Cold War Origins: 1945-1962

Cold War Origins

• Tehran (Iran) Conference, December 1943– 1st meeting of the “Big Three”– Stalin DEMANDS that the Allies open a Westen

Front (invade France)– Ethnic and political boundaries of Yugoslavia and

Turkey are discussed

Cold War Origins

• Yalta, February, 1945– Unconditional surrender of Germany/Japan– Poland in question- USSR promises free

democratic elections– Partition of Germany- 4 zones controlled by allied

powers– German reparations?

Post War Economic Security

• The Bretton-Woods Conference• Summer 1944: 44 allied nations meet in NH• Set up the IMF (International Monetary fund),

the World Bank, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

• Set up a foreign currency exchange standard

Post War Economic Security:The Goals of Bretton-Woods

• To aid political stability• To establish a system of exchange rates• All member countries were required to

subscribe to the IMF’s capital (U.S. currency becomes the standard)

• To lower barriers to trade and ease the movement of capital

Cold War Origins: Basic Questions

• Read Henretta 783-790. Stop before “Containment Militarized: NSC-68”.

• What were the major post-war disagreements or tensions that led to the Cold War?

• What was the goal of the Marshall Plan, and why did it enjoy bipartisan support?

• What were the two defense agreements that solidified early Cold War alignments?

For Tomorrow:

• Read Henretta 791-794 from “Containment in Asia” to “Impact of the Korean War”

• Take notes!– Why do we focus on Japan instead of China?– What about the U.N. and China?– Impact of the Korean War on U.S. Foreign Policy?

Key Players in the early days of the Cold War

• George Kennan– U.S. State Department employee– Originator of “Containment” of Soviets– Critic of NSC-68, McCarthyism, Vietnam conflict

• John Foster Dulles– Secretary of State under Eisenhower (‘52-’59)– Containment is not enough, advocated for

“rollback”

Key Players in the early days of the Cold War

• Vyacheslav Molotov– Soviet politician/advisor, protégé of Stalin– USSR Minister of Foreign Affairs 1939-1949– Negotiated for Soviets at many conferences at the

end of WWII (Tehran, Yalta, etc…)– Opposed Marshall Plan, Consolidated Soviet

power in Eastern Europe