Origins of the Cold War

The Cold War began when the United States and Soviet Union could no longer work together after World War II. They had been allies during the war, but they did not trust each other.

The problems between them started even before World War II. The Russian Revolution in 1917 made the Western Allies wary of the Soviet Union.

After World War II, the two sides disagreed about what Europe should look like. The Soviet Union put governments in Eastern Europe that the United States did not like. In 1947, the US started the Marshall Plan to help Europe recover. The Soviet Union did not join this plan.

The first big problem between the two sides was the Berlin Blockade in 1948–49. The Soviets tried to stop West Berlin from getting supplies, but the US and its allies flew in food and fuel. By 1949, the Cold War was fully underway with the creation of NATO.

Russian Revolution

Main articles: Russian Revolution and Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

During World War I, Britain, France, and Russia were important friends. The United States joined them later. In 1917, a group called the Bolsheviks took control of Russia. After that, Germany, which was fighting in the war, sent troops into parts of Russia. This upset the allies very much. In early 1918, Russia signed a peace treaty with Germany called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This made many in the allied countries feel that Russia was helping Germany.

Because of this, the allies sent money and some troops to help groups in Russia who did not agree with the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks worked together as a strong team and finally defeated their opponents, taking full control of Russia and some nearby areas. The country was now alone, with other countries not wanting to work with its new government. The leader of Russia at the time, Vladimir Lenin, thought that the countries around them were not friendly and tried to keep those countries apart.

Interwar diplomacy (1918–1939)

Further information: International relations (1919–1939), Soviet Union–United States relations, and Russia–United Kingdom relations

The United States and the Soviet Union had different ways of governing their countries. The Soviet Union was led by one party, while the United States had many parties that competed. These differences made it hard for them to trust one another.

In 1933, the United States recognized the Soviet Union as a country. This happened because earlier issues, like debts and disagreements, were no longer as important. Both countries saw opportunities to trade more with each other.

Start of World War II (1939–1941)

Main articles: Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Soviet Union in World War II

Moscow was unhappy with Western actions toward Adolf Hitler after the Munich Agreement in 1938. This agreement gave Nazi Germany some control of Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union was not invited to the talks.

In 1939, the Soviet Union talked with Britain, France, and Germany about possible agreements. Later, the Soviet Union and Germany signed a Commercial Agreement. This agreement allowed them to trade military and civilian equipment for raw materials. They also signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the foreign secretaries of both countries. This pact secretly planned to divide Poland and Eastern Europe between them.

Wartime alliance (1941–1945)

Further information: Diplomatic history of World War II

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. This made the Soviet Union join with Britain. The United States joined later after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Even though they worked together, they did not always agree. For example, the Soviet leader wanted the Western Allies to attack Germany from another place sooner, but this did not happen until 1944.

During the war, there were many disagreements between the Allies. They had different ideas about how to keep peace after the war. The United States wanted countries to work together through international groups. The Soviet Union wanted to control areas near its borders to protect itself.

See also: Operation Unthinkable and World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West

Wartime conferences

See also: List of Allied World War II conferences

Several disagreements came from different views on meetings they had during and right after the war.

In late 1943, at the Tehran Conference, the Soviets were unhappy that the Western Allies had not yet attacked Germany in Western Europe. The Allies also talked about the situation in Iran, where both the British and Soviets had troops.

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Allies tried to agree on plans for after the war, but they could not fully agree on important issues like the future of Germany and Poland.

At the Second Quebec Conference in September 1944, Churchill and Roosevelt talked about plans for Germany after the war.

Some historians think the Cold War began when the US made a separate agreement with a German general in 1945.

Potsdam and the atomic bomb

Main articles: Potsdam Conference, Nuclear weapon, and Nuclear arms race

At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allies met to decide what to do with defeated Germany. The new US President, Harry Truman, took a tougher stance toward the Soviet Union. The US had developed atomic bombs and used them against Japan. The end of aid from the US to the Soviet Union after Germany surrendered also caused tension.

Creation of the Eastern Bloc

Further information: Percentages agreement, Cominform, Comecon, and Iron Curtain

After World War II, some countries in Eastern Europe were influenced by the Soviet Union. This happened because of secret agreements made during the war and because Soviet soldiers were in those areas. Leaders in countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Yugoslavia started to support communist ideas. This worried countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Soviet Union wanted to keep itself safe by creating governments that followed communist ideas in nearby countries. This changed how those countries were ruled and how their money was used. Many people wanted to move west, but new rules made it very difficult to leave.

