Jordin Dickerson To what extent did ideology serve as the primary catalyst to the Cold War? During WWII, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were definitely strained. They had to join together because they had one common enemy, Nazi Germany; but after that, they began to turn on each other. The Soviets seeing the United States as a capitalist nation that turns its back on its allies where as the United States sees the Soviets as “Communist Russians” that are spreading the awful idea of communism. That one, simple word caused perhaps one of the biggest controversies and rivalries in history.
Histroy 2020 America’s Role in the origins of The Cold War In the aftermath of World War II, the world was left in ruins. The two emerging super powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, battled for influence over the new world order. While the Soviets sought further communist expansion, the United States provided tangible, direct support to the nations of war torn Europe in effort to expand Americas sphere of influence while diminishing Soviet sphere of influences. America successfully and carefully completed their objectives of gaining a significant foothold in reconstruction of post war Europe by the implementation of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan. These gave America a significant foothold in Europe and in developing
Powaski argues that “That the Cold War was inevitable. From the Very Beginning of the Russian- American relationship, except for a brief period in 1917, the ideologies of the two nations were fundamentally incompatible. (1) For Powaski to verify his perceptive on the Cold war he provided an insight on American- Soviet relations in 1917. In 1917 Russia was in a revolution and a provisional government was formed and
The Cold War HIS/135 Assignment The Cold War Before World War II Britain, France and the United States allied with Russia to combine forces against Germany. The war had a devastating effect on the land and people outside the western hemisphere. After the war the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers replacing Germany, France and England (Davidson, 2005). The United States power was supported by a growing economy, large military and the atomic bomb. In contrast the war took a toll on the Soviet Union, their lands were in ruin but they still had a formidable military (Davidson, 2005).
To what extent was the Soviet Union responsible for the division of Germany from 1945 to 1949? Post-war Germany found itself in the middle of international tensions after its division – between the Allied powers of Britain, France and the USA and the Soviet Union under Stalin. However, the German nation that hoped for a new beginning could not do so due to the distribution of her land between the victors of the Second World War, and historians have since debated over who was to blame for this occurring. It is clear that the Cold War climate that started to arise played a large part on the policies that both the Allied Powers and the USSR made, with both eventually pushing the divisions deeper into Germany’s culture, economy and politics. This idea is strengthened by the fact that the USSR brought in visions such as Cominform and Comencon, while the United States introduced ideas like the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine.
Admittedly, Lenin had begun to use the Cheka and had set up show trials before Stalin came to power, but some historians such as Stephen Cohen, see this as a response to the awful civil war in Russia, in which, Lenin needed to extend his control over the whole of the Russian people. It is seen by some historians as more of a necessary act of control to keep the country together, and the Bolsheviks in power, rather than a vicious attack on the potential threat of the Russian people. In “The History of Terrorism” the historians argue that “For Lenin, terror was not the principal instrument” that he wanted to use to gain control. This reveals that perhaps he only used it in times of need, rather than simply because he was able
The West felt threatened by Communism too because it caused Russia to pull out of the war, thus losing them a good ally. It made them angry as it disadvantaged them significantly, and was a sudden event that
There has been a long-standing disagreement as to the origin of the Cold War. Since the Eastern Bloc was established by the Soviet Union in the latter stages of World War II, the remaining Allies (the United States, Great Britain, France), particularly Great Britain (Churchill), was highly concerned for the economic and political stability of the world given close proximity and size of the Soviet forces deployed in those occupied countries. Due to these uneasy feelings (Churchill did not trust either the Soviet Union or Stalin, in particular), something called “Operation Unthinkable” (a plan to push the United States’ and Great Britain’s will on the Soviet Union) was developed by the British War Cabinet’s Joint Planning Staff Committee; Operation Unthinkable was never implemented as the British Chiefs of Staff Committee viewed this plan as unlikely to succeed. (Retrieved 10/2/2011 from: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_unthinkable.htm) I believe Winston Churchill was extremely cautious in his dealings with the Soviets toward the end of, and after, World War II. His paranoia (my opinion), which was the foundation for Project Unthinkable, that Soviet’s
Max Herber April 11, 2012 English 1302 Thesis and Outline The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of the German–Soviet war. Hitler had expected the German blitzkrieg to destroy the Soviet Union's military completely, but Hitler underestimated the Russian cold weather, and the battle turned out to be one of the bloodiest of World War II. Stalingrad was not needed by either side to help them in the war. However, Hitler wanted to take control of everything in Russia, and Stalin did not want to lose the city that had his name in it. I.
The United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies during World War II against the Axis powers, specifically Nazi Germany. However, the relationship between the two nations was problematic and full of tension; the United States felt uneasy and wary of Soviet communism, and incredibly concerned with Joseph Stalin, a Russian leader, who conveyed tyrannical traits. On the other hand, Soviets were angered and impatient with the United States for the lack of recognition and realization for the acknowledgment of the USSR. Therefore once Nazi Germany was defeated, the alliance was no more. The following fifty years of constant conflict without direct armed confrontation between these two nations became known as the Cold War.