What was more important for Stalin’s control of the USSR, propaganda or fear? Throughout Stalin’s rule he used both propaganda and fear to his advantage. When constructing his ‘5 year plans’, he applied great discipline to make sure his targets were met. His first 5 year plan focused on increasing outcome of major industries, such as coal, iron and steel. Due to Stalin setting his targets to high, they were never met.
This was an economic concession that Lenin was forced to make due to the deteriorating economic conditions and the real threat of a revolt against the Bolshevik government. It was always intended as a temporary measure, and the question after Lenin’s death wasn’t whether it should continue or not, but how it should be put an end to. The debate lay between the left-wing, lead by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who advocated a quick movement into rapid industrialisation, which would mean abandoning the New Economic Policy, militarising the labour forces and exploiting peasants for grain to fund the industrialisation; and the right-wing, led by Bukharin, who wanted to continue the New Economic Policy for another 20 years, which would mean peasants would grow wealthier and be encouraged to buy consumer goods, which in turn would lead to more products being made in factories and a gradual process of industrialisation. This became a passionate issue because economic policy was also at the heart of the debate of what a socialist society should look like. The growth of a rich super class led to activities such as property dealing, land speculation, gambling and prostitution, all of which conflicted greatly with the ideology of Communism.
Assess the reasons for the overthrow of Soviet Power in Eastern Europe. The Cold War (1945-91) was mainly between some of the most influential countries, USSR, USA and western European countries. Soviet power had dominated Eastern Europe for the majority of the Cold War, however, around the early 1980s this power began to falter. There were many reason for the overthrow of the Soviet power, some of which were, the economic decline in the USSR, the power of the people, the introduction of Gorbachev and Western prosperity. So which of these reasons was the most important?
Shortly after, Wilson cut off diplomatic relations with Germany. On March 1, US newspapers carried the shocking news of a secret offer made by Germany to Mexico. Intercepted by British intelligence, a telegram to Mexico from the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, proposed that Mexico ally itself with Germany in return for Germany’s pledge to help Mexico recover lost territories: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Zimmermann telegraph aroused nationalist anger of the American people and convinced Wilson that Germany wanted war with the US. Wilson also applied the principle of moral diplomacy; Wilson wanted the war to be fought for a worthy cause, Democracy.
Both soldiers and civilians blame the defeats in the war and the growing crises on the home front on Tsar. Even the Tsars only army stated it wouldn’t support him if a revolution occurred. Explain the importance/significance of World War 1 to the downfall of the Tsar WWI was a very significant event on the rule of Tsar Nicholas 11. Although it initially bolstered his position, it then became a large factor that contributed to Nicholas’ downfall. The Country was ecstatic when the Tsar made the announcement that Russia was going to fight against Germany in WWI.
Was World War II the result of Hitler’s master plan? Name: Institutional Affiliation Date: Discussion Was World War II the result of Hitler’s master plan? Yes – Andreas Hillbruger from Germany and the Two World Wars, trans. William Kirby No – Ian Kershaw, from The Nazi Dictatorship: problems and perspectives of Interpretation Yes: German history professor and scholar Andreas Hillgruber’s main argument is that Hitler thoroughly pursued his foreign policy ambitions once he came to office in Germany and that the Second World War was the unavoidable result (Mitchell & Mitchell, 2000). In 1919 to 1928, Hitler’s conception of his foreign policy developed in numerous stages before solidifying into a strong program.
The USSR's need to 'defend it's national interests' and safeguard the empire from further attacks, especially after a loss of 20 million Soviet Citizens due to World War 2, caused them to station over 11 million Red Army soldiers to occupy Eastern Europe. The Communist ideology caused for a worldwie revolution for the workers, which worried the USA and the West as to the true reasoning behind the expaniost ways of the USSR and therefore Soviet actions were viewed as threatening. The clear differences between capitalist and communist ideology was noted by Walker in Source 7, who states 'Stalin's USSR was seen in the west as... more menacing... and threatening to expand'. The use of 'menacing' as well as 'threatening' shows the Soviet actions to be devious and the expansionist policies of the Soviet Union reinforces that the two contrasting ideologies were at loggerheads with eachother. The use of 'satelite states' or 'buffer zones' were meant to secure survival for the USSR after a traumatic loss of resources, however the West viewed it as an attempt to spread communism- and it was referred to as the 'Iron Curtain' by Churchill
The Cold War, can for many, be traced back to the meetings between the “Big Three” towards the end of World War Two at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945. While it is true that suspicion between the countries was obvious before these meetings took place, this hostility increased at these discussions. This was despite America, Britain and Soviet Union being Allies and friends throughout the war in their fight against Nazi Germany. The meetings at Yalta and Potsdam caused these divisions between the Big Three to resurface. It was agreed at Yalta that Germany would be demilitarised and divided into four zones, each controlled by one Allied power.
From Wilson’s War Message, one is able to conclude that the US was prepared to risk our soldier’s lives, spend our government funds, and shed blood in order to protect the rights and freedoms that our country was founded upon. In this case, Wilson is talking about Germany sinking our merchant vessels. Over the course of time, the US has portrayed this message again and again. Two clear examples are our invasion of Japan after their attack on Pearl Harbor and our invasion of Iraq after their attack on the world trade center. In final analysis, I believe that the US is willing to put all it has on the line in order to save its people from
Adolf Hitler, from Germany, took his chance at creating an empire with his own type of government. He had very anti-Semitic views. He felt the German main race was far superior to others and slowly built up his army. They started to move outside of Germany taking over the surrounding areas. Americans were not too eager to jump into the battle that ensued overseas.