TYPE: Individual work / Home Essay / Essay in class

TOPICS: 3 topics 1917-1939

1. Pre-WWII (1917-1939)

2. World War II (1939-1945)

3. Origin of the Cold War (1945-1949)

PURPOSE: To understand major events and be familiar with the leading characters in the Cold War during the whole period. It’s very important to have good knowledge about the origin of the Cold War. The first question in topic 5 Cold War (Paper 2) is always about the origin!!!

MATERIAL:
Rogers/Thomas = 1-42
Williamson = 1-84

NOTE:

• Definition of the Cold War
• Time period (1945-1989/1991)
• Cold War timeline
• THEORIES
• The Orthodox view
• The Revisionist view
• The Post-Revisionist view
• Post-Cold War view
• European perspective
• Soviet perspective
• “Balance of Power” versus ideology
• Definition of ideologies; Capitalism (Economic and political definitions)
• Definition of ideologies; Communism (Economic and political definitions)
• Background;
• Bolshevik Revolution 1917
• Russian Civil War 1918-1920 (21/22)
• Diplomatic isolation of the USSR (1920’s)
• Appeasement policy (1937-39)
• Non-Aggression Pact (Nazi-Soviet Pact) August 1939
• USA and USSR
• Idealism – Achievement of ideals – Self-Interest? – Imperialism…
• Stalinism
• Before WWII
• During WWII
• Differences 1945: economy and human losses
• Definition “Superpower”
• Military
• Economic
• Political
• WWII
• Grand Alliance
• The Atlantic Charter (August 1941)
• The Casablanca Conference (January 1943)
• The Cairo Conference (November 1943)
• The Tehran Conference (November 1943)
• The Percentages Agreement (October 1944)
• The Yalta Conference (February 1945)
• The Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)
• Problems:
• Poland
• Germany
• Economic Reconstruction
• A-bomb (at Potsdam Conference)
• Sovietization (Salami tactics) – development in Eastern Europe
• Greek Civil War (1944-1949) – strong communist resistance movement
• Turkey - Soviet support for minorities
• Iran - Soviet pressure
• Growth of Communist Parties in Western Europe (esp. Italy and France)
• ACC – Allied Control Council
• Paris Peace Conference – Foreign Ministers (April-July 1946)
• Bizonia (British and US zones merged) – January 1947
• Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers (March-April 1947)
• Truman Doctrine (March 1947)
• COMINFORM (September 1947)
• London Conference of Foreign Ministers (December 1947)
• Czechoslovakian Coup (February 1948)
• Marshall Plan (March 1948-1952)
• Soviet reaction – “Dollar Imperialism”
• Brussels Pact
• London Conference of Foreign Ministers (June 1948)
• Berlin Crisis (Berlin Blockade) (March/June 1948 – May 1949)
• National Security Act
• Stalin’s “Two Camps” Doctrine
• COMECON (January 1949)
• NATO (April 1949)
• Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (September 1949)
• Konrad Adenauer – first Chancellor of FRG
• German Democratic Republic (GDR) (October 1949)
• Important documents:
• Kennan - "The Long Telegram" (February 1946)
• Churchill - "The Iron Curtain Speech" (March 1946)
• Stalin - response to "The Iron Curtain Speech" (March 1946)
• Byrnes - speech in Stuttgart ("US Army will stay in Europe") (September 1946)
• Mr X (Kennan) presents the "Containment Policy" (Time Magazine July 1947)

Paper 2:

• How, and to what extent, did the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam (1945) contribute to the origin of the Cold War? (May 2003)
• In what ways, and to what extent, did mutual distrust and suspicion cause the Cold War? (November 2003)
• For what reasons, and with what results, was Germany a centre of Cold War tension between 1945 and 1961? (November 2003)
• To what extent did events in the final year of the Second World War turn wartime allies into Cold War enemies? (May 2004)
• Compare and contrast the policies of the USA and the USSR towards Korea between 1945 and 1955. (May 2004)
• Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan on the development of the Cold War between 1947 and 1961. (May 2004)
• Assess the part played by differing ideologies in the origin of the Cold War. (May 2005)
• In what ways, and with what results, was Germany the key focus of the early stages of the Cold War? (May 2005)
• To what extent were Soviet policies responsible for the outbreak and development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949? (November 2005)
• Identify and explain the significance of two of the following in the development of the Cold War: COMECON; Marshall Plan; NATO; Warsaw Pact. (November 2005)
• Compare and contrast the social and economic effects of the Cold War on two countries each chosen from a different region. (November 2005)
• “An unnatural alliance that was bound to fall apart after the defeat of the common enemy.” To what extent does this statement explain the origin of the Cold War? (May 2006)
• Compare and contrast the roles of China and Germany in the Cold War. (May 2006)
• Examine the part played by economic issues in the development of the Cold War. (May 2006)
• Analyze the responsibility of the USA and the USSR for the outbreak and development of the Cold War, up to 1949. (November 2006)
• Compare and contrast the economic policies and military alliances of the USSR and USA after 1947. (November 2006)
• Assess the part played by differing ideologies in the origin of the Cold War. (May 2007)
• In what ways, and with what results, was Germany the key focus of the early stages of the Cold War? (May 2007)

Paper 3:

• In what ways, and for what reasons, did the Soviet Union ’s Cold War policies affect Germany between 1945 and 1961? (May 2003)
• Assess the impact of the foreign policy of either Stalin between 1941 and 1953, or Khrushchev between 1956 and 1964, on the USSR and Europe . (May 2004)
• In what ways, and with what results, did one western European country recover from post-war problems between 1945 and 1970? (May 2004)
• What were the main political and economic problems faced by one central or eastern European country (excluding USSR ) between 1945 and 1990? (May 2004)
• Analyze the effects of the Second World War on the USSR between 1941 and 1948. (May 2005)
• Assess the political consequences of the Second World War in two European countries between 1939 and 1950. (May 2006)
• “The Cold War both helped and hindered the recovery of post Second World War Western Europe.” To what extent do you agree with this judgment? (May 2006)
• In what ways, and with what results for Europe between 1939 and 1949, was the Second World War a “total war”? (May 2007)
• Compare and contrast the political careers of Adenauer in Germany and de Gaulle in France after 1945. (May 2007)