See this casahistoria site for further background:
War Time meetings/Agreements
- Good, clear starter pages of background & documents from
Spartacus Educational on:
-
 The Conferences In depth survey of all wartime meetings from
the excellent PBS site linked to
WW2 behind
closed doors TV series. Outlines, images, videos, key
bios and linked background items (eg
Katyn massacre). See also:
- The division
of Europe Useful topic documents (speeches/actual
agreements/ newspaper articles & images on the meetings and
agreements from Teheran to Yalta. Well produced by the European
Community, European Navigator site.
-
Casablanca, 1943 Outline and Agreement from Avalon Project
-
Casablanca This 1943 U.S. Army film offers an optimistic
overview of the Casablanca conference, the invasion of Sicily,
and overall Allied progress.
-
Yalta casts its shadow 60 years on BBC retrospective article
from 2005. Good intro.
- Yalta
Conference The actual terms agreed & Final Protocol
-
Yalta Places Yalta in context. Extract by Bruce L. Brager
from "The Iron Curtain: The Cold War in Europe"
-
The Big Three Decide Poland’s Fate Video extract from
excellent PBS site, "WW2 behind closed doors"
-
Differences between Yalta & Potsdam Clear basic interactive
chart to see key points at a glance. can be done as an exercise
or click on the hide/show button to see the full diagram at
once. From johnclare.net
-
We Were Together: U.S. and Soviet Cooperation in World War II
Photogallery of US-Soviet copoperation during the war. From
US America.gov site.
 |
 Potsdam
Go to the casahistoria
site on postwar Germany for details and consequences of
Potsdam |
2. The Roots of Disagreement
-
The
Origins of the Cold War Introductory lecture from The
History Guide
-
Origins of the Cold War Basic overview lecture by Prof
Rempel, Western New England College
-
Origins of the Cold War A look at the events and motives
produced by the Australian and New Zealand American Studies
Association & Australasian High School teachers
-
Divisions deepen Outline of the issue and other areas of
early friction from the lush NATO site
NATO Declassified. Includes timelines, straightforward
accounts of key stages in the NATO & the Cold War, documents,
videos
-
 Origins of the Cold War Clear basic interactive chart to see
key points at a glance. Can be done as an exercise or click on
the hide/show button to see the full diagram at once. From
johnclare.net
-
Origins of the Cold War Very useful collection of
documents from the period 1939-56, outlining the changes in
relations between the USA & USSR. From the Woodrow Wilson Center
for Scholars Document Collection.
-
The Causes of the Cold War Comic (but also quite clever) BBC
cartoon video by comedian Mark Steele. Looks simple, but best
(enjoyed?) if you know a little before you watch!! Has a built
in quiz.
-
Timeline of the Cold War Basic Thinkquest outline
- Biographies of the key players provided by US PBS:
Historiography:
How historians interpret the Cold War
(but don't get too tied up in this. I have seen too many students
get more involved in the theories rather than the history
itself....).
-
Historiography Very well written account of how historians
interpret the responsibility for the outbreak of the Cold War.
By the Australian and New Zealand American Studies Association &
Australasian High School teachers.
- Why
did the USA and USSR become rivals in the period 1945 to 1949?
Useful straightforward examination of the historiography of the
Cold war: Looks at the key ideas of Traditionalists,
Revisionists, Post-Revisionists, and Post-1991 writers
From johnclare schools site.
Collapse of the Wartime
Alliance
-
 Roosevelt-Stalin Correspondence Useful review by W Jones of
The Complete Correspondence of FDR & Stalin by Susan
Butler which provides an important insight into Roosevelt's
wartime shaping of his personal relationship with the Soviet
leader.
-
Churchill and Stalin Brief but useful essay by British
Foreign & Commonwealth Office on relations between the two as
shown by Documents held at the FCO
-
Cracks in the Grand Alliance 1996 Review of Oleg
Rzheshevsky's The substance of War and Diplomacy which
consists of 130 documents, more than half drawn from cypher
telegram traffic.
What emerges is that the very reshaping of the "grand alliance"
provided many of the grounds on which it first faltered and
finally failed: a temporary compromise over frontiers, a
smothered Polish question, failure to launch the second front in
1942 (or 1943), divergences of strategies and interests. By J
Erickson, Centre for Defence Studies, Univ of Edinburgh.
-
Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War 1939-1953 Useful
2008 review article by R F Baumann looking at three books which
examine Stalin's foreign policy at the time and his relations
with the western allies.
The position of Truman
Ideological differences
The issue of the Second
Front
US postwar dominance
-
 The
postwar dominance of the USA Sources and documents which
highlight the supreme position of the USA in 1945. Extracts,
images, speeches, press items & photos on the A-bomb monopoly,
Bretton Woods and the US stance toweards eastern Europe.
