The Varying Intensity of the Cold War in Europe

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The Varying Intensity of the Cold War in Europe

The German surrender on the 7th May 1945 marked the end of the Second

World War in Europe and heralded the beginning of a new conflict. This

conflict would develop into the Cold War between the two largest

countries in the world at the end of the Second World War, the United

States of America (USA) and The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics

(USSR).

This essay will examine the Cold War from a European perspective. It

is important to examine the Cold War from a European Perspective

because within Europe the USA's and the USSR's spheres of influence

had a physical border. This physical border was christened the Iron

Curtain by the former Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston

Churchill in a speech he made at Fulton Missouri on 5th March 1946.

The first two years after the war passed uneventfully with both

superpowers establishing themselves into their new sectors within

Germany, which had been agreed at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945.

This changed with the implementation by Truman of the Truman Doctrine

in March 1947. The doctrine stated that the USA pledged support for

"free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed

minorities or outside pressures." This basically meant that the USA

would help any country, which felt threatened by communism.

The Truman Doctrine was prompted by the need of Greece, which was

involved in a civil war between the right wing royalists and a

communist group. The communists were being supported by Yugoslavia and

the USSR, leading to the USA and Great Britain supporting the

royalists with the USA giving them $400,000,000 in aid...

... middle of paper ...

... European countries of the Helsinki Accord, which

recognised all the borders, which had been created in Europe since

1945. This was the final act of the Second World War.

It can be concluded that there were four main periods of time between

1948 and 1980, which saw different levels of intensity of the Cold War

in Europe. The first period from 1948 to 1956 was a time of extreme

intensity as both superpowers attempted to establish their spheres of

influence. The second period from 1956 to 1960 was characterised by

Khrushchev's policy of peaceful co-existence. Both sides learned to

live with the other. The third period between 1960 and 1970 saw an

increase in tension and therefore intensity. The final period was the

period of "high dÉtente" with both sides again learning to accept each

others space and political regime.

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