After the War ended, Germany was divided into four sections, one for each victorious Allied nation. Eventually, the British, French, and American sectors combined to create the independent state of West Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Soviets "turned" their sector over to East German communist who created, with the support of the USSR, the "independent" state of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The Germans were on the front line of the Cold War and therefore, many tense moments occurred, challenging the post war peace between the Soviets and the Western Europeans/Americans.
Look at the 1955 map of Europe and explain why Germany became the major battlefield of the Cold War.
Finally, think about these questions; you may have to do some research to answer the questions.
1. How did the United States confront the threat of communism in Western Europe?
2. Why was the Berlin Airlift so important to establishing the relationship between the USSR and USA?
3. What does the term "Cold War" refer to?
4. Explain why containment was the policy of the US relative to the USSR?
5. How did the proliferation of nuclear weapons affect the relationship between the West and East?
You need to comment on all these questions.
To confront the threat of communism in Western Europe, the United States devised a plan called Marshall Plan or the European Recovery Program. The Marshall Plan initially offered aid to the USSR as well as its allies, needless to say they did not accept. The intent for the Marshall Plan was to treat everything as post war recovery and to help mobilize European industry and business practices so that they are up to the American standard.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin airlift was crucial, because if the U.S attacked the USSR, then there would be threat of a third world war. The United States airlifted supplies to Berlin because there was no other way to get anything through. The Soviet Union felt that if the United States wanted Berlin so bad, then they would do whatever they could to get it. The people of Berlin could not get any supplies because all roads and railways leading in and out were blocked, so the US airlifted supplies to the people of Berlin, thus strengthening their bond.
The term “Cold War” means that there is no direct fighting or use of force, but is pursued by economic and political action. A war of this nature would be fought by the use of propaganda and spies, so the threat of militaristic warfare is always prevalent.
Harry Truman realized that expansive Communism prayed on free people and in order to stop Communism from expanding, it had to be contained within Russia. This turned into how the United States dealt with Communism by containging it within Russia.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons created a competition between the east and the west. Both wanted to get nuclear arms before the other. It was a race to see who could get more nuclear arms the fastest. This is essentially what the Cold War was about: seeing who had more weapons than the other person, but ultimately none were used.
Germany became a main battlefield in the Cold War due to its convenient positioning in between the Soviet Union and America and its allies. Also, Germany contained two different schools of thought within itself. West Germany exalted democracy and freedom, whereas East Germany was controlled under a strict communist regime. Due to these different governments so close together, tension was created between the Americans and the Soviets and Germany became a place of war and turmoil.
ReplyDeleteThe European Recovery Program (ERP), or more commonly known as the Marshall plan, was instituted by the U.S. throughout Europe as a way to focus on rebuilding and instilling their own ideals after the war. By helping to create a stronger economic situation throughout Europe, the Americans gained the trust of many nations. Therefore, the European nations trusted America and their government. This helped the Americans shoot down any threat of communism that the USSR created.
The Berlin Airlift was so important because it allowed the Americans to retain control over West Germany. The communists in East Germany cut of the railways and streets to West Berlin by means of the Berlin Blockade, therefore not allowing any goods to be given to the residents of West Berlin. The airlift, organized by the Air Forces of Britain and America, provided the West Berlin residents with essential supplies for daily life. This was important because if West Berlin needed to rely on East Berlin for goods, East Berlin would control them. Since East Berlin could not control the sky, the Blockade was useless and eventually lifted. This humiliated the Russians and made their relationship with the U.S. even worse. Germany was then officially divided into two states (West and East), with America controlling the West and the Russian communists controlling the East.
The term "Cold War" refers to a type of war where indirect conflict is used instead of direct conflict. There was no direct conflict between the U.S. military and the Russian military. There is no violence or shooting, but much tension between the two sides.
Containment was the policy of the U.S. towards Russia because the U.S. wanted to stop the spread of communism as much as possible throughout Europe. They realized that communism was imminent in Russia and East Germany, and they did not want to do anything to trigger conflict with the Russians. Therefore, they focused their efforts on keeping the Russians from spreading their communist views. That way, communism could not rise up and take over Europe.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons created much tension and timidity between the Americans and Russians. Both sides knew that if they did something to trigger the other, their nation could be left in complete ruins. That is why the relationship between Russia and America became so delicate, because neither side wanted the other to attack. Also, neither side really knew how many weapons the other side had. It was a cold war because both sides were nervous about the nuclear power of the other side.
Germany became a major fighting ground for the cold war because of its position in Europe. This is where the two allied armies met while retaking Europe, and the ground covered by each army continued to follow, willing fully or not, the side which liberated it. Germany is the conflicting point between these two sides. Of all the areas along the iron curtain, the point in Germany was the most heavily conflicted. Because Germany had been a unified people under Hitler, they can be considered the very similar in their views and therefore their reactions to each of their new respective governments are telling of the future success of these governments. Germany is the testing ground where it is proved which is the superior ideology, democracy or communism.
ReplyDeleteGermany became a major fighting ground for the cold war because of its position in Europe. This is where the two allied armies met while retaking Europe, and the ground covered by each army continued to follow, willing fully or not, the side which liberated it. Germany is the conflicting point between these two sides. Of all the areas along the iron curtain, the point in Germany was the most heavily conflicted. Because Germany had been a unified people under Hitler, they can be considered the very similar in their views and therefore their reactions to each of their new respective governments are telling of the future success of these governments. Germany is the testing ground where it is proved which is the superior ideology, democracy or communism.
The United States used a policy called 'Containment' to confront Communism in Europe. This means that they never actually attacked any Communist countries, but at the same time they did not give any ground attempts at spreading communism. They contained it. They refused to allow communism to spread into the remainder of Democratic Europe. An example of this is seen in the conflict within Berlin. Even after the Communists shut down the ground transports to Berlin, West Germany continued to fly supplies into West Berlin in the Berlin Airlift. This shows the Democratic refusal at all costs to give up anything to Communism. This Berlin Airlift was important in establishing the relationship between the USSR and the United States. It shows the steadfast stubbornness between the two major powers of the post WWII world. Neither is willing to submit to the other in any way. This sets the stage for the stubborn fighting that takes place during the Cold war. Neither country is willing to directly attack the other, but they continue to aid two smaller countries, one democratic and one communist, similarly to East and West Germany. The Cold War was a combination of many conflicts similar and much larger in some cases to the one in Germany during the period after WWII between Democratic states and Communist States. These conflicts and sometimes wars represented larger conflicts between the ideologies of Democracy and Communism. All of these conflicts were attempts by the Western Powers to execute their policy of ‘Containment’. They were scared of the powers of Communism and were worried that it might overwhelm the Democracy and destroy it. Therefore they resolved to stop it in its track and prevent it from spreading at all costs. But this did nothing more than increase the building tension between the major powers of each side. Neither could directly attack the other without fear of nuclear retaliation, so they were forced to fight their battles in less direct ways, such as The Korean War. And as each became more scared, each produced more and more nuclear weapons until there were enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire world. The two countries were at a stalemate, because any offensive by one would have caused complete nuclear annihilation. The relationship between the United States and USSR was very fragile, and it held the entire world.
Germany became the major battlefield of the Cold War because both capitalist and communist Nations occupied the country. The United States, England, and France controlled West Germany, while the USSR controlled East Germany. Therefor, two opposite political and social ideologies existed in close proximity. Clearly, the close proximity of the two contrasting forms of government and ways of life explains why Germany became the major battlefield for the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteThe United States instituted the Marshall Plan to confront the threat of communism in Western Europe. The Marshall Plan, officially known as the European Recovery Program, created an alliance between the United States and sixteen other European countries. For example, the thirteen billion dollars the United States spent on repairing and rebuilding the economies of the sixteen European countries created a bond between Western Europe and the United States. Also, the Marshall Plan is credited with, "stimulating the total political reconstruction of Western Europe" (Alesina). Certainly, the financial support that the United States provided the sixteen countries of Western Europe ensured that those nations would not convert to a communist form of government or join the USSR.
The Berlin Airlift was extremely important in establishing the relationship between the United States and the USSR because it ensured that the USSR did not gain total control over the entire city. Also, the Berlin Airlift showed that no major fighting or battles would occur in the Cold War because Joseph Stalin decided against shooting down the American supply planes to West Berlin after Stalin himself shut off supply routes to West Berlin. Stalin feared shooting down the American planes because the United States possessed the atomic bomb.
The term "Cold War" describes a "state of political hostility between countries using means short of armed warfare" (Princeton). In other words, a "Cold War" is a war of contrasting ideologies or forms of government with no fighting.
Containment was the policy of the United States concerning the USSR because the United States did not want the USSR to spread communism and gain control over more countries in Europe. Greece and Turkey in particular were two nations that required much effort and military forces from the United States in order to hold off the USSR.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons affected the relationship of the West and the East because before the USSR obtained the atomic bomb in 1949, they were afraid to fight the United States because it had the atomic bomb. However, when the USSR did obtain the atomic bomb, it still did not use it against the United States because it would almost ensure that the USSR would get bombed in return. So in a sick sort of way, the peace was kept between the West and the East or the United States and the USSR because both had nuclear weapons and feared using them because it would almost certainly result in the bombing of the opposite nation.
The United States created the Marshall plan to confront the treat of communism, in which was for rebuilding and creating stronger economic foundation for Western Europe. The plan was made at a meeting of the European States on June 5, 1947 and was in operation for four years. During this time about 13 billion in economic and technical assistance was given to help the European countries to recover. In 1952 the funding ended and every participant state surpassed pre-war levels and the Marshall Plan followers had an output of 35% higher than 1938. The Marshall plan erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate the economy and it stimulated total political reconstruction of Europe.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin Airlift was so important because it helped the United States to negotiate territorial claims throughout the globe. The United States and Great Britain combined their zones into one military province call Bizonia. They were hoping that this helped to bring security back to the German people. After that France joined in and the new Trizone leadership now looked to secure some economic stability during the German recession.
The term “Cold War” is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, propaganda, acts of espionage or proxy wars waged by surrogates. The surrogates are states of the conflicting nations.
The Truman Doctrine was one of the first moves of containment by the US. Truman says, it became "the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Truman reasoned that because the totalitarian regimes affected free peoples, which represented a threat to international peace and the security of the United States. Opponent countries fear the United States alone could not contain communism and protect free countries, which then made Truman pass the bill.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons created a race to see who would gain supremacy in nuclear warfare, which creates havoc between east and west. This meaning they wanted to get more weapons than the other and before the other.
