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Introduction

How far do you agree with the view that the development of the Cold War in the Period 1945-1950 was the result of Stalin's foreign policy? During the period of 1945 to 1950 the Cold War developed between the Superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. The end of the Second World War had resulted in a power vacuum over war-torn Europe and left a legacy of mistrust and suspicion between the two superpowers. The Yalta and Potsdam conferences proved this as they failed to agree on certain issues and as the leaders of the United Kingdom and United States changed in between the two conferences. The relationship and trust between the leaders that once stood close during the war had broken down. During this period Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union and President Truman of the United States had conflicted with each other nations in a series of events in Europe such as the Czechoslovakian Crisis and the Berlin Blockade. There were also the other policies such as the Truman Doctrine and the Protection of the Socialist State that also played a huge part in the birth of the Cold war. ...read more.

Middle

The leader of Czechoslovakia was defenestrated and communists ruled the country. The Czech crisis showed that Stalin's expansion through Eastern Europe brought increasing fear across Europe. There was little America or the west could do to stop the Coup without bloodshed or escalation. The Czech crisis seems to suggest that it was totally Stalin's fault in terms of starting the war as he expanded across Europe he came ever closer to America and tension was boiling point. It wasn't just Stalin's policies that are considered to have had a role to play in the formation of the Cold War. It was also Truman's policies that were also to blame as he aimed to 'roll back' communism. Truman gave his "Truman Doctrine" speech in 1947. Truman wanted to ask the American congress to expand aid to Turkey and Greece to support them against Communist pressure. Greece faced communist rebels supported by Stalin and Truman believed that without economic and military aid Greece will fall. In his speech Truman states that it is the US's responsibility to support "free" people from aggressive minorities or foreign pressures, so they can choose their own system of government. ...read more.

Conclusion

In conclusion to the discussion of did Stalin cause the Cold War through his foreign policies after World War Two can be claimed that he did fuel the tension between the East and West but he was not the only one to blame. Truman on the other side of the bloc can also be considered as also fuelling the fire that caused the Cold War. Stalin was partly to blame for his involvement in the Eastern European war-torn countries after the Yalta Conference. This caused a tension between America and the Soviet Union as Stalin showed communism to the west to be ruthless and taking no prisoners when it came to Stalin's policy of defending Socialism. However Truman's America can also be to blame with that he gave Stalin the opportunity to claim as many European countries as he could after Yalta. Another reason was his own policies for example the 'Truman Doctrine' and the Marshall Plan that immediately identified any country with a communist background particularly the Soviet Union as a threat. Another reason could be the fact that both countries felt threatened by each other's strengths as Superpowers and the only way to dominate the Globe was to grip each other's countries with fear. ?? ?? ?? ?? ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.