World Divided: Superpower Relations,
A
1943-72
1 Reasons for the cold war
Long-term rivalry between the Soviet Union and the West
The Grand Alliance
● B etween 1941-45, Britain, the Soviet Union and the USA had fought together
against Hitler’s Germany in the Second World War
● The leaders, Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (Britain) and Stalin (Soviet Union) had
joined in an informal agreement, which Churchill later renamed the Grand
Alliance
● The Soviet Union had been invaded by Germany in 1941, and the USA and
Britain had provided it with weapons, ships, aircraft and food to resist the
German invasion
● By 1945, the Grand Alliance was closed to winning the war
○ Britain and France were attacking Germany from the West and the South,
and Soviet forces were attacking from the East
● On 25th April 1945, Soviet and US forces finally met at the River Elbe in central
Germany and it was only a matter of time before they reached the German
capital, Berlin and Germany was defeated
● Although USA and Soviet Union were allies, they were very suspicious of each
other
○ This was seen in Stalin’s determination that Soviet forces should enter
Berlin before the US forces did, which resulted in an estimated 70,000
deaths because of Stalin’s orders not to wait for the Americans
○ The Allies had already agreed to divide Germany and Berlin after the war,
but Stalin wanted to gain control of important German military sites
Deteriorating Relations
● B y the end of April 1945, Soviet troops had taken control of large parts of Berlin
and Hitler accepted that Germany was beaten
○ On 29th April 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun and on 30th
April they committed suicide together
○ On 8th May Germany finally surrendered
● However the friendly relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union did not
last
● It worsened rapidly that within a year, they had began a ‘Cold War’
Page60
, This was not a military conflict but more of a war of words
○
● Each of the two superpowers used propaganda, spying and the treat of war to
try to force its views onto others
○ Military alliances were formed and huge arsenals of conventional and
nuclear were developed but fortunately never used in any direct fighting
between the superpowers themselves
After 1945, relations had basically returned to how they were before the war
●
○ At the start of the war, relations between the Soviet Union and the West
had been poor and there was little trust between them
■ The lack of trust can be explained by the different set of beliefs
they had and the way that they had treated each other since the
dramatic year of 1917 (year the Tsar was overthrown and the
communist government was set up in Russia)
Ideological differences between Communism and Capitalism
● T he main basis for mistrust between the East and West was theirdifferent
ideological beliefs
● The Soviet Union feared that the West wanted to impose their beliefs on the
Soviet people, and the West feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread its
beliefs worldwide
○ The USA followed acapitalismideology, which believed that everyone
should be free to own property and businesses, and to make money
○ The Soviet Union followed acommunistideology, whichbelieved that al
property, including homes and businesses should belong to the state, to
ensure that every member of society has a fair share
■ It is based on the writings of Karl Marx
● Theseopposing ideologiesmeant that there wastensionbetweenthe member
countries from the beginning of the Grand Alliance
○ An ideology is a set of shared beliefs
● When it was clear that Nazi Germany (and their ally Japan) would be defeated,
the tension increased as the different ideologies led to conflict over how Europe
should be governed after the war
Soviet Union USA and Britain
Politics Single-party rule ree elections with a
F
choice of parties to vote
for
Social Structure lassless society, everyone S
C ome people have more
equal power than others (due to
Page61
, f amily background, wealth,
education or personal
achievements)
Economy ll property owned by the
A rivate ownership and a
P
state, no individual competition between
ownership businesses
Rights ights of all workers more
R I ndividual freedoms
important than individual valued but limited by
rights majority opinion
Early conflict - The Russian Revolution
● T he Soviet Union also resented the actions Britain and France, who had
originally tried to prevent the communists ruling in Russia
● In the First World War, Russia had fought on the same side as Britain and France
(and later the USA), however in October 1917 there was the Russian Revolution,
resulting in a communist takeover
● The Bolsheviks faced opposition to their rule within Russia, and could not fight a
civil war in their own country and a war against Germany and its allies at the
same time, so made a peace treaty with Germany and dropped out of the war
● This angered Britain, France and the USA, they were furious that Russia had
made peace with Germany and also they disapproved of the Bolsheviks’ political
beliefs
● Britain, France and USA sent forces to Russia to support the Bolshevik
opponents, because they wanted the Boksheviks defeated so Russia could come
back to war
○ They failed on both counts, Allied forces returned home, but the
Bolsheviks were left in no doubt that the West wanted to see them
overthrown
Deteriorating relations in the 1920s and 1930s
● T he Bolsheviks won their civil war, and in 1922 Russia changed its name to the
Soviet Union and was run as a communist country
○ As the West disapproved of communism, this worsened tensions between