European Navigator site.
-
Atomic
Bomb: Decision - Truman Tells Stalin, July 24, 1945 A small
site which interestingly shows how Truman's announcement to
Stalin can be seen from the accounts of the different observers
present. Each describes the same event, but the event appears in
a different light to each observer.
-
John Lewis Gaddis on: The Soviet Response to Hiroshima
Brief but interesting item from the PBS American Experience
series. See also:
Political Use of the Bomb JL Gaddis on the difficulties of
using the A Bomb in a diplomatic sense.
-
Soviet Reactions to Hiroshima David Holloway Q&A session on
how Stalin saw Hiroshima as aimed at the USSR. PBS American
Experience site.
-
Atomic Diplomacy Outline article of the role of the atomic
bomb in postwar US foreign policy from the official US Office
of the Historian site
-
The atomic bomb, the cold war, and the Soviet threat 1988
New Monthly article by Alan G. Nasser argues that the U.S.'s
atomic threats and breaking of the Yalta agreements must have
stricken terror in the Soviet leadership and made them feel that
they had no alternative but to impose a tighter hold on the
states within their security zone.
-
America's Atomic Monopoly Essay examines the
four years following the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, when the USA enjoyed an atomic monopoly. Looks at how
the two Superpowers found themselves in the arms race of the
Cold War and asks why even America's atomic monopoly could not
'make Russia more manageable'. By David Clensy
winner of an essay competition for American Studies students at
the John Moores University in conjunction with the American
Studies Section of the JMU
-
See also Section 5 below
Allied friction over Germany
|
|
Divided
Germany Go to the casahistoria site on postwar Germany
and the Cold War |
3. The
Soviets & Eastern Europe
Soviet control of eastern
Europe
-
Prelude to the Cold War Outline of Soviet policy in post war
period from the excellent PBS
-
 WW2 behind
closed doors TV series. Outlines, images, videos, key bios
and linked background items. See in particular:
-
Communist takeover of E. Europe Clear basic interactive
chart to see key points for each country at a glance. Can be
done as an exercise or click on the hide/show button to see the
full diagram at once. From johnclare.net
-
The USSR and the creation of the buffer zone Very useful
resource from European navigator. Documents cartoons, radio and
press items, images & actual treaties with the individual east
European states. Focus is on military & political objectives of
USSR and Czech Coup.
-
Cold War in Europe map: simple set of maps from the BBC
-
The Growth of Communist parties in Western Europe Articles,
images, manifestos, press items on how the western Communist
parties emerged from the war in a stronger position. The
anti-fascist struggle, crowned by the victory over Hitler’s
Germany, brought glory to international Communism which Stalin
was able to use in his international propaganda. European
Navigator site.
-
Stalin’s National-Front Strategy for Europe, 1941-1947 A
lengthy Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars paper
by Eduard Mark which argues that Stalin wanted both communist
revolution in Europe & continued cooperation with his allies and
that his FP program took shape sufficiently early in the war
that it cannot be construed as a defensive response to Western
pressures on the Soviet Union.
Show Trials -
Stalinist Purges in Eastern Europe, 1948-1954 Online book by
George H Hodos (written 1988 before Soviet archives opened).
Shows how the trials were conducted in all seven satellite
countries, where the pattern differed from one country to
another, and how all the threads led back to Stalin. Hodos
observed and experienced the purge in Hungary at first hand; his
account of his own arrest, trial and imprisonment adds to the
impact of the book.-
Socialism, Stalinism and Eastern Europe A 2007 left wing
justification for the soviet control of eastern Europe by Phil
Gasper,editor of a comprehensive edition of the Communist
Manifesto.
-
Stalin’s socialist camp in Eastern Europe saved the world from
Third World War Short 2009 Pravda item - limited history but
interesting viewpoint linking back to Soviet perceptions at the
time.
-
Traditional national accounts of the process of Soviet control
from US Library of Congress:
The Czech Coup:
-
Third Republic and the Communist Takeover and
Stalinization Traditional account from US Library of
Congress (written 1987 but still worthwhile for basic events)
-
Strange death of Jan Masaryk Brief item from History.com
-
Prague, 1948: the February revolution UK New Statesman
article from 20 March 1948. In February 1948, parliamentary
democracy in Czechoslovakia was overthrown by Communist
one-party rule – a crucial stage in the outbreak of the Cold
War. A few weeks later, the only remaining non-Communist
minister, Jan Masaryk, apparently killed himself, though the
circumstances of his death were never resolved. The Labour MP
Richard Crossman was in Prague at the time, and wrote this
despatch exploring the complexities of the rebellion.
- 25 February
1948 - the Communists' "bloodless coup" 2005 Q&A session
from Radio Prague (includes podcast). See also these Radio
Prague items:
and ones that got away....
