How did the Cold War shape post-war politics during the period 1945-1961?

European History 1914-1961

a) How did the Cold War shape post-war politics during the period 1945-1961?

Europe attempted to develop from political and economical struggles after the Second World War and to reform under the threat of a cold war. Winston Churchill once said, “What is Europe? A rubble of heap, a charnel house, a breeding ground of pestilence and hate” This pessimism of Churchill’s was in keeping with the rest of Europe after the Second World War as most of Europe was struggling. The death camps brought enormous loss of lives as many Jews were tortured and killed. Those Jews that remained fortunate enough to survive the war returned to their homes in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. The Second World War ended in Europe in May 1945 with victory for Allies, led by USSR, Britain and USA. After the war, Europe faced enormous problems:

- Refugee crisis - millions made homeless by war and millions left homes to escape rule by enemies

- Destruction of cities - homes, businesses, factories - and of communications - e.g. railways, bridges and ports

- Economic disruption - shortage of food, other basic supplies, e.g. energy; unemployment; poverty

- Collapse of governments in countries that lost war, e.g. Germany, and countries ruined by war, e.g. Poland.

Trying to solve these problems, the Allies began to disagree and split into two sides over various issues, this brought about the Cold War. The Cold War was a struggle between the two superior countries and their allies, this power struggle lasted between the late 1940s to the late 1980s. The different countries were hostile as if at war, but direct fighting never broke out. The USA and USSR were acknowledged as the untouchable forces because they were the stronger countries after the war than the other powerful countries. They were strong in size of military forces, military technology, land, people, political system and source of wealth. In the end, the USSR proved to be weaker in economic power and political stability, they also dominated neighbouring countries on their quest for domination. The USA tended to dominate more by trade power and the USSR more by political power.

For the period of the Second World War, the Western democracies had not been completely secure about collaborating themselves with Stalin’s Russia, and it did not take long for this partnership to fall. Throughout the next few years, the Soviets enforced onto its post-war occupation zones in Eastern Europe. As the 1940s moved forwards, the Westerners preferred to structure a system of defensive alliances to prevent any further spread of Communism. Countries such as Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia became settlement states of the USSR. Yugoslavia, also a communist state but not under Soviet domination was a threat in the prevention of communist Europe. In 1946, Churchill made a speech declaring “...an iron curtain has descended across the continent,” meaning that the eastern half was no longer free like the western half. In the case of countries such as Britain and France, their people were governed through a parliamentary system of elections. The Organization of American States founded in 1945 to coordinate the foreign policy of the Western Hemisphere, while all the principle nations of West Europe and North America were joined into the in 1947.

Across the south of Asia, two more American alliance systems, CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) and SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization), established to restrict potential Soviet increase southward. By 1959, most of the non-Communist World had promised to be anti-Communist as well. There were still holes in the pro-American defence perimeter, many of the recently released Asian nations decided to explore an independent foreign policy instead. Of course, many of the neutral nations had their own squabbles to follow, and they found that the superior countries were happy to support them to gain more assistance. Therefore, with the Americans supporting Israel, ...

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Fewer noticeable internal battles within the different nations of political issues were in pursuit of some stability. With most of the world's governments declaring they are pro-Western in this philosophical political conflict, the Communists enthusiastically supported any rebellious movement against those governments. Whether some of these radical movements were truly Communist is subject to dispute, but in the eyes of the world at the time, the phrase "communist insurgent" was unnecessary because each word always implicated another. The Soviets lost major ground in 1960, when China broke away after bickering over interpretations of Marxist doctrine, taking Albania and North Korea with them leaving the Soviets less influences. About the same time, France decided that it did not like its foreign policy dictated by the USA, so it tested its first atomic weapon in 1960, and withdrew from NATO in 1965. Although it was almost certain that the French would be on the American side in the event of a general European war, until then the French would pursue a foreign policy, which was neither pro-Soviet nor pro-American but merely French.

Initially, cunningly and then more plainly the British and American leaders began to dispute the legitimacy of Soviet conduct in Eastern Europe. The Yalta and Potsdam conferences (February and June 1945), a significant alteration occurred in the opportunities between Russia and the West. For the duration of the discussion on the means of reforming Europe, this was to ensure peace in the world by the countries allying. At the conference the allied leaders discussed the future of Germany and in these plans Germany was to be divided into patches, although reunification resulted instead. France had joined the Potsdam powers, known as the Four Power Allied Control Council; they planned on establishing a de-nazified Germany. In the wake of unilateral measures in Eastern Europe, the alliances fell apart due to political disputes. The conference was affected by the developing mistrust between Western allies and the Soviet Union. Stalin demanded territories of Germany, Russia, Romania and Czechoslovakia; strategically he also wanted parts of Turkey. The ideological abyss, which until then been concealed and disregarded or minimized by the Western nations, was too deep and had to explode.

