Later in WWII, Russia and Germany agreed on a non aggression act. While Britain and France were fighting for their existence, Russia was trying to have peace with Germany and eventually form part of the Axis powers. The only reason Russia stopped insertion into the Axis powers was because Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Allies and the Soviet Union now shared an enemy and were interesting in becoming
His “list” of people changed inconstantly and his refusal to provide anyone names of the so called communists set up a horrifyingly awesome spike in hysteria and fear of communists infiltrating the government. Another person of interest in the domestic aspects of the cold war David Greenglass, he was a spy for the soviet union that was working on the Manhattan Project. The trial for him was hard to set up, not only would his story change all the time, but what he was talking about and discussing was supposed to remain “secret.” he served 10 years out of the sentenced 15. He was related to the Rosenberg's, known communists spies and sympathizers. In 1951 the McCarren Internal security act was passed.
Although considered allies in WWI, USA and USSR turned against each other by the end of the ‘War to end all wars.’ Tensions increased between the two massive countries as both went through an arms race, created the Atomic bombs, and competed against each other through many other political issues. This time, between 1945 – 1949 is considered the Cold War, where Russia and USA indirectly fought. The WWI alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States was only temporary. After the end of the war USA started the tensions by aiding the whites (The Tsarists) providing military assistance. The whites attempted to overthrow the new communist government and USA was helping them.
McCarthy saw this fear as an opportunity to rise to power. He ruthlessly used scare tactics to get people to believe and follow him blindly into his accusations as to innocent citizens supporting communism and either having them jailed or killed by providing phony evidence. Known as McCarthyism the overly-paranoid “witch hunts” for infiltrators began. People were accused of being communists and found guilty with barely any say for themselves. Anyone could be named and they would suffer, just because they were “outsiders”.
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.
NSC-68 provided the doctrinal justification for US intervention in Korea. Some would argue that the US desire to contain Communism came from the idea that Stalin was behind the invasion of South Korea in the first place. During a secret visit to Moscow in April 1950, Kim II Sung was given permission to launch a war of reunification in Korea from Stalin. Stalin also agreed to provide additional Soviet military assistance. Therefore, it is possible to argue that the US desire to contain Communism contributed to their involvement in the Korean War due to NSC-68 providing a more aggressive tack and because some Americans were led to believe that Stalin was behind the invasion of South Korea.
Dozens of people were blacklisted and prohibited from government work and many other jobs even in private sectors. He especially targeted the entertainment (Hollywood) industry in trying to find communist
Terrible, right? Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator, caused hysteria in society by accusing thousands of people of having connections with the Communist Party. Although, in most cases there wasn't even any evidence to prove it many were fired from high paying jobs with their reputations being ruined. In the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller (an accused Communist himself), Miller used the Salem witch trails as a metaphor for McCarthyism, saying that "McCarthyism-style persecution" can happen at any time or place.
That one, simple word caused perhaps one of the biggest controversies and rivalries in history. Communism could easily take the blame for the cause of the cold war. The Soviet Union and the United States joined forces during WWII out of necessity, not out of the goodness of their hearts. The United States had to practically beg the Soviets to begin fighting Japan. Even as allies, the countries did not trust each other entirely.
The number imprisoned is in the hundreds, and some ten or twelve thousand lost their jobs. In many cases simply being subpoenaed by HUAC was sufficient cause to be fired. Many of those who were imprisoned lost their jobs or were questioned by committees did in fact have a past or present connection of some kind with the Communist Party. But for the majority, both the potential for them to do harm to the nation and the nature of their communist affiliation were tenuous. Suspected homosexuality was also common cause for being targeted by McCarthyism: The hunt for “sexual perverts”, who were presumed to be subversive by nature, resulted in thousands being harassed and denied