A BiPolar World
- The American Position
- Americans come out of WWII even richer than before
- Own 20 billion in gold reserves of a World total of 33 bil.
- Largest, navy, airforce and monopoly on nuclear weapons
- Largest trading and industry in World
- Influence in Asia and Europe
- 1919 exaggerated
The Russian Position
- Largest army in the World
- Production not at pre-war levels
- Stalin looked inward again and put effort toward Communism at home
- Began to influence over satellite states in Eastern Europe
- Many POWs kept on working in Russia
- Show trials returned
Causes of the Cold War
- War of ideologies
- Communism vs. Democracy (capitalism) (east vs. west)
- Causes:
- Nationalism - both USA and USSR take actions throughout Cold War to protect their interests
- Imperialism -Many old imperialist nations are gone, USA and USSR take over this role worldwide. (Eg. Vietnam and Afghanistan)
Fears and Concerns in the Cold War Era
- Fears and Concerns - West feared a Communist revolution worldwide (cominform replaced comintern)
- Russia fears counterrevolution from within helped by money from the West.
- The Domino Theory - a metaphor that the USA used to describe the fear of allowing countries to go Communist and then their neighbours would follow course (eg. Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe)
- Satellite States and the Iron Curtain - Many Eastern European states (that Russia had occupied) became puppet communist governments.
Summary
In many ways, the Cold War began even before the guns fell silent in Germany and in the Pacific in 1945. Suspicion and mistrust had defined U.S.-Soviet relations for decades and resurfaced as soon as the alliance against Adolf Hitler was no longer necessary. Competing ideologies and visions of the postwar world prevented U.S. president Harry S Truman and Soviet premier Joseph Stalin from working together.
Stalin intended to destroy Germany’s industrial capabilities in order to prevent the country from remilitarizing and wanted Germany to pay outrageous sums in war reparations. Moreover, he wanted to erect pro-Soviet governments throughout Eastern Europe to protect the USSR from any future invasions. Truman, however, wanted exactly the opposite. He believed that only industrialization and democracy in Germany and throughout the continent would ensure postwar stability. Unable to compromise or find common ground, the world’s two remaining superpowers inevitably clashed.
Stalin intended to destroy Germany’s industrial capabilities in order to prevent the country from remilitarizing and wanted Germany to pay outrageous sums in war reparations. Moreover, he wanted to erect pro-Soviet governments throughout Eastern Europe to protect the USSR from any future invasions. Truman, however, wanted exactly the opposite. He believed that only industrialization and democracy in Germany and throughout the continent would ensure postwar stability. Unable to compromise or find common ground, the world’s two remaining superpowers inevitably clashed.