Cold War

Origins of the Cold War

Ideological Differences and Postwar Competition

The wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union concealed major ideological differences. The United States promoted capitalism, while the USSR promoted communism.

After World War II, Europe was devastated and colonial empires were weakening. The Soviet Red Army remained in Eastern Europe, contributing to the formation of a Soviet bloc, while the United States pursued policies intended to contain communism.

Key Events

• Yalta Conference (February 1945): U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met to discuss the postwar situation.
• End of World War II: The United States used an atomic bomb in Japan, and Japan surrendered.
• Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech (1946): Churchill described the division between Western Europe and Soviet-influenced Eastern Europe. The “iron curtain” came to represent the separation between capitalism in the West and communism in the East.
• Truman Doctrine (March 1947): President Harry Truman pledged U.S. military, economic, and political assistance to countries threatened by communism. The lecture presents this as a major, long-lasting shift in American policy.
• Marshall Plan (announced June 1947): Also known as the European Recovery Program, it provided investment to rebuild Western European economies. The lecture explains that U.S. aid was also intended to reduce the appeal and influence of Soviet communism. Before-and-after photographs of Stuttgart illustrate the rebuilding.
• NATO (1949): Western European countries formed a collective security alliance to strengthen their defense against the Soviet Union and communism.
• Warsaw Pact (1955): Led by the Soviet Union, this alliance countered NATO and represented the communist bloc in Eastern Europe.

Central Historical Question

The lecture asks, “Who started the Cold War?” Historians have disagreed, and students are directed to examine primary-source documents and develop their own answers.

Speakers and Sources

• Speaker: An unnamed lecturer or instructor.
• Historical figures discussed: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman.
• Sources and materials referenced:
  • A postwar timeline
  • A map showing the Iron Curtain and the NATO and Warsaw Pact blocs
  • An audio link to Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
  • Photographs and captions showing Stuttgart before and after Marshall Plan aid
  • A series of primary-source documents assigned for analysis