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.
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.
Kyle 1 Mr. CHC 2D1/2D2 Tuesday June 10, 2014 Force’s with Bad Luck During world war two, Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, decides to break his pact with the Soviet Union and invade. This is one of the major decisions, which in time, helped Germany loose the war. It was also a factor in helping convince the Soviet Union to join the war and fight for the allies. In June 1941 after Germany had taken over most of Europe, Adolf Hitler decides to become greedy. How did Hitler invade the soviet Union, why did he invade the Soviet Union, and how does the novel “Soldier X” by Don Wulffson, describe war to what war was really like.
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.
How important was Stalin's role in the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War? Stalin's role in the Soviet victory, and indeed the overall Allied victory over Nazi Germany, was certainly significant; he was, after all, both the General Secretary of the Soviet Union and its Supreme War Commander. If one were to take this at face value, then his importance would be without question. However, it can be argued that, especially at the beginning of the war, he played a role just as significant in almost losing the war, mainly due to his tactical mistakes as Supreme Commander and his own Stalinist system and purges leaving his appointed generals with a lack of knowledge of modern warfare and, indeed, a lack of initiative. Even when he grew into his self-appointed role of Supreme Commander and learned from his earlier mistakes, it can be argued that his greatest victories, such as the battles at Kursk and Stalingrad, were less down to him, but rather down to the expertise of his generals, such as Zhukov.
The Truman Doctrine’s Influence on the Cold War Harry Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. The U.S. and Russia were allies during World War II. They had undividedly diverse government systems, the authority- craving Stalin (Russia’s leader) and the anti- isolationist Truman, which caused hostility between Russian and the United States. The disparity in patriotic concepts revealed by Stalin and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would instigate the route to the Cold War. The tactics exercised by the U.S. and Great Britain were created to impede the Soviet Union’s endeavor to explicate pushover communist governments over subverted nations, with this approach Truman exposed his doctrine which pursued a responsibility in determining U.S. relevance’s.
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.
The personalities influenced the cold war, despite not being as significant as the other factors. Stalin being manipulative and ruthless instantly suggesting that relations with other countries, so different from his and he was very cautious of this. Source 8 suggests his personality, ‘threw Stalin back into neurotic solitude’ after the A bomb of 1945. Also after the death of Roosevelt which was Stalins ‘dream partner’ there was no need ‘to forge a strong relationship’ between the new politicians. When it
American strategy remained torn between simply containing Communism or rolling it back by actively supporting the Soviet Union’s opponents. For historians of the Cold War, the great debate has been between traditionalists who tend to see the United States as the defensive power in the Cold War (and the Soviet Union as the aggressor) and revisionist historians who tend to see the United States and the Soviet Union as equally aggressive and equally at fault. Revisionists (those critical of American foreign policy) are usually accused of forgetting the ‘lessons of Munich’. It is argued that World War Two arose partly because too many historians thought Germany was unjustly treated after World War One by the Treaty of
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