Form 4 Week 4

Hi everyone,

So we are about to venture out of 1945 and into 1946 and beyond. We've looked at Roosevelt and Truman and their part in triggering the Cold War, and touched on Stalin's contribution. This week we will look at the escalation of tensions in the late 1940s, and the growing acceptance by mid-1946 that the two former allies were indeed engaged in a  'Cold War'.

Our PowerPoint this week can be found at: goo.gl/gao22x

We will be finishing the Cold War documentary episode, 'Comrades' as well as  using our booklets in class.

Homework this week will be as follows:

1) Complete the focus task on p.323 of your textbook - Why did the Allies begin to fall out in 1945? Under the headings Personalities; Actions by the USA; Actions by the USSR; Misunderstandings - make notes to summarise how the deterioration in relations began as WW2 concluded. (Spend about 30 minutes on this)

2) Read pages 324-327 of the textbook (15 minutes)

3) Take notes from the map on p.324 under the heading 'The Communists in Eastern Europe' (20 mins)

4) Complete the Focus task on p.327 of your Modern History textbook - produce a briefing paper on the situation in Eastern Europe in 1948, using your map notes and reading to help you out. Refer to the suggested topics - Communist successes in Eastern Europe 1945-8 and the reasons for them; Stalin's plan for Eastern Europe; the methods being used by Stalin to control Eastern Europe; whether you think the USA should be worried.
This paper should be a minimum of a page and should take you 40 minutes.

For a non-textbook perspective, see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/sovietexpansionineasterneuroperev1.shtml

Also, here are some sources from the time, from the US perspective, on the start of the Cold War:







 


FYI - in the news - a book review of Westad's new book, The Cold War: A World History
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-reviews/coming-in-from-the-cold-war-36133579.html

And another recent news story, on the death of the Russian gentleman who might have prevented World War 3:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/soviet-officer-who-averted-cold-war-nuclear-disaster-dies-aged-77
 





Comments

  1. Sir, what misunderstandings were there between the USSR and the USA (1945)?

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    Replies
    1. I suppose this refers to such official misunderstandings as what each exactly meant at Yalta and Potsdam - for example, what did each mean by 'influence' in Eastern Europe, or by 'democracy' or 'elections' - so different definitions of important issues. Also, different perceptions of the others' aims and motives - for example, seeing the Russian actions in Poland as 'expansionism', seeing the USA's attitude towards war criminals as 'too lenient' and an attempt to keep the former Nazi supporters on side.

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  2. Sir, what misunderstandings took place between the USSR and the USA (1945)?

    ReplyDelete

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