The aftermath of world war 2 and the cold war

The first 200 words of this essay...

Victor Fung

Class 11(1) IB

Sept. 2, 2008

In the aftermath of World War 2, the European countries such as Great Britain, France and Germany emerged weakened both militarily and economically. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as unrivaled superpowers, both keen to make most of their advantage. Although the Soviets and the Americans fought together in the war, the defeat of Germany had made them set their sights on each other. Lack of a common enemy, increasing public pressure, and drastically different ideologies eventually led to arms race that was later known as the Cold War.

During the war, the two superpowers contented themselves with fighting Germany and maintained an allied stance. However, immediately after the fall of Germany, both sides scrambled to gain the most out of their victory, especially the Soviets, who had taken more losses than all the other countries combined. As there was no country left that was powerful enough to either stop them or distract them, they began viewing each other with hostility. With Great Britain too weak to deter the Soviets, the only obstacle that remained was America. Although Germany was partitioned between them,