The United States and the Beginning of the Cold War, 1945-6

Long Term Causes of the War

a) There were three cracks evident between the US-Soviet relationship. America and Russia argued about the opening of a second front against Germany. Stalin’s plans where that America and Britain invade western Europe so the Russian Red Army gets stronger and pressure on them is relieved. Roosevelt promised a second front by the time of 1942, but the delay of plans for an Anglo-American invasion of German-occupied France angered Stalin because his plans to make his Army Stronger are not going to be easily fulfilled since the western countries would still be powerful. The invasion of France was delayed until D-Day which angered Stalin. Instead, Britain and America positioned their armies in Italy and North Africa.

Another crack was that Stalin feared that America and Britain would make a pact with Germany and unite to form something like an alliance against Russia since the three of them were all anti communist. The third crack between the US-Soviet relationship was that when the US scientist started developing the atomic bomb, Roosevelt decided to tell Canada and Britain about it but to hide it from Russia. But Stalin still knew about this atomic bomb project since he sent Soviet spies to infiltrate the team of American scientists.

b) The shared post war objectives were peace aims. Roosevelt and Stalin shared some post war objectives. For example, both agreed that it is important to limit the power of the Germans, and accomplish German disarmament and demilitarisation by military occupation. The US and Soviet Union had agreed to divide and occupy Germany among the winners. Both sides promised to co-operate together after the war and Roosevelt had the opinion that Russia would be more important to the United States than Britain since Russia was a larger and more powerful country. Stalin’s plans where to remain in good relationship with the US.

c) Roosevelt’s post war aims where to create the international peace and co-operation in other words the UN, which would make sure that peace remains and another war doesn’t break out. The UN reminds of the League of Nations. He also aimed for no formal spheres of influence which meant that no propaganda should take place like Hitler created during the second world war. Furthermore, he wanted the spread of democracy. So every one has the right to speak and vote freely. There should be free trade between all countries and reconstruction of the worlds economy by the help of the IMF and the World Bank.

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d) Stalin’s opposing post war goals are the co-operation with America, Russian Security, sphere of influence on Soviet perimeter, restoration of Russia’s 1914 borders, limiting German power, economic reconstruction of Soviet Union. While Roosevelt’s goal was to rehabilitate the world after the war, prevent further conflicts, reconstruct the world and its economy and make people wealthy again, Stalin only was interested in his own Country and the Wealth of his own country. This can be justified since he had his communist ideas and also wanted wealth for his country. He can be seen as a good leader because his objectives where to make Russia powerful and superior. He was also aware that the price they paid for the victory over Germany where high. 15 million soldiers and 10 million civilians had died. 1,700 towns, 31,000 factories and 100,000 state farms had been destroyed. He knew that this had to change so he did everything in his might to make Russia gain strength again. Since Germany invaded Russia twice from the west, Stalin’s main goal was to secure Russia from further invasions. He also wanted to create a belt of friendly states on Russia’s western perimeter. Poland, Romania and Bulgaria would form a Soviet sphere of influence and a security cordon against German expansion. So Stalin’s post war goals are justified since he only wanted the best for his country.

e) The “one world” policy contradicts the “sphere of influence” policy. Russians hat the plans for the “sphere of influence” and the Americans the “one world” policy which both contrast. Roosevelt had an clear idea of peace. His most important post war aim was to accomplish the creation of the peace keeping organisation, the United Nations. His opinion was that there should be no spheres of influence, which contradicts Stalin’s post war aims. The Sphere of influence was basically a group of states under the indirect control of outside power. For example, Russia wanted Poland, Romania and Bulgaria to be Russia’s sphere of influence to protect Russia from invasions and attacks. On the contrary, Roosevelt felt that every country had the right for self determination, which is to decide for themselves how they should be governed. But Stalin was for the “sphere of influence”, since he wanted something like a security cordon against German expansion. His ideas were communist and Roosevelt’s where democratic.

The Breakdown of the US-Soviet Alliance, 1945: Key Issues

f) In 1943, the Soviet Union ended its relationships with Poland after Poland criticised Stalin. Later, Stalin exploited the Red Army’s occupation of Poland in 1944 to set up a pro-Soviet government called the Lublin Committee and to fix Russia’s boundaries with Poland. This concern was discussed at the Yalta conference by the big three, Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill in February 1945. Churchill and Roosevelt rejected to the revision of Poland’s eastern border and asked the London Poles to be included in the Committee and free Polish elections to be followed. Stalin didn’t like it that the Anglo-Americans interfered in an affair of a country that was practically seen as “Russian security”. The agreement was that Russia could regain her 1914 boundaries of Poland by absorbing eastern Poland, while Poland would receive parts of eastern Germany.