Germany became the major battle field of the Cold War-because the Allied forces of WWII were closing in on Berlin, Soviet from the east, US and UK from the West. In the end this became the major frontier because these were the parts of Europe each country controlled to close out WWII.It is also geographically central to Europe(Between Russian and UK).Once the common enemy of Nazism was defeated the cold tensions arose between the two superpowers.
ReplyDelete1.The US confronted threats of Communism is Western Europe under Harry Truman-by giving funds to many countries(UK, France, Greece,Turkey)-in order to help countries fight off Communist expansion-Truman Doctrine. The US outlook on the Soviet Union was containment policy.The Marshall Plan gave aid economically and politically, to countries in West Europe- to fight off Communism. This helped rebuild the European economy in a capitalist system.
2. The Soviets tried to monitor everything going through to West Berlin. After resistance, the Soviets cut off all supplies to West Berlin(The Berlin Blockade, a major crisis)- so the city faced starvation.The Soviets were trying to push West Berlin to its limit- until it would finally need the Soviets help-in effect giving control of the city to USSR. Truman, unwilling to accept defeat, sent 2 million tons of supplies to this city, known as the Berlin Airlift. This is a symbol of the Cold War because it showed while, the US was not fighting USSR head on, it was going to take actions to block the expansion- contain it. It showed the Soviet will to expand, and the US coming in to prevent it- containment created a stalemate. This is the key idea to the Cold War. Next, East and West Berlin were established and became the main symbols of the Cold War (also a battle of ideologies took place as a microcosm for US-democracy, Soviet-communism). So close together- to two systems competed against each other, just as the US and USSR competed.
3. The term ‘Cold War’ means that the two big powers were not in a typical head on war, because they were hesitant to fight directly due to nuclear capabilities and MAD(Mutually Assured Destruction).It evolved into a battle in ideologies and arms capabilities, despite never really fighting a ‘hot war’ with the dangerous nuclear weapons. These threats somehow kept a tentative balance.They were enemies-and fought indirectly with threats and created tension throughout the world.
4. Relative to the “COLD” War, the US policy was containment relative to Soviet expansion.This helped prevent a hot nuclear war from spiraling, but made sure that the US stood its ground as the world superpower.Containment meant arms buildups& aid to Europe-which let the Soviets know their place in the world.The US did not encroach the Soviet territory, just as the Soviets did not to the US- because this could have pushed the country far enough to ignite the deadliest war in the world.Containment was the best way in dealing with the Soviets while keeping the ‘peace’(No Nuclear Explosions).Containment made sure the US was monitoring Soviet activity,to protect against any threats.
5.The proliferation of nuclear weapons has brought many new countries into the global sphere of attention.If they get into the wrong hands it can bring global chaos and tension. More and More coutries have nuclear weapons and this has brought the need to deal with these threats between the East and West. Smaller powers are now big players even with one nuclear weapon in their possession. It has leveled the playing field and created tension between the East and West-a new sort of Cold War, where countries like the US need to decide how to deal with these new threats to prevent world destruction.It is unclear how much countries should try to get the nuclear weapons out of the wrong hands, because of the dangers.Sources:
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/what%20was%20the%20cold%20war.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/cold_war.htm
Germany became the forefront of the Cold War because the divide between the east and west went directly through it. Also it demonstrated the fact that the Cold War was only a war of ideas, since there was no difference between the two sides of Germany except for ideology. Besides the physical wall in Berlin and parts of the Western border of East Germany, the only thing seperating the two halfs was communism. These ideologies were made more apparent, by the way the German people were able to latch on to the different systems because they needed to fill the void left by Nazism.
ReplyDelete1)The United States adapted a policy of containment of communism, and they furthered this plan through the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. The US provided financial and military aid to the impoverished countries of Western Europe. The military presence helped to maintain piece in Europe because the Soviet Unions feared the US since they were the only nuclear power in the world.
2)The Berlin airlift established that the US did not the Soviet Unino because they felt comfortable enough to fly their planes over Soviet occupied Germany. The Berlin airlift also showed the American resilience and their sound commitment to the containment of Communism and the Soviet Union. The Berlin airlift created tension in the US/Soviet relations and established the relationship as one based on competition, so in essence the arms race that would develop.
3) The term "Cold War" refers to the fact that there was never any actual fighting during the 45 years it was in progress. If fighting had began it would have turned into a "hot war" or probably WWIII. The war was basically a war of words and the assumption that neither country wanted to fire the first nuclear weapon. The war was based on ideology and both figured that the superior ideology would win out over time, so both superpowers thought that the other power would concede that the opponents system was the superior system, which eventually did happen.
4) "Containment" was the policy of US towards the USSR because they knew that if they attempted to destroy communism completely they would start a third world war. So the US decided to try to stifle the growth of communism and that the people living under it would eventually revolt and overthrow the Soviet leaders. However if Communism were allowed to grow like it had been right after the war, it would become ever more difficult for the allied forces to stop its progress, it would gain too much momentum.
5) The proliferation of nuclear weapons created alot of tension between the East and the West. Both sides feared that as the nuclear weapons increased, so did the likely hood of nuclear warfare. Nuclear weapons, however provided an assured destruction for both sides if one of them fired a nuclear warhead at the other or any allied nation. The proliferation of nuclear weapons led the East and West to the brink of nuclear warfare.
Germany was the "prize" of the two wars, and with its location right between the US/ NATO alliances, and the Soviet Union's Warsaw Pact. Germany, because it was split into two parts, West Germany and East Germany. the West Germany was the epitome, the paragon of freedom, Democracy and everything America stood for, while East Germany had a totalitarian and Communist regime. Over this very close contact of clashing beliefs, Germany would obviously be the prime candidate for the battle ground between a contest of ideals. The United States instituted the Marshall Plan, which was to help all of the original allies and offer financial aid to the forced Communist countries, gaining their support, even if the communist countries were not allowed to accept the aid. The Allies that did accept the financial aid were indebted to the United States for the Postwar help, and promised to resist against any communist movement. this serves as a double protection, a pledge from the European countries and they would not desire communism, if they had plenty to rebuild their economy with. the Berlin airlift was extremely important for two reasons, it was to show the Berliners they cared, and were willing to do anything to keep West Berlin. Also, if the Russians had shot down the airlifts carrying AID to the people, there would have been a third world war with the majority against the Soviets. No doubt many forced communist countries would have helped NATO too. The Cold War refers to a period of hostility between the USSR and the US with arms races, nuclear threats and espionage. There were a lot of things that could have happened, but many were quiet scuffles of spy violence, and there was really no troop movement or battles. the Cold War was technically one without the spill of blood. Instead of trying to attack the USSR, to contain them, give them no chance to escape and or spread the communist ideal to the democratic countries. If not allowed to leave, the forced countries inside the USSR will realize the terrible sort of government they are under, and try to leave and or change. The nuclear weapons definitely made the situation much more hostile, but in a way docile towards each other, because each individual power was afraid to initiate and start an all out war in which both would have mutual destruction. the situation was made quiet so as to not trigger the other, but at the same time there was much animosity and distrust.
ReplyDeleteThe United Sates confronted the threat of communism by using the Marshal Plan. This plan was used to rebuild and create a strong foundation for the countries of West Europe. This plan also offered aid to the USSR and its allies but they refused to accept. The U.S knew that they couldn't destroy communism, but they would have to confine it and let it destroy itself.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin Airlift was important in establishing a relationship between the Western allies and the USSR. When the Berlin Blockade went up, there was no other way to get by. Therefore, the U.S used an airlift to supply the West Berliners with food and fuel. This lasted from June 1948 to September 1949. There were 277,000 flights made and 8000 tons were being flown in daily. Overall, 2 million tons of goods were delivered. This strengthened the relationship between the U.S and the people of Berlin.
The Cold War refers to the war between America and the USSR but no shots were actually fired. It was not a war fought by the military, it was a war fought by politics and the economy. There was a constant state of conflict from the end of World War II until 1991 that didn't result in any actual fighting.
The U.S wanted to stop the spread of communism through Europe but they couldn't just destroy it themselves. They would have to use another method. They used the method of containment so that it wouldn't affect any else. Also, communism would destroy itself if it was isolated in the USSR for a long time.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons caused the West and the East to scramble in order to find the weapons first. Whoever did find the weapons first would have control over the entire area. This started a huge competition between the West and the East to come in first. This caused the West and East to be much more hostile to each other. If either place got their hands on the weapons, there would be great destruction and they would be likely to totally eliminate enemy forces. However, during this competition to find these nuclear weapons, no shots were fired surprisingly.
Germany became the major battlefield of the Cold War because it was basically the center of everything that was going on in Europe both location wise and political wise. First, during the World War II, allied nations such as Soviet Union, US, and United Kingdom were all being attracted to Berlin, Geramny. Also, Berlin was the crucial city that the forces controlled in order to end the World War II.
ReplyDeleteIn order to confront the threat of communism in Western Germany, the United States incorporated the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was otherwise known as the European Recovery Program. This plan majorly helped out the European nations which in the end created a bond or a relationship between the United States and the European nations. By offering billions of dollars to the European nations, it completely reconstructed and reinforced Western Europe both politically and physically. This massive amount of financial support given by the United States significantly moved the view of Western Europe and convinced them to balk at communism.
Berlin Airlift was critical to establishing the relationship between USSR and USA because it guaranteed that the Soviet Union would not be able to gain monopoly on Berlin. Also, the Berlin Airlift served as a threat to Stalin and made sure that no big war would occur. This prevented Stalin from shooting down the American supply plane and made him shut down the supply line himself. The reason why Stalin was afraid to shoot down the American supply plane was because America had possession of the atomic bomb which served as a critical threat.
The term "Cold War" means that there wasnt any outright battle or war between the two big nations. This was because both countries possessed dangerous firearms such as atomic bombs and Mutually Assured Destruction. Because they were hesitant to go into a war with these dangerous firearms, this war turned into more of a war dealing with ideologies and possession of arms even though they never made use of these arms. Therefore, these two nations had a tension between each other and fought indirectly with threats of using their firearms instead of actually utilizing them.
Containment was a policy of US relative to the USSR because it helped to "contain" USSR from spreading communism to different European nations and eventually persuading all of Europe into running their nations with communistic ideologies. This containment policy also prevented a nuclear war from beginning and made sure that US sustained its powerful status compared to all the other countries in the world. Therefore, this containment policy helped to restrict the expansion of communism in Europe and helped to maintain the power of the United States.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons affected the relationship between the West and the East by giving the East or the USSR a different attitude toward the West or the United States. Before USSR had any access to the nuclear weapons, they were hesitant and intimidated to battle United States. However, after they had obtained these weapons, they were basically on equal level with the United States. What stopped the East from using the nuclear weapons was the fact that US would bomb them right back equally as damaging if not more. Therefore, by both sides having access to nuclear weapons, it created peace between them because both sides were hesitant to make use of these nuclear weapons which prevented a direct war.
