The Cold War & Modern Europe

1945-2000

Chapters 28-29

Roots of the Cold War

• War-time Conferences– Tehran 1943– Yalta 1945: • Stalin pledged to allow

democratic elections in Eastern Europe (but later reneged)• Germany divided in to 4 zones• After the war, the Soviets did

not allow for re-unification

– Potsdam 1945• President Truman demanded

free elections in Eastern Europe but Stalin refused• Stalin wanted a “buffer zone”

More Roots of the Cold War

• Different world views– Soviet View:

• Democracies traditionally hostile to communism & USSR

• U.S. & Britain did not open a western front of WWII early enough

• The U.S. & Britain froze Russia out of atomic project

• Soviets sought a “buffer zone”

– U.S. view• Stalin seemed intent on creating

“spheres” of influence in Eastern Europe

• Stalin broke pledge at Yalta• Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain”

speech (1946) alerted Americans to future conflict with USSR

• US wanted democracy spread

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across

the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of ancient states of Central and Eastern

Europe… All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in the Soviet sphere

and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow.”

- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Partition of Germany

• USSR, U.S., Britain, & France each occupied a part of Germany– Theoretically would allow for re-

unification once Germany no longer a threat

• Germany to pay heavy reparations to USSR in form of agricultural & industrial goods

• Soviets dominated their Eastern German zone– Did not want a revitalized Germany– Stripped Germany of its resources as

reparations• 1949 – West Germany became an

independent country (Federal Republic of Germany) when US, Britain, France united their zones

• 1949 – East Germany formally established (Democratic Republic of Germany). – Heavily influenced by Moscow

“Containment”• By 1947, the U.S. pledged to prevent the

further spread of communism• Truman Doctrine 1947

– Established the U.S. policy of containment (would last 4 decades)

– US pledged to help any country that was struggling with communism

– U.S. gave aid to Greece & Turkey• Marshall Plan 1949-1951

– Massive U.S. financial aid package to help war-torn Europe recover from the war

– $13 billion– Purpose: prevent communism to spreading

into economically devastated areas while fostering trade between Europe & U.S.

– Result: Western & Central Europe recovered economically – the “economic miracle”

– Soviets refused to allow U.S. aid to countries in Eastern Europe

Berlin Crisis1948-49

• Soviets attempted to remove the Allies from Berlin by cutting off access to the city– Berlin had been partitioned (just like

the rest of Germany) after the war– The city of Berlin was located in the

Soviet zone• Stalin ordered all roads & waterways

closed into West Berlin• Became one of the high tension

points of the Cold War• U.S. organized a massive airlift of

277,000 flights into the city– Carried food, medicine, supplies– At its peak, a flight landed every 45

seconds• After 11 months, the Soviets lifted

the blockade

NATO• North Atlantic Treaty Organization• Formed in 1949 in response to the

Berlin Crisis• Consisted of the democracies in

Europe, U.S., & Canada to prevent against Soviet expansion in Europe

• In response to West Germany joining NATO in 1954, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955– Similar to NATO, it provided

collective security for Eastern Bloc countries

• Remains intact today but has grown to 26 countries

Cold War Arms Race

• U.S. had first atomic bombs in 1945• 1949 – Soviets successfully tested an

atomic bomb– U.S. no longer only nuclear power– Much of the Soviet knowledge of atomic

program came from espionage on the U.S program

• 1952 – U.S develops first hydrogen bomb– Far more destructive than the atomic

bombs dropped on Japan– Soviets have the H. bomb by 1953

• “Massive Retaliation”– U.S policy between 1953-1955– U.S vows to destroy USSR with nuclear

weapons if it tried to expand• Both superpowers continued to stockpile

nuclear weapons and improve their air forces and weapons systems for decades

Soviet Union & the Eastern Bloc(1945-64)

• Russia Under Stalin 1945-1953– Reinstituted oppressive rule– Stalin’s troubles with the U.S.

