INTRODUCTION
In 1939, the Communist USSR entered into a pact with Nazi Germany containing a secret protocol that divided the eastern part of Europe into German and Soviet interests. While the two signed a non-aggression treaty that should last for ten years, it was only to buy time to prepare their troops to attack the other. Joseph Stalin, the de facto leader of the Soviet Union, was consumed about reforming his army after losing most of his senior officers, who were either detained or executed. Germany initiated the war against Russia in 1941 through Operation Barbarossa, the largest land strike in history. The Germans slaughtered twenty million Russians, including civilians, in an attempt to annihilate what Adolf Hitler referred to as sub-humans. In 1945, the Germans surrendered, and this put the Soviet Union in a strong position in the continent.
On the other hand, it was not only war that helped the communists to take power in East-Central Europe after 1944. Stalin and the communist parties took advantage of political, economic, and social factors to spread their influence across. Stalin believed that he must impose his own social system in each territory he would occupy, and this required a full-scale Soviet military presence throughout East-Central Europe. He did not succeed in his objective overnight, but set out to make certain that he, alone, would determine the political agenda in the region. Stalin also knew that it was the size of the Soviet Union that aided in the defeat of Germany and was the same factor that would protect the region from further attacks.
Some historians say that it was the Fulton speech of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on Iron Curtain that induced the Soviet Union to push for t...
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...e Western allied powers and the Soviet Union. In Yugoslavia, Tito signed a decree in November 1944 declaring the Germans as enemies of the people, and transferring their property into property of the government. In another law, Yugoslavia cancelled Yugoslav citizenship of ethnic Germans. Meanwhile, Poland and Czechoslovakia transferred more than ten million ethnic Germans from their former territories to the German occupation zones. Obviously, ethnic cleansing was used by the communist party as propaganda to stir up fear in the general population and make them believe that the targeted ethnic group is a threat to their security. The Germans were against the communist system, and their presence could become an impediment to the rise of communism. The Soviet Union claimed that the ethnic Germans should be driven out of their land so that order would be restored.
After World War II ended, Cold War alignments emerged. In 1946, Winston Churchill spoke against the USSR in his "Iron Curtain" speech. George Kennan's "Long Telegram" introduced the concept of containment, arguing that the US could keep communism from spreading by deterring Soviet expansion at critical points.
World War II left the Soviet Union feeling uneasy; Stalin had lived to see his country invaded a total of three times. Stalin was determined to prevent further damage to his country, so he began creating a buffer zone by essentially forcing the countries of Central Europe to agree to a communistic government that was closely aligned with the USSR. Stalin created the Warsaw Pact in 1955, which bound Central Europe together. However, after Stalin died his iron grip was no longer available to keep the countries of Central Europe in line. Stalin’s successor Khrushchev was an advocate for loosening of the iron grip. Khrushchev believed in the idea that there was “more than one road to socialism.” It was Khrushchev’s policies in regards to socialism
The Russians, who were also strongly affected by the war, were not deciding to retreat back to their borders without gaining anything - they were not allowed to attend the Treaty of Versailles or take part in agreeing on the terms and reparations that Germany was to pay off, thus getting no reward from participating in the war. Bitter with this prospect, Stalin decided to answer with his own set of policies, such as the ComEcom, ComInfor...
the downfall of communism, as it were, took so long was the veto power of
This meant that neither Germany, nor the Soviet Union, would invade the other country. This pact was made because the USSR wanted to remain at peace with Germany and secure time to build up their military, however, the pact did not last long (“Nonaggression Pact”). On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union without provocation. This lead the Soviet Union to join the Allied side of the fight. They were accompanied by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and many others. Although Stalin had led his country into joining the Allies, there were always underlying tensions between the countries.
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler gave the green light for the commencement of Operation Barbarossa to capture the heart of USSR, Moscow, in order to gradually diminish the power of the Allied forces in WWII. However, Hitler’s masterminded plan eventually began falling apart due to his own carelessness and over-confidence. For instance, Hitler miscalculation of postponing the operation to focus on other matters by several weeks proved to be crucial as the ferocious Russian winter arrived significantly earlier causing many German soldiers to freeze to death, while the Russians accustomed to the weather used it to their advantage (Royde-Smith). Hitler also underestimated Stalin’s ability to prepare enough troops due to his belief of German superiority,
When Joseph Stalin became the undeniable leader of Russia in 1929, he realized that Russia was far behind the rest of the world. He knew Russia would have to modernize quickly to catch up with their competitors. When World War II came along, He had already developed a strong army and was developing a promising economy to support his endeavors, but then Hitler decided to try and invade Russia surely enough he got a chunk of territory;...
On June 22, 1941, the Adolf Hitler launched a ruthless attack on his so-called ally, the Soviet Union. In December 1941, after a short five months, Operation Barbarossa, induced by the Nazi’s, failed. The Nazi Party ultimately fell to its demise, through the fail of Operation Barbarossa, from a combination of Hitler’s arrogance towards the Soviets as well as the Soviet response, but most importantly, Hitler’s greatest mistake: spreading his troops too wide across a colossal Russia.
Stalin was able to gain control of the Soviet Union through a series of political maneuvers that would change the face of the Soviet Union. His actions would tear the fabric of the revolution and would create a new way of doing politics in the Soviet Union. Stalin would go against many of Lenin’s teachings and would distort the history of the revolution to suit his needs. Each of these actions made is possible for all power to be consolidated to Stalin or to people he controlled never again would he openly face opposition.
of the beginning of the fall of Communism in Poland. The Communist government saw that the
Communism was the ideology followed by the Soviet Union. Originally founded by Karl Marx, it said that everything should be owned by the government and then divided up equally among the people who would then all work for it. For the communist party in Russia, their political system was always in danger. From the start of the Russian Revolution there have been dangers to communism. Before World War II most of the western nations ignored Russia simply because it was a communist state and the western nations actually supported Hitler because they believed that Germany would provided a buffer against Communism. The permanent threat against Russia gave the incentive to expand and spread communist influence as much as possible to keep their way of life intact, it was very much Russia against the world. However not only was the Soviet Union communist, they were totalitarian, meaning all the power was with the rulers. While this was effective for keeping the standard average of living the same for everyone and preventing poverty, it also led to a poor work ethic among the working population...
Lafeber, W. (2002), America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-2000. 9th edn. New-York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
On the 22nd June 1941, German forces invaded the Soviet Union under Directive 21. Under the codename “Operation Barbarossa”, it was recorded as the largest military operation ever seen in history as it involved more than 3 million Axis soldiers and 3,500 armoured vehicles. Throughout the war Operation Barbarossa was a conflict that demoralised the Germans and significantly contributed to the Allied victory.
to assume the role of dictator. This was a phenomenon which was to become a
Two factors of the Communist winning the war were their stable leadership and support of the people