However, you shouldn't make the assumption that devotion to ideology was all that was behind Cold War animosity; countries tend to be more complaint trading partners with countries that share their political systems and both Stalin and the Cold War Era presidents in the US knew this. The tension eventually built, but no one wanted to go to actual war again after the colossal massacre of WWII, hence the term Cold War. 2. Describe and explain the ideological differences between the United Stated and the Soviet Union. In 1917, Russia became a communist country with an agenda of converting the world to communism.
In my opinion, USSR actions were not primarily responsible for the division of Germany, despite that most of Stalins actions were very influent in terms of the division in Germany. On the one hand, the USSR actions were primarily responsible for the division of Germany in 1949, because the Stalins policies had very significant pressure of Western Allies, therefore they encouraged the Cold War as well as division. First of all, Stalin’s determination to create a buffer zone for the future protection of the USSR, and the breakdown of wartime cooperation as a result of Soviet encroachment in Eastern Europe resulted in discredit between Eastern and Western zones. Nevertheless, Stalin’ introduction of communist-style government in the Soviet zone and in other areas occupied by the Soviet army, which alarmed The USA in particular try to prevent communism spread, because its frightened Allies a lot, therefore the introduction of constitution on the points of Basic Law in FRG, proves FRG’s political and ideological aggression on GDR. Moreover, Stalins’ decision to impose the Berlin Blockade which led directly to the heightening of Cold War tensions, as well
Soviet and US relations changed dramatically between 1945 and 1947, there were many reasons to explain why and how this happened. Firstly, one reason was the end of WW2. During the Second World War, America and the USSR were members of the Grand Alliance in order to oppose Hitler, but when this war finished there was nothing to bring the Communists and Capitalists together. Therefore, the two countries went from allies to progressing enemies after Germany was defeated. This developed until a confrontation, from Western and Eastern Europe, in a nuclear arms race.
The Cold War Between 1945 and 1989, the Soviet Union was in conflict with the United States of America, although the conflict never came to open warfare. Even though both sides wanted to undermine and destroy each other, if it came to open warfare both countries would have been destroyed by the use of their nuclear weapons. The USA “battled for non-communist, capitalist regimes” whereas the USSR was very much a communist dictatorship, however they had one thing in common; both sides believed that they held the key to the future happiness of the human race. There were many causes to the Cold War, although the Potsdam Conference in 1945 was the most influential. In February 1945, the Yalta Conference was held.
Many would question how a country like Afghanistan could have had any impact on the strongest communist nation of all time, the United of Soviet Socialist Republics, and most people would answer by saying that U.S.S.R was already on the verge of falling apart and Afghanistan was the final conflict that pushed it. I believe that Afghanistan was a strong role in the fall of the Soviet Union. The outcome of the invasion of Afghanistan had proved that the Red Army was in fact not untouchable. Thus, this had caused many Russian republics to demand independence and challenge the Red Army. And most importantly, the economy of the Soviet Union was in ruins after the U.S.S.R had chose to spend massive amounts of money on wars and the arms race.
And it was one of the smartest things they could have done. The building of the Berlin Wall is not usually viewed as a smart move, simply because it was viewed first as an oppressive action against everyone in Berlin (which it was). But the Russians were taking severe economic losses. No one wanted to live in a communist state when there was a democratic state just across the street. Over 36,000 people with professional and academic credentials moved to West Berlin before the wall was built.
Though the need to defeat the Germans had made USSR a partner in the Allied forces from 1941 onwards, Stalin had displayed the tendency that he wanted to dominate the world, and he used dictatorial powers and military powers towards people of his own country as well as others. Even during the Yalta Conference of 1945 towards the end of World War II, which suggested the high point of wartime unity and goodwill between the Allies and the Soviet Union, Stalin showed his determined to control the countries in Eastern Europe. Thus, under the outward display of unity some elements of distrust between USSR and other allied countries already existed. This disharmony between them came to surface when, after the war ended, Stalin of USSR refused to honor the Declaration on Liberated Europe, in which the Allies promised to hold democratic elections in the European countries liberated from war. After the war, USSR cut off almost all contacts between the West and the territories it controlled in Eastern Europe.
The main effect was to crystallise Truman's desire to take a very hard line, anti-communism approach to the Soviet Union and for Stalin it symbolised an increase in opposition to the USSR. The speech effectively signalled the end of the alliance between America and the Soviet Union and described the establishment of a Soviet sphere of influence. The impact of this was initially negative because during WW2 American propaganda showed the Soviet Union as a faithful ally working alongside America to defeat the Nazi regime so the speech was met with hostility from American citizens. Writing in the book The Cold War, John Gaddis comments that “most Americans had had enough of war and were not in the mood to maintain their armed forces”. This shows a reluctance to fight another war – a reluctance that would have undoubtedly been heightened by Churchill’s speech which looked to provoke hostilities.
Dominic Zagara Gadel IB Euro 5/26/2014 Why Communism doesn’t work! Featuring East Germany and Poland East Germany and Poland both had numerous factors, both short-term and long term that led to the fall of communism. The oppressive rule of Erich Honecker led to disintegration from communism in East Germany, whereas in Poland, Lech Walesa and Gorbachev’s loosening of Russian Enforcement led to its disintegration. In East Germany, a Chancellor, Erich Honecker, rose to power and employed harsh, repressive methods. In addition, the berlin Wall was in the construction process, increasing the cultural divide between eastern and western Europe along the Iron Curtain.
Stalin and the US created a brief alliance because they were both concerned with stopping Hitler. When the war ended, the U.S., Britain, France, and Russia each controlled a portion of Germany. Soviet Russia did not want to allow their portion to be unified into a post-War Germany for fear that the Germans would again be an aggressive and powerful invader. In 1948 the Soviets blockaded East Berlin and the Germans in the West side of the city were starved of food. The Allies (us) started a massive airlift to feed the trapped Germans so they would not starve.