The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 4.5.1
Blaming the Soviet Union for the Cold War
The ‘orthodox’ (traditional) interpretation placed the blame for the Cold War tensions on the Soviet Union and its aggressive expansion.
US government historians
- This was a view commonly held by historians who had been involved with the US government.
- including George Kennan and Herbert Feis
- These historians pointed to Stalin’s expansionist rhetoric as evidence for these views.
'Red Scare' historians
- This was a common view among English-speaking historians during the time of the Cold War.
- And particularly among those who had lived through the ‘Red Scare’.
- The 'Red Scare' was the fear that communism would spread from within the West and bring down capitalism.
Blaming the US Government for the Cold War
‘Revisionists’, prominent from the mid-1960s to the 1970s, were more critical of the US government, particularly given the scandals of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
Revisionists
- Revisionists believed that the USA had done little to directly aid the USSR during and immediately after WWII.
- They believed that the USA had used Marshall Aid as a way to achieve domination over Europe.
- Forcing the Soviets to behave defensively.
Opposite of orthodox
- This was a direct challenge to the views of orthodox historians.
- Orthodox historians believed that the USSR was to blame for Cold War tensions.
Test yourself on The Responsibility for Cold War Tensions
What is the name given to the interpretation of the causes of the Cold War that blames the Soviet Union and its aggressive expansion?
Who held the 'orthodox' view when placing blame for the Cold War?
Who do the 'orthodox' view place the blame for the Cold War with?
Which group of people were critical of the US government's responsibility for the Cold War tensions?
What is the revisionist view of Cold War responsibility a direct challenge to?