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Key Stages 3 and 4
Cold War
Cold War: Ideology
Ideological differences caused the breakdown in relations
between the Soviet Union and United States at the end of the
Second World War. Although the West’s fear of communism
can be traced back to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917,
previous hostilities were set aside to form the Grand Alliance
against Nazi Germany in 1941.
In trying to decide the fate of post-war Europe, cooperation
quickly turned into an atmosphere of mutual hostility and
suspicion. Tensions which were buried during the Second
World War quickly came to the surface. At the Yalta
Conference in February 1945 the cracks were beginning to
show, although relations were still cordial. But by the Potsdam
Conference in July 1945, the mood had changed and no
consensus could be reached over the future of Germany and
Poland.
Stalin, Churchill and
Truman with their staff
around the conference
table at Potsdam, 17 July
1945. With Germany
defeated, the conference
revealed the depth of
the deterioration in
relations between the
Soviet Union and the
West.
IWM Ref: BU_8985
The Second World War
The Soviet Union had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939. For
Britain and France, this confirmed the Soviet Union’s
untrustworthiness. However, the British and French policy of
appeasement towards the Nazi Germany before the war made
Stalin doubt the West’s opposition towards Hitler. During the
war, Stalin suspected that the delay in opening up a Second
Front against Nazi Germany was a deliberate move by the West
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Cold War: Ideology
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to exhaust the Soviet Union.
Capitalism versus Communism
The Soviet Union and the United States had two completely
different economic and political systems. Both were determined
that theirs should shape the future of Europe and the developing
world. A great deal of power and influence was at stake.
Capitalism and liberal democracy were the guiding principles of
the United States and the Western allies. The economy was
based on private enterprise and the pursuit of profit. The
political system advocated freedom of speech, worship and the
press. People were free to vote for any party or stand for
election.
The Soviet Union upheld the values of communism which are
based on the writings and theories of Karl Marx. He believed
that the wealth of a country should be collectively owned.
Therefore the economy was controlled by the state and
production was owned by the government. Communist regimes
were one-party states, with the press kept under tight control.
There are variations to the interpretations of communism,
which include Leninism and Maoism. Bolshevik leader Vladimir
Lenin extended the theories of Marx and emphasised the
‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. Maoism was named after the
Chinese leader Mao Zedong who established China as a
communist state in 1949. Maoism focuses on the agrarian
peasantry as oppose to the urban proletariat.
Why did the West fear Communism?
The guiding principles of capitalism and communism were so
different that a conflict was considered inevitable - the two
were regarded as mutually exclusive. For one ideology to
triumph, the other would have to collapse. Communism was
deemed a fundamental threat to the freedom of liberal
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Cold War: Ideology
The Soviet red flag is
displayed prominently at
an event held at the
Royal Albert Hall,
London in February
1943, to celebrate the
Soviet victory at
Stalingrad. During the
Second World War,
ideological differences
were set aside to form
an alliance between the
West and the Soviet
Union against Nazi
Germany. Just a few
years later, the Soviet
flag came to represent
the communist threat to
the West.
IWM Ref: TR_706
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democracy and Western society in general. The rapid takeover
of Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union caused alarm in the
West. Anxiety over the spread of communism increased
significantly when China became a communist state in 1949.
How did ideology affect everyday life?
The United States and the Soviet Union portrayed every
significant achievement from weapons development to sending a
man to the moon as a triumph of their ideology.
There was also competition over which ideology provided the
highest standard of living for its citizens. The United States used
sophisticated consumer goods as weapons against communism.
As part of the American National Exhibition (ANEM) in Moscow
in 1959, gleaming modern kitchens were put on display to
provoke envy and awe among Russians. The exhibition sparked
the famous kitchen debate between Nikita Khrushchev and
Richard Nixon.
The Soviet Union responded by claiming that communism could
give its citizens more than just modern consumer goods. The
state provided employment for everyone, and free health care,
education and housing. The Soviets declared that life under
communism was far better than anything that capitalism could
offer.
Poster depicting a May
Day parade, 1953. The
woman is wearing a red
sash labelled ‘Aktivist’
and in the background
are a public building,
flags and a banner of
Soviet leaders. May Day
(1 May) is also known as
International Workers’
Day or Labour Day and
is a significant date in the
communist calendar.
IWM Ref:
IWM_PST_8747
BritainÊs stance in the ideological divide
As a nation which upheld the principles of liberal democracy and
capitalism, Britain’s stance in the ideological divide was clear. However,
Britain did have a number of active left wing organisations which
included the Worker’s Revolutionary Party, the Socialist Party of
England and Wales and the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Each varied
in its interpretation of communism. Intellectual sympathy towards
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Cold War: Ideology
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Marxism tended to be more common among London’s educated, leftwing elite. The Communist Party of Great Britain existed from 1920 to
1991 but never achieved great electoral success. At its peak in 1945, it
received around 0.4% of the national vote.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact as ideological organisations
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was a military
alliance set up in 1949 between the United States, Canada and
most of Western Europe. It was formed in response to the
Berlin Blockade and was a collective defence against possible
attack from a communist regime. But as early as 1946, British
foreign minister Ernest Bevin had expressed his wish for a
‘Western Union’ and in March 1948 Britain, France, the
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg signed the Brussels
Defence Treaty. This promised military cooperation in event of
a war with the Soviet Union.
In 1955, the Soviet Union responded to the inclusion of West
Germany into NATO by forming the Warsaw Pact with eight
other communist countries. This military agreement was
intended to defend Eastern Europe from any threat from
Western capitalist countries. Although each member country
was meant to be equal, in effect the Pact came under Soviet
command. This also meant that the Soviets could use it to
legitimise their presence in Eastern Europe. Another important
purpose of the Warsaw Pact was to uphold communist regimes
and, from 1968, the Brezhnev Doctrine.
Opposing camps
By the time the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the ideological
divide between the Soviet Union and the Western allies had
solidified into two opposing camps. Both sides were committed
to defending their ideological stance. The Cold War only ended
with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The lights of the
Kurfϋrstendamm, West
Berlin in 1968. The
Kurfϋrstendamm was
one of the leading
shopping and business
streets of West Berlin,
showcasing the best that
capitalism had to offer.
IWM Ref: TR_30280_7
All source material used in these historical notes comes from the
Collections of the Imperial War Museum, has been generated by the
Their Past Your Future project, or is used by kind permission. Every
effort has been made to trace copyright holders and gain permission
for use of this image. We would be grateful for any information
concerning copyright and will withdraw images immediately on
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copyright holder's request.
(These Historical Notes have been reproduced from the TPYF/IWM
online exhibition What Lies Beneath: British Experiences of the Cold
War. For further primary sources, historical background, and personal
stories relating to this and other Cold War themes please visit
www.whatliesbeneath.org.uk)
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Cold War: Ideology