Germany was the ultimate representation of split personalities within one country. With East Germany being the Communist capital and West acting as the perfect illustration of everything right in the world. Within one Germany, two completely different ideals, the ideals that the Cold War was fought over, were held. Germany was the "golden snitch" of sorts, and whoever caught it would win the war, hands down.
ReplyDeleteThe European Recovery Plan, i.e. the Marshall Plan, was the name given to a program, named after George Marshall. The whole premise of the program was that money would be given to recover Western Europe. In a way, it was a sort of treat to the Western Europeans and a way to show the greatness of Democracy. The Americans were even so kind as to toss those ungrateful Commies a bone, however, the conditions under which such a bone would be given were too much for the Soviets. Stalin refused such aid and demanded that none of the countries in the Eastern Bloc (namely Czechoslovakia and Poland) accept the dirty Capitalist money.
Stalin, the power whore he was, decided that he didn't like the fact that more and more Easterners were going to the Western side. He began to institute more restrictions. Thus, the people of the East were suffering. The Westerners had decided to make a brand new currency and they're economy was awesome, but the Eastern economy sucked. Eventually, Stalin went all out and ordered a blockade to keep his control over the Eastern German people and block Berlin off to the Westerners. Stalin was in total control and America, being the good Samaritans they were, wanted to make sure that the Berliners were with supplies and food. It also ensured that Stalin didn't have complete control over Berlin. The Americans would not accept defeat and refused to allow such expansion to stop them.
It was referred to as the "Cold War" because, although several deaths and wars were CAUSED by it (Vietnam War, Korean War, etc. Please see Call of Duty: Black Ops for more info.), the superpowers never fought each other. It was more of a war of ideologies, technology and weaponry. Really, the two leaders of the superpowers pretty much sat in rooms with their fingers over big red buttons.
The US used Containment to keep the Communist ideas contained. It was to keep it from spreading the cancer to the other European countries and preventing a domino effect. By keeping Communism weak, it also prevented a Nuclear war. Eventually, Communism would sort of die off if it can't effect anyone else.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons kept everyone on edge. The US knew that if it were to press its big red button, over in Europe, the Russians were already on a 25 killstreak and would simply do the same thing and destroy us as well. It kept everyone at bay and it could also be what kept people in the superpowers from fighting an all-out war.
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ReplyDeleteGermany was the ultimate representation of split personalities within one country. With East Germany being the Communist capital and West acting as the perfect illustration of everything right in the world. Within one Germany, two completely different ideals, the ideals that the Cold War was fought over, were held. Germany was the "golden snitch" of sorts, and whoever caught it would win the war, hands down.
ReplyDeleteThe European Recovery Plan, i.e. the Marshall Plan, was the name given to a program, named after George Marshall. The whole premise of the program was that money would be given to recover Western Europe. In a way, it was a sort of treat to the Western Europeans and a way to show the greatness of Democracy. The Americans were even so kind as to toss those ungrateful Commies a bone, however, the conditions under which such a bone would be given were too much for the Soviets. Stalin refused such aid and demanded that none of the countries in the Eastern Bloc (namely Czechoslovakia and Poland) accept the dirty Capitalist money.
Stalin, the power whore he was, decided that he didn't like the fact that more and more Easterners were going to the Western side. He began to institute more restrictions. Thus, the people of the East were suffering. The Westerners had decided to make a brand new currency and they're economy was awesome, but the Eastern economy sucked. Eventually, Stalin went all out and ordered a blockade to keep his control over the Eastern German people and block Berlin off to the Westerners. Stalin was in total control and America, being the good Samaritans they were, wanted to make sure that the Berliners were with supplies and food. It also ensured that Stalin didn't have complete control over Berlin. The Americans would not accept defeat and refused to allow such expansion to stop them.
It was referred to as the "Cold War" because, although several deaths and wars were CAUSED by it (Vietnam War, Korean War, etc. Please see Call of Duty: Black Ops for more info.), the superpowers never fought each other. It was more of a war of ideologies, technology and weaponry. Really, the two leaders of the superpowers pretty much sat in rooms with their fingers over big red buttons.
The US used Containment to keep the Communist ideas contained. It was to keep it from spreading the cancer to the other European countries and preventing a domino effect. By keeping Communism weak, it also prevented a Nuclear war. Eventually, Communism would sort of die off if it can't effect anyone else.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons kept everyone on edge. The US knew that if it were to press its big red button, over in Europe, the Russians were already on a 25 killstreak and would simply do the same thing and destroy us as well. It kept everyone at bay and it could also be what kept people in the superpowers from fighting an all-out war.
Germany was the obvious choice for a battlefield in the cold war because Germany was literally divided between The USSR and communism, and Nato, allies who were in debt to the United States for bailing them out, and democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe US confronted the threat of communism through the Marshall Plan, designed neither to appease or destroy communism. The Marshall plan was enacted in order to confine communism until the USSR could no longer support itself and its satellite countries.
The airlift was very important because it showed that the United States would not back down, East Berlin was their prize for World War II, and Russia could not take it from them. This complies with the confinement plan, neither appeasing the USSR, giving the east Berlin, or destroying them.
It was a cold War because while the armies of the United States in the United States did not physically fight each other their was a conflict between the two sides which could of resulted in the deaths of many people. When both sides of a conflict have nuclear weaponry, armies become irrelevant because both sides have the power to completely wipe each other out at any point they want to.
Containment was the policy because the US believed both appeasement and war were inappropriate. Total war on the USSR was inappropriate because the United States, as well as the rest of Europe, and the USSR were still licking their wounds from World War II. Appeasement was unpopular largely due to the fact that it led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, something people who lived through the War were not willing to experience again.
While it exponentially increased the potential of damage to both the East and the West, it also makes both sides more cautious with engaging in war because the consequences will be greater.
In my opinion, it is quite clear why Germany became the major battlefield of the Cold War. First of all, it was split right down the middle by the “Iron Curtain,” separating communist Europe from free and democratic Europe. It was the wealthiest, most technological, sophisticated and advanced country of all the nations located along the border as well. Also, in 1955 Germany was a divided country: what once was a whole, united and powerful world dominance was now a torn apart land governed by both communism and western democracy. This was the heart of the Cold War.
ReplyDelete1) To confront the looming threat of communism in Western Europe, the United States government came up with what is known as the Marshall Plan. This plan offered funds, protection and assistance to America’s European allies to help rebuild their nations after the devastation of WWII, protect themselves against communism regimes and convince them that being democratic would benefit them in the end.
2) The Berlin Airlift was an extremely important endeavor for many reasons. First, getting into a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union would have been extremely bad for citizens of both countries, so when Stalin cut off the railways from West Germany to West Berlin, the U.S. just airlifted the necessary supplies to West Germany instead of attacking the USSR and causing a massive conflict. They did this for almost a year until the Soviets finally gave up. This showed that the U.S. could solve their problems with the USSR without having to fight them, and they would continue to find solutions to their problems unless there was no other possible solution but war. It was a decision that was both aggressive and reserved. The U.S. was basically saying to Russia, listen, we aren’t going to back down and let you have West Berlin, and we are going to protect all democratic regions of Europe, but we want to avoid a nuclear war with you at all costs because it would mean the death of many innocent men and women and possibly the outbreak of a third world war.
3) The term “Cold War” means that there was no actual fighting or nuclear bombing that occurred in the war, yet there was much tension and hatred between the countries. Essentially, both countries were in a “stalemate” situation: they had the weapons and the military to inflict serious damage on the other, and both could potentially try and conquer all of Europe for themselves, but the result would be catastrophic and cause the death of many innocent people, so neither country wanted to make the first move and cause this kind of destruction.
ReplyDelete4) Relative to the USSR and the condition of Europe after WWII, containment was a brilliant policy for the US to uphold against the Soviets. The U.S. saw the Soviet Union potentially conquering all of Europe and making it a communist empire if they didn’t step in and prevent this from happening, yet at the same time trying to win back the territories the USSR had gained in WWII would be a bad idea. The U.S. was weary, depleted and in debt by the end of WWII, and the last thing they wanted was to pick up their guns and go right back to war against one of the most powerful nations in the world. They knew if they did this, the USSR would most likely defeat them and then have no one stopping them from making the rest of Europe part of their communist regime. The U.S. did, however, have enough military force to contain the Soviets to the land they had already and prevent them from conquering other nations, and this is what they did.
5) Nuclear weapons completely changed the game of war. As I have said already, the relationship between the West and East was one of fear, competition and tension, and this was mainly due to the recent discovery of nuclear warfare. Both sides were in fear of how many nuclear weapons the other had, both were competing to HAVE the most nuclear weapons, and both were tense and nervous because if they caused the opposing side to bomb them and begin the nuclear war, it would mean the death of millions and the destruction of entire cities. Neither side wanted to find out how many nuclear weapons the other had, their only goal was to keep the other side feeling as scared and tense and they were.
Germany, being geographically located between the East and West, the subjects of the war, made a logical place for the war to go down. Germany is also further divided into East and West Germany so conflict and tension was already occurring between them making an ideal place for war.
ReplyDelete1. The US confronted communism in Western Europe by creating the Marshall Plan, which was a plan to rebuild and create a stronger economic foundation for West Europe. It was an attempt to better the industry of these countries, but not all of them accepted the plan.
2. The Berlin Airlift was crucial during the Cold war because the americans were able to control and give supplies to West Germany and West Berlin. During the Berlin Blockade, all connections were cut off to Berlin. Soviet Russia wanted complete control over West Berlin in this way, but USA screwed it up for them by this airlift. This made Russia hate the Us even more and it divided Germany between the two .
3. The term "Cold War" was first coined by Bernard Baruch, an american financier and presidential advisor, in a speech he gave. The term means that the world is living in the shadow of the threat of nuclear war, and the lack of peace, and constant tension, hostility and threats between the USSR and USA, therefore the war was a cold one.
4. The US had to contain Communism to the best of their ability because they saw it as a true threat. Similar to George Orwell's vision in 1984, the US saw Communism as the potential to take over all of Europe and maybe more. For this reason they focused their energy to stopping Russia from spreading the ideology.
5. The destruction that nuclear warfare can cause is beyond the mind's contemplation, and it wasn't completely understood how much damage they could do. There was tension between the East and West and an uncertainty to whether their nation would be turned to rubble or not. The nuclear warheads gave them unsafe power that if they were to be pushed past their limit they could completely own their country.
