East-West Boundaries

Cominform (1947), Comecon (1949) and NATO (1949)

Different alliances helped to further solidify the divide between the USA (and the west) against the USSR (and the east).

Cominform (1947): “Communist Information Bureau”

Cominform was a Soviet organisation that tried to encourage communist uprising in nations across Europe.
Cominform would try to encourage communist parties, like the Revolutionary Communist Party in Great Britain, whilst also trying to destroy communist opposition in the USSR's satellite states in Eastern Europe.

Comecon (1949): “Council for Mutual Economic Assistance”

Comecon was Stalin's answer to the Marshall Plan.
Comecon gave countries financial aid and encouraged them to trade with the USSR.
Any nation that joined the Comecon was banned from accepting any money from the Americans under the Marshall Plan.
The Soviet Union's satellite states - Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and East Germany all joined Comecon.

NATO (1949): North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

NATO is a military alliance that is still in place today. It was founded in 1949 and united the USA, France and Great Britain under a new military alliance with the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Canada.
NATO is based on the idea of 'collective security'. Collective security means that if 1 nation is attacked, all the others will fight on its behalf.
In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became a member of NATO.

Perspectives on NATO

As Comecon was a response to the Marshall Plan, the Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union's response to NATO.
This created a split camp of nations in NATO and accepting Marshall Aid vs nations in the Warsaw Pact (signed in 1955) and accepting Comecon money.

Perspectives on Cominform

The historian Mark Pittaway says that the USSR didn't try to look like they were working democratically. USSR-supported communists used military influence and in Yugoslavia and Albania the Communists governed through a democratic front until they got 93% of the vote in rigged elections of 1945.

The Berlin Crisis (The Berlin Blockade and Airlift)

After World War 2, Germany and Berlin was split into 4 different zones. These zones would harden over time into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Agreements at the Potsdam Conference

At Potsdam (July 1945), the Allies agreed that Germany, and within Germany, the city of Berlin, would be divided into four zones of occupation. One would be run by each of the USA, Britain, France and the USSR.
The USA wanted a united, capitalist Germany.
- On the other hand, the Soviet Union wanted Germany to be divided and under the communist sphere of influence. This would make sure that Germany could not attack the Soviet Union again.

Joining the zones

On the 6th of September 1946 AD, The US Secretary of State James Byrnes said 'the US has formally announced its intention to unify the economy of its zone with any or all other zones'.
On the 1st of January 1947 AD, the USA and Britain joined their German zones. This created a new quasi-country called 'Bizonia'.
In April 1949 AD, the French part of Germany joined Bizonia to make 'Trizonia'.

Tensions around Trizonia

Trizonia began to get funding under the Marshall Plan (and West Germany would receive $1.45bn in funding from the Americans).
Stalin and the Soviets thought that the creation of Trizonia broke the agreements made about the end of the war at Yalta and Potsdam.

Further tensions in Berlin - economy and food

After the creation of Trizonia, West Berlin was controlled by France, Britain and the USA. Berlin was positioned in the Eastern part of Germany, which was controlled by the Soviet Union.
- So Berlin was very reliant on Soviet-controlled Germany for food and other vital resources.
On the 20th of June 1948, Bizonia introduced a new currency called the 'Deutschmark' in Operation 'Bird Dog'. Businesses could get Deutschmarks for Rentenmarks at a 1:1 exchange rate, but savers would get 1 Deutschmark for 15 Rentenmarks.
West Berlin was also becoming wealthier and more prosperous as it began to receive money from the Americans under the Marshall Plan.

The Berlin Blockade - June 1948

On the 24th of June 1948, 8 days after the introduction of the deutschmark, the USSR shut down all transport links into West Berlin. West Berlin was now isolated from Trizonia. Essentially no food or supplies from Trizonia could reach West Berlin.
The Western powers did not want to look weak and also wanted West Germany to be a strong economic force against communism.
However, attacking or breaking down the Soviet military blockades of roads and railway lines could cause a war between the Soviet Union & Trizonia allies.

The Berlin Airlift - June 1948 - May 1949

The Western allies, led by the USA decided that an airlift would be the best solution. It was peaceful, did not cause a war with the Soviet Union, but kept control of West Berlin. On the 26th of June 1948 until the 12th of May 1949, the Americans flew supplies into West Berlin.
- The pilots flying in the supplies were often called “Rosinenbombers” (raisin bombers) because they dropped confectionery, sweets, and other food from the skies.
- A new airport, Tegel, was built in West Berlin to help the Airlift run more efficiently.

Consequences of the airlift

The airlift was a peaceful show of strength from America. The USA peacefully mounted a huge operation to give West Berlin supplies. The Soviets looked mean and self-interested, having shut down rail and road links into West Berlin for clearly political reasons.
The operation was also a humiliation for the Soviet Union and Stalin. Whatever their plan had been, it failed.
The divisions between East and West hardened as a result of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift. On the 23rd of May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany was created, with Bonn as its capital. On the 7th October 1949, the Soviet Union would create the German Democratic Republic, a Soviet satellite state within Germany.

1The Cold War

1.1Early Tension

1.1.1The Grand Alliance

1.1.2Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

1.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Potsdam Conference

1.1.4Ideological Differences Between the Superpowers

1.1.5Early US-Soviet Relations

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Early Cold War Tension

1.1.7Grade 9 - Early Tension

1.2The Development of the Cold War

1.2.1The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

1.2.2East-West Boundaries

1.2.3End of Topic Test - East & West

1.3The Cold War Intensifies

1.3.1The Arms Race

1.3.2The Hungarian Uprising

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Developing Tension

1.3.4Grade 9 - The Development of the Cold War

1.3.5Exam-Style Questions - Hungarian Uprising

1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70

1.4.1The Berlin Wall

1.4.2Czechoslovakia

1.4.3The Cuban Missile Crisis

1.4.4End of Topic Test - Cold War Crises 1958-70

1.4.5Grade 9 - Cold War Crises

1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West

1.5.1SALT & Helsinki

1.5.2End of Topic Test - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.3Grade 9 - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.4Exam-Style Questions - Helsinki Accords

1.6The End of the Cold War

1.6.1Flashpoints

1.6.2Reagan & Gorbachev

1.6.3The Collapse of Soviet Control

1.6.4End of Topic Test - Reducing Tensions and The End

1.6.5Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War

1.6.6Exam-Style Questions - Eastern Bloc Collapse

Jump to other topics