Essay
Cold War Discursive Essay (Grade 12 IEB)
- Course
- History
- Institution
- Elkanah House
Detailed essay, easy to read and understand, created by pupil who got an 'A' in history for final Matric exam 2019.
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By: mihirnarrandes03 • 2 year ago
By: lewiskaplan25 • 3 year ago
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Cold War Discursive EssayCREATING SPHERES OF TENSION
Whilst comparing the manner in which both the Soviets and the Americans were
involved in European affairs after WWII, assess which was more successful in
gaining a political and economic stronghold?
After WWII, both the Soviets and Americans were heavily involved in European affairs.
Whilst, the US did strengthen their position as an economic power in Europe at the time,
the USSR was more successful in gaining political and economic stronghold.
After Germany was defeated in 1945, there was no more need for the Grand Alliance.
This enabled distrust between the West and USSR to intensify and become more
evident at the Potsdam Conference of August 1945, in Germany. At this stage, the
Soviet Army held a lot of political power in Eastern Europe. This is because in 1943,
Soviet troops were left in the Balkan nations to clean eastern Europe of the Nazi forces
which created a sense of Soviet Supremacy in Eastern regions. Furthermore, Stalin set
up communist governments in Poland and ignored the wishes of the majority of Polish
people, strengthening the USSR’s political stronghold on Eastern Europe.
In the atmosphere of tension after the war, both the USA and USSR tried to strengthen
their control over parts of Europe. During the war, the USSR annexed independent
Baltic republics at the end of the war. Additionally, the presence of the Soviet army
which had liberated easrern europe from the nazis ensured societe friendly
governments came to rule in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany, further
strengthening the USSR’s political position. Nations aligned under the influence of the
Soviet Union quickly became known as the Soviet Satellite States and formed the
foundation of the Iron Curtain. Although the US feared the spread of communism, their
policy of isolation prevented them from gaining as strong of a political and economic
stronghold as the USSR.
In response to this, the US forfeited their policy of isolation and became actively
involved in world affairs by adopting a new policy of containment, to contain the spread
of communism. Events in Greece forced the US to take action in a civil war led by
communist guerrillas against the greek government. A speech made by President
Truman to US congress in 1947 stipulated that the US was prepared to send money,
military equipment and advice to any country threatened by a communist takeover. This
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