After World War II, Germany became the battlefield of the Cold War because it contained the border between Communist and Capitalist states. The territory of Germany that the US and Britain had liberated at the end of WWII became democratic, while the territory Russia had liberated became part of the USSR.
ReplyDeleteThe US confronted the threat of Communism in Western Europe by containing Communism within the “Iron Curtain” and making sure that the border between Capitalist states and Communist states didn’t spread further West than it already had. They also confronted the threat by keeping nuclear weapons in Turkey to counter the USSR having nuclear weapons in Cuba. They began to fear each other for if one of the countries fired a missile at the other they would start the Third World War.
The Berlin Airlift was a plan by the British and USA to bring supplies into Berlin after Stalin had tried to blockade all the railroads leading into Berlin from the West, so that the only supplies would arrive from the East and the USSR, basically giving total control over the city. The Berlin Airlift was so successful in supplying Berlin that it humiliated the Soviets, who then dissembled their blockades and agreed that a border be drawn to separate East and West Berlin. The relationship between the USSR and the USA now was that Stalin would not bother with them anymore, as long as they did not bother him.
The term “Cold War” refers to a war from indirect conflict, rather than direct conflict. The USSR and the USA and its allies never brought out their armies and began fighting on European or America soil. The economical and political conflicts they had between each fostered tension, disagreement, and anger towards each other and both countries began to start the indirect “Cold War”.
Containment was the policy relative to the US regarding Russia because the US did not want Communism to spread into the other Western European countries. They contained the states that were Communist and created the border called the “Iron Curtain”. A spread of Communism into countries like France and England would create major economic falls in America, for both England and France are very important traders with the US.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons put the West and the East on the brink of war. The USSR had stored nuclear weapons in Cuba, during the conflict called the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. USSR could have a nuke launched at Washington, D.C. easily from Cuba. In order to put the same amount of pressure the USSR, the US put nuclear weapons in Turkey, so they could nuke Moscow easily. The tension between the USSR and the US put all of the world on the edge of their seat, for if one launched a nuke at the other, the world would start to break out in Nuclear warfare.
Germany became the major battlefield of the Cold War because of World War II. When Russia and the US/Britain/France conquered Germany, it was basically a race to see who could gain the most territory. When they met, it created this border, separating Germany into East and West Germany. The East was controlled by the Soviets, therefore being completely communist. The West was controlled by the US, Britain, and France, and therefore being run by a liberating democracy. Because these two forces were constantly fighting during the Cold War, this dividing point in Germany became a big central point to battles in the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteThe United States confronted the threat of communism in Western Europe with a program called the Marshall Plan. This plan insured liberty and freedom among the Europeans post WWII, however they couldn’t promise that yet because of the threat of communism. Because the United States earned the trust of most of Europe, by helping stabilize and make Europe a better place, especially economically, it was much easier for the US to destroy the communist ideas of Russia.
The Berlin Airlift was so important in establishing the relationship between the USSR and the USA because being divided into West and East Germany caused tension, but the airlift set the relationship in place. Russia wanted East Germany to be Communist and that’s it, nothing else about it, to just be left alone in their “Utopia”. The US however, thought it would be a good idea to win back and liberate the people of East Germany. East Germany relied on West Germany for food supplies and such, therefore giving the power of the people to West Germany. If it had been the opposite, America would be run by Russia and that would be very bad. The Berlin Airlift allowed the US to transport goods over the Berlin Wall to the suffering people of East Germany. This betrayal of peace caused the relationship between the USSR and USA to grow significantly worse.
The term “Cold War” refers to a war that has no actual fighting or conflict, but instead relies on the tension between countries. The countries generally have powerful weapons that they threaten the enemy with, but those weapons are never used.
Containment was the policy used by the US towards the USSR because of a reason mentioned above. The US realizes and recognizes that the communism being spread by the USSR is very dangerous to Europe and needs to stop. Being that this takes place, merely a few years after WWII, no one wants to go back into a war. The last thing anyone wants, especially the US is conflict to start a war. So instead of attacking Russia or letting them spread and then defending, containment seemed and was a much better approach to the dangerous situation.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons affected the relationship between the West and East because of the tension it created. Both the US and the USSR were making and carrying nuclear weapons, creating this general sense of fear throughout both of the countries. This fear increased the tension between the two countries because both sides knew the damage done would ruin their countries. Neither side wanted to be nuked, and neither side had any idea about how many nuclear weapons the other had. This feeling caused the “Cold War” to continue on, leaving a more hateful relationship between the West and the East.
The Soviet Union from the east and the western Allies met in Germany with intentions to spread their respective ideologies in the crushed, war-torn Germany. The differences between Soviet Communist and Western Liberal ideologies started the Cold War because the Soviets wanted to spread Communism and their "sphere of influence" and the Americans and the "West" resented the spread of Communism.
ReplyDeleteThrough the Marshall Plan, which helped Western European countries battered from World War II with economic recovery, the United States asserted their Liberal (in a classical sense, not a leftist sense) and capitalist philosophy in Western Europe, threatened by the anti-Western forces of Communism. America remained a financial and political ally in Western Europe, where many military bases were installed to prevent the spread of Communism
The Berlin Airlift set the stage for the whole Cold War. The Berlin Airlift represented the testy and sensitive situation between the Soviets and the Americans. The Soviets prevented American supplies from entering Berlin, so that West Berlin would default to the Soviet controlled East. Instead of forcefully delivering the needed supplies, a plan almost carried out that would certainly spur another World War, America decided to deliver the supplies by air. This action gave the Soviets two options- shoot down the aircraft or allow it passage. The USSR allowed the plane to pass, but these kind of episodes, where one decision would lead to total war were frequent and troubling throughout the entire Cold War era.
The term Cold War expresses the nature of the "war". It was not full of heated battles but rather no significant (World War II comparable) fighting occurred during the whole war. The war was mostly building weapons, threatening, and spying.
The US, through Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, wished to contain Communism to Russia. The spread of Communism was, in America's view, like an "infectious disease" that would destroy the ideals that Western civilization has striven to reach, like freedom and equality.
Nuclear proliferation was an ominous and potentially devastating. Both sides of the Cold War stocked up on nuclear weapons to aim at the opposing side. The proliferation made the relationship between the East and West very hostile and very fragile, considering both sides had enormous potential for destruction.
The United States confronted communism by threatening the Soviets in many different ways. One thing they did to confront it was by threatening the Soviets with an atom bomb. The USA also used the fact that they would not give the Russians all of Berlin or all of the German empire.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin airlifts were very important because it showed how many restrictions the Russians were placing on the German and Berlin population. This also shows how much the Berlin wall impacted everyone after WWII. The USA shows how they really do not want the Russians to control all of Berlin. They were willing to airlift resources for a whole year just in order to keep the Soviets from having power and control over this important nation.
The Cold War refers to the arms race and the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. They competed with nuclear arms race, and the space race.
The US wanted to keep the Russians contained so they could not brainwash others into believing in the communist philosophies. This was very important to the US because the Soviets had a great ability to persuade other nations and countries into adopting the Communist thoughts.
The US and the Soviet Union were in a nuclear arms race throughout the war and the cold war. This was important because the nuclear bomb was something that could destroy anything anytime, and that is the ultimate power over someone. The US created one first but was stolen and given to the Russians and therefore they were the threat. This made the relationship between them became more competitive and threats towards each other.
The United states attempted to isolate the communist controled territories from other countries. They believed that they could not destroy communism but only prevent it from spreading. To prevent the spread of communism, The United states offered money to war torn European Nations that needed assisstance, including those of communist control. The US hoped to gain favor among the European nations and push them towards embracy their style of government.
ReplyDeleteThe Airlift showed the stubbornness of each side of the conflict to work together and resolve their problems. It also shoes each nation's want of influence in the European continent. The Allies were willing to fly over the east German territory to deliver food and supplies to west Berlin so that the communists could not have influence in the region.
The term "Cold War" originated in an article written by George Orwell. He described a war where there is peace but not real peace. In other words, he talks about a post WWII world where there is still the underlying chance of another war. He also describes this battle as a war of ideologies, the communist vs. democracy. He refers to this battle as the Cold War.
The US used the containment plan to prevent the possibility of a nuclear war. They believed that the non-violent approach of just contain communism would allow them to persuade European countries to not embrace communism and help fight it off.
The spreading of nuclear weapons both increased and eased the tensions between the conflicting nations. The way the weapons increased the tension is because the two sides were at a stalemate and that they were unable to rage another war and have an advantage. At the same time, since they were at a stalemate, it made them more reluctant to fight against each other and start a new world war.
Germany during the Cold War was pretty much in the center of two powers at the time. It was the main dividing point as a result of the percentage deal, and because of this, any conflict more or less occurred in Germany.
ReplyDeleteTo deal with communism in Western Europe, the state department came up with a plan known as the Marshall plan to help aid the European countries after World War II to rebuild what was lost. By giving money to those that needed it, instead of looking to the communist ideal for assistance, they would instead embrace the thoughts of democracy and freedom.
Before the Berlin Airlift, Russia had a complete choke hold on the resources coming in and out of Russia, and were able to distribute them as they saw fit. The Berlin Airlift was an action that caused the Eastern Germans to understand the power of the United States, and see how the Russians would control their country. This was sort of a spit in the face to the Russians, as they were attempting to show the illusion of their kindness and fairness, but in reality, were completely controlling over the Eastern Germans, and they realized this.
There are many origins of the term 'Cold War'. One could be the environment. In some areas of where the Cold War was conducted, the conditions were brutal. It could also be the expressing of fake emotions, as espionage was widely used throughout this time period, and because of this, the war could be seem cold hearted.
The U.S. did not really want to end Communism. They knew that that would not work, and rather than completely get rid of it, they chose to allow the USSR to be a communist state, but they did not want the Communism ideals to spread, because once it got to a certain point, it would be uncontrollable.
In many senses, the Cold War was a time of flexing muscles between the U.S. and the USSR. There were a few things done in which both states were trying to show their strength and ability, such as the Space Race, and in particular the Nuclear Arms Race. Nuclear powers are the most feared in the world, as a country that has the possibility to destroy complete cities with a single bomb have complete control over the world's playing field. Because of this, there was an EXTREME tension among the west and east, as there was paranoia. The cold war brought a lot of paranoia due to the fact that not only was there a knowledge of these nuclear powers, but it was widely practiced what to do in a bomb situation, in a nuclear situation, and the information was present on the chances of living should a nuclear bomb be dropped nearby.
lolsupguise
ReplyDeleteGermany was the ultimate representation of split personalities within one country. With East Germany being the Communist capital and West acting as the perfect illustration of everything right in the world. Within one Germany, two completely different ideals, the ideals that the Cold War was fought over, were held. Germany was the "golden snitch" of sorts, and whoever caught it would win the war, hands down.
