Who was to blame for the Cold War? Cambridge IGCSE History revision
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In plain words
For twenty years Western historians blamed Stalin. Then a new generation blamed the USA. Today most say that two frightened giants misread each other. The exam does not want a verdict handed down. It wants the case for each side, and a reason for your choice.
7 things to know
- The case against the USSR. Stalin broke the promise of free elections that he made at Yalta. He imposed communist governments on the countries of eastern Europe.
- He blockaded West Berlin in 1948 in an attempt to force the West out. He set up Cominform to direct communist parties abroad. To the West this looked like a plan to spread communism everywhere.
- The case against the USA. Truman took a much harder line than Roosevelt had. The USA developed the atomic bomb in secret and used it without telling its ally, which looked like a threat.
- The Truman Doctrine treated every communist movement as part of a Soviet plot. The Marshall Plan could be seen as a way of dominating Europe with dollars.
- The USA failed to understand Stalin's need for security after a war that had killed more than 20 million Soviet citizens.
- The case for shared blame. The two countries had opposite ideologies, and each believed that the other meant to destroy it. They had distrusted each other since 1917.
- Each side's defensive moves looked like attacks to the other. Soviet control of eastern Europe led to the Truman Doctrine, which led to Cominform, and so on. Neither could back down.
Worked example
"The USSR was more to blame than the USA for the Cold War." How far do you agree? Plan a 10-mark answer.
- USSR to blame: broken promises over free elections, the takeover of eastern Europe by 1948, and the Berlin Blockade.
- USA to blame: Truman's hostility, the atomic bomb, and the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, which Stalin saw as threats.
- Shared: opposed ideologies and mutual fear, with each side reacting to the other.
- Judgement: for example, that Stalin's actions in eastern Europe began the breakdown, but American reactions turned suspicion into a fixed confrontation.
Tips and tricks
- Organise the essay by blame, not by date. A paragraph on the USSR, a paragraph on the USA, then a judgement. A story of events from 1945 to 1949 earns far fewer marks.
- Use the same events for both sides. The takeover of eastern Europe is aggression to one side and self-defence to the other.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Who was to blame for the Cold War?: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Which action is evidence for blaming the USSR?
It broke the promise made at Yalta.
Which action is evidence for blaming the USA?
It deepened Stalin's suspicion.
What did the two superpowers disagree about most deeply?
Capitalism and democracy against communism and one-party rule.
What is meant by saying that both sides were to blame?
Suspicion fed on itself.
Why is "who started it" so hard to answer?Stretch
The same event supports both cases.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 22 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Who was to blame for the Cold War?
Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 22 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
Why can the USA be blamed for the Cold War?[6]
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Truman was more hostile to the USSR than Roosevelt had been. The USA kept the atomic bomb secret and then used it, which Stalin saw as a threat. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were seen by the USSR as attempts to surround it and to dominate Europe. The USA did not accept the Soviet need for security.
Why can the USSR be blamed for the Cold War?[6]
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Stalin did not allow the free elections in eastern Europe that had been agreed at Yalta. Between 1945 and 1948 he imposed communist governments across the region. In 1948 he blockaded West Berlin to drive the Western powers out. These actions convinced the West that he meant to spread communism further.
"The Cold War was caused by the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe." How far do you agree?[10]
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Agree: the takeover broke the Yalta agreement, alarmed the West and led directly to the Truman Doctrine and containment. Other causes: ideological differences going back to 1917; the atomic bomb; Truman's hard line; the Marshall Plan; the disagreement over Germany and the Berlin Blockade. Judgement: the takeover was the most important trigger, but it would not have caused a Cold War without the underlying distrust between two opposed systems.
Answers: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
- 1. Truman was more hostile to the USSR than Roosevelt had been. The USA kept the atomic bomb secret and then used it, which Stalin saw as a threat. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were seen by the USSR as attempts to surround it and to dominate Europe. The USA did not accept the Soviet need for security.
- 2. Stalin did not allow the free elections in eastern Europe that had been agreed at Yalta. Between 1945 and 1948 he imposed communist governments across the region. In 1948 he blockaded West Berlin to drive the Western powers out. These actions convinced the West that he meant to spread communism further.
- 3. Agree: the takeover broke the Yalta agreement, alarmed the West and led directly to the Truman Doctrine and containment. Other causes: ideological differences going back to 1917; the atomic bomb; Truman's hard line; the Marshall Plan; the disagreement over Germany and the Berlin Blockade. Judgement: the takeover was the most important trigger, but it would not have caused a Cold War without the underlying distrust between two opposed systems.