g) Roosevelt was responsible for the Polish dispute since he contributed to the misinterpretation over Poland in two ways. He wanted the Soviets to continue their co-operation with America so he appeared to support the Soviet sphere of influence in 1933 and 1934. Then later he said that he didn’t want the policy of sphere of influence and follow the pattern of democracy and American pattern of free elections and representative government. The Americans wanted to retrieve that what had been given away to previous meetings with Stalin, at the Yalta conference. This caused the Us policy to be incompatible. Secondly. Roosevelt kept the private deals with Stalin secret from the American nation, while in public they kept going on with their idea and vision of a post war world without the sphere of influence. But on the other hand he was the one supporting it. Then when he returned from Yalta, he announced that the Americans had got their way over Poland.

h) Roosevelt’s position in Poland was misleading and seemed to blame Stalin for souring relations because Roosevelt was the one who was talking about free elections, peace and democracy. He said that he believed in self determination, that the people have the right to chose their own government. He declared that he didn’t want the Sphere of influence to happen, but secretly he supported it. While on the other hand, Stalin was the one who openly in public talked about his plans of the Sphere of influence. Then Roosevelt was seen as a “hero” and Stalin was seen as the bad one because Stalin was honest and Roosevelt kept his plans secret from the public. This was a highly misleading version of the Yalta agreement. This caused a gulf to occur between American expectations of the Soviet Policy and the Soviet Policy. The vagueness of Roosevelt’s diplomatic view confused Stalin and the whole American public.

i) In October 1944, Stalin and Churchill held a bilateral meeting in Moscow at which an informal percentages agreement was concluded. This meant that Britain would have 90 per cent influence in Greece, but in return Russia gets 90 percent influence in Romania and 75 per cent in Bulgaria. Stalin held agreements like the Moscow percentage deal higher than the statements from Yalta because it took account of the authenticity of power. Stalin was more interested in gaining more power and the Moscow percentages agreement was much more to importance to him than the Yalta agreement because he gained more.

j) Poland led to the policy to “contain” Soviet power outside Eastern Europe because the dispute over Poland created an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion between America and the Soviet Union. American policy-makers saw the Polish conflict as a test to see what the Soviet Intentions were. Policy makers worried that the Soviet Union was intent on foretelling that it is impossible to prevent Soviet ambitions in eastern Europe, the US must contain Soviet power elsewhere. The consequences of this where soon verified.

k) The Soviet Union agreed to join the World Bank and IMF in 1944. Stalin needed to finance the rebuilding of the Soviet Union so he asked America to loan Russia 6 Billion dollars. The US imposed conditions on this loan, for example to allow the US trade with the eastern European countries. This was an American pressure tactic which the Russians didn’t yield to. The Lend-Lease termination was also a source of tension. It was intended to be an economy measure but it was an misleading name. The Russians hoped to recover their economy with this but then later on in August 1945, they required a further request for a loan which was “mysteriously” lost by the US state department. The Russians then thought that the US didn’t want to help them with the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. This all led to the fact that the December 1945 deadline for membership of the IMF and World Bank passed without the Russians joining.

l) Like written in the answer above, the conditions attached to post-war US loans, the abrupt termination of the Lend-Lease policy and the quarrel over Poland led to the Soviet Union boycotting the IMF and the World Bank. Since the Soviet Union was a very powerful country, this led to economic potential consequences. The USSR didn’t want to be part of the open world economy which was Americas policy. They refused to participate in this global economic system which made it more likely that the economic bloc in eastern Europe under Soviet leadership separates. This is because the Soviet Union had the power to control this economy since it is so large and mighty.

m) On July 16th, the atomic bomb was successfully exploded by the Americans in the New Mexico desert. The bomb was started being developed since 1941 in a programme called the Manhattan Project. Eight days after the explosion of the bomb, Truman informed Stalin that America possessed this new destructive weapon. Stalin pretended not to be concerned about this issue and wished the Americans good luck for the defeating of Japan, but secretly was worried about this since he knew that with this bomb America automatically gained more power and authority. As consequence of this, Stalin accelerated the atomic weapons building in the Soviet Union. With the atomic bomb, America was more powerful and immediately influenced American attitudes towards Soviet participation in the warfare against Japan.

n) The Yalta conference divided Germany into four zones which where the British zone, the US zone, the French and the Soviet zone. Germany was concerned by the two features added at Potsdam. These were that first of all, it was agreed that each occupying power would be allowed to take compensation from its own zone. This was supposed to be compensation for financial losses, human and material during the war against Germany. The starting point of reparations the Russians would receive was agreed at Yalta and was a sum of 10 billion dollars. The second concern was that the occupying powers agreed to treat the four zones of occupation which where the British, Soviet, US and French occupation zones, as a single economic are. This means that all goods were supposed to be traded freely throughout all zones.