The European Recovery Plan, i.e. the Marshall Plan, was the name given to a program, named after George Marshall. The whole premise of the program was that money would be given to recover Western Europe. In a way, it was a sort of treat to the Western Europeans and a way to show the greatness of Democracy. The Americans were even so kind as to toss those ungrateful Commies a bone, however, the conditions under which such a bone would be given were too much for the Soviets. Stalin refused such aid and demanded that none of the countries in the Eastern Bloc (namely Czechoslovakia and Poland) accept the dirty Capitalist money.
Stalin, the power whore he was, decided that he didn't like the fact that more and more Easterners were going to the Western side. He began to institute more restrictions. Thus, the people of the East were suffering. The Westerners had decided to make a brand new currency and they're economy was awesome, but the Eastern economy sucked. Eventually, Stalin went all out and ordered a blockade to keep his control over the Eastern German people and block Berlin off to the Westerners. Stalin was in total control and America, being the good Samaritans they were, wanted to make sure that the Berliners were with supplies and food. It also ensured that Stalin didn't have complete control over Berlin. The Americans would not accept defeat and refused to allow such expansion to stop them.
It was referred to as the "Cold War" because, although several deaths and wars were CAUSED by it (Vietnam War, Korean War, etc. Please see Call of Duty: Black Ops for more info.), the superpowers never fought each other. It was more of a war of ideologies, technology and weaponry. Really, the two leaders of the superpowers pretty much sat in rooms with their fingers over big red buttons.
The US used Containment to keep the Communist ideas contained. It was to keep it from spreading the cancer to the other European countries and preventing a domino effect. By keeping Communism weak, it also prevented a Nuclear war. Eventually, Communism would sort of die off if it can't effect anyone else.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons kept everyone on edge. The US knew that if it were to press its big red button, over in Europe, the Russians were already on a 25 killstreak and would simply do the same thing and destroy us as well. It kept everyone at bay and it could also be what kept people in the superpowers from fighting an all-out war.
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ReplyDeleteGermany was a primary battlefield in the cold war because it was divided into two sides, each of them having different ideologies. East Germany was controlled by communism, and West Germany was democratic. West Germany contained the ideas which the US wanted to spread through Europe, while East Germany had the ideas which The Soviets wished to spread. Therefore Germany became a focal point for the tensions between the US and the USSR in the Cold War.
ReplyDelete1.) In 1947, the United States created the Marshall Plan which was instituted to prevent the spreading of Communism. However this act did not contain any terms which condemned communism, it was designed to contain communism in the areas in which it already existed, and allow it to die out on its own. This would be accomplished by Americanizing the economy and society of Europe so that they would no longer need the support of the USSR. With their assistance no longer needed, The Soviets would have to remove themselves from power in Germany and return to Russia.
2.) The Berlin Airlift showed that the Americans trusted the agreements that they established with the USSR, and they did not fear the possibility of the Russians shooting down their Aircraft. This incident indicated that there would be no military battles fought during this conflict between the US and the USSR. The Americans used this incident to establish their dominance over the USSR, because they had superior forms of weaponry, and had the Soviets attacked their planes, The US would have returned fire in a much more destructive and decimating fashion.
3.) “Cold War” refers to the conflict of Ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union that would involve no military battles. This war would be fought primarily with the use of fear. Each side of this conflict feared that the other would attack them, and therefore each country armed themselves with nuclear weapons to defend from the possibility of nuclear war.
4.) The United States used the containment policy with the Soviets because it was their primary goal to prevent Communism from spreading to any countries in Europe that it had not already been affected by. If the US attempted to eliminate Communism, they knew they would be starting the 3rd world war. In order to prevent more fighting, the US instead decided to use the containment policy and hope that Communism would destroy itself.
5.) The increase in the production of nuclear weapons elevated the tensions between the east and the west. With nuclear weapons becoming more prevalent, each side began to fear the possibility of nuclear warfare more than they previously had. It caused each side to make more nuclear weapons in order to protect themselves from the possibility of the other side using nuclear weapons on them.
Germany was positioned such that it was directly on the border between the Soviets and the Western Powers. Furthermore, it was divided into east and west Germany, causing further conflict within the country itself.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. confronted the threat of communism by administering the "Marshall Plan". The Marshall Plan was a plan to assist economically all European countries willing to participate. This plan rebuilt the democratic and economic systems of Europe and countered threats to Europe's balance of power.
The Berlin Airlift was so important because instead of the Soviets being able to control all of Berlin, the U.S. was able to keep control. By using aircrafts instead of trains, the U.S. was able to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin.
The term "Cold War" refers to a war that has no fighting, only very high tensions between countries. It is "Cold" because there is no movement whatsoever.
The U.S. felt as though Communism was water in a dam that was about to be burst. If burst, the dam would overflow Western Europe and eventually the whole world. In the same way, Communism must be contained in order to prevent future events.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons means that both countries can destroy the other at any time, otherwise known as "mutual assured destruction". When this occurs, both opposing countries must come to a halt so as to not provoke the other. The relationship then comes to a "stalemate", as none can make a further move.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdM6UmLDA3A
ReplyDeleteGermany became the battlefield for the Cold War because it was the meeting point between the clashing ideologies of the Soviet Union and the United States. Germany’s geographical positioning established it as the flashpoint for Cold War tensions.
ReplyDeleteThe United States confronted the spread of communism into Western Europe with the policy of containment. First established in the Truman Doctrine, the policy of containment was meant to contain the spread of communism through military aid, economic aid, and diplomatic strategy. The U.S. hoped that by pumping enough resources into the rebuilding of Western Europe they could stop the spread of communism. Their plan was effective; they could not however reach the countries that were liberated by the Soviet Union, they would remain within the soviet sphere of influence for almost half a century.
The Berlin airlift was the first major confrontation between the USSR and USA. Stalin was sick and tired of having the capitalist and democratic island of West Berlin in his sea of soviet ideals. He developed a plan to blockade the city of Berlin. His hope was that eventually the city of West Berlin would become so desperate that they would be forced to give in to Soviet control. The U.S. coordinated with Britain to supply the city of West Berlin. By airlifting food and supplies into West Berlin the U.S. and Britain undermined Stalin’s blockade, successfully winning the first Cold War confrontation. Confrontations such as the Berlin airlift, which involved no actual military confrontation, would become a staple of the Cold War.
The term “Cold War” is used to describe the war between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. because although the war was never hot, no direct combat occurred between the two nations, it was still a war. Although never declared it was very clear to the whole world that the Soviet Union and the United States were in an ideological war. The war was coined the cold war because no fighting occurred between the two countries, the war was cold rather then hot.
Containment was the U.S. policy against the U.S.S.R. because it was a policy that did not involve direct combat with the Soviet Union. In the wake of World War II the U.S. did not want to risk the loss of more American troops. Containment was a policy that allowed the U.S. to aid countries not just militarily but also economically and strategically. This allowed the U.S. to deal with communism without having to directly attack the Soviet Union. Although the U.S. would go into Korea, Vietnam, and other nations to try and prevent the spread of communism they never tried to directly attack the Soviet Union. The containment policy most likely saved millions of lives, however it took decades to eradicate communism from Eastern Europe.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons dramatically increased the fear and intensity of the cold war. Both the west and the east had to live in constant fear of a nuclear attack. However it could also be argued that the proliferation of nuclear weapons created a stalemate between the two superpowers, hastening the end of the cold war. Since both countries could destroy one another neither country wanted to fire a nuclear weapon because it would inevitably lead to their own destruction. The spread and stockpiling of nuclear weapons led to unbelievable levels of terror throughout the world and further intensified the already hateful relationship between the eastern and western worlds.
With America, France, and Britain in control of West Germany and Russia in control of East Germany this presented conflict. The two sides had very two conflicting politics as West Germany was an state of freedom while West Germany was communism. With these two conflicting ideas right next to one another this made the Germany the major battleground.
ReplyDeleteTo fight off the notion of communism, America instituted the Marshall Plan. All in all America spent about 13 billion dollars on other countries to repair the damages the WWII had left. With all this money spent it would hopefully return West Europe to an economic power to give it an edge up on East Germany, making it more appealing to a lot more people.
The Berlin Airlift was so important because it meant that West Germany would also get a share of the capitol of Germany. It was important between the USSR and USA's relationship because it showed the presence and power of the United State's military power so that if one plane was to be shot down the Americans would have the excuse to use their very deadly atomic bomb.
The "Cold War" refers to the fact that it was a frozen war. As no country advanced into the others territory. It was merely a war of ideology and politics.
The American's did not mind so much that communism was in tact throughout USSR and East Germany. But the just wanted to stop it from spreading throughout the rest of the world. They especially wanted to contain the influence of it so that it would be unable to reach countries such as Turkey, Italy, and Greece.
The United States had originally obtained the atomic bomb and had the upper hand on Russia as they did not have one and if the Americans were at all tested by the Russians they would drop the atomic bomb on them killing tons and tons of people. But then Russia obtained the secret to the atomic bomb and they too created one. But when they both had one in their possession neither wanted to drop one on the other as they were sure to get a retaliation bomb. Therefore all this do was further the stalemate and make the name of the "Cold War" make more sense.
Then 55 years later the United States wins the 2010 World Cup with Landon Donovan scoring a hat trick in the championship game.
GO U.S.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Germany became the major battlefield for the war as it was directly between the opposing forces, split in two by the Berlin Wall.
ReplyDeleteThe main military/economic tactic of the United States in the Cold War was containment. The US sought to “contain” the spread of communism in Europe through such ploys as nuclear deterrence. They also used a more radical form of containment called rollback. The US used containment to avoid starting another world war with massive casualties. By stopping communism from spreading, the US hoped to destroy the USSR from within by internal corruption and failure.
The Berlin Airlift was just another incident where the USSR attempted to enforce their control and power, and the US intervened with a superior retaliation. The Soviet Union blockaded all supply routes by train going into West Berlin, greatly impeding the city. The US, along with many other allies, responded by airlifting supplies overseas to aid the West Berliners. A huge success, the USSR was forced to abandon the Berlin Blockade, leaving the US victorious at thwarting the Soviets once again.
The term “Cold War” comes from an essay written by George Orwell called “You and the Atomic Bomb”. He foresaw three super states (the Soviet Union, USA, and East Asia) in a permanent “cold” war together.
