Origins of the Cold War:

Political strains within the Grand Alliance

Transition from Alliance to Cold War

What was the Cold War?

The Cold War was a climate of mortal fear and threat which affected the decision-makers of the US and the Soviet Union beginning, at the latest, in 1947 and ending, at the earliest, in 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe.

Political Strains within the Grand Alliance

1. The Legacy of the Soviet-Nazi Pact.

2. The delay by the Western Allies in establishing a second front in Europe.

3. Soviet-Western differences over the politcal future of the countries of East and Central Europe.

4. Soviet-Western divisions over the post-war future of Germany.

Landmarks in the Transition from the Grand Alliance to the Cold War

1. Joseph Stalin’s address at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, in February 1946.

2. George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” of February 1946.

3. The Iranian Crisis of March 1946.

4. Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech at Fulton, Missouri, March 1946.

5. The Novikov telgram of September 1946.