Author: Pierre.Thorsen
Last saved by: CUSD 300

US History- True False Origins of the Cold War
Pgs. 760-769 

1.  As the Soviets “liberated” Poland from Germany, they encouraged communists to set up a government.  This created two Polish governments claiming the right to rule Poland.

2.  The Soviets wanted a communist Poland out of security concerns.  The Allies agreed to recognize the communist government and in return for allowing non-communists in the Polish government, the Allies would not push for free elections.

3.  Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill agreed to issue the Declaration of Liberated Europe.  It basically stated that the people have the right to choose what form of government they want to rule them.

4.  The Allies and Russia agreed to split up Germany into three sections controlled by the US, UK and the USSR.

5.  The Allies & the USSR agreed to exact war reparations from Germany.  These reparations can take the form of trade goods, products and equipment.  Arguments over reparations increased tensions between the Allies and Russia.

6.  Not too long after Yalta, Stalin pressured the Romanian king to set up a communist government.  Furthermore, Stalin refused to allow more than 8 non-communists in the polish government.

7.  Communist doctrine holds that capitalist nations will try and destroy communism, so the communists focused on security from another future Germany, but from capitalist countries as well.

8.  Americans believed economic conditions are what led to WWII so the US government felt the best way to prevent future wars was by promoting increased trade and economic growth.  Furthermore, establishing democratic governments that protected people’s rights would help create more stable and peaceful nations.

9.  President Truman, like Neville Chamberlain, believed the best way to deal with dictators was through a policy of appeasement.

10.  The US began to feel an economically revived Germany would not only help prevent Germans from turning to communism but would also help the rest of Europe recover from the war.  As a result Truman managed to get the Soviets to reduce the amount of reparations they demanded from Germany and to ship to the western Allies, some of the heavy machinery in East Germany.

11.  The Soviets felt the Allies were reducing German war reparations to keep the Soviet Union weak.

12.  The Soviets made sure the nations under their control established pro-Soviet, communistic governments.  Truman started the phrase about this Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe as the “Iron Curtain.”

13.  George Kennan wrote the “Long Telegram,” which became the basis for US policy during the Cold War.  Kennan basically argued that if the US can contain communism, inherent political and economic weaknesses would ultimately cause the Soviet system to disintegrate.

14.  The Soviets appeared to attempt a takeover of Iran.  After a hard line against the Soviets and the dispatch of the USS Missouri, the Soviets withdrew their forces from Iran.

15.  In 1946, the Soviets attempted to gain joint control of the Dardanelles.  Truman showed defiance by sending a US carrier to join the USS Missouri.  In Greece, the French could no longer assist the Greek government in fighting communist guerillas.  Truman asked for aid to both Greece and Turkey to contain communism.  The Truman doctrine basically states that the US will aid any people attempting to resist communism.

16.  The Marshall Plan helped to revive the economies of Western Europe thereby weakening the appeal of communism.

17.   After believing the Soviets were undermining Germany’s economy, the Western powers united their zones of Germany and created a West German government.  The Soviets becoming convinced they would never see the reparations they wanted, cut off all land access to Berlin in order to drive the Allies out of Berlin.  The Americans responded by standing firm and supplying Berlin by air.  For nearly a year the Berlin Airlift supplied West Berlin and the Soviets eventually stopped the blockade.

18.  12 Allied powers joined forces to form a military defense pact called the Warsaw Pact.  The Soviets responded by forming one of their own with their satellite nations called NATO.