-
Greece:
-
Greek Civil
War Images, press items, cartoons, speeches. European
Navigator site.
-
Greek Civil War Looks at events and impact on course of
Cold War. From US GlobalSecurity.org
-
The Greek Civil War Useful documents and links to
articles from Marxist Internet Archive
-
The Greek Civil War Viewed from the North Essay which
looks at the attitude of Greece's (communist) northern
neighbours to the Civil War. By Jordan Baev, presented at an
International Conference in 1999 at King’s College, London
-
Austria:
-
Finland:
-
Yugoslavia:
4. The
West & Containment
Kennan
-
George Kennan Useful bio and intro to the Telegram with
extracts from Spartacus Educational
-
 George Kennan NPR podcast to the architect of
the U.S. Cold War policy of communist "containment,". Senior
news analyst Daniel Schorr reflects on Kennan's remarkable - and
initially anonymous - contribution to US foreign policy.
-
George Kennan UK Guardian obituary on the veteran diplomat
and historian who shaped US policy towards the Soviet Union for
more than 40 years. Good on placing the Telegram in context.
-
Kennan Telegram The essence of Kennan's 1946 Long Telegram
was published in Foreign Affairs in 1947 as The
Sources of Soviet Conduct and circulated everywhere. The
article was signed by "X" although everyone in the know knew
that authorship was Kennan's. For Kennan, the Cold War gave the
United States its historic opportunity to assume leadership of
what would eventually be described as the "free world." This is
the full 1947 article.
Churchill & Iron Curtain
-
Churchill's
Iron Curtain Speech Cartoons, text, images and reports on
the speech and other related 1947-8 speeches.
Well
produced by the European Community, European Navigator site.
-
"Iron Curtain Speech" NBC Newsreel of Churchill's famous
speech made at Westminster College in Missouri.
Truman Doctrine
-
Truman Doctrine Key points. The full text of the Truman
Doctrine is available
here.
-
Truman announces an end to US isolation 1947 newsreel: In
response to the growing Communist influence in postwar Europe,
Harry S. Truman states his support for American allies. This is
an excerpt of a 1966 NBC Special.
-
The Truman Doctrine, 1947 Description from the official US
Office of the Historian site
-
Truman Doctrine Timeline linked to key documents from Harry
S Truman library.
-
Truman Doctrine & Marshall Aid Clear basic interactive chart to
see key points at a glance. Can be done as an exercise or click on
the hide/show button to see the full diagram at once. From
johnclare.net
-
National Security Act of 1947 Brief outline of the
Act which set up the CIA & reorganised US security managemet.
From the official US Office of the Historian site.
Marshall Plan
|
|
Divided Germany For
the effect that containment had on the reconstruction of the
western zones of Germany and its consequences for relations
with Stalin over Berlin, go to this casahistoria site. |
5. Weapons of the Cold War: A-Bomb, Espionage & Propaganda
The Atomic Bomb
-
The Atom Bomb Basic overview and documents from
Spartacus Educational
-
The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb
Short history of the origins and development of the American
atomic bomb program during World War II. By F. G. Gosling, US
Dept of Energy.
-
 Building the Atomic Bomb Outline, images,
briefings from the actual Los Alamos National Laboratory
-
AtomicBombMuseum.org Background and impact of the two
A bombs on Japan
-
The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II A Collection of
Primary Sources from the excellent US National Security Archive
-
The Basics of Nuclear Weapons looks clearly at
some of the most frequently asked questions about nuclear
weapons, such as, "What types of nuclear weapons exist? What are
the effects of a nuclear explosion? Which countries possess
nuclear weapons?" From Nuclear power Peace Foundation.
-
Presidential Nuclear Policies & Events Useful selected
documents on US Presidential policy towards nuclear weapons from
Nuclear power Peace Foundation:
Harry Truman |
Dwight Eisenhower
-
US Civil Defense film US 1950
newsreel. At an atomic bomb test in the Nevada desert, entire
houses are blown apart. The audience is warned that it would be
impossible to survive a nuclear attack.
-
The Acheson-Lilienthal & Baruch Plans, 1946 Article about
the 1946 presentation, before the UN Atomic Energy Commission
(UNAEC), of the proposal for the creation of an international
Atomic Development Authority to establish international
oversight of the use of atomic energy in the hopes of avoiding
unchecked proliferation of nuclear power in the post World War
II period. From the official US Office of the Historian site
-
Race for the Superbomb PBS site
-
The First Proliferation: Waiting for the Soviet Bomb 2010
review by F N von Hippel (prof of public and international
affairs at Princeton) of Red Cloud at Dawn by MD Gordin
which outlines clearly the impact and consequences of the USA
bomb in leading to the USSR developing their own, and the US
escalating nuclear weapons research aimed at the USSR.See
also
Nuclear Monopolist NY Times review of same book by N
Thompson, author of “The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze,
George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War.”
