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Origins of the Cold War
Quick questions on The breakdown of the wartime alliance explained: N(A)-Level History
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is allies only against a common enemy?Show answer
During the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union fought on the same side against Nazi Germany. But this alliance was never built on friendship or shared values. It was an alliance of convenience: they cooperated because they had a common enemy. The two countries had completely different beliefs and had distrusted each other before the war.
What are opposite beliefs?Show answer
The most basic reason for the breakdown was that the two superpowers believed in opposite systems. The United States was capitalist and democratic: it believed in private business, free markets, and elections with more than one party. The Soviet Union was communist: it believed in state control of the economy and rule by a single Communist Party. Each side thought its own system was right and feared and distrusted the other.
What is the quarrel over Eastern Europe?Show answer
The sharpest disagreement was over the future of Eastern Europe, the countries between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had been invaded through this region and had suffered terribly in the war. Stalin wanted friendly, communist governments in these countries to act as a protective buffer against any future attack. To the Soviets, this was about security.
What are distrust at the wartime conferences?Show answer
As the war ended, the leaders of the main allies met at conferences to plan the postwar world. At first they managed to agree on some things, but as time went on the meetings revealed how far apart they were, especially over Eastern Europe and the future of Germany. Promises made at these meetings, such as allowing free elections in Eastern Europe, were not kept in the way the West expected. Each side came to feel that the other could not be trusted to keep its word, deepening the suspicion between them.
What are only listing causes?Show answer
Explain how each cause, beliefs, Eastern Europe, the lost common enemy, helped turn allies into enemies.
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