the two during the 1920s and 1930s
● In 1938, Britain, France and Italy agreed to allow Hitler to take over parts of
Czechoslovakia, without asking for the opinion of Soviet leader Stalin, even
though it was on close borders to the Soviet Union
Page62
, ○ T he Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were bitter enemies, making Stalin
realise that the Western powers had no interest in a friendly relationship
with this country
○ Stalin was convinced that they would be happy if his country was
attacked by Germany and the communist system of government was
destroyed
● In August 1939 (before the outbreak of the Second World War), Hitler and Stalin
had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, agreeing to split Poland between them because
they both wanted to take over Poland
○ This made Britain and France feel betrayed by Stalin’s actions, but had
come to realise that they had no interest in helping the Soviet Union
In September 1939, both Soviet and German forces entered Poland and took
●
control, giving Britain and France no choice but to declare war on Germany,
starting the Second World War
○ It wasn’t until Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 that the Soviet
Union and the West came together on the same side
Tensions and disagreements during the Second World War
● R oosevelt, Churchill and Stalin (often referred to as ‘the Big Three’ as their beliefs
and ambitions dominated world politics from 1941 until Roosevelt’s death in 1945
● The suspicions that Churchill and Roosevelt had about Stalin (and suspicions
Stalin had about Churchill and Roosevelt) played a major role in shaping
relations from 1941
○ The differences in the leaders’ personal policial beliefs reinforced these
suspicions, and were an important reason for the breakdown of relations
as the Second World War was ending
● Churchill and Roosevelt feared that Stalin wanted to install communism in the
Eastern European countries that Germany had conquered
● Stalin feared that Churchill and Roosevent wanted to see Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union fight a long war, destroying the resources of both countries and
making them both weak after the war
○ Stalin saw this as the reason why Britain and USA deliberately delayed
the opening of a second front until 1944, which was needed to take
pressure off the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, so that the Soviet
Union would be weaker by having to fight the Germans on its own
● After the defeat of Germany, the Western Allies continued to fight together
against Japan
○ In August 1945, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and
had kept the development of these a secret from Stalin until the very last
minute causing Stalin to think that this was done because the Americans
Page63
A
1943-72
1 Reasons for the cold war
Long-term rivalry between the Soviet Union and the West
The Grand Alliance
● B etween 1941-45, Britain, the Soviet Union and the USA had fought together
against Hitler’s Germany in the Second World War
● The leaders, Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (Britain) and Stalin (Soviet Union) had
joined in an informal agreement, which Churchill later renamed the Grand
Alliance
● The Soviet Union had been invaded by Germany in 1941, and the USA and
Britain had provided it with weapons, ships, aircraft and food to resist the
German invasion
● By 1945, the Grand Alliance was closed to winning the war
○ Britain and France were attacking Germany from the West and the South,
and Soviet forces were attacking from the East
● On 25th April 1945, Soviet and US forces finally met at the River Elbe in central
Germany and it was only a matter of time before they reached the German
capital, Berlin and Germany was defeated
● Although USA and Soviet Union were allies, they were very suspicious of each
other
○ This was seen in Stalin’s determination that Soviet forces should enter
Berlin before the US forces did, which resulted in an estimated 70,000
deaths because of Stalin’s orders not to wait for the Americans
○ The Allies had already agreed to divide Germany and Berlin after the war,
but Stalin wanted to gain control of important German military sites
Deteriorating Relations
● B y the end of April 1945, Soviet troops had taken control of large parts of Berlin
and Hitler accepted that Germany was beaten
○ On 29th April 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun and on 30th
April they committed suicide together
○ On 8th May Germany finally surrendered
● However the friendly relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union did not
last
● It worsened rapidly that within a year, they had began a ‘Cold War’
Page60
, This was not a military conflict but more of a war of words
○
● Each of the two superpowers used propaganda, spying and the treat of war to
try to force its views onto others
○ Military alliances were formed and huge arsenals of conventional and
nuclear were developed but fortunately never used in any direct fighting
between the superpowers themselves
After 1945, relations had basically returned to how they were before the war
●
○ At the start of the war, relations between the Soviet Union and the West
had been poor and there was little trust between them
■ The lack of trust can be explained by the different set of beliefs
they had and the way that they had treated each other since the
dramatic year of 1917 (year the Tsar was overthrown and the
communist government was set up in Russia)
Ideological differences between Communism and Capitalism
● T he main basis for mistrust between the East and West was theirdifferent
