Chapter 5

A Hard and Bitter Peace

(Early Cold War 1948 1953)

20th Century World- Cold War

(p. 30-35)

Crises of Early 1948

Treaty of Brussels- March 17, 1948
Britain, France, and Benelux Nations (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) Purpose- Anti-Soviet military alliance to combat Soviet control of Eastern Europe Planted the seeds of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Crises of Early 1948

Israel becomes a nation- May 14, 1948
Jewish State in Palestine causes turmoil for Brits
Arabs angered over Jewish immigration Zionists angered at Brits for not giving them land in Palestine

Neighboring Arab nations fight back against the Jews Israel wins and expands beyond UN-established borders
Palestinian Arabs become refugees

US and USSR both recognized the new Jewish State (although for different reasons, which will result in definite hostilities in the region in the future)

The Blockade of Berlin

December 1947- London Conference of Foreign Ministers failed on the German Question March 1948- Soviet delegates walk out of Allied Control Council for Germany
Blamed the western delegates of undermining the fourpower administration of Germany

Red Army started to obstruct traffic between Berlin and western occupation zones
Berlin was divided into zones of occupation within East Germany (a Soviet sphere of influence)

The Blockade of Berlin

Even with Byrness Stuttgart Speech (US will stay in Germany as long as Red Army) West Berlin had become hostage to Soviet Army
90 miles inside Soviet-controlled Germany

The West was beginning discussions of a West German State

Stalin disapproved as he thought that was opposed to the idea of a perpetually weakened Germany

Confrontation begins when Stalin demands all incoming and outgoing trains to Berlin be examined (March-May, 1948)

The Blockade of Berlin

June 1, 1948- US, Britain, France, and Benelux reach a six-power accord on Germany June 18, 1948- West announced the abolition of all occupation currencies in West Germany and West Berlin and established the deutsche mark (done to aid rapid recovery to the German economy) June 23, 1948- Soviets establish their own East zone currency June 24, 1948- Soviets cut off all road and rail access to West Berlin

The Blockade of Berlin

US General Lucius Clay suggested military operation to fight their way through the blockade Truman, Marshall, Acheson disagreed about the success of such a move June 29, 1948- Truman announced that the US would stay in Berlin
News leaked that sixty B29 bombers were being dispatched to England

Idea was to place the onus for war on the Soviets by flying in food and supplies in a non-aggressive move to aid the West Berliners

The Blockade of Berlin

US C-47s began to land in Berlin (Tempelhof, Tegel, and Gatow) at the rate of one every three minutes
Carefully limited flight corridors from Hamburg, Hanover, and Frankfurt Soviet air defenses let them through

Stalins price for calling off the blockade was the Wests abandonment of efforts to create a West German State
West would not negotiate and Stalin knew he couldnt wage an air war with them Stalin would not authorize the shooting down of US planes and allowed the crisis to drag on

Formation of NATO
April 4, 1949- creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Washington
Britain, France, Benelux Nations, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Canada, and the US Agreed to provide mutual assistance against any aggression occurring in the North Atlantic Agreed to collaborate closely in matters affecting strategic planning, arms production, and military training

Formation of NATO
Headquartered in Paris First commander was Dwight D. Eisenhower December 20, 1950- signatories of Treaty of Brussels agreed to merge their military establishment with that of NATO

Formation of The German Federal Republic

March 19, 1949- Soviets approve a draft constitution for a separate East German State April, 1949- signing of an Occupation Statute for West Germany
Reserved considerable powers to the occupying authorities West Germans gain considerable autonomy

May 8, 1949- The Basic Law of the German Federal Republic was promulgated
Attempted to duplicate the democratic provisions of the old Weimar Constitution

May 23, 1949- German Federal Republic (West Germany) was officially created with its capital at Bonn

Formation of The German Federal Republic

May 12, 1949- Berlin Blockade quietly ended August, 1949- Christian Democratic Union wins the first West German elections September 15, 1949- Konrad Adenauer became Chancellor
West Germany was transforming into an ally of the US

October 7, 1949- official establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) December 15, 1949- West Germany received its first allotment of Marshall Plan aid

Advent of the Atomic Arms Race

September, 1949- US aircraft detected increased levels of radioactivity over the northern Pacific Ocean After much inspection, the West realized their worst fearsthe USSR had conducted a successful test of its first atomic weapon
Years before the West thought they could

Both East and West began working on hydrogen bombs

Thousands of times more powerful than the first atomic weaponry

Nuclear arms race was on

Advent of the Atomic Arms Race

1945 to 1949- US enjoyed a diplomatic advantage due to atomic bomb Obstacles to this situation for the US
Western Allied demobilization of military Soviet superiority in conventional forces
Eventual atomic weaponry of their own

