What was the Cold War?

L/O – To identify the key features and turning points of the Cold War and understand the nature of the conflict

What was the Cold War?• Cold War = a period of extreme tension

between states stopping just short of war.

• German socialist Eduard Bernstein in 1893 described the arms race between German and its neighbours as a kind of ‘cold war’ where ‘there is no shooting but… bleeding’.

• British writer George Orwell, commenting on the dropping of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 predicted, ‘a peace that is no peace’, in which the USA and USSR would be ‘unconquerable and in a permanent state of cold war’ with each other.

What was the Cold War?• Military Arms Race = both sides built up both

nuclear and conventional military weapons on a prolonged arms race.

• Ideological Struggle = Under Stalin, the USSR was an Authoritarian Marxist-Leninist State which believed a conflict between Communism and Capitalism was inevitable and unavoidable. The USA was a Capitalist Liberal Democracy which viewed the USSR as an ‘evil empire’ intent on the destruction of democracy.

• Geopolitical Struggle = The conflict was the inevitable result of the struggle for power and resources between two Superpowers.

What was the Cold War?• US historian Anders Stephanson (1994) defined

the essence of the Cold War as:

1. Both sides denied each other’s legitimacy as a regime and attempted to attack each other by every means short of war.

2. Increasingly this conflict became ‘bipolar’, that is to say a struggle between the two great Superpowers, the USA and USSR.

3. There was an intense build up of both nuclear and conventional military weapons and a prolonged arms race.

4. Each side suppressed its internal dissidents.

When did the Cold War Occur?• Historian’s disagree about the timing of

the Cold War. The historian David Reynolds argues that there were 3 Cold Wars: 1948-53; 1958-63 and 1979-85, ‘punctured by periods of détente’, or easing of tension.

• Overall, the years 1945-1989 form the ‘Cold War era’ in which the Superpowers competed for economic, ideological and military supremacy.

• It began directly after (or during?) WW2 and ended with the collapse of the Soviet regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989.

1. Origins of the Cold War 1917-1945• Before the Bolshevik Revolution of

1917, the USA and Russia were allies in WW1. After, they became rivals.

• Historian Howard Roffman (1977): ‘the Cold War proceeded from the very moment the Bolsheviks triumphed in Russia in 1917’.

• The USA & other Western states intervened to try and crush the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War 1918-1920.

1. Origins of the Cold War 1917-1945• There was also an ideological clash between US

President Wilson and Bolshevik leader Lenin.

• Wilson’s ‘14 Points’ published in 1917 advocated an end to empires, self-determination for all peoples’, free trade and collective security through a League of Nations.

• As a Communist, Lenin preached world revolution and the overthrow of Capitalism. The ‘Comintern’ or Communist International was set-up in 1919 to inspire revolution in the Capitalist world.

1. Origins of the Cold War 1917-1945• Despite their ideological differences, in

the 1920s and 1930s both nations were ‘isolationist’ – withdrawing from world affairs and focusing on their own economic development.

• There was a growing divide between the Axis powers of Germany and Italy and Western Democracies like Britain and France.

• With Hitler’s invasion of the USSR and declaration of war on the USA in 1941, the USSR and USA were now Allies.

2. Beginnings of the Cold War 1945-48• Defeat of Hitler in 1945 created a

vacuum of power in Europe. The USSR occupied Eastern Europe with its troops whilst the USA & Allies occupied Western Europe.

• Despite agreements at Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in 1945 to fairly divide Europe, both sides collided.

• Stalin promised to support democratic governments in Eastern Europe – instead over the next 4 years he forcefully constructed communist regimes.

2. Beginnings of the Cold War 1945-48• In response to this perceived aggression by

the USSR, the USA intervened to stop the spread of Communism in Europe, marking the beginning of the Cold War:

• The Truman Doctrine of 1947 offered military help to states resisting communist aggression like Greece.• The Marshall Plan of 1947 offered

economic help to rebuild Europe and negate the temption of Communism.• The USA decided to rebuild Western

Germany as a Capitalist state by merging the occupation zones of UK, France & USA and introduced a new currency.

