Early tensions between East and West During the Second World War, the Soviet Union, USA and Britain formed ‘The Grand Alliance’ against Nazi Germany. However, once Germany had been defeated, tensions between the allied countries began to increase for several reasons. Causes of tension Ideological differences USA & Britain Soviet Union Politics Democracy: free elections with a choice of parties Single-party rule Social structure Some people have more power than others because of family, background, wealth, education, or achievements Classless society where everyone is equal Economy Capitalist: private ownership of property and business Communist: state ownership of property and business Rights Individual freedoms guaranteed The rights of all workers more important than individual rights Differences between leaders Leader Franklin D. Roosevelt Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Date of leadership 1933-45 1940-45, 1951-55 1920s-1953 Country USA Britain Soviet Union Politics and beliefs Strongly believed in democracy, but formed an alliance with the Soviet Union to protect the USA against Japan. Was not as tough with Stalin as Churchill wanted him to be. A conservative with traditional values. Strongly believed in democracy, the British Empire and was very suspicious of Stalin. Strengthened one-party rule in the USSR and cut back on personal freedoms for Soviet citizens. Stalin was convinced the West wanted to destroy communism. A new world order After the Second World War, the ‘old powers’ like Britain and France were now less important. Two new ‘superpowers’, the Soviet Union and the USA had emerged. Their strong militaries and economies created rivalry between them. The Grand Alliance
Although Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union united against Germany and Japan in the Second World War, there was no real change in how they viewed each other. The USA and Britain were still suspicious of the communist Soviet Union, whilst the USSR distrusted the capitalist world. The Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences Conference Tehran Yalta Potsdam Date November 1943 February 1945 July-August 1945 Leaders Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin Truman, Attlee, Stalin Outcomes The USA and Britain would attack Germany in Western Europe, helping the Soviets fighting in the East. Stalin would declare war against Japan and help the USA to defeat them once the war in Europe was over. Agreed that the aim of the war was Germany’s unconditional surrender, and that it should be kept weak after the war. Poland could take land from Germany, and the USSR could keep land it had taken from Poland in 1939. An international organisation should be set up to settle disputes through discussion and negotiation (later became the United Nations) Germany to be split into four zones, each controlled by a different power: the USA, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Half of Germany’s $20 billion reparations would go to the Soviet Union, the Nazi Party would be banned and war criminals prosecuted. The United Nations was set up The Soviet Union joined the war against Japan Stalin agreed the future governments of Eastern Europe would be decided by free elections Polish borders were agreed, and free elections were guaranteed. Stalin expected this to result in a pro-communist government, whereas Britain supported the London Poles. Germany split into four zones, but the economy would be run as a whole Berlin split into four zones controlled by different countries, even though it was within the Soviet zone of Germany Each administering country would take its reparations from the zone of Germany it controlled. As the Soviet Union controlled the poorest zone, it could take a quarter of the industrial equipment from other zones. Truman objected to Soviet control over the countries of Eastern Europe and the arrangements for Poland agreed at Yalta.
The Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution took place in January 1959, when a group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara toppled the pro-American Cuban government. Castro was a nationalist who was not happy with the amount of American control in Cuba – American investment in the country’s businesses gave the USA a lot of influence in Cuba. For example, Cuba’s oil refineries, railways, electricity and phone networks were all controlled by Americans. A year later, Castro made a deal with Khrushchev, agreeing that the Soviet Union would buy Cuban sugar and provide economic aid. There was also a secret clause that Cuba would receive weapons from the USSR. This was particularly concerning to the USA as Cuba was only 145 kilometres away from Miami. In retaliation, in July 1960 Eisenhower reduced the amount of sugar the US would buy from Cuba, before banning trade completely in October, and eventually cutting off all diplomatic relations in January 1961. Bay of Pigs In 1961, President Kennedy supported a plan hatched by Eisenhower and the CIA before he was elected to overthrow the new Cuban regime. On 17th April 1961, the USA sent around 1400 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Sending Cuban exiles would make the invasion look like a counterrevolution and the USA could deny any involvement. However, the attempted coup failed and was a huge embarrassment for President Kennedy. The invasion backfired as Khrushchev and Castro became closer, with the Cuban leader declaring himself a communist and the Soviet Union openly declaring that it would provide arms to Cuba. Whilst Kennedy warned Khrushchev that he could not use Cuba as a base for nuclear weapons as it was too close to the USA. Khrushchev promised this would not happen. The Cuban Missile Crisis However, on 14th October 1962, American U-2 spy planes took pictures of what appeared to be nuclear weapons in Cuba. Khrushchev broke his promise for several reasons: NATO had based missiles in Turkey, close to the Soviet Union. Khrushchev felt threatened by this and may have wanted revenge on the USA, or to pressure Kennedy into removing the NATO missiles. Khrushchev wanted to prove his strength to Kennedy and the rest of the world after the humiliation of the Berlin Wall and mass migration from communist East Germany.