shape
international relations are WW2?
Unit 1.1: Cold War Origins
Superpowers = USSR (Soviet bloc) & USA (the West)
Why did a Cold War develop?
Mistrust!!
During WW2, USA, USSR and Britain formed the Grand Alliance (1941) to defeat
Germany
The Yalta Conference (Feb 1945):
- Main aim was to decide what to do about Germany and all the countries they
controlled in Eastern Europe.
- They decided Germany would be divided into zones of occupation (until they were
stable enough to be independent) and that countries in Eastern Europe should have
free elections for government.
The Potsdam Conference (July – August 1945)
The following things happened to increase the tensions:
1. Soviet army controlled most of Eastern Europe
2. Stalin set up a communist gov in Poland (against their wishes)
3. Americans developed and tested the first atomic bomb to use against Japan without
telling the USSR (until Potsdam conference)
4. Truman replaced Roosevelt and he was more suspicious of Stalin
5. Churchill was defeated in a general election in Britain and replaced by Attlee.
Without Churchill to be the mediator, tensions increased
- The biggest disagreement was about what to do with Germany. Stalin wanted them
to pay reparations for the damage they caused the USSR during the war and to knock
them down completely so they wouldn’t be able to invade the USSR again. Truman
said they can’t do that because then that is basically doing the exact same thing they
did after WW1 which is what caused this mess.
- They decided the Soviet Union would administer the eastern zone while USA, Britain
and France administered the western zones.
- Berlin was in the eastern zone, but they decided to further divide that into four
sectors.
- Even though Germany was administered in four different zones, they wanted the
country to stay whole.
international relations are WW2?
Unit 1.1: Cold War Origins
Superpowers = USSR (Soviet bloc) & USA (the West)
Why did a Cold War develop?
Mistrust!!
During WW2, USA, USSR and Britain formed the Grand Alliance (1941) to defeat
Germany
The Yalta Conference (Feb 1945):
- Main aim was to decide what to do about Germany and all the countries they
controlled in Eastern Europe.
- They decided Germany would be divided into zones of occupation (until they were
stable enough to be independent) and that countries in Eastern Europe should have
free elections for government.
The Potsdam Conference (July – August 1945)
The following things happened to increase the tensions:
1. Soviet army controlled most of Eastern Europe
2. Stalin set up a communist gov in Poland (against their wishes)
3. Americans developed and tested the first atomic bomb to use against Japan without
telling the USSR (until Potsdam conference)
4. Truman replaced Roosevelt and he was more suspicious of Stalin
5. Churchill was defeated in a general election in Britain and replaced by Attlee.
Without Churchill to be the mediator, tensions increased
- The biggest disagreement was about what to do with Germany. Stalin wanted them
to pay reparations for the damage they caused the USSR during the war and to knock
them down completely so they wouldn’t be able to invade the USSR again. Truman
said they can’t do that because then that is basically doing the exact same thing they
did after WW1 which is what caused this mess.
- They decided the Soviet Union would administer the eastern zone while USA, Britain
and France administered the western zones.
- Berlin was in the eastern zone, but they decided to further divide that into four
sectors.
- Even though Germany was administered in four different zones, they wanted the
country to stay whole.
