The Varying Intensity of the Cold War in Europe

1992 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Cold War and its impacts in Europe

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.

Show More
Related

  • The Impact of the Early Crisis in the Development of the Cold War to 1953

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Following the conferences during World War Two, Germany was split up into two zones. Occupying West Germany and West Berlin was France, Britain and The United States, while the Soviet Union occupied Ea...

    Read More

  • Autonomy and Political Responsibility after the Cold War

    2605 Words  | 6 Pages

    The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a...

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    2 Charles S. Maier, ed., The Cold War in Europe: Era of a divided Continent (New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, Inc., 1991) 27.

    Read More

  • History Of The Good Neighbor Policy

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Truman Doctrine was a policy under the United States of America. It was established in 1947 by President Harry Truman which is how it got the name The “Truman” Doctrine. This policy more or less meant that the United States would follow an interventialist foreign method to manage and end communism. This doctrine was a straight-forward warning made to the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics that the United States would move in to protect any nation that was being threatened or endangered by a minority with weapons. The doctrine pretty much called out and warned the USSR, however the USSR was never actually stated by name in the doctrine.

    Read More

  • Space Race: A Reflection of the Cold War Rivalry

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    The political ideologies of the USA and of the Soviet Union were of profound significance in the development of the Cold War. Problems between the two power nations arose when America refused to accept the Soviet Union in the international community. The relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union was filled with mutual distrust and hostility. Many historians believe the cold war was “inevitable” between a democratic, capitalist nation and a communist Union. Winston Churchill called the cold war “The balance of terror” (1). Cold war anxieties began to build up with America and the Soviet Union advancing in the arms race for world dominance and supremacy. America feared the spread of Communism

    Read More

  • Cold War

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388). Each side believed its political and economic systems were better than the other's. Each strengthened its armed forces. Both sides viewed the Cold War as a dispute between right and wron...

    Read More

  • The Purpose of the Vietnam War

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Truman doctrine was to stop the spread of communism and it was used to stop the south part of Vietnam becoming communists like the north So America sent in money and all the help they could to stop Vietnam becoming a communist country. Vietnam was part of the French empire. However, during World War 2 the Japanese took over .The Vietnamese communist movement Vietminh was formed to resist the Japanese. France tried to repossess Vietnam at the end of the war but the Vietminh fought back. With the United States lending its financial support to France, when the Japanese defeated France, the United States sent money and military consultants to the non-communist government of South Vietnam. ~ Other advisors however doubted that such an action could reverse the disastrous course of the war and warned the president that it could lead inevitably to deeper involvement in an Asian land war the United States couldn't win. (The Debate over Vietnam Page, 30)

    Read More

  • Why Stalin Built The Iron Curtain

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was a border set up by Joseph. Stalin, the ruler of the USSR in the years after the Second World War. The term the "Iron Curtain," was first introduced in Winston. Churchill's long speech, "an iron curtain has descended across the continent," on March 5, 1946. Churchill's speech triggered Stalin to tighten the iron curtain.

    Read More

  • The Truman Doctrine

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moreover, it served as a precedent for future U.S. policy of interventionism. According to Stephen Ambrose, an important quote from Truman’s speech, "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures," stands as "all encompassing" and would "define American policy for the next generation and beyond." "1 Faced with strong opposition, Truman was still able to achieve a consensus in Congress aimed at quelling the communist threat through active foreign policy and involvement. The Truman Doctrine not only demonstrates the new foreign policy of the U.S., but also helps explain American foreign policy since the Doctrine’s inception. At the end of World War II, the military and foreign policies of the White House were moving in opposite directions.

    Read More

  • Cold War Rivalry

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    The cold war era is when America was at its most suspicious and paranoid. The cold war grew out of tensions that were post WWII. Two worldly super powers clashed over rivalry and one wanted to have more influence. This rivalry went for almost half of the 20th century, and led to many international incidents that almost brought both powers to a mutual destruction.

    Read More

  • Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War OUTLINE: Introduction- 1. Definition of ‘Cold War’ and the Powers involved 2. Perceived definition of ‘start of Cold War’ 3. Iron Curtain Speech, Truman Doctrine and Berlin Blockade as significant events that caused strife between both powers, but which triggering off the start of the Cold War Body- 1. Iron Curtain Speech (1946) - A warning of Soviet influence beyond the acknowledged Eastern Europe - Churchill’s belief that the idea of a balance in power does not appeal to the Soviets - Wants Western democracies to stand together in prevention of further

    Read More

  • The Causes of the Cold War - Post-Revisionist

    3007 Words  | 7 Pages

    "Nevertheless, like its predecessors, the Cold War has been a worldwide power contest in which one expanding power has threatened to make itself predominant, and in which other powers have banded together in a defensive coalition to frustrate it---as was the case before 1815, as was the case in 1914-1918 as was the case from 1939-1945" (Halle 9). From this power struggle, the Cold War erupted. In April 1945, Russian forces that had been triumphant at Stalingrad had pushed the German forces back into Germany and American and British forces that had been victorious in their invasion of Normandy did the same; they met at the Elbe River in central Germany (Lukacs 17). Europe was separated into two independent halves, one Russian occupied and the other American. From this division, the Cold War emerged.

    Read More

  • The cold war

    2042 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lafeber, W. (2002), America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-2000. 9th edn. New-York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

    Read More

  • The Cold War

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War had an impact regarding Americans socially and culturally. What was the Cold War? The Cold War was a small war between the US and the Soviet Union. It ended up to be that the Soviet Union ended after this.What specifically in social and cultural life did it impact? It impacted how people bonded and they got closer with different cultures, such as African Americans.

    Read More

  • The End of the Cold War

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in major shift in United States foreign policy. For years, the United States supported tyrannical dictators in return for stable anti-communist government receptive to United States interests. The Cold War resulted in a new world order with the United States as the lone global hegemonic power. In Eastern Europe in particular, the end of the Cold War ushered in an era of economic growth and a large increase in the number of liberal democracies. Although the world saw a large increase in liberal democracies, a new regime type referred to as competitive authoritarianism began to emerge. According to Levitsky and Way, “In competitive authoritarian regimes, formal democratic institutions are widely viewed as the principal means of obtaining and exercising political authority. Incumbents violate those rules so often and to such an extent, however, that the regime fails to meet conventional minimum standards for democracy” . In labeling these regimes as authoritarian and not democratic, Levitsky and Way place emphasis on the importance of differentiating these questionable regimes from prototypical democracies. In their definition they argue that all democracies have four inherent traits; “Executives and legislatures are chosen through Elections that are open, free, and fair, virtually all adults possess the right to vote, political rights and civil liberties, including freedom of the press, association, to criticize the government are protected and elected authorities possess real authority to govern, in that they are not subject to the tutelary control of military or clerical leaders” . These, Levitsky and Way argue are fundamental for the prospects of democracy. ...

    Read More

More about The Varying Intensity of the Cold War in Europe

Open Document