Paired with the Space Race, the Nuclear Arms Race created much tension and competition between the West and East. Both the US and the USSR poured billions of dollars into funding the production of nuclear weapons, in an attempt to intimidate the enemy. Anxiety rose across both sides as to who would be the first to finish and implement their bomb.
I would also like to comment on a key figure of the Cold War who seems to have been mistakenly left out. Général Monsieur le Président Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was one of the greatest, and most influential leaders of the 20th century. Through his establishment of the Fifth French Republic and his support in the quest for the European ideal, de Gaulle inspired hope and strength in the lost leaders of the Western world. « Les gouvernements de rencontre ont pu capituler, cédant à la panique, oubliant l’honneur, livrant le pays à la servitude. Cependant rien n’est perdu! »
Like stated earlier at the end of WWII Germany was divided up into four sectors: one for the French, one for USA!!!, one for Britain, and one for the USSR. However USA!!, France, and Great Britain all formed theirs together and made Western Germany. Whereas, the USSR had East Germany. The main issue was that now the war between Germany and the other main powers had ended, now a new war begun. The War between democracy and communism, further referred to as The Cold War.
ReplyDeleteThe United States confronted the threat of communism in Western Europe by establishing the Marshall Plan. The Marshall plan basically helped the countries severely damaged by the Nazi regime such as France and Great Britain. In doing so when it came to deciding between fighting alongside with the Russians or with the Americans they would choose America since America helped rebuild all the damaged and destroyed countries after World War II.
As for the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall was put up for a specific reason and that was to keep East Berliners from leaving the country and fleeing to the West. Also, to try and convince them to embrace the ideas of communism. However, since the terror and terrible treatment of the Russians was unbearable the U.S. sent supplies into West Germany and West Berlin known as "The Berlin Airlift." In doing so, it proved that not only were the Russians incapable of controlling their part of Germany but it also showed that USA had sympathy for the trapped West Berliners as they had to suffer the wrath of Stalin.
Cold War refers to the War essentially between the Solviet Union and USA. It is called "The Cold War" because essentially neither country ever attacked the other. The main issue was both countries posessed nuclear weapons and one didnt think the other would fire them. Essentially, it was never really a war to begin with just a test to see which country would fire first, however neither did. Eventually, this came to the fall of the Solviet Union.
Containment was the policy of the US relative to the USSR for several reasons. However, the most important reason why containment was the of the highest importance at the time was because the Western Countries of Europe like Austria, Hungary, and Poland were under communist rule at the time there was nothing the US could do to really help them at the time. However, what they could do was stop the Russians from spreading communism so they would do things such as bribing other countries with money so that incase the Russians tried to further spread communism all the other countries would join the U.S. in War.
The proliferation of Nuclear Weapons affected the relationship between the West and East because of the great stress it put upon those who were involved. The main issue was that the USSR and US were both hiding nuclear weapons close to the others home. For the USSR at the time it was Cuba. The big deal with that became known as "The Cubam Missile Crisis" in which many people in America feared the launch of a nuclear missile by The USSR. The constant development of nuclear weapons on both sides and the fear only weakened the realationship that The USSR and the US had. These constant acts only led to the deterioration of the relationship between the two and was eventually resolved later on in the 1980's.
Germany became the battlefield for the cold war for many reasons. For example, It was split between east and west. The west belonged to NATO, while the east belonged to the USSR. This placed the infamous iron curtain straight down the middle of Germany. Communism was just feet from freedom. To make matters worse, Germany also held the jewel of world war II, in berlin. This created more tension as once again, communism and freedom were housed in the same city, needless to say by a concrete wall among other things. This brings me to the next point. The United States utilized the marshall plan to combat the war. This plan was in a nutshell, the United States giving money to the ally countries. The most money was given to Britain and France, from their ties to world war 2. This plan was put in effect to repair the post war damage, but there was an underlying plan as well. This gave the other countries a reason to stay on the side of NATO. without this money, the iron curtain could have shifted west and would have been impossible to stop due to a snowball effect. Berlin airlift made a connection between the US and russia by evening out the playing field. Russia wanted to cut off the supplies, but when the US started airlifting supplies into berlin, it put russia back into its place and showed that Russia was not as superior as they thought. This would mean that russia had to be peaceful with the US. The term Cold war applies to not only the climate in russia, but also the coldness that Russia expressed. Also, this war was cold as it was a stalemate, seeing as no country made physical progress for a while. As mentioned before, the US wanted to contain the USSR. They just wanted to keep the iron curtain from expanding. This would be the eventual fall of the soviet union because russia couldnt afford to pay for the military and other costs necessary to maintain their border. Nuclear weapons played a huge role in the war. For example, The US got the atomic bomb before any other country. whoever possessed the greater bomb had the upperhand. These weapons were manufactured not to be used necessarily, but more for intimidation. Russia got the bomb a few years later, from stolen plans. This evened the playing field in the war.
ReplyDeleteSchlerf, really?
ReplyDeletede Gaulle?
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ReplyDeleteGermany was a hot spot for war because tensions were incredibly high there between the allies and Russians. Also, Germany was further divided from allies and Russians. If there was a spot for war, this was going to be it. thats were most contact between Russians and allies took place. with every meeting and confrontation tensions must have skyrocketed.
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The Us confronted communism in Western Europe in one main way, The Marshall Plan. the plan was to pay multi-millions of dollars to 16 countries of western Europe. this money created alliances with western Europe. the other main effect it had was that it allowed these countries to rebuild their economy and jump-start their society. thus, they did not have to resort to communism.
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Prior to the Berlin airlift, Stalin halted all military supply trains and refused their passage to and from anywhere. the tensioned relationship between the allies and Russians became worse after this bold move by Stalin. Since the allies could not receive their supplies they were forced to airlift them in to Berlin. this made the relationship between the USA and Russians even more tensioned and worse.
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the term "cold war" is referring to the relationship between the USA and the USSR, which was cold. Another idea is that it could be referencing the fact the reason for the war in the first place. This reason it to keep the spreading of HOT nuclear weapons over Europe. the war kept Europe cold.
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You see, the Russians were and still are a very passionate and intense people. One not to be messed with. To simply jump into battle with the Russian would be idiotic. We would obviously win, but lose a lot of lives that otherwise, wouldn't have to be lost. the better and safer plan was to simply isolate the Russians and let them rot from the inside.
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the proliferation? of nuclear weapons drastically tensioned the relationships between West and East Germany. Each side was terrified to make a wrong move or else a nuclear was, destroying all, would break out. one could say the countries were becoming schizophrenic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdM6UmLDA3A
ReplyDeleteif u delete this glenn beck will kill you in your sleep
As the Cold War progressed, Germany became the site of the most conflict because its capital city of Berlin was divided. Berlin was split into four sectors, three of which, France, Britain, and US comprised West Germany, and the other, the Soviet Union, made up East Germany. While the border between the West and the East represented Churchill's "Iron Curtain", Berlin attained symbolic significance as it showcased Western Capitalism verus Eastern Communism. To the members of NATO, Berlin represented an oasis of capitalism behind the Iron Curtain. They attached special signifance to the city because it played such a pivotal role in WWII. Furthermore, it served not only as a resistence to the submission of the USSR, but it also proved that a Capitalist society, which existed next to a Communist state, was far more practical and successful method to run a state. Because Berlin was located within the Iron Curtain, it became the place for of the two parties to assert control and their the dominance of their system. In other words, because the German people on the East and the West were of a previously united nation, Germany was the battleground for which governmental system was most effective.
ReplyDelete1. The United States confronted the growing Communism by passing legislations to fund milatary occupation and economic rebirth in the capitalist nations that were destroyed by the war. The Truman Doctrine was the first in a series of moves to stop the spread of Communism. As Harry Truman said, creator of the eponymous doctrine, "the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Another act, The Marashall Plan gave over 28 billion dollars to rebuilding the decimated cities. With the money, countries began to trust in the capitalist system, and were able to strengtehn themselves from Soviet attack. The plan provided 16 countires economic aid, and in the process, fortified the U.S.'s bond with Western Europe.
The tenuous relationship between the US and the USSR was destroyed when the Soviets cut off Western supply lines to West Berlin. Immediately, the Americans were forced to act in order to make sure that the USSR did not gain control in the delicate balance that hung over mid 20th century Europe. The Berlin Airlift was a message to the Soviets that despite the amount of money it cost to fund the lifts, the American's would not let the Red Menace grow stronger. Because the American's did it without violence, they maintained their conditions that were set at Yalta. The Airlift was a way of tellig the Russians that their relationship was not to be upset, and if it was, then the American's would prevail over all obstacles.
The Cold War refers to the fact that there was no violence between the two parties, but rather a strong ideological gap that resulted in intricate measures of protection. The Cold War was not a physical war, but rather a war of time. Time would dictate which system could hold out and survive the longest amidst international debate.
America wished to contain Communism rather than combat it. This is because it would take more time, money, and energy to attempt to convert Communists in Eastern Europe. Furthermore, it wanted to make sure that history did not repeat itself by appeasing Russia because of it's powerful weapons. Because Communism is most appealing to poorer people, the USA sought to economically strengthen the countries of NATO in order to prevent the conversion to Communism.
ReplyDeleteThe proliferation of nuclear weapons led to an arm's race between USA and Russia. Because the war was predicated largely on appearances, each country thought that size mattered and sought to build the most threatening weapons, should the tenous equilibrium be swayed. This race caused an economic struggle in the USSR, and ultimately led to its destruction. Paradoxially, because of the prescencese of the atomic bomb in both countries, peace was kept because neither side wished to be bombed. It was interesting that weapons were necessary to justify peace in mid 20th century Europe.
Germany became the main battlefield for the Cold War because Germany itself was divided between the East side and the West side. Germany housed both types of governments and in Berlin this was magnified to a much greater extent. In the end Germany became a symbol. Whichever government controlled Germany would become the norm for the entire world because when all of Germany accepted one system it meant that the other system had to have fallen first.
ReplyDelete1. America confronted the threat of communism to western Europe not by attacking the soviets and destroying communism, but rather by making sure that it was contained and died off on its own. The Marshall plan helped to achieve this goal as it united every country against the “iron curtain” against communism and for democracy.
2. Airlifting supplies into Berlin to show the Americans will to never give up. They would not accept defeat to the Soviets in any way and by airlifting supplies to they showed their unwillingness to give Soviets any sort of victory.
3. The term cold war means that a war of threats has begun. Although neither side has fired a shot, they each built as many weapons as possible to scare the other side into surrendering. The Cold War in essence was an arms race.
