The Cold War origins, 1941-1948 - AQAThe world after WWII and before the Cold War

The USA entered World War Two against Germany and Japan in 1941, creating an uneasy alliance of the USA, Britain and the USSR. This alliance would ultimately fail and break down into the Cold War.

Part of HistoryThe Cold War and Vietnam

The state of the world after World War Two and before the Cold War

The USA entered World War Two against Germany and Japan in 1941, creating the Grand Alliance of the USA, Britain and the . This alliance brought together great powers that had fundamentally different views of the world, but they did co-operate for four years against the Germans and Japanese. The Grand Alliance would ultimately fail and break down into the Cold War.

The 1941 alliance formed between USSR, USA and Britain, on the left, and the German/Japanase allied together on the right

The alliance of the USA and the USSR brought together two sides that were divided by their political and economic . The USA and Britain were countries, while since its foundation after the 1917 Russian Revolution the USSR had been .

However, the actions of and its ally, Japan, in World War Two had driven these two political enemies together.

  • Britain had been at war with Germany since Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.
  • The USSR allied itself with Britain in 1941 when Germany began to invade its territories.
  • In December 1941, Germany’s ally, Japan, launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. This action brought the USA into World War Two on the same side as Britain and the USSR.

Revision tip

It's important to know the difference between:

Politics

Democracy Dictatorship
Several political parties representing different sectors of society One-party state
Governments are chosen by democratic elections No democratic elections and no opportunity to change the government by election
Democracy Several political parties representing different sectors of society
Dictatorship One-party state
Democracy Governments are chosen by democratic elections
Dictatorship No democratic elections and no opportunity to change the government by election

Economics

Capitalism Communism
People are free to set up private businesses and make money for themselves All businesses and factories are owned by the state
Individual rights and freedoms are important Individual rights and freedoms are less important than obedience to the state
Capitalism People are free to set up private businesses and make money for themselves
Communism All businesses and factories are owned by the state
Capitalism Individual rights and freedoms are important
Communism Individual rights and freedoms are less important than obedience to the state