Preface to Cold War Preface I have had the pleasure of teaching IB history for over 20 years, mainly at Malmö Borgarskola in Sweden but also on revision courses in England and in the United States. It is my hope that this guide will give students the best possible help when preparing for their history exams. My main aim is to encourage students to practise structuring essays. Each section of text is followed by a number of essay outlines. The idea is that students will first try to make their own outline and then compare it with mine. I have used this method with great success during my years as an IB teacher. By the early 1990s, we thought we had put the Cold War behind us but in recent years, relations between the former antagonists have been very strained. What we must keep in mind about the Cold War period is that, while the superpowers were confronting each other on several issues, integration was increasing in Western Europe. The emergence of the EU is the most significant example of this. But history can unexpectedly take new paths. We are now living in a time of upheaval with events such as Brexit. Some may also see the US presidential elections in 2016 in this light. Commentators said that the West we have known since WWII, with cooperation and internationalization, now appears to be coming to an end. It is reasonable to assume that these events will one day become a new topic in the IB History syllabus, but it is only after we have distanced ourselves from these developments, that we can analyse them from a historical perspective which is why the IB has its 10-year rule. I currently divide my time between working at Malmö Borgarskola and as Secretary General of Star for Life, an organization that conducts education among 100,000 young people in Africa. My passion and my interest in education serves me in both these roles. This guide allows me to share some of the experience and knowledge I have acquired during more than two decades. Teaching history remains one of my greatest passions. Sam Olofsson 3
Contents Contents Syllabus Relevance... 6 How to Use This Study Guide... 7 List of Essay Outlines... 8 Essay Guidance... 9 Credits/Acknowledgements... 13 1. The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the Emergence of Superpower Rivalry in Europe and Asia (1943 1949)... 14 Overview... 14 Two Different Ideologies... 15 Marxism-Leninism versus Liberalism and Market Economy, i.e., the Ideologies... 16 Tension between the USSR and the US before WWII... 17 In What Way Did WWII Contribute to the Cold War?... 17 Events from WWII That Soured the Relationship... between the US and the USSR... 18 Casablanca, January 1943... 19 The Cairo Conference, November 1943... 19 The Tehran Conference, November and December 1943... 19 Yalta, February 1945... 19 Potsdam, July 1945... 21 Historiography... 21 1946: The Disintegration of the Wartime Alliance... 24 1947: The Truman Doctrine The Official Start of the Cold War?... 26 1948: Rising Tension... 27 Cold War Crisis 1: The Berlin Blockade 1948 1949... 28 1949: The Formation of Two Germanys and NATO. China Turns to Communism... 31 2. Korea, the US, the USSR and China: Superpower Relations (1947 1949), Containment, Peaceful Co-Existence, Sino-Soviet and Sino-US Relations, Détente... 36 1950: The Cold War Ignites the Korean War... 36 Cold War Crisis 2: North Korean Invasion of South Korea 1950... 37 Impact and Significance of the 1950 Crisis... 39 Impact and Significance of the Korean War... 40 Two Cold War Leaders... 45 The Cold War 1953 1964: Confrontation and Détente... 48 Time for Détente (Lessening of Tension)? The New Russian Leadership after Stalin... 48 The Eisenhower Administration and the New Look... 49 The Non-Aligned Movement... 50 Cold War Crisis 3: Hungary 1956... 51 Impact and Significance of the Hungarian Uprising... 53 Cold War Crisis 4: The Suez Crisis 1956... 55 4 IB History Paper 2: Cold War Standard & Higher Level
Contents The Effects of the Suez Crisis... 57 Cold War Crisis 5: Berlin 1958 1961... 59 Impact and Significance of the Berlin Crisis... 61 Cold War Crisis 6: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962... 65 Cold War Crisis 7: The Congo Crisis 1960 1964... 72 The War in Indochina... 75 Cold War Crisis 8: The Prague Spring 1968... 78 Impact and Consequences of the Prague Spring... 79 3. Détente... 84 Overview... 84 The Indochina and Vietnam Wars, 1946 1975... 84 The Indochina War, 1946 1954... 84 Course of Events... 85 How Did the Cold War Affect the Great Powers at Geneva?... 85 The Vietnam War... 86 How Did the Vietnam War Affect the 1970s?... 88 Why Was There a Period of Détente in the Late 1960s and 1970s?... 90 Examples of Détente 1968 1979... 90 Ostpolitik... 91 The Decline of Détente... 92 What Challenged Détente in the 1970s? The Middle East... 92 Africa... 93 The Emergence of the New Right... 94 Afghanistan... 95 To the USSR, Afghanistan Had Far-Reaching Consequences... 95 4. The Coming of the Second Cold War and the Collapse of the USSR... 99 Overview... 99 The Background: Economic Stagnation during Brezhnev but an Increase of Military Spending... 99 Carter s policies... 99 1979: A Turning Point... 100 Ronald Reagan and his Systematic Challenge... 101 Soviet Problems... 102 Gorbachev and the Fall of Communism... 103 Historiography... 109 5. Germany, China, Vietnam and Cuba during the Cold War... 117 How was Germany Affected by the Cold War?... 117 How was China Affected by the Cold War?... 118 How was Vietnam Affected by the Cold War?... 120 How was Cuba Affected by the Cold War?... 121 6. The Nuclear Arms Race and the Major Arms Agreement... 123 What were the Main Events in the Arms Race 1945 1991?... 123 Further Reading... 125 5