Origins of containment

Further information: Containment

"Long Telegram" and "Mr. X"

Main article: X Article

As World War II was ending, some important people in the United States became worried about the Soviet Union. One of them, Averell Harriman, the US Ambassador in Moscow, felt let down by what he saw as the Soviet Union breaking promises about Poland.

In February 1946, George F. Kennan, who worked at the US Embassy in Moscow, sent a detailed message explaining why the Soviet Union did not want to join the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. This message was called the Long Telegram.

"Iron Curtain" speech

Main article: Iron Curtain

On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill gave a famous speech. He said that an "iron curtain" had come down across Europe, separating the East from the West.

Morgenthau and Marshall Plans

Further information: Morgenthau Plan, Marshall Plan, and Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948

After losing many people in World War II, the Soviet Union wanted to make sure Germany could not start another war. The United States had plans to keep Germany weak, but later changed its mind. In 1947, General George Marshall became the US Secretary of State and worked on plans to help Europe recover, including Germany.

Greece and Italy

Main article: Greek Civil War

In Greece, there was a civil war. The United States and Britain helped groups that were not communist. In Italy, Western Allies met with German representatives to prevent communist groups from taking control after the war.

Soviet military perspective

The Soviet military focused on defending the Soviet Union. They saw the formation of NATO in 1949 as a big threat and prepared their forces to respond. They kept strong military forces in Eastern Europe and formed their own alliance, the Warsaw Pact, to counter NATO.

Other regions

The Cold War happened around the world, but it looked a little different outside Europe. In Africa, countries were becoming independent in the 1950s. The United States and the Soviet Union tried to support friendly governments in these new countries.

Latin America

During World War II, the United States had good support in Latin America, except in Argentina. After 1947, the United States tried to get Latin American countries to oppose communism. Many were slow to agree—for example, only Colombia sent soldiers to help in the Korean War. The Soviet Union was weak in Latin America at first, only making trade deals with Argentina and Mexico. Later, in the late 1950s, it built relationships with more countries. The United States worried about possible communist threats and worked to stop them. It supported anti-communist groups and gave money to help economies grow. In 1954, the United States said that any communist government in Latin America was a danger. That year, with help from the United States, Guatemala changed its government. In 1962, Cuba was identified as a communist country and removed from a group of American nations.

Asia-Pacific

After World War II, British Malaya faced conflict as British forces fought against groups that wanted independence. In British Hong Kong, there was unrest after the war ended.

Australia joined the Cold War in 1950 by sending forces to the Korean War right after the United States did. Australia made a military agreement with the United States and New Zealand called ANZUS in 1951. At first, Australia was very upset with Japan because of World War II, but Japan became an ally in the Cold War.

China

After many years of fighting, the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong took control of mainland China in 1949. The leaders of the old government escaped to Taiwan. The United States tried to help both sides work together, but they couldn’t. When the Korean War began, the United States gave more support to Taiwan, while China helped North Korea.

Vietnam

Vietnam was fighting over its future after France and Japan left in 1945. The communist group, led by Ho Chi Minh, fought against French forces. China and the Soviet Union supported Ho Chi Minh’s side, while the United States supported the other side. Vietnam’s struggles became part of the bigger Cold War conflicts.

Middle East

Iran had tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western countries after World War II. The Soviet Union supported areas in northern Iran, but later withdrew, and Iran stayed aligned with Western countries.

The long conflict between Arab nations and Jewish people continued after 1945. Both the Soviet Union and the United States supported the creation of Israel in 1948. Later, the Soviet Union started supporting Arab countries instead. The Middle East remained a complicated area, but it wasn’t a main cause of the Cold War. By the 1950s, Arab nationalism in Egypt became important. The Soviet Union grew closer to Egypt, while the United States formed alliances including the Baghdad Pact with Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Historians on the causes of the Cold War

Main article: Historiography of the Cold War

Many historians think the Cold War began right after World War II, but others say it started much earlier, with the October Revolution in Russia in 1917. At that time, the Bolsheviks took control and made a new government. Their leader, Lenin, felt unsafe and tried to help revolutions in other countries through a group called the Communist International. But these efforts did not work.

Some historians say that distrust between the Soviet Union and Western countries began even earlier. They talk about events during and after World War I, when Western countries worried about communist ideas spreading. After World War II, tensions grew with new conflicts, weapons, and more countries involved.

The term "Cold War" became well-known in 1947, when a US leader used it to describe the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Historians still discuss who caused the problems in relations after World War II and if it could have been stopped. Some think the Soviet Union was responsible, while others blame the United States. Others believe it was a mix of misunderstandings, political differences, and conflicts between leaders like Harry Truman and Stalin.