Historians do not agree over who started the Cold War, though many see both the USA and USSR as being responsible in different ways. The beginning of the cold war was like a game of ping-pong, with each side responding to a move made by its opponent. One of the first moves occurred when the USA decided to strengthen the economies of countries in Western Europe and win their support with the Marshall Plan. Named after the USA secretary of state George Marshall, and announced in 1947, this scheme devoted huge amounts of money to dealing with the food shortage and lack of industrial production in Europe. The Marshall Plan, or Marshall Aid, was announced in June in order to give massive economic aid to Western Europe. This had four main aims:
- To reduce the appeal of Communism in the West by raising living standards.
- To rebuild Germany.
- To weaken Soviet control of Eastern Europe.
- To help the US economy by increasing US export to, and investments into Europe.
As part of the new policy of ‘containment’ Truman also set up the National Security council (NSC) and a new American government organisation, called the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA secretly channelled millions of dollars to opposition parties in Italy to stop a communist party winning the 1948 general election.
The USSR became suspicious of the USA when the details of the Marshall plan emerged. The Soviets pressured eastern European countries to create communist governments and in the case of Czechoslovakia, the communist party created enough disorder to scare its president into allowing a communist government to be formed. The USA responded by discussing with Britain the idea of a military alliance in Western Europe and this eventually led to the North Atlantic Treaty organisation (NATO) in 1949. Six years later the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact, a similar military grouping based around the USSR and the eastern European states with communist governments. The Warsaw Pact shows that the USSR was worried about the strength of NATO. This helped bring around the cold war.
After 1945, Stalin felt particularly vulnerable, as the Soviet Union had suffered great destruction during the war, whereas the USA was the world’s richest power. Using rigged elections and other methods, Stalin ensured Communists came to power in Eastern European countries and that they would accept Soviet control. This would give the USSR a buffer zone in any future war.
Stalin also feared the USA’s desire to revive Germany, which, since 1900 had twice invaded the USSR. Although Germany had temporarily been split into four administrative zones, it had been agreed at Potsdam to treat it as one economic unit. In June 1947, without consulting the USSR, the West introduced a new currency (the Deutschmark) into its zones, including West Berlin (in the Soviet zone). Stalin was opposed to a separate West German state, and so cut off all transport links to West Berlin. This became the Berlin Blockade.
In 1946 Winston Churchill (the British prime minister) gave a speech announcing that an iron curtain had descended. He said it had come down on Europe separating the East from the West. This was the first time a name had been given to the divide which shows how it worsened due to the relations of the superpowers over the years meaning it was one of the reasons for the Cold War to occur.
In 1949 the USA became head of NATO. The USA said NATO was a defensive alliance against the soviet ‘threat’. The USSR was alarmed at the formation of NATO, especially as the USA’s nuclear arms meant NATO could launch atomic bombs against the USSR, like at Hiroshima. The formation of NATO intensified the arms race (conventional and nuclear between the two sides). The USSR was worried and they decided to compete against the USA and build bigger and better weapons. In august the USA had introduced a new hydrogen bomb. At this point tensions were high and people were in fear of the bombs being used.
Everything that has happened is due to the relationships between superpowers. These relations were weak mainly because of ideology. This makes ideology a long-term cause and probably the most important cause of the Cold War. Ideology acts as a trigger. The leaders of both countries both believed that a country could only be run in one way the USSR thought this was using communism and USA using capitalism. This caused disagreement and conflict, which meant that all the above causes of the Cold War happened.
If the two superpowers had been less suspicious of each other perhaps the cold war could have been prevented, Stalin could have accepted the Marshall Plan instead of viewing it as an American ploy to dominate Europe and threaten the USSR. The Truman administration could have tried to understand the soviet unions needs to defend itself against another invasion instead of act if as if the USSR was intent on taking over the world and threatening America. Perhaps the leaders of the two superpowers were too alike and too willing to see the world from only their points of view. Were the superpowers to quick to act in ways that were seen by the other side as threatening and too stubborn to make concessions and reach an agreement? Or were they acting in the best interests of their country.