The Origins of the Cold War
Yalta - February 1945
This took place before the end of the war, but the Allies knew they
were going to win.
Churchill
· He recognised the danger and wrote to the US urging that action be
taken to stop the USSR's "onward sweep."
· He did not trust Stalin, although he tried to have good relations
with him.
· He did not dare criticise Russia too much as the public in Britain
had been impressed by Russia's courage and sacrifice against the
Nazis.
Roosevelt
· He regarded Churchill as someone who just wanted to hang on to the
British Empire. The USA had no intention of helping Britain in the
task. Instead, the aim was to keep the Allies together.
· He was keen that all people should be able to choose their own
government through free elections, and he wanted a new peacekeeping
organisation to be set up after the war.
· He did his best to get on with Stalin and treat the USSR fairly,
giving them the benefit of the doubt, to Churchill's annoyance.
Stalin
Stalin saw things differently to the other two leaders. When he talked
about "free elections," he meant something quite different from
Roosevelt. He would never have agreed to the election of
non-communists in countries occupied by the Red Army, only elections
to elect different members of the Communist Party. He had no intention
of leaving the USSR open to attack. He wanted to create a buffer zone
of friendly communist states between Russian and Germany.
Decisions made
1. To divide Germany into four zones of military occupation.
2. To give all the Allies access to the capital, Berlin, which was in
the So...
... middle of paper ...
...
Churchill on 5 March 1946. The speech was made at Fulton, Missouri and
Truman was in the audience and had read the speech before it was
given. Churchill called for an American-British alliance to fight
against the communist menace. He justified this by saying that "an
iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie
all the capitals of the ancient states of central and Eastern Europe:
Warsaw (Poland), Berlin (Germany), Prague (Czechoslovakia), Vienna
(Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Bucharest (Romania) and Sofia
(Bulgaria). All the famous cities lie in the Soviet Sphere and all are
subject to a high and increasing control from Moscow." Stalin was
furious with Churchill and Truman as he felt this was a public
declaration of hostility. It would be referred to in Soviet propaganda
for years to come.
In conclusion, many soviets citizens appeared to believe that Stalin’s positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been down played by many of Stalin’s successors as they stress his achievements as collectivizer, industrializer, and war leader. Among those citizens who harbor feelings of nostalgia, Stalin’s strength, authority , and achievement contrast sharply with the pain and suffering of post-revolutionary Russia.
...lped educated the Russians. He even helped turn Russia from a Back ward agricultural state into the world's second greatest military and industrial power- Stalin modernized Russia.
The terms hawks and doves' were quick labels attached to politicians in order to categorize their views on war and foreign policies, as to make them understandable and accessible for the public. However, these labels were not always accurate and in some cases could be quite misleading; it would have been more accurate not to label individuals as either Hawks or Doves, but instead, what they stood for.
COLD WAR During 1945 and early in 1946, the Soviet Union cut off nearly all contacts between the West and the occupied territories of Eastern Europe. In March 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned that "an iron curtain has descended across the Continent" of Europe. He made popular the phrase Iron Curtain to refer to Soviet barriers against the West (Kennedy 1034). Behind these barriers, the U.S.S.R. steadily expanded its power.
QUESTION 2: The Cold War is an international conflict, a global fight between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in Europe in the wake of World War II but quickly expanded into Asia and the Third World. These international events, however, undoubtedly influenced domestic American politics between 1945 and 1965. How did the international Cold War shape, influence, or change domestic American politics in the first twenty years of the conflict?
There have been many attempts to explain the origins of the Cold War that developed between the capitalist West and the communist East after the Second World War. Indeed, there is great disagreement in explaining the source for the Cold War; some explanations draw on events pre-1945; some draw only on issues of ideology; others look to economics; security concerns dominate some arguments; personalities are seen as the root cause for some historians. So wide is the range of the historiography of the origins of the Cold War that is has been said "the Cold War has also spawned a war among historians, a controversy over how the Cold War got started, whether or not it was inevitable, and (above all) who bears the main responsibility for starting it" (Hammond 4). There are three main schools of thought in the historiography: the traditional view, known alternatively as the orthodox or liberal view, which finds fault lying mostly with the Russians and deems security concerns to be the root cause of the Cold War; the revisionist view, which argues that it is, in fact, the United States and the West to blame for the Cold War and not the Russians, and cites economic open-door interests for spawning the Cold War; finally, the post-revisionist view which finds fault with both sides in the conflict and points to issues raised both by the traditionalists as well as the revisionists for combining to cause the Cold War. While strong arguments are made by historians writing from the traditionalist school, as well as those writing from the revisionist school, I claim that the viewpoint of the post-revisionists is the most accurate in describing the origins of the Cold War.
Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War OUTLINE: Introduction- 1. Definition of ‘Cold War’ and the Powers involved 2. Perceived definition of ‘start of Cold War’ 3. Iron Curtain Speech, Truman Doctrine and Berlin Blockade as significant events that caused strife between both powers, but which triggering off the start of the Cold War Body- 1. Iron Curtain Speech (1946) - A warning of Soviet influence beyond the acknowledged Eastern Europe - Churchill’s belief that the idea of a balance in power does not appeal to the Soviets - Wants Western democracies to stand together in prevention of further
...ding his goals, but the results do in no way justify the horrible number of deaths and suffering that came from Stalin’s rule.
After World War II America and Russia became superpowers. Even thought they fought together against the Nazis they soon became hostile rivals. Between 1945 and
In the beginning Josef Stalin was a worshiper of his beloved Vladimir Lenin. He followed his every move and did as he said to help establish and lead the Bolshevik party. Much of the early part of his political career was lost due to his exile to Siberia for most of World War I. It wasn’t until 1928, when he assumed complete control of the country were he made most of his success. After Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin promoted his own cult followings along with the cult followings of the deceased leader. He took over the majority of the Socialists now, and immediately began to change agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union was one hundred years behind the West and had to catch up as quickly as possible. First though he had to seal up complete alliance to himself and his cause.
The Cold War was the longated tension between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. It started in the mid 40’s after WWII had left Europe in shambles and Russia and the USA in superpower positions. The Cold War was a clash of these supergiants in political, ideological, military, and economic values and ideas. Though military build up was great on both sides neither one ever directly fought each other. In this essay I’m going to bring forth the following points: Rise of the Cold War, events in and because of the Cold War, and the fall of Russia.
The cold war was a conflict between capitalist’s nations and communist nations following World War 2. The main reason the Cold War was started was over an ideological power struggle between atheistic communism and democratic capitalism. The principle players were the former Soviet Union (Communism) and the United States (Capitalism). The Cold War began in 1948 after Germany was divided between the western allies and the Soviets. What motivates a nation to become involved in world affairs is the idea of wanting other nations to adopt the same form of government.
was a loyal communist who sacrificed his own life so his people could have a
boosted the USSR’s economy. Therefore Stalin had created a country which seemed corrupt at the time, but later on it improved by the hard work Stalin had forced upon them.
Stalin united his people through a common love. Similar to George Or... ... middle of paper ... ...