Discuss the origins of the Cold War in post World War II Eastern Europe.

Atlantic Charter- world in which nations abandoned trad. Beliefs in military alliances and
spheres of influence and governed their relations with one another through democratic processes
with intl org. serving as the arbiter of disputes and protector of every nations right to self-
determination.

VS

Vision of USSR / kind of GB. Brit. Unsure of implications of self-deterination and USSR
determined to create sphere to secure itself in central and eastern Europe as protection v. future
aggression from west.

Poland question :FDR and Churchill willing to move border west to allow stalin to annex part of
Poland, but the part that would remain indpenedent was a problem b/c they couldn’t agree on
what type of govt would run it FDR and CH agreed onexiled govt that was in London; stalin
wanted to install pro communist govt that spend the war in the ussr; issue left unresolved.

^referred to Lublin vs. London poles in govt – agreement was vague/unstable 758

Roosevelt want to reconstruct and reunite germany

Stalin wanted to impose heavy reparations on germany and ensure a perm. Dismemberment of
them.

Agreed to split gy into zones determined by pos. of troops @ end of the war + Berlin

Truman refused to allow Russians to claim reparation from allied powers 789

Containment – us and allies wished to contain the threat of soviet expanision.

Truman Doctrine created 1947 b/c It must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who
are resisiting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outsode pressures. Truman
requests 400 million for aid to Greece and turkey where stalin and communists forces were tryin
got conquer them. US aid helped ease soviet pressure on turkey and helped the greek govt defeat
communist insurgents. Estab’d am. Foreign policy that would survive for more than 30 years.

Why did stalin view this part of Europe as his sphere of influence?

Stalin wanted a buffer area that would secure him from western attack; If he had a sphere of
influence that held the same beliefs as him, he was less likely to be attacked by them and more
likely to be supported by them. Eastern Europe also did not want to gain any part of the Marshall
plan (12 billion.)
What was America’s reaction to and what policies/programs did the US formulate to
combat the Soviet Menace?

Possibly UN was in response b/c each nation had veto power

Truman and Potsdam 759

Truman Doctrine ($400 mil. To Greece and Turkey )- 760

Berlin Airlift-The US avoided military conflict with Soviet blockade of Berlin when allied pwrs
came to agreement to combine western zones of berlin and delivered food and supplies to
Berliners. 762

NATO-april 4 1949 12 nations sign North Atlantic Treaty Org. declares armed attack v. one allie
= attack v. all.

Red China- Chiang nationalist gov vs. Mao communist. U.S. supports Chiang kai-shek

Soviet atom bomb – Containment expanded by Natonal Security council report-68 called to stop
communism and to use more military power

What result did the spread of communist influence have in the US itself? How did that
affect the government and American society as a whole?

HUAC was created to investigate communists and prosecute them. Made everyone scared of
getting on black list and losing their job.

Paranoia b/c HUAC investigations, Hiss trial (cast suspicion on liberal democrats+ Nixon = nat’l
figure/helpd win senate seat in ‘50) Loyalty investigations (reviewed loyalty of fed. Gov’t
employees ), Rosenberg Case (Members of communist party convicted of selling nuclear secrets
to USSR)

MCCarthyism – rep. senator from Wisconsin who claimed to know 205 communists in the state
dept. and carried out investigations to find them

Sci-fi movies portray fear of communists

Bad year for democrats-780

Why were Americans so fearful of communist subversion?

Fear of what they don’t know and of having private property taken from them

Scared of soviet development of atomic bomb-could kill them = communist