When Did The Cold War Begin? Essay, Research Paper
`I
would define the Cold War, as a war without battles. ?Although all the other components of war i.e. armies, weapons,
propaganda, events etc and two opposing ?sides (the West vs the East) were there, there were no
battlefields.? No Generals led their
armies to war and no direct conflict ever took place.? However it is difficult to identify a starting point because
there was no single action that could be pinpointed as the event that started
the Cold War. ?The conflicting
ideologies between the sides went back as far as 1917 when Russia had its revolution
and because one side was communist and the other believed in democracy,
arguments between the leaders could be traced back to that time and possibly, in
some cases, even before that.? Russia?s
claim to some land areas and desire to expand her borders went back to the days
of the Tsars. ?Due to the Second World
War both sides had built up substantial arms and had big armies equipped and
ready for action. ?In spite of the fact
that the Allies had Russia fighting with them during the Second World War this
was only after Hitler invaded Russia in 1941 ? until then they had fighting
together and Stalin needed rather than wanted Allied help.? Their alliance was based on a mutual desire
to beat Hitler rather than being a ?friendly? one. ??????????? The Yalta and Potsdam conferences
partly fit this definition as a starting point because the Allied leaders and
Stalin met and had conferences where there were some disagreements and some
differences became clear. ?However I do
not believe Yalta could be seen to be the start of the Cold War because they
met to ally themselves and defeat Hitler. ?Promises made to Stalin for pro-Russian governments to be set up
in some countries after the war were made to ensure Russia remained on their
side and were not meant to be seen as an excuse to take over Poland etc and
make them communist. Their primary concern was the defeat of Hitler and most
features of the Cold War were not evident at this time. ?On the other hand big differences in policy became
very much apparent at Potsdam. ?In
particular the agreement at Yalta that Stalin could set up pro-Soviet
governments in Eastern Europe after the war became a major source of concern to
President Truman who did not trust Stalin to keep to the original wording of
the agreement.? He was also unhappy
about future Russian intentions and worried that Russia would not withdraw from
countries they occupied as promised. ?Stalin in his turn did not trust the West who had kept the atomic
bomb a secret from him and he wanted huge compensation from Germany to help
rebuild Russia. ?Truman did not want to
repeat the mistakes made at the end of World War One and resisted.? He was fearful that crippling the German
economy as Stalin wanted would lead to German Nationalism and the rise of the
Fascists once more. ?However, some
features were missing at this stage. For example, the propaganda, which played
such a huge part in the Cold War, was virtually non-existent in mid 1945. ?Stalin was still ?Uncle Joe? to millions and
the truth about Stalin?s communism and its effect on the Russian people was
still not fully known. ?The backing of
other countries armies in wars such as in Korea, was also not a part of the
superpower?s foreign policy at Potsdam and the working through other groups of
countries against the opponent only came fully into being later.? ??????????? Other
events also fit the definition to some extent. ?For example the Truman doctrine was an open statement by America
that th
$17 billion in a ?pot? to help Europe rebuild her economy was rejected by
Stalin who believed it to be anti ? Communist and that it might weaken his hold
on Eastern Europe.? Truman?s policies
were openly opposed to Russia and communism. ?Open ideological battles became very apparent after Potsdam and
the Berlin blockade only served to heighten the tension between the East and
West. ?Stalin was forced to back down
when he realised that without open war he could not win.? It was obvious to him that the West would
not give up the part of Berlin that they controlled.? The fact that they put all their efforts into relieving the
people living there with food and supplies being dropped every three minutes
showed him that even though he had blockaded Berlin they were unwilling to let
him just walk in and take over the whole city. ?This was a major victory for the West and meant that until the end
of the Cold War Russia only ever had part of Berlin and the West had a ?foothold?
in Russian controlled territory. ?The
formation of NATO in 1949 as a Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact of 1955
were also very important events in the Cold War.? The major countries in Europe who had not been neutral during the
war were effectively divided into two camps.?
The NATO countries being backed by the USA on the one side and the
Warsaw Pact by Russia.? The two ?Super
Powers? had divided Europe by the end of the 1950s and this would, in time,
spread to virtually the rest of the world. ? ??????????? However, all of the elements seem to be in place by the time of Korea in
1950 (with the exception of the Warsaw Pact). ?By then Germany had divided in two and the democratic Republic of
Germany had been created in September 1949. ?The previous month Russia had exploded their first Atomic bomb
giving them an equal threat to the West. ?Neither side wanted or could risk a nuclear war. ?The division of Europe by the so-called ?Iron
Curtain? was well established and the Communists had a firm hold on power in
the Eastern countries.? Propaganda
campaigns were under way with each side trying to undermine the other. ?The policy of placing spies in embassies in
each other?s countries took on greater importance as each side tried to find
out the capabilities of the other and whether there was a risk of all out
conflict.? Each side was suspicious of
the other and knowing that they both held nuclear weapons made them fearful of
a war.? ??????????? Therefore
I conclude that the Cold War was definitely under way by the end of the Potsdam
Conference. ?However, it is much harder
to say exactly when it began because no shots were fired, no battles and no
single event that could be pinpointed as the absolute beginning. The Truman
doctrine specifically wanted to contain the spread of Communism and could be
taken as an openly hostile act by Russia. ?The first overtly
threatening action was the blockade of Berlin but there were already growing
tensions before. The formation of NATO to safeguard Western Europe was too late
to be the beginning of the Cold War but it was a significant act.? From a historian?s point of view it may be
simper to take Potsdam as the start because it was there that Truman and Stalin
became suspicious of one another and their motives and each realised that
Europe would, in all probability, end up divided. ?With Stalin controlling Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary,
Poland and East Germany while the rest, excluding Albania which was Communist
but not directly under Russian control, remained as democracies.