1. The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the Emergence of Superpower Rivalry in Europe and Asia (1943 1949) Author s tip Use these margins to write notes. 1. The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the Emergence of Superpower Rivalry in Europe and Asia (1943 1949) Figure 1.1: Iron Curtain after 1948 1 Note: When Churchill talked about an Iron Curtain from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic in 1946, he didn t realise that the eastern zone of Germany would be within the Eastern Bloc and that Yugoslavia was outside the Eastern Bloc after 1948. If you study the map it is possible to find Churchill s Iron Curtain, i.e., Stettin to Trieste. This map above shows the Iron Curtain after 1948. Overview As we mentioned in the preface, the early years of the Cold War are of major importance when you study the whole topic. Trying to find an explanation for the Cold War implies that you need to be able to answer the questions: Author s Tip Don t use the Cold War as an example of a war in an open question. It is, per definition, not a war! 1. What was the Cold War? 2. When did it start? 3. How would you explain the different ideologies? 4. How important were events before and during WWII? 5. Who was responsible for the Cold War? Ideologically, the USSR and the US represented two fundamentally different systems. There had already been major problems during the war and the alliance was more a result of a necessity to fight a mutual enemy than an expression of genuine understanding. It is clear that the US came out of the war as an economic superpower with access to nuclear weapons, while the USSR was in ruins. 1 Courtesy of Rickard Lundkvist 14 History Paper 2: The Cold War Standard & Higher Level
2. Korea, the US, the USSR and China: Superpower Relations (1947 1949) Cold Warrior or not, it is interesting to note the Farewell Address to the Nation from President Eisenhower on 17 January 1961. Eisenhower, the former General who had led D-day and had led his country during eight Cold War years said: [ ] we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. 47 Student Activities Make an attempt to answer the question below. After you have written down your main points, compare them with the outline on the next page. Exercise 11: Examine how the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment were implemented in the period 1947 1961? (It is a list question. Go through chronologically how it was implemented and don t forget to define and explain the Truman Doctrine and the containment policy in the beginning.) Containment was the US policy that was adopted by President Truman in his Truman Doctrine in 1947 by which the US attempted to prevent further Soviet or communist expansion beyond territories occupied in 1945. No long-term co-operation with the USSR was possible and the intellectual basis had been provided by George Kennan in his Long Telegram from 1946. By supporting the free world mainly militarily but also economically, like the Marshall Plan in Europe and economic aid to Japan, the expansion of communism would be prevented. To prevent the expansion of communism resulted in the building of military alliances surrounding the Communists. The Truman Doctrine stated that it should be US policy to support nations who are fighting an internal or external communist threat. Initially intended only for Greece and Turkey but soon extended globally. Not only military means were used. Economical means, like the Marshall Plan, could be used. There is a lot of information so don t overwrite. Dealing with a question where you may know too many points requires that you emphasise your main points and briefly mention points of minor importance. The most important points are: 1. Help was given both to Greece and Turkey and they remained within the Western camp. 2. Truman was able to pass the Marshall Plan through the Congress in 1948. The effect of the Marshall Plan is normally considered as successful and led to a massive industrial growth with a GNP growth in Europe of around 15 25% annually. 3. From the late 1940s substantial aid was given to Japan to build a stronghold against communism in Asia. 4. Through the Berlin Airlift Berlin was saved from a communist takeover. 5. Germany was given both economic and political support. In 1949, the independence of West Germany was proclaimed and she received substantial economic aid. 6. In April 1949 NATO was founded. Twelve states joined the organisation and according to article 5, an armed attack against one or more be considered an attack on them all. 48 Germany became a full member in 1955. 7. In 1950, there was full support for South Korea when they were attacked by the North. 8. To achieve containment and to stop the expansion of communism the NSC-68 report was implemented from 1950. It led to a massive US military build-up. 9. Containment and the Truman Doctrine were now implemented in Asia. The US started to support the French in the Indochina War and support was also given to protect Taiwan. The build-up of Japan was strengthened. 10. With Eisenhower a partly new foreign policy was introduced called the New Look. However, this policy was in essence not different. The aim was to prevent the spread of communism globally and to contain it. The talk about rollback proved to be rhetorical. 11. In 1954, the South-East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) was created by the US, France, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan, with the main aim of preventing communist expansion in South-East Asia. 12. In 1954, CIA supported a coup in Guatemala. 13. In 1955, the Baghdad Pact was formed between Britain, Iraq and later Iran and Pakistan with the aim of excluding the USSR from the Middle East. The US didn t join this pact but unofficially clearly supported it. 14. In January 1957, Eisenhower launched his Eisenhower Doctrine : the US Congress gave him the right to provide economic and military assistance to any Middle East country threatened with armed aggression or internal subversion. As a result of this the US intervened in Lebanon in July 1958. 15. West Berlin survived 1958 1961. 16. Trade embargo against Cuba and the Bay of Pigs in 1961. 15,000 US advisors in Vietnam. Conclusion: Summarise your main points. 47 Hanhimäki, J. M. and Westad, O. A., eds., The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, p. 291. 48 Edwards, O., The USA and the Cold War 1945 63, p. 50. 63