The Cold War [1945-1991]

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The Cold War [1945-1991]

Europe has had its fair share with wars and battles. However most of them were of two peculiar and stand out types of war. They were either Wars of Ideology: what other men and women were allowed to believe, or Wars of Succession, and the balance of power. The cold war for the first time combined both of these characteristics of the European modes of wars. The cold war was fought to determine the fate of Europe which was divided between two great superpowers of the European tradition, the market economy driven United States of America, and the Old Russian autocracy reborn as the Soviet Union through the ideology of communism.  

“The history of the cold war has been the history of the world since 1945”. It wasn’t a confrontation between two empires, it was, “a total war between economic and social systems, an industrial test to destruction”. Nevertheless it was also a fight between two conflicting values. The West believes in the ideas of a market economy, free enterprise and a multi party democracy. These qualities were cherished as a necessity. The scenario in the East was quiet contrasting. While the west believed in free enterprise, market economy and democracy the East was driven, by a command economy and single part statism, a.k.a, Dictatorship. The obvious conflict in beliefs, ideas and values, and the stubborn nature of those who defended these ideas vehemently were the driving force behind the cold war.

This paper will examine the events of the Cold War period [1945-1991], and attempt to prove, how the technology and the identity of the United States and the USSR were altered during a period of fear and distrust.

Yalta to the Bomb

                The most interesting thing about the Yalta conference was that it had somewhat of a dual personality. It was the last one of the wartime conferences, and at the same time, the first one of the post-war summits. It’s ironic that the big three met here, because the duality in the character of Yalta was also foreshadowing the future. The main purpose of the Yalta conference was to reestablish all the nations in Europe, which were conquered by Germany in WW II and to seek a firm promise for Soviet military support for defeating Japan. Stalin had an obsessive fear of another attack on the Soviet Union and this was obvious to Churchill. The likes of River Rhine in France, or 21 miles of channel in England or the vast oceans that surrounded America were not present ensuring Russia’s safety. Hence there was much to give and take. Finally it was agreed that Stalin would control Berlin and the Eastern half of Europe, while the west controlled the Western half of Europe. Stalin agreed to unquestionably join the war against Japan after Germany surrendered. However upon return from Yalta, and the victory over Germany, Roosevelt was not received humbly back home. Most of them criticized Roosevelt for giving away Easter Europe through blind trust in Stalin. Roosevelt had defended himself and the move by saying that he had done the best he could and had hoped that the issue would be handled further by the United Nations. He also felt that Russia needed to be appeased in order to gain their support in the war against Japan.  To Roosevelt’s surprise, Stalin failed to keep his promise. He prevented popular elections in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria by assigning permanent Communist governments to each and suppressing all democratic supporters. “By the End of the European War, Soviet dominance of Eastern and Central Europe was a military fact”. Thus Yalta’s dual personality took human form. This relates to my thesis, because, Stalin’s failure to keep his promise paved way for the harsh foreign policies of Truman and other US presidents to follow, towards Russia. The identity set up here was, you oppose the US and you would pay a price. Mean while the United States didn’t want to loose a powerful ally, and did nothing. The US didn’t want to start an opposition towards Russia just yet.

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                It was now time to concentrate on Japan; this is where the technological change comes in to action. The United States of America had to give a befitting reply to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Harry Truman was now at the helm after succeeding Roosevelt upon his death. Under Truman’s presidency work accelerated on the Manhattan project. Started in 1942 by General Leslie Groves; Neils Bohr, Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, and Enrico Fermi were four major scientists who perfected it. On the 16th of July, the eve of the Potsdam summit, Truman received the news that the first atom-bomb test in ...

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