reasons and development of Cold War

7 origins of Cold War

7 | Origins and development of the Cold War 1945-1955 Impact of WWII on Europe (factors that would later contribute to Cold War tensions) ● 36 million Europeans killed ● Infrastructure of roads, railways, bridges and canals had been destroyed ● No gas, electricity or running water in many areas ● Disease and malnutrition were widespread ● Homelessness — 50 million people had lost/been forced to leave their homes A new political landscape ● Decline of the Western European powers — Europe, Britain, France and Germany would no longer be dominant players ● Emergence of superpowers — United States and the USSR EARLY TENSIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND USSR 1 — Competing ideologies Russia —> communist. The United States feared communism ideologies and felt that communism would threaten their way of life United States —> democratic. The USSR believed that the US was acting selfishly to build its own economic empire and political influence in the world 2 — Suspicion and mistrust before 1939 ● The USSR’s communist vision was aligned to the communist manifesto which called for worldwide communist revolutions to overthrow capitalist states, alarming Western European democratic countries ● Paris peace conference in 1919 decided Germany would not be broken up to act as a barrier against communism ● Russia civil war 1918 — 1921 : the whites were supported by US and British troops ● Red Scare 1920s —US government arrested and imprisoned many people (usually immigrants from Russia, accusing them of being communist agents ● Policy of appeasement 1930s — to some extent, this policy was driven by fear that the USSR was trying to spread communism by force. The British hoped that Germany would oppose communism. The policy threatened the USSR’s security as it seemed to imply that Hitler was allowed to take over Eastern Europe ● Nazi-soviet non aggression pact 1939 — surprised the world because the USSR had discussed an alliance against Hitler with Britain and France Yalta and Potsdam The Yalta Conference, February 1945

At that time, it was obvious that the allies were going to win the war. The USSR and the US dominated the discussions, but had differing views. views reasons the United states ● Believed in having peace, safety and prosperity in a post war world ● Believed that democracy and capitalism is a model for international development. It was also a means to gain political influence and benefit economica