Which was the most important as a reason for the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-1955, Soviet expansion into Europe or the Formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact?

by perlie (student)

Perlie Mong

Both the Soviet expansion into Europe and the Formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact were important for the development of the Cold War, even though they contributed to its development in different ways. Therefore, which one was more important was open to discussion.

Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe started very soon after the end of WWII. At the Yalta Conference, it was agreed that Eastern Europe should be seen as a ‘Soviet Sphere of Influence’. However, by Potsdam Conference, Stalin had already set up a communist government in Poland against the wishes of the Poles and he refused to withdraw his troops in Eastern European states. This turned the Eastern European states into Soviet ‘satellite states’, which was not what the West meant by ‘sphere of influence’. Although Stalin claimed that it was merely a defensive policy to protect the USSR as he wanted a buffer zone on his western frontier, the West pretty much regarded it as expansion and aggression, especially when the USSR held rigged elections and murdered opponents in order to set up communist-dominated governments in the Eastern European states. This deteriorated the relationship between the two superpowers, which would later lead to the Cold War. Churchill appeared to fear this Soviet advance as early as 1945, which was further demonstrated by his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in 1946. Like the UK, America was also annoyed by the Soviet expansion, as it felt that the USSR was threatening its position as the world’s leading nation and the spread of communism might even threaten the American economy. President Truman soon realized that stopping further Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe was by using American resources, especially after the Greek crisis. The Truman Doctrine was issued in March 1947, which promised military aid from America in case of further Soviet expansion. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Aid (which gave economic aid to European countries to help them recover) were crucial in terms of the development of the Cold War, as suspicion finally turned into open hostility. Many communists actually felt that it was a declaration of war against Communism and so regarded it as the start of the Cold War. Because Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe caused the Americans to issue the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Aid, it was very important in the development of the Cold War.

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NATO was set up in1949, as a response to the Berlin Blockade. It was a military pact in which all the member countries agreed to help each other against any acts of aggression. This made the USSR felt victimized even though members of NATO claimed that its purpose is defense not aggression, especially after they grew in number. They saw it as an act of aggression, as stated in the Soviet protest note ‘NATO has an aggressive characteristic and is aimed against the USSR.’ After West Germany joined it in 1955, it also meant that the Americans could build air bases in Western Germany, which made the USSR felt threatened as West Germany was right next to its western frontier. As a result, the USSR established the Warsaw Pact with its satellite states, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Albania. Like NATO, the Warsaw Pact was also a military alliance for mutual defense. It also allowed the USSR to build air bases in Cuba, which was very close to America. This time the Americans were very threatened. Consequentially, the split between the two blocs were widened, as the world was now divided into two rivalry alliances. If a war broke out, all the countries of NATO and Warsaw Pact would be involved. Therefore, it is fair to say that these two organizations had increased suspicion and hostility between the two blocs. It was important to the development of the Cold War as hostility between the two blocs had reached a new height. It was also important because the Cold War now did not only involve the two superpowers, but involved the whole Europe. Because of the increased suspicion and hostility caused by the establishment of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, nuclear arms race was encouraged, as people believed that the more nuclear weapons you had, the more powerful you were as a country. The nuclear arms race created more jealousy, rivalry, fear and suspicion between the two blocs and continue to deteriorate the relationship between them, which was already very hostile.

In conclusion, I think that the Soviet expansion into Europe was more important for the development of the Cold War. This is because the Soviet expansion was essentially what started the Cold War off. Even though the USSR and the USA had very different ideologies, it did not necessarily have to lead to a Cold War between them. However, by turning Eastern European states into Soviet satellite states against their wishes really alarmed America, even though the USSR claimed that it was only trying to create a buffer zone. By expanding into Europe and spreading Communism, the USSR was threatening America’s position as the world’s leading nation and also its economy. Therefore it was not surprising that the Truman Doctrine was issued as a response to Soviet expansion. In a way, the establishment of NATO was a consequence of the Truman Doctrine, which was in turn caused by Soviet expansion. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the establishment of NATO (and later the Warsaw Pact) was an indirect consequence of Soviet expansion. Moreover, even though the establishments of NATO and Warsaw Pact encouraged nuclear arms race and involved many more countries other than the two superpowers, these would happen even without the two organizations. In a way, the nuclear arms race started when Truman told Stalin about American success in developing the atomic bomb in the Potsdam Conference, as the Soviets worked hard in the future four years and developed their own atomic bomb in 1949. The Cold War had always involved other nations other than the two superpowers since the beginning of it. Britain, France and other capitalist countries had always been pro-USA and many Eastern European countries had always been pro-USSR. The world was already in two blocs before NATO and Warsaw Pact were set up. Therefore, although the establishments of these two organizations were important to the development of the Cold War as it increased the opposition between the two blocs, it was not as crucial as the Soviet expansion into Europe which started the Cold War off and created a domino effect.

Which was the most important as a reason for the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-1955, Soviet expansion into Europe or the Formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact?

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