It was said that the only way for Berlin to become reunited would be if all four countries agreed on it. The Berlin Wall was a border security installation built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on August 12, 1961. Officially called the Antifaschistischer Schutzwall (anti-fascist protection dike), the wall was to protect the GDR from aggressive acts by the West. In reality, the Wall functioned as a barrier to stem the massive exodus of skilled laborers to West Berlin and from there to West Germany. The wall’s purpose was to limit travel between East and West Germany, and it served
Karan Agarwal 12 E To what extent was the cold war a result of World War II? ESSAY PLAN Introduction v What was the Cold War? v Differences between USA and USSR Yes, it was a result of the Second World War: v v v v The question of a ‘second front’ during the war had worsened relations between USSR and USA USA had used the Atomic bomb without informing USSR (distrust) The USSR had suffered enormously from the war while the US emerged stronger (threat to USSR). The was a power vacuum in the heart of Europe was filled by The Red Army, that controlled Eastern Europe, which increased the USSR’s sphere of influence (threat to USA). v v Yalta conference agreements resulted in Germany being divided into zones of occupation and Berlin was to have a western zone.
The French had got back their land called ‘Alsace-Lorraine’ and Poland had also got back their piece of land called the ‘Polish Corridor’ from the Germans. The League of Nations (including Britain, USA and France) formed in hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war and the breakup of the Austro – Hungarian and the German Empire. The repercussions of Germany’s defeat and problems with the Treaty of Versailles are generally agreed to be factors contributing to World War II. The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after The First World War had ended in 1918.
The Second World War ended in 1945 with the victory of ‘the Grand Alliance’ of the USSR, the USA and Britain. Although on the surface it appeared the West and the Soviets had reached a mutual understanding in their quest to defeat the Axis powers, strains in their relationship during the war and in the years preceding it suggests that conflict was imminent. Thus, certain actions by both the USA and the USSR can be interpreted as prompting the Cold War as early as 1945. As the Cold War did not involve direct conflict between the USA and USSR, locating its origin is a topic of contention. However, the breakdown in relations between the emerging superpowers during the war and the consequences of the disbandment of the Grand Alliance can be interpreted as the start of the Cold War.
Yalta was the first event in the time period, and was where ‘the big thee’, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met and discussed the reorganization of Germany and Eastern Europe after WWII. Divisions over Europe became apparent as there were disputes over the Polish border, and Germany was to be divided into four zones. This ended reasonably, though shortly after, Roosevelt died and Truman acceded to the presidency. This came as a shock to the system and was where relations began to deteriorate. The allies met at Potsdam in July 1945, where the German division was agreed, though there were still disagreements over Poland.
This was also the motivation behind Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill’s cooperation during the Yalta conference of February 1945, as the war against Germany, although in its final stages, was still raging. This changed at the Potsdam conference of July, by which time Germany had already surrendered; the common enemy was no longer a binding force, the old allies were left to fall apart. This disintegration continued from 1945 until its climax at the Berlin Blockade of 1948. The orthodox reason for the change from allies to enemies, incessantly campaigned in IGCSE textbooks, is that, as the Wehrmacht retreated between the Yalta conference in February and the Potsdam conference in July 1945, the Red Army remained mobilised. Stalin, apparently defying decisions made at Yalta, did not liberate the countries in Eastern Europe, but instead occupied them with his troops, much to the vexation of the Western allies.
The Teheran Conference (in Iran) took place in 1943 and the agreement made by the United States and the Great Britain was that the Soviet Union would be granted more territory, such as eastern Poland, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. The United States also provided weapons, food, and other supplies to help support the Soviet Union’s fight against Germany. There was also talk of strategies for how to defeat the Nazi’s (Germany). Stalin wanted to launch a full-scale attack against Germany, but this attack didn’t take place until two years later. This was the start of Stalin not trusting the United States and Great Britain.
The first step of Hitler’s foreign policy was to remove the limitations, which had been placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany would regain the lands lost in the settlement, together with its overseas colonies. According to Hitler, the German people needed lebensraum or living space, which could only be provided by conquering territory from the inferior Slav races to the east of the fatherland. In 1935 Hitler decided that the time had come to further test the resolve of other European leaders. The Treaty forbade Germany to station troops or build fortifications within 30 miles of the River Rhine.
To what extent did Gorbachev contribute to the break-up of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact? Under the control of Stalin, communist states in Eastern Europe were forced to join the Warsaw Pact in 1955, which was a military alliance against the US NATO. Besides, earlier in 1947, he also launched the Molotov Plan which was an economic assistance to the Soviet satellites, had brought a great economic burden on itself. Luckily, there’s an upturn of Soviet after 1984. Gorbachev, who was the new General Secretary in 1985, was to a large extent contributed to the break-up of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact.
Because of the disagreement with the foundation of a countries’ structure, the USA and the USSR were strange bedfellows during the Second World War. Their alliance was purely strategic. The underlying differences between the supreme capitalist nation (the USA) and the original communist state (the USSR) were bound to re-emerge once Germany and Japan had been defeated. Both of the Superpowers saw each other as a threat to its continued survival and adopted strategies to preserve their positions, which brought a high level of tension after World War 2. At the final stage of World War Two, it was quite clear that the Allies would get the final victory, so in February 1945, Stalin (USSR), Churchill (UK) and Roosevelt (USA) met at Yalta to discuss