How does the Cold War Develop from 1944 – 1953?
The Cold War in 1944 is at a stage where Germany is on the verge of collapse and World War 2 is in its final stages. At this point, the USSR and USA are allied together through an earlier agreement to unite to fight against Germany. The Soviet Union is lead by Stalin and the Americans lead by President Roosevelt. The Americans are also heavily involved in a war against the Japanese.
There are several ways in which the Cold War develops from 1944 to 1953, these include: long term issues between USSR and the USA; the American strategy of containment; conflicting ideologies; differing images in the post-war world; changes in leadership personnel. One can also perceive: the development of globalism; the nuclear arms race; The ‘German Problem’; the rise of Communism in the Far East; European decolonisation, as reasons for the development of the Cold War too. Various events also influence the development of the Cold War, such events include: Yalta and Postdam Conferences; use of the atomic bomb; Truman Doctrine; Marshall Plan; Berlin Blockade; the establishment of NATO; Mao taking over and turning China Communist; Korean War; Stalin’s death.
One way in which the Cold War develops between 1944 and 1953 is the clear divide between Soviet and American ideologies. They begin this period as Allies in World War 2 and continue to press on Japan, forcing their surrender September 2nd 1945. America was pro-capitalism and the Soviets were focussed on communism and the spread of a worldwide revolution - Marxism-Leninism against capitalism. These are two very different ideologies, with one inherently being more extreme than the other. We are aware that the United States was in favour of containing the threat of communism rather than destroying it, with a growing number, 70% of Americans in 1947, afraid of the threat of communism and the USSR. We can see this split in ideological differences like so: to the West, democracy and freedom could be guaranteed only by constitutional rules within which political parties could compete for power, whereas to the USSR, democracy as an expression of the people’s will and freedom could be gained only by preserving socialism from ‘corrupting influences.’ Both countries had conflicting self-interests. As such, tension was likely to build between the two nations, but the ideological differences between both the Soviet Union and the United States is the main reason behind the development of the Cold War between 1944 and 1953.