When the Soviet Union became suspicious of Eastern Europe intentions Truman eliminated them from the list of eligible nations for U.S loans. The United States was content during the closing months of the war and the first months of the post-war period they managed to preserve some advantages when they emerged from the war. Before his death, Roosevelt had overturned himself on Germany, instead of going forward with either the ''Morgenthau Plan'' or other plans for the dismemberment of Germany, he and Churchill refused to commit themselves ''to Russian proposals for Germany” that would unavoidably magnify Soviet power in Europe. In May, acknowledging Germany's surrender to the USSR, Stalin himself proclaimed that the Soviet Union did not intend ''either to dismember or to destroy Germany."

Diplomatic disputes in East and West intensified as each side openly manoeuvred to be in a position of maximum advantage at the end. Both sides were content to preserve the fiction of cooperation but neither really believed that it could afford to trust the other. However, the United States still did not have the inclination or the incentive to challenge Soviet activities in Eastern Europe because it was obviously dependent on Soviet assistance in the Far East and was still hoping that nothing would interfere with a return to normalcy. Almost from the beginning, Truman regarded Soviet breaches of agreement as just that, breaches of agreement. He did not need to ask whether the ideological terms and the political aims they proclaimed, such as ''peace,'' "freedom,'' and ''democracy,'' meant the same in the East as in the West. Truman could foresee the consequences that Soviet actions posed for the United States, and he was personally convinced that further concessions would only worsen the situation rather than improve Western position. Consequently, without adopting any consistent or purposeful course of action, Truman nevertheless refused to make any more concessions for t the sake of preserving amicable relations or to compromise anything that was not already within the Soviet power. As cooperation between Soviet and Western powers weakened, the relationship inevitably turned into competition and rivalry.

In the first months of the post-war period, each of the great victors acted reliably with the behaviour they displayed during wartime. The Soviet Union sought after to dominate those societies that it held within its military grip. The British and French attempted to regain control over the lost parts of their territories and to recover economically through this. The United States began to retreat into its traditional political and military non-involvement with European matters.

With each state after old or new territory, the tension between countries kept rising through suspicions. No principal conqueror could act within their own field without those actions appearing hostile to the others. By its very nature, state action usually seeks to enhance the stability and security of the state in order to increase the states power. The accumulation of such power by one of these member states appears as threatening and therefore become a hostile threat to the other states in the system. The Soviets effort to strengthen its power in Eastern Europe emerged as threatening to Western Europe. Backed by the Soviet Union, communist government were in power of Eastern Europe states during the post-war period.

Since their Marxist-Leninist vision of the world, Soviet leaders were especially prepared to perceive Anglo-American parameters as fundamentally hostile toward the Russian system. Their concept for systematic security required communist governments in Eastern Europe. The United States were a challenge the legitimacy of those governments and have the equivalent to challenge Russia's security. In early August 1945, President Mikhail Kalinin amplified that the roots of capitalism had not fully disappeared in Germany. Later that year Molotov in a speech on November 1945, when he held a meeting of the Moscow Soviets said "roots of fascism and imperialist aggression had not been...finally extirpated."

American leaders viewed Soviet conduct as fundamentally hostile to Western nations of interest. The Soviet obstacle and resistance to American demands concerning Eastern Europe encouraged an unashamedly hostile response from the U.S. President Truman indicated the mood of a growing number of Americans in search of action. With the Soviets failing to consult with Truman adequately, he bluntly ordered Byrnes to adopt a ''tough line" with the Soviets. Toward the December Foreign Ministers Meeting in Moscow, it was apparent Truman had formed a hostile attitude in the deliberations towards Russia.

The political situation in post-war nations during 1945-1961, was that of suspicion and mistrust in high-powered governments. After the Second World War allied, states attempted to reunite Europe politically and economically as solidarity nation. The ideology behind this unification was lost when the Soviet powers and the American powers sought after their own advantages. Although they were able to work together on a more threatening foundation such as Hitler, they prove unable to untie in rebuilt Europe. The Americans were great assistances in Europe’s recovery but with the invention of atomic weapons, they proved to be more in need of power than social stability.

The United Nations helped European state systems to re-emerge after the war destroyed enormous economical and social standards. The United Nations not offered these European states funding but also provided medication were required. In certain instance, the UN provided peacemaking forces to various situations of different nations, although accomplishments varied. Other political accomplishments during 1945-1961, the women’s right to vote in France as the vast majority of French women and men voted against the return of the Third Republic as their political institution on October 1945.

Italy became a republic state in June 1946, half of the votes despite the pope’s influence elected for a governmental system rather than domination by the monarchy. With a considerable amount of U.S finical assistance the Italian government managed to economical grow rapidly through policies of non-intervention. In the 1960s, the Italian government implemented social reforms with the help of the church that revived its long-dormant social doctrine.

After the death of Stalin, the democratic system in the USSR continued under the governing of communist parties. Ethnic Russians dominated the communist parties and authority over the republics remained in their hand. They was censorship over published criticisms on Soviet governmental management and this restriction ended when the new party came into control. Filmmakers, artists and writers became daringly imaginative within the boundaries of official toleration. Political struggle played a major role during the post-war era as each state faced difficult conflicts with revolts and potential governmental threats. In Europe, the cold war brought about a new threat of mass distraction weapons as the race was on for the first invented weapon. Politically individual states gradually emerged with a more democratic political system towards the 1960s.

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