provided an excuse for re-establishing a harsh dictatorship

– Between 1946-1953, the Soviet government was responsible for over 12 million deaths of its own citizens (more than any other period in 20th century – even civil war & purges)• Most of the deaths occurred in gulags

(forced labor camps)

• 5-year plans to tackle massive economic reconstruction

• Culture & art were also purged

Countries in Eastern Europe

• Dominated by Soviet Union• Included Poland, Hungary,

Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, & Albania

• Communist parties of eastern Europe established one-party states by 1948 (with help of the Red Army)– Only Yugoslavia (led by Marshall Josip

Broz Tito) was not dominated by Soviets• Yugoslavia had freed itself from Nazi

domination without USSR help

• Postwar economic recovery in Eastern Europe proceeded along Soviet lines

• Czechoslovakia: the economic exception– Stalin eventually replaced the gov’t with

1 party communist rule

USSR under Khrushchev

• Power struggle after Stalin died in 1953• Stalin’s successors realized that reforms

were needed– Fear & hatred of Stalin’s terror resulted in

reduction of power of secret police & gradual closure of the gulags

– Shortages of consumer goods were significant– Hard work & initiative declined

• Destalinization– Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s crimes– Secret anti-Stalin speech was most influential

statement since Lenin’s April Theses in 1917– Resources shifted away from heavy industry &

military toward consumer goods & agriculture– Anti-Stalinist views tolerated

• Dr. Zhivago (1956)• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962)

Destalinization• Resulted in communist reformers & the masses

seeking greater liberty & national independence– Khrushchev allowed different forms of socialism in

E. Europe as long as Communist Party in control• Poland: March 1956

– Riots resulted in more than 9000 political prisoners being released

• Hungary Uprising 1956– Liberal Communist reformer Imre Nagy elected in

1956– Hungarian Nationalists staged huge demonstrations

demanding non-communist parties be legalized• Turned into an armed rebellion & spread throughout

the country• Hoped the U.S. would come in & help

– Soviet tanks & troops responded by invading Hungary

– Janos Kadar became hard-line communist leader• After Hungarian invasion, most E. Europeans

hoped for small gains – but obediently followed the USSR

Cold War Under Khrushchev

• Relations between the USSR & U.S. improved in the 1950’s

• Khrushchev sought “peaceful coexistence”

• Geneva Summit – 1955– USSR met with U.S., Britain, France to

discuss European security & disarmament

– No agreements reached• Sputnik 1957

– Russian satellite sent into orbit on a rocket & was brought back safely to USSR

– Demonstrated that the USSR was ahead of the U.S. in space technology

– Effectively began the “Space Race” with the U.S.

1960’s Tension• U-2 incident (1960)

– American U-2 spy plane shot down over USSR– Khrushchev demanded an apology from President

Eisenhower (who refused)• Berlin Wall 1961

– 2 million East Germans escaped to West Berlin between 1949-1961

– East Germany built the Berlin Wall around West Berlin• Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

– Cuba became communist in 1959– 1961, the U.S. tried unsuccessfully to invade Cuba (Bay

of Pigs)• In response, Cuba agreed to place Soviet nuclear missiles

in Cuba

– U.S. demanded Soviets remove the missiles from Cuba• Crisis became the closest both sides came to nuclear war• Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the U.S.

removed missiles from Turkey

• Khrushchev was weakened by Berlin & Cuba – and his agricultural policies backfired– Leonid Brezhnev became new General Secretary in

1964

Soviets Under Brezhnev

• “Prague Spring”– 1968 – reformists in the

Czechoslovak communist party voted out Stalinists

– Alexander Dubcek elected leader• Ushered in a period of thaw &

rebirth – “Prague Spring”• “Socialism with a human face”• Frightened hard-line communists

– Soviet troops brutally invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968

• Brezhnev Doctrine issued in response to Prague Spring– The Soviet Union & its allies had

the right to intervene in any socialist country whenever they saw the need

Detente• US Sec of State – Kissinger & President Nixon

tried to reduce East-West tensions in early 1970’s– Nixon hoped to gain Soviet aid in pressuring N.