-
The B-52 bomber goes into service. 1955 US Newsreel of
deployment of the B52 nuclear bomber. With a wingspan of over
135 feet, it is America's largest jet bomber in history.
-
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of
the Cold War a US National Park Service with links to
related sites and descriptions of the silo.
Living
with the atomic threat
-
CONELRAD Cold War Pop Culture Site Quirky, but
scroll down the page for interesting nuclear ephemera!!! see
also:
-
Atomic interesting site with links to
popular songs with anti-bomb themes from the 1940's & 1950's
-
 Cold War Culture: The Nuclear Fear of the 1950s and 1960s
With superpowers in the east and west testing powerful new
weapons, the Canadian race for self-preservation took off in the
early 1950s. The rising of the Iron Curtain intensified the
threat of mass destruction, as communication between the
Americans and Soviets came to a screeching halt. Fascinating
videos & news items from Canadian Broadcasting.
-
Civil Defense Museum very interesting site focusing on US
nuclear defense plans in the cold war. Posters, articles, videos
-
Living at Ground Zero Site
looking at civilian memories of living under the atomic shadow.
Sections on:
-
1950's
Cold War Propaganda - Fallout shelter A
short infomercial about nuclear war paranoia and fallout
shelters. A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially
designed to protect ...
-
Living in a Fallout Shelter Cold-War era film that
was meant to instruct Americans on how to live within a Fallout
Shelter should nuclear war have ever broken out.
Espionage
-
Spy Tools and Tricks Amusing & interesting set of photos
from LIFE Magazine showing the Spying business in the Cold War.
Methods
Technology
Agents
-
The Cambridge Spies The story of one of the most damaging
spy rings in British history: Burgess, Philby, Maclean, Blunt &?
- and the astonishing reason they weren't more effective. BBC
-
Early Cold War Spies: The Espionage Trials That Shaped American
Politics Detailed review by John Ehrman of book
by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr. Published on CIA
website....
-
The spy who started the Cold War Bit of an exaggeration, but
this item from The Times shows how MI5 and KGB files have
revealed the identity of the agent who passed Britain’s atomic
bomb secrets to the Soviet Union and triggered the Cold War
-
10,000 East Germans Spied for the West Article about a 2007
study which shows that the West Germans had fully 10,000
agents snooping on their Communist neighbours. And it seems they
knew about the Berlin Wall before it went up.
By Siobhán Dowling for Spiegel Magazine.
Propaganda
6. General Sites & Resources
- Cold
War Basic outlines of key events from Spartacus Educational.
Good place to make a start and
includes
Cold
War Figures -
biographies of major figures from this time period.- Cold
War Excellent school
resource for students beginning to look at the Cold War
-
NATO Declassified Interesting site by NATO itself. Includes
timelines, straightforward accounts of key stages in the NATO &
the Cold War, documents, videos
- The Cold War
International History Project (CWIHP) Useful site presenting
new information and perspectives on the history of the Cold War,
in particular new findings from previously inaccessible sources
from the former Communist world.
-
Vint Hill Cold War
MuseumUseful online museum that is easy to use
with links to virtual exhibits, overview articles, photo
galleries, documents, newsletters and many other collections of
cold war related material set out clearly by decade.
-
BBC -
History: Cold War a series of articles on key aspects of the
Cold War from the BBC educational site.
Documents
-
The Cold War Files Very good site produced by Wilson Center
for Peace for interpreting history of the Cold War through
Documents. Includes clear overview items on events and bios on
key figures.
-
European Navigator Useful
topic documents (speeches/actual agreements/ newspaper articles
& images on the post 1945 period from a west European
perspective. Use the " historical events" folder on the
left to find your area of study. Well produced by the European
Community.
-
Avalon Project at Yale Excellent range of documents from the
20th Century Documents : 1900 - 1999 list
-
The CAESAR, POLO, and ESAU Papers This thorough collection
of declassified analytic monographs and reference aids,
designated within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Directorate of Intelligence (DI) as the CAESAR, ESAU, and POLO
series, highlights the CIA's efforts from the 1950s through the
mid-1970s to pursue in-depth research on Soviet and Chinese
internal politics and Sino-Soviet relations. The documents
reflect the views of seasoned analysts who had followed closely
their special areas of research and whose views were shaped in
often heated debate.
-
Presidential Nuclear Policies & Events Useful selected
documents on US Presidential policy towards nuclear weapons from
Nuclear power Peace Foundation:
News
the casahistoria Cold War sites:
Origins of the Cold War
Divided Germany, 1945-49
Korean War
Thaw to Cuban Missile Crisis
Space Race
Vietnam War
SALT, Detente
and Collapse
v10.08
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