Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

The emergence of the Superpowers 1945-1962

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Unit 1: The emergence of the Superpowers 1945-1962 The Beginning of the Cold War: o How and why did the Grand Alliance collapse? The Grand Alliance was established in 1941 when Germany entered Russia and Japan bombed Pearl Harbour. The Grand Alliance collapsed due to many different reasons. The root of the problem was the clash in ideologies of the Superpowers. Communism Vs Democracy! Yalta saw cracks appearing, issues over elections and what to do with/about Poland. Potsdam saw an era of suspicion and mistrust, there was the division of Germany which in affect created the birth of the Cold War. Also in Potsdam there was denavification, democratization, deindustrialisation and demilitarization. Truman delayed conference because he wanted to test the atomic bomb. There were strains within the GA, e.g. they weren't supplying tanks and planes and the timing of the second front was a big strain. Overall there was a clash in ideologies and with Stalin's Russian sphere of communism relationships began to fall apart and along with this went the GA. o What was the German Problem? The German problem was basically the fight over Germany about who was going to take over Germany and how they were going to deal with the damage she had made to the rest of the world. The West took half of Germany and the East took the other half, the capital, Berlin was also divided into two. ...read more.

Middle

Disagreement over Greece - civil war between monarchists and Greek communists. International relations would be founded upon the division of each side being suspicious of the other. Marshall Plan would help the USA's economic problem along with reinforcing Truman's idea of containment. American vision was for there to be a stable European market. The Soviets saw the Marshall Plan as a clear example of American economic imperialism. Soviets also thought that their influence made override into the Soviet sphere of influence. Began an acceleration in the division of Europe. July 1947 the USSR walked out of the Paris Conference and the tripartite and established cominform, this was the Soviet response to the Marshall Plan. o Why did the USSR blockade Berlin (June 48 - May 49)? What were the consequences? An economic issue that was the immediate cause of one of the most dangerous crisis'' in Europe since the war ended. The West had created their own currency in their zone of occupation and on the 23rd June they introduced the Deutschmark into West Berlin, by 24th June 48 all road and rail links from the West zones to West Berlin had been blocked by the Soviet Union. British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin argued that the Soviet Union's aim was to make Germany all Communist. If the West retreated from Berlin then it would be a success to the Soviets and a step towards communist control over Germany. ...read more.

Conclusion

If they refused to do this then the East would effectively control all access to West Berlin and access would be determined by the DDR. Western powers ignored the Soviet threats, a summit on Berlin was proposed. Khrushchev visited the USA and he and Eisenhower had talks about disarmament and the issue over Berlin. The Berlin wall was built in 1961, with only four main crossing points which were monitored by guards. The wall was a failure by Khrushchev, and a propaganda disaster. Designed to keep East German citizens trapped in a communist state. o How did the atomic bomb affect relations between the superpowers between 1949 and 1962? The USSR was reacting in a predictable fashion; in response to any technological breakthrough by one side there was an urgency to create some degree of balance. If the USA had nuclear weapons then so must the USSR, simple and logical start to nuclear arms race! It was a race to stay on top! August 1949 USSR carried out first tests on its own atomic bomb. Both sides had identical weapons of mass destruction and they both knew the potential scale of destruction that could be caused. NSC-68. The USSR would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if it was to her advantage. If war between them was deemed to be imminent then the USA was to carry out a pre-emptive strike against USSR. USA must devise anti-nuclear defence systems and nuclear strategic planning would be based on an assessment of the danger. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 essays

  1. Why did tension increase in Europe between 1900 and 1914?

    This limited the increase in numbers of nuclear missiles. There would be a five year delay on the building of more missiles. At the end of the five year period a further agreement would be necessary. The figures agreed were: USA Soviet Union ICBMs 1000 1600 SLBMs 650 700 * A separate treaty restricted the number of ABMs, Anti-Ballistic Missiles.

  2. Japanese pre-war imperialistic activities from the late 1890s to 1945

    But the Japanese colonial government banned those organizations. The Taiwan government was led by militarists once again since 1936. Under the Japan's "Super National Defense" and "General Mobilization" policies, Taiwan was placed in the wartime system of Japan during World War II.

  1. Assess the strategic strengths and weaknesses of America's 'containment of communism' policy since 1945.

    which are to be examined are; the Marshall Plan and the Korean War. The aims of the Marshall Plan were complex and inter- dependent. Europe, by the end of World War II, was economically and politically shattered. As well as the great humanitarian need to aid Europe, the communist parties

  2. This graduation paper is about U.S. - Soviet relations in Cold War period. Our ...

    economic aid directly rather than through the United Nations, since only under those circumstances would American control be assured. Ideally, the Marshall Plan would provide an economic arm to the political strategy embodied -in the Truman Doctrine. Moreover, if presented as a program in which even Eastern European countries could

  1. Superpower Relations 1945-90

    * Berlin became a symbol of democracy's fight against Communism: the Berlin Airlift was therefore an important propaganda exercise to prove the strength of democracy and the evils of Communism. * The West saw that Stalin was calling their bluff with the airlift.

  2. "After 1949, the superpowers saw a need to extend their influence beyond Europe." How ...

    The NSC 68 would be used to extend containment to Asia, most importantly, prop up Chiang's military position in Formosa and to retain American naval and air bases in Japan and to rearm the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)3. During that period, with Europe in a more stable condition, it

  1. UNIT 6: PAPER 6b: THE SOVIET UNION AFTER LENIN

    Other Historians argue he was persuaded to adopt Trotsky's policy of rapid industrialisation because of the peasant's reluctance to sell grain. * There was also a 'War Scare' in 1927 - a deep-seated distrust of the West. Soldiers forcibly requisitioned grain from the peasants * The first major 'Wrecker's Trial'

  2. In the context of the period 1905-2005, how far do you agree that Khrushchev ...

    Decentralisation and democratisation were proposed alternatives by Khrushchev. These policies provided Russia with the basis for possible further economic reform: it initially reopened the economic system, by making it more flexibly in areas of production and management. The fact that Khrushchev?s relatively short tenure did not permit sustained development of the vast amount of his policies, may indicate why these policies did not produce substantial industrial growth initially.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work