Background (College Board AP® US History): Study Guide
Timeline & Summary
The United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II. The alliance dissolved after the war, when the Soviets installed their own governments in Eastern European nations. A cold war between the two nations began.
End of World War II
Start of the Cold War
The Cold War began as World War II ended in 1945
The Soviet Union had promised the United States that it would withdraw from Eastern Europe at the war’s end
The Soviet Union did not keep this promise
Instead, the Soviets installed their own governments in Eastern European countries, including Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany
The Soviets did this for two reasons:
To create a buffer zone between Germany and the Soviet Union just in case the Nazis rose to power again
The Soviets wanted to keep Germany weak so they could not attack the Soviet Union
To spread communism
The United States feared the spread of communism
Communism directly conflicted with the United States’ democratic capitalism
Unlike the Soviets, the U.S. wanted Germany to embrace democratic values so that it could become strong and contribute to a stable Europe
U.S. government officials stopped trusting their former Soviet allies
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You may be asked about the relationship between the United States and Russia/the Soviet Union and how and why it changed over the course of the 20th century. Remember, the nations’ relationship had been strained since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. That’s when the U.S. cut off diplomatic ties and refused to acknowledge communist Russia as a legitimate state. The Soviets and Americans came together during World War II because they shared a common enemy: the Nazis. Russia, in particular, was desperate for an ally that could weaken Germany while parts of Russia were under Nazi occupation. Once the war was over, both the Soviets and Americans raced to sway as many war-torn nations to their favored political and economic philosophies.
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