Moral and political constraints upon US use of atomic weaponry

Advent of the Atomic Arms Race

US sought to stall Soviet acquisition of atomic weapons and to prevent a nuclear arms race United Nations Atomic Energy Commission
Established in 1946 to monitor the development of nuclear technologies and ensure their peaceful use

June, 1946- Baruch Plan

Proposal to place all fissionable materials under international control, to set up an inspection system to make sure that all nations complied, and eventually to destroy all existing atomic weapons Rejected by Stalin because he did not want UN investigators poking their noses into Soviet nuclear development and, through espionage, they knew that the US was attempting to gain control of the known sources of uranium and thorium and thus effectively monopolize atomic energy

Advent of the Atomic Arms Race

1950- The Gromyko Plan
Called for the destruction of all existing nuclear stockpiles, followed by the implementation of a monitoring system based on periodic inspections of declared weapons facilities No provisions for punishing violations or for unannounced visits to undeclared facilities US rejected this plan as they would not allow secretive progress in Soviet plans to develop nuclear weaponry

Advent of the Atomic Arms Race

US and USSR positions (Baruch and Gromyko Plans) set the tone for the next several decades of arms control negotiations US was fearful that the Soviets would cheat so they would not enter into any negotiation that did not provide adequate safeguards USSR, with its affinity for secrecy and its fear of revealing its strengths and weaknesses, did not want to allow outsiders to inspect either its arms plants or its military installations Became the most frightening and ominous aspect of the Cold War- all out war would be increasingly unthinkable

West Germanys Role in a Stable Europe

Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Finance Minister Ludwig Erhard
Responsible for a fifteen-year period of full employment, increases in the gross national product, and unprecedented prosperity
Known as Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle)

West Germanys Role in a Stable Europe

The Schuman Plan
Proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schumann and French Marshall Plan director Jean Monnet Designed to integrate the coal and steel industries of the West Developed into the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Six nation treaty at Paris- France, Italy, Benelux Nations, and West Germany Idea was to make an intensely close relationship between Germany and France that there couldnt possibly be future war Franco-German relations flourished through the 1960s

West Germanys Role in a Stable Europe

The Pleven Plan
Proposed by French Prime Minister Rene Pleven Purpose- to protect Europe from the USSR during the Korean War (as US troops fought in East Asia) Called for the creation of a multinational European army composed of small contingents from each nation as an adjunct to ECSC Possible creation of a European Defense Community (EDC)
Signed by the six signatories of the ECSC in May 1952

West Germanys Role in a Stable Europe

French National Assembly held up the ratification of the treaty in 1953
Stalins death and the end of the Korean War gave them pause

EDC was shot down in August 1954

Britains traditional isolation played a role Lack of political body to control the multinational army played a role

USSR was happy to see that West Germany would not rearm just yet
Although West Germany is accepted into NATO in 1955 German question still at large!

Stalin and the German Problem

Post-German Blockade Soviet policy toward Germany Abandonment of the policy of plunder East Germany was no longer looked upon as a place to demolish, but as a buffer state (as part of the Eastern Bloc) Bringing Soviet satellites into line Stalin ensured strict adherence to his wishes through a series of brutal purges and show trials The Prague Proposals German remilitarization should be forbidden A unified German state should be constructed without delay All occupation forces should be withdrawn within one year of the signing of a German peace treaty

Stalin and the German Problem

As time wore on, the concerns of both East and West was the intentions and capabilities of each
Intentions could always change Prudence suggested defense against capabilities

Suspicions prevented each side from negotiations in 1950

The dividing issue- The German Problem

US preferred a separate, rearmed Germany USSR preferred a unified, neutral Germany

Stalin and the German Problem

March 10, 1952- Molotov proposed fourpower talks on German unification
Moscow would be willing to permit a unified Germany to rearm as long as it remained neutral

US did not want to jeopardize the EDC treaty signing with difficult Soviet/US negotiations

The Persistence of the German Problem

1953- Stalins death Characteristics of Europe Eastern Europe was firmly within the Soviet camp (except Yugoslavia and Albania) Marshall Plan aid enabled Western Europe to rebuild its economies NATO provided Western Europe with a Cold War military shield against perceived Soviet ambitions and genuine Soviet capabilities In the midst of it all stood Germany
Divided by the Iron Curtain, barbed wire, watchtowers, guard dogs, minefields, and armies poised to spring across heavily defended borders