3. The First Cold War 1948-53• From 1948, the Cold War really began as

confrontation and tension rose dramatically.

• In Europe the USSR was determined to stop the USA from rebuilding Germany by blockading West Berlin in 1948/49. The Allies broke the blockade by airlifting supplies into West Berlin for 11 months.

• The blockade reinforced divisions in Europe and led to the creation of rival military alliances (NATO/Warsaw Pact); a Soviet Nuclear Weapon in 1949 and the creation of Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East).

3. The First Cold War 1948-53• In Asia tensions rose after the Communist won

victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. This was followed by the invasion of South Korea by the armies of Communist North Korea on 25th June 1950.

• The Korean War was the first direct military confrontation of the Cold War. The United Nations sent an American-led military force to push back the Communists, only to face a Chinese invasion force of over 1 million.

• The war ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement. The death of Stalin also in 1953 led to a reduction in tensions.

4. The Thaw 1953-57• With the death of Stalin, the USSR became

distracted by an internal power struggle to replace Stalin. Internationally, it sought to relax tensions whilst this was ongoing.

• Agreements were made to withdraw troops from Austria in 1955 and the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev promised ‘peaceful co-existence’ with the West.

• However this ‘thaw’ ended in 1956 as the USSR used military force to end popular revolts against it rule in Hungary and Eastern Europe.

5. The ‘Second Cold War’ 1958-62• From 1958, Khruschev began to threaten the

USA and Western Europe with the latest missile technology in order to force the West to withdraw from West Berlin.

• Millions of East Germans were illegally escaping to the West through West Berlin which was a serious threat to Communist East Germany. The crisis was solved when the USSR built a the Berlin Wall in 1961.

• Tension rose in 1962 when the USA spotted Soviet nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba. This nuclear standoff nearly ended in nuclear war.

6. The Period of Détente 1963-1979• During the 1960s, both the USA and USSR

faced their own challenges which distracted them from direct confrontation.

• The USA became increasing embroiled in the Vietnam War whilst the USSR faced huge economic problems and growing conflict with Communist China.

• Both sides agreed to reduce tensions leading to the Test Ban Treaty of 1963, Agreement on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1969 and Helsinki Accords of 1975.

7. The Third or ‘New Cold War’ 1979-91• In 1979 a ‘Third Cold War’ developed when the

USSR deployed a new range of nuclear missiles in Europe and invaded Afghanistan.

• The USA responded by basing Cruise missiles in Europe, sparking a new arms race. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan launched the ‘Strategic Defence Initiative’ which planned to shoot Soviet missiles out of the sky from space.

• The USSR became increasingly unable to deal with the huge cost of a new arms race, the occupation of Afghanistan and conflicts at home.

8. End of the Cold War• Facing economic collapse and bankruptcy, the

new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched a series of reforms known as ‘Glasnost’ (openness) and ‘Perestroika’ (reform) in 1985.

• These reforms sought to improve the Soviet economy via capitalist elements and bring an end to one party rule.

• Once it became clear in 1989 that the Soviet military wouldn’t oppose any uprisings in Eastern Europe, these regimes collapsed like a house of cards. By 1991 the USSR was dissolved and the Cold War was at an end.

Key Questions for this Unit• How did the Cold War begin?• Who’s fault was the Cold War?

• What was the key factor in causing the Cold War? Economic issues; ideological differences; mutual suspicion; role of

leaders; Soviet Aggression• Why did the Cold War expand into Asia?

• Why did the Cold War never become a ‘Hot’ War?• Why did the Cold War last so long?

• Was the collapse of the Communism in Eastern Europe inevitable?

• Why did the USSR loose the Cold War? – Arms Race; Economic factors; failure of Communism; internal dissent