4. The United States adopted the containment policy so that they could end the threat of communism without starting another war and plunging Europe into an even greater darkness. The U.S. knew that eventually communism would run its course and die off because it couldn’t control the unhappy public forever. Therefore they decided that making sure communism couldn’t grow and slow down its process of internal destruction, the U.S. did everything within its power to unite countries against the Soviets.
5. The proliferation of atomic weapons created an extremely tense relationship between the U.S. and the USSR. Each country knew that firing nuclear missiles would result in the other country firing there missiles as well. This would leave both countries with massive amounts of destruction. To make sure that they were not attacked, each country attempted to create more nuclear weapons than the other so that they would not think of attacking for fear of an even greater amount of damage dealt to them.
Germany was a major battlefield for the Cold War because not only was it a microcosm for the interactions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, but also because Germany was a once again a newly developing country; it had to be occupied by a foreign military to ensure that another German fiasco like the World Wars would not occur, and each group wanted to influence its redevelopment with its military.
ReplyDelete1) In order to confront Communism in Western Europe, since it was a result of poverty and joblessness, the U.S. provided economic assistance. The Marshall plan, which gave various amounts of money decided by the U.S. to the countries of NATO, as well as Sweden, which was neutral, so that they would not fall into the poverty-appealing Communism. The Truman doctrine, another funding program, aided the militaries of Turkey and Greece in order to prevent the expansion of Communism. Together, all these plans helped to prevent expansion and confront the threat of Communism.
2) Since the East Germans had cut off supplies transportation routes such as railroads, the Berlin Airlift was necessary to the survival of West Berlin. Originally, sixteen Supermarine Spitfires were deployed to protect the planes, but none were ever attacked. This operation was so important in helping to establish a relationship between the USSR and USA since they could both agree on certain terms on such a small scale which required no casualties, which the nonviolence shows.
3) The term "Cold War" is one of three terms to describe warfare: Hot war is actual fighting once no negotiations are made, Warm war is when negotiations are going on but militaries are organized, and Cold war is when the countries involved do not fight each other but use "client states" instead to fight with ideologies.
4) Containment was the policy the U.S. adopted towards the USSR since NATO believed that if its Communism were to not expand then it would wither and crush itself. Therefore, their plan became to restrict its expansion, to contain it, so that it would drain itself out and military conflict would be avoided, especially since nuclear weapons had been developed.
5) The proliferation of nuclear weapons deeply affected the relationship between the West and East. Since there were so many, they could be deployed from different sites all over, creating huge tension for both sides. Not only did it create tension between the countries but the development funding caused the economic destruction of the USSR and its demise.
The United States developed the European Recovery Program (ERP), also called the Marshall Plan in order to halt and abolish Communism in Europe. This plan was offered to and rejected by the Soviet Union, which was not a surprise. This United State’s goal was to stabilize and help all of Europe come up to speed with the their standard for industry and business.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin Airlift was important because it let the US support West Germany. Since the East German government cut off transportation to West Berlin, the United States controlled the fate of the country with the Berlin Airlift. This airlift allowed the United states to transport goods into West Berlin by means of air, therefore making the blockades East Germany set up useless. This caused more tension to develop between the Russians and Americans because the Russians were defeated in their attempt to control West Berlin’s trade and economy.
A “Cold War” describes the lack of physical fighting between two conflicting countries. Neither the United States or the USSR would make a physical move because both countries possessed weapons of great destruction. Basically, it just means that the two countries do not agree on forms of government, economy, trade, etc. Even though they disagree on these things, there is no combat or battles in a “Cold War.”
The United States used the policy of containment in order to control the spread of Communism throughout all the European countries. The containment policy also helped the United States keep their power. Harry Truman, the inventor of this policy, attained the even greater accomplishment of preventing a nuclear war by containing the USSR’s ideas in their country.
The proliferation or “rapid increase” of the number of warheads each country possessed caused a great deal of tension between the East and the West. There was tension because each country knew that with the push of a button, a war would begin and both countries would be annihilated. Even though each country wanted more nuclear weapons then the other, this was good for nothing because each country was too scared of what would happen if they even used one.
Part I:
ReplyDeleteGermany became the major battlefield of the Cold War for two main reasons: its defeat in WWII and its locality. After WWII plunged Germany into a devastating state of economic, social, and political uncertainty, Germany became a blank territory ready to be conquered by the winners of WWII who were able to claim it. Furthermore, Germany lies directly between the conflicting sides of West and East Europe, marking a chaotic epicenter of building tension. Once Germany split up into sections, it immediately escalated conflict between the West and the East. Germany was now a hot border between the two sides and became the locus of contrasting societies. In this respect, Germany served as a microcosm of Europe as a whole, and, ultimately, the fate of Europe would be the same as the fate of Germany.
For clear reasons, the US viewed the future plans for the expansion of communism as a threat to themselves and to the world as a whole. The US, however, realized at the same time that a plan to abolish communism would be unrealistic and expensive, so they resorted to the next best thing--containment. In 1947, the US launched the Marshall Plan (officially referred to as the European Recovery Program, or “ERP”) to contain communism. So soon after WWII, the US (or any European country for that matter) couldn’t afford to undergo a major offensive strategy, which made the ERP an appealing plan of action. The ERP, in addition to rebuilding and modernizing post-WWII Europe, focused to stop the spread of communism, which didn’t require an offensive attack. This saved the Americans from a third world war, which, with nuclear warfare, could have brought the end of Europe and possibly the entire world. With the Marshall Plan, the US made sure that the iron curtain stayed right where it was, hoping that the vital flaws of communism would eventually consume the system and cause its demise. Luckily, such an event occurred.
Building off of the idea of containment, the Berlin Airlift represented all that the US stood for during that era. While the US wasn’t going to offensively attack the USSR, they were going to do all that they could in order to stand their ground. If they surrendered West Berlin--the “black eye” that marred the USSR’s desired utopian façade--the power play would give the USSR a huge advantage over the US. The US didn’t complain, struggle or attack; rather, they chose to act based on their principles and prove that those principals will eventually overcome the USSR’s twisted ways of deceit. In other words, in addition to marring the appearance of the USSR, the Berlin Airlift illustrated two key points that would serve as an example for the rest of the cold war. First, the US maintained peaceful relations with the USSR (as the USSR didn’t shoot down any planes), no matter how unfairly and deceptively either side thought they were being treated, and, second, the US didn’t need to USSR to survive behind the iron curtain—they were “better” than the USSR and could take care of themselves.
Part II:
ReplyDeleteThe term “cold war” refers to the lack of physical battle during the war. They are no major wars or battles; instead, it’s a war of ideologies. Granted, there was a huge arms race and an exponential growth in military-focused scientific advancement involved in preparation for a possible “hot war,” but neither side ever triggered such an outbreak. Juxtaposed to the recent events of WWII, which was filled with non-stop battle, on the surface, the cold war seems rather anti-climatic. The term may be deceiving, however, as an estimated twenty million deaths occurred in the USSR alone and other battles still existed in other countries.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons had a monumental affect on West-East relationships. At first, when just the US had nuclear weapons in 1945 and the Russians didn’t, they served as the “trump card” against Russia, as they could bring the end to Russia at the press of a button. When the USSR developed the same technology, however, through espionage, the dynamics changed. Now, both sides had the same destructive abilities, and realized that if one attacked, a chain reaction would ensue, not unlike (in a figurative sense) pre-WWI Europe. This reaction could cause the literally end of the world, and therefore accounted for much of the “cold” aspect to the war—neither side was willing to risk it all. Some may view this result as a selfish and natural will to continue to exist, but I believe that this result demonstrates the good that is found in even the worst of people.
Germany was a major battlefield for violence during the war because two forms of government with different plans were in close proximity to each other. Naturally, this caused conflict to arise. Because neither side would let up, Germany became a hotbed for violence, degradation, and blatant divisions among people.
ReplyDeleteTO confront the threat of communism, the U.S. did a few things. They devised the Marshall plan which was meant to help the economy and rebuilding of Western European countries which fought in the war. However the USSR did not accept this fund. They were on their own and wanted to take over what they believed to be theirs, in Germany. They took the western part of Germany and the border of that containing everything west in Europe. The border was called the iron curtain. The way in which the United states delivered supplies to their army and territory in Europe was by the Berlin airlift. The USSR began to delay their planes and attempt to stop them so their planes could not strengthen the country section which the USSR planed or wanted to take over. it established a sour relationship between the countries. The "cold war" refers the the stalemate which the Russians or USSR and the USA were in following this bad relationship. Although no fighting took place, the bad relationship start because of trust issues, and when the USSR stole nuclear bomb plans from the USA, both countries aimed them at one another because of this lack of security. Containment was necessary because the USA and its allies sought to destroy communism, a horrible system, once and for all. it had plagued Europe for many many years and it has shown in history to be a terrible system of society. The containment was necessary so that communism did not spread. the proliferation of nuclear bombs cause a stalemate or a cold war between the two countries. it was a matter of distrust and the power to cause a horrible war. Both countries had incredibly powerful weapons and this caused lacks of trust and problems arose with the use of these powerful weapons.
ReplyDeleteGermany became the main battlefield of the Cold war because it was occupied by two different entities. West Germany was controlled by capitalists, while the Communist Nations occupied East Germany. This division among the nation made it an incredibly tense area, especially along the iron curtain.
ReplyDeleteThe United States confronted the threat of communism in Western Europe through establishments suck as the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. Financial and military aid was provided among Western Europe by the more stable United States. By creating this strong foundation for the countries of Western Europe, the United States influenced them politically by influencing Western European views and less on communism.
When the Berlin Airlift was established, the relationship between the USSR and USA became even more apparently divided. The Americans flew in supplies for Western Berlin, supplying them with essential necessities for survival. This not only aggravated the USSR, because they could not prevent air traffic, but also worsened the relationship between them. If the Berlin Airlift had not been made, the USSR would have fully controlled Berlin, making it a part of the GDR. By supplying the needs for West Berlin necessary for staying loyal to the USA, the United States ensured its control.
The term “cold war” refers to the lack of initiative between the two forces in terms of fighting. There was no fighting between the U.S’s military and the Soviet military.
“Containment” was the policy of US towards the USSR because this seemed the only way to entirely get rid of communism. If the US attacked it directly, a WWIII could have occurred, resulting in world wide devastation. After the first two world wars, it was clear this had to be prevented at all cost. Therefore, the US concluded to “contain” communism rather directly apply force to destroy it.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons affected the West and the East because neither used them. Once the power to activate such weaponry was obtained, both sides were scared to deploy such power. Thus, in a weird sort of way, “peace” or the cold war came about.