ideological beliefs
● The Soviet Union feared that the West wanted to impose their beliefs on the
Soviet people, and the West feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread its
beliefs worldwide
○ The USA followed acapitalismideology, which believed that everyone
should be free to own property and businesses, and to make money
○ The Soviet Union followed acommunistideology, whichbelieved that al
property, including homes and businesses should belong to the state, to
ensure that every member of society has a fair share
■ It is based on the writings of Karl Marx
● Theseopposing ideologiesmeant that there wastensionbetweenthe member
countries from the beginning of the Grand Alliance
○ An ideology is a set of shared beliefs
● When it was clear that Nazi Germany (and their ally Japan) would be defeated,
the tension increased as the different ideologies led to conflict over how Europe
should be governed after the war
Soviet Union USA and Britain
Politics Single-party rule ree elections with a
F
choice of parties to vote
for
Social Structure lassless society, everyone S
C ome people have more
equal power than others (due to
Page61
, f amily background, wealth,
education or personal
achievements)
Economy ll property owned by the
A rivate ownership and a
P
state, no individual competition between
ownership businesses
Rights ights of all workers more
R I ndividual freedoms
important than individual valued but limited by
rights majority opinion
Early conflict - The Russian Revolution
● T he Soviet Union also resented the actions Britain and France, who had
originally tried to prevent the communists ruling in Russia
● In the First World War, Russia had fought on the same side as Britain and France
(and later the USA), however in October 1917 there was the Russian Revolution,
resulting in a communist takeover
● The Bolsheviks faced opposition to their rule within Russia, and could not fight a
civil war in their own country and a war against Germany and its allies at the
same time, so made a peace treaty with Germany and dropped out of the war
● This angered Britain, France and the USA, they were furious that Russia had
made peace with Germany and also they disapproved of the Bolsheviks’ political
beliefs
● Britain, France and USA sent forces to Russia to support the Bolshevik
opponents, because they wanted the Boksheviks defeated so Russia could come
back to war
○ They failed on both counts, Allied forces returned home, but the
Bolsheviks were left in no doubt that the West wanted to see them
overthrown
Deteriorating relations in the 1920s and 1930s
● T he Bolsheviks won their civil war, and in 1922 Russia changed its name to the
Soviet Union and was run as a communist country
○ As the West disapproved of communism, this worsened tensions between
the two during the 1920s and 1930s
● In 1938, Britain, France and Italy agreed to allow Hitler to take over parts of
Czechoslovakia, without asking for the opinion of Soviet leader Stalin, even
though it was on close borders to the Soviet Union
Page62
, ○ T he Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were bitter enemies, making Stalin
realise that the Western powers had no interest in a friendly relationship
with this country
○ Stalin was convinced that they would be happy if his country was
attacked by Germany and the communist system of government was
destroyed
● In August 1939 (before the outbreak of the Second World War), Hitler and Stalin
had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, agreeing to split Poland between them because
they both wanted to take over Poland
○ This made Britain and France feel betrayed by Stalin’s actions, but had
come to realise that they had no interest in helping the Soviet Union
In September 1939, both Soviet and German forces entered Poland and took
●
control, giving Britain and France no choice but to declare war on Germany,
starting the Second World War
○ It wasn’t until Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 that the Soviet
Union and the West came together on the same side
Tensions and disagreements during the Second World War
● R oosevelt, Churchill and Stalin (often referred to as ‘the Big Three’ as their beliefs
and ambitions dominated world politics from 1941 until Roosevelt’s death in 1945
● The suspicions that Churchill and Roosevelt had about Stalin (and suspicions
Stalin had about Churchill and Roosevelt) played a major role in shaping
relations from 1941
○ The differences in the leaders’ personal policial beliefs reinforced these
suspicions, and were an important reason for the breakdown of relations
as the Second World War was ending
● Churchill and Roosevelt feared that Stalin wanted to install communism in the
Eastern European countries that Germany had conquered
● Stalin feared that Churchill and Roosevent wanted to see Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union fight a long war, destroying the resources of both countries and
making them both weak after the war
○ Stalin saw this as the reason why Britain and USA deliberately delayed
the opening of a second front until 1944, which was needed to take
pressure off the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, so that the Soviet
Union would be weaker by having to fight the Germans on its own
● After the defeat of Germany, the Western Allies continued to fight together
against Japan
○ In August 1945, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and
had kept the development of these a secret from Stalin until the very last
minute causing Stalin to think that this was done because the Americans
Page63