Vietnam to end the Vietnam War– Nixon visited China & Moscow in 1972: ushered

in an era known as détente• SALT I – 1972

– Brezhnev & Nixon signed treaty to stop making nuclear ballistic missiles & to reduce the number of antiballistic missiles to 200

• Helsinki Conference – 1975– Officially ended WWII by finally legitimizing the

Soviet-dictated boundaries of Poland & other East European countries

• End of Détente– Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to US refusal

to ratify SALTII treaty & led President Carter to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics• In return, Soviets boycotted 1984 Olympics in LA

Fall of Communism 1989

• Costs of maintaining satellite countries were too much for the Soviets to handle

• Poland– Solidarity Union legalized and free elections promised in June

1989– Elected the first non-communist leader in E. Europe since the

Stalinist era– Triggered a wave of freedom movements– Lech Walesa became president in 1990

• Hungary– Hungarian leaders proclaimed an independent republic

• Germany– Berlin Wall came down in November & East German gov’t fell– Germany re-unified in 1990

• Czechoslovakia “Velvet Revolution”– Fall of Berlin Wall inspired reformers to break away from

Soviets– Vaclav Havel became president– 1993: splits into 2 countries – Czech Republic & Slovakia

• Bulgaria– Day after Berlin Wall fell, Bulgarian gov’t forced its leader to

resign, purged Stalinists, & encouraged ethnic Turks to return to the country

• Romania– Oppressive dictator Nicolai Ceaucescu was overthrown &

assassinated

Mikhail Gorbachev• Leader of Soviet Union from 1985-1991• Sought reforms

– Perestroika (“restructuring”): aimed to revive the economy by adopting some free-market practices

– Glasnost (“openness”): aimed to open Soviet society• Free speech, some political liberty, ending

censorship

– Democratization: attacked the corruption of the Communist Party• March 1989 – first free elections since 1917

• Sought to reduce Cold War tensions– Withdrew Soviet troops in Afghanistan– Encouraged reforms in Poland & Hungary– Repudiated Brezhnev Doctrine

• INF Treaty 1987– Gorbachev & Reagan– Banned intermediate-range missiles

Fall of Soviet Union

• Long-term causes– Costs of protecting & maintaining its empire too

high– Call for reforms– Nationalist resentment of the Soviet government

among many Soviet republics– The economy continued to lag since the 1960’s

• Russian people were frustrated by lack of goods

• Coup in Moscow 1991– Communist hard-liners attempted to overthrow

Gorbachev– Coup failed when military refused to shoot

protestors– Boris Yeltsin defied Soviet tanks & became a

national hero– Coup weakened Gorbachev & spelled doom for the

Soviet Union• Dec. 25, 1991 – Soviet Union dissolved into 15

separate republics– Remained economically connected via the

Commonwealth of Independent States

European Unity • 3 major streams of unity emerged– Political: Council of Europe

• Created in 1948• Contained nearly every

European country but had little influence

• Britain opposed giving any real power to the council

– Military: never truly materialized

– Economic: most successful with the development of the European Union through various stages (ECSC, EEC, EC, EU)

Economic Unification

• European Coal & Steel Community (1950)– Immediate economic goal: to create a single

market without national tariffs– Political goal: bind 6 nations so closely through

economics that war would become unthinkable and virtually impossible

– “The Six”: by 1958 coal & steel moved freely among 6 nations

• EEC or the “Common Market”– Same 6 nations as the ECSC– Goal: gradual reduction of tariffs in order to

create a single market as large as the U.S.• European Union (EU) 1992

– Sought to extend the EU to include a single European currency & a common defense (& foreign policy)

– Maastricht Treaty 1991• Most radical revision of the EC• Eurodollar (or Euro) became the single currency of

the EU in 2002• Britain refused to join the monetary union• Included proposals to form a common foreign &

defense– By 1995 EU had 15 members: Germany, France,

Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, & Finland

– 2005: 10 more countries added– 2007: Romania & Bulgaria added

• The EC was renamed the EU in 1996