After looking at the post WWII maps, I concluded that Germany was a major battlefeild durinng The Cold War because it sat right at the boundaries of the Communist and NATO empires and part of it was owned by NATO and pary by USSR. When either army started to push into the other ones territory Germany would most likely be the first country in your way.
ReplyDelete1. The USA confronted the threat of Communism by putting into action a plan thought up by the Truman Administration called Then Marshall Plan. This plans main idea was to fund the struggling countries of Western Europe with billions of dollars in order to support them in case the USSR decided to attack. Also, the USSR was very afraid of the US because the United States was threatening the rest of the world with nuclear bombs, like the one dropped on Hiroshima only a few years before.
2. The Berlin airlift was important in the establishment of the relationship between the USA and the USSR because it officially made the US and USSR enemies. The Communists were trying to air lift supplies to West Berlin, but US troops kept them under close surveilence so they couldn't. Berlin was a key for both the Communist and the Allies and if one group got control of the whole thing, they would gain even more power.
3. The term “Cold War” refers to the war in ideals between the United States, and The Soviet Union. It was called cold because after all of the threats of invasions and nuclear war, there was no fighting whatsoever. Just tension between governments.
4. Containment was the policy used to subdue to USSR because both sides were still weary from World War II. After major losses in resources, money, supplies, and men in the US and USSR, neither side wanted to go right back to war. However, if they did jump right into battle, the USSR probably would’ve won due to the size of their military. Therefore, containment and close watch were sufficient ways to control the USSR Empire.
5. The proliferation of the nuclear weapon was extremely important to the relationships between West and East Germany. Because Germany had discovered and built these new nuclear bombs in 1949, both sides of Germany had access to them. Therefore, the threat of releasing one into the other territory was enough of a threat to keep war from breaking out between the two sides.
Tolu's Comment
ReplyDeleteGermany was the ultimate representation of split personalities within one country. With East Germany being the Communist capital and West acting as the perfect illustration of everything right in the world. Within one Germany, two completely different ideals, the ideals that the Cold War was fought over, were held. Germany was the "golden snitch" of sorts, and whoever caught it would win the war, hands down.
The European Recovery Plan, i.e. the Marshall Plan, was the name given to a program, named after George Marshall. The whole premise of the program was that money would be given to recover Western Europe. In a way, it was a sort of treat to the Western Europeans and a way to show the greatness of Democracy. The Americans were even so kind as to toss those ungrateful Commies a bone, however, the conditions under which such a bone would be given were too much for the Soviets. Stalin refused such aid and demanded that none of the countries in the Eastern Bloc (namely Czechoslovakia and Poland) accept the dirty Capitalist money.
Stalin, the power whore he was, decided that he didn't like the fact that more and more Easterners were going to the Western side. He began to institute more restrictions. Thus, the people of the East were suffering. The Westerners had decided to make a brand new currency and they're economy was awesome, but the Eastern economy sucked. Eventually, Stalin went all out and ordered a blockade to keep his control over the Eastern German people and block Berlin off to the Westerners. Stalin was in total control and America, being the good Samaritans they were, wanted to make sure that the Berliners were with supplies and food. It also ensured that Stalin didn't have complete control over Berlin. The Americans would not accept defeat and refused to allow such expansion to stop them.
It was referred to as the "Cold War" because, although several deaths and wars were CAUSED by it (Vietnam War, Korean War, etc. Please see Call of Duty: Black Ops for more info.), the superpowers never fought each other. It was more of a war of ideologies, technology and weaponry. Really, the two leaders of the superpowers pretty much sat in rooms with their fingers over big red buttons.
The US used Containment to keep the Communist ideas contained. It was to keep it from spreading the cancer to the other European countries and preventing a domino effect. By keeping Communism weak, it also prevented a Nuclear war. Eventually, Communism would sort of die off if it can't effect anyone else.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons kept everyone on edge. The US knew that if it were to press its big red button, over in Europe, the Russians were already on a 25 killstreak and would simply do the same thing and destroy us as well. It kept everyone at bay and it could also be what kept people in the superpowers from fighting an all-out war.
Kameron----
ReplyDeleteTo confront the threat of communism in Western Europe the United States implemented the Marshall Plan. This plan provided a post-war like recovery system and also attempted to boost the industrial and business parts of the Continent.
The Berlin Airlift was important in establishing a relationship between the USSR and USA because this allowed for the Americans to feed supplies to the Soviet Union, but also allow for a certain comfortably to be made between the two because the USSR had to insecure when USA flew planes over their cities, and when the Americans did not attack but continued to bring supplies it built trust.
“Cold War” stands for the ideas of a war that has no militaristic intent but if needed it will be used. The main use of “fighting” in these wars, is the use of propaganda and spies, these allow for the influence of ones ideas and the protection against potential uprisings and threats.
The containment of Communism by the USA was relative to the USSR because Harry Truman set up an idea that it was best to contain the communist so they had no more free people to feed on and to run their countries with so, Truman came up with the idea of Containment.
The Proliferation of nuclear weapons affected the relationship between the West and the East because, the race for the “best”, “most”, and “deadliest” weapons was so prominent between countries that it laid a foundation of unity between Alliances. This did not affect the Cold War because there were no weapons used hence the term “Cold War.”
The United States' policy on communism was primarily to contain it. By pumping money into post WWII Europe, the US ensured that nations that had been ravaged by war would not turn to communism. The USA gave countries billions of dollars in aid so that they would rebuild and turn their economies into good upstanding capitalist systems. The Americans penned in the USSR with nations pumped full of money, ready to make some more.
ReplyDeleteThe Berlin Airlift was important in establishing the USSR and USA's relationship because it was an opportunity for the Americans to show their dedication to democracy and capitalism. The USSR tried to make it hard for the US to access Berlin in the hope that they could make the west look bad. The US spend more money lifting in luxuries and necessities for the west berliners. The US showed that it would not be bullied in this statement.
The term Cold War refers to a war that was more of a conflict and a race than a war. The US and Russia fought with everything but guns and bombs. By stockpiling weapons, competing in athletics and racing to the moon, the two countries tried to convey the benefits of their respective government systems and economies.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons served only to heighten the conflict between the two countries. With atomic energy, the threat of war not only meant the destruction of many citizens of each country, but the annihilation of the world.
Germany was the main battlefield ofthe Cold War because it was in convenient position between the Soviet Union and America and its allies.
ReplyDeleteThe United Sataes put the Marshall plan into affect. This plan was meant to handle the recovery detail of a post war society; it also planned to boost industrial and economical factors.
The Berlin airlift has significance because it creates a relationship between The United States and the USSR, which aloowed the United States to send fuel to the Soviet Union for aid and support. And as well, it settled things between The United States and the USSR.
The vernacular of "Cold War" means ill faced ideas, and that has no militaristic means whatsoever. The war between the USA and the USSR was fought in arguments, rather than on an actual battlefield.
Containment was the policy of the US relative to the USSR because there was an idea that Communist should be held back or in "containment".
The proliferation of nuclear weapons just made conflict between the USSR and the USA. But it also strengthened alliances between allies.
Germany in 1955 became the main battleground and war zone for the Cold war due to its being split down the middle by the FRG and the GDR. These two factions were formed after the end of World War II when Germany was divided up to be given to the winning factions. The Americans and there allies in the west formed the FRG and consequently the Soviets with the USSR transformed East Germany into the GDR.
ReplyDeleteThe United States Marshall Plan was a stand against the growing power of communism in Eastern Europe. The plan offered aid to countries in War torn Europe recovering from WWII. This was in hopes of instituting a democratic society and making the lives of the Europeans better so that they would accept this idea. Some Countries refused this plan and instead joined the GDR and Communism. The Berlin Airlift was an important and extremely remarkable event in establishing the relationship between the USSR and America due to its nature of resourcefulness and the way it shows that America was willing to find a way to keep Stalin at bay and maintain their control over some of Germany. The Cold War was referred to as the cold war because of the nature of the War. It was a war of ideology on Politics not a war that consisted of fighting. There were great technological advancements made and new, more powerful weapons created in order to intimidate and hopefully gain the upper hand in the War. Containment was the policy of the US relative to the USSR because if the US was able to contain the USSR they would not have to go into a major war so soon after the end of WWII. Therefore their policy of containment and close watch in order to maintain the upper hand and avoid an all out war was very crucial. The proliferation of Nuclear weapons during WWII effected the relationship between East and West Germany because of the constant threat of nuclear holocaust. The tension created by these weapons greatly increased when the USSR stole the US plans for these bombs and created a stalemate situation. Both sides did not want to attack and were brought to a standstill because if one bomb was set off a chain reaction and all out nuclear war would ensue that could destroy humanity.
Germany became the major battlefield for the Cold War because of its direct position in the middle of things. Germany is the border between the communist Soviets and England, France, and all their allies. Because there was no fighting directly apart of the Cold War, the “battle ground” for the war became the borderline for two different systems of thought. There was a wall or “iron curtain” between East and West Germany and any person trying to leave the GDR or East German was killed if trying to escape past the wall.
ReplyDeleteThe Americans tried to confront and end the threat of Communism through the European Recovery Program or ERP. The ERP, also known as the Marshall Plan, was a system created by the Americans to instill their ideals of freedom and free market unto Europe in an attempt to stop the spread of communism throughout Europe. This did help the Americans gain support from other by offering aid as a relief to World War II. The Americans gained many allies through this form of aid. This would ensure support from other countries if the Soviets tried anything shifty.
The Berlin Airlift aided the growing negativity between the United States and the USSR because the US remained in control of East Germany even through Berlin Blockade. During the Berlin Blockade, the Soviets closed off all railroads and streets leading into West Berlin from East Germany. The British and American air forces made the airlift possible and dropped supplies needed by the people stuck in West Berlin. The blockade made it impossible to regularly deliver the needed supplies so by creating an airlift like this, it made it possible for West Berlin not to have to rely on East Berlin, which would give them control over West Berlin. This situation made the Russians look foolish amongst the other nations, which only worsened the situation.
The term “Cold War” refers to a conflict where no fighting or violence is used but rather there is much tension between the two opposing sides.
The United States saw containment as the only possible solution against the Russians because after a while they realized that there was nothing they could do to prevent the existence of communism in Russia and the GDR (East Germany). Containment would stop the spread of communists ideals and rather than start a war over communism, the US wanted to keep the peace between themselves and Russia while at the same time keeping the rest of Europe free of Communism.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons enhanced the delicacy of the situation because with more and more nuclear weapons made neither side knew exactly how many bombs the other side had. With saying this neither side was exactly ready or willing to fire the bombs at another country and start a nuclear war. This also made the war a competition as to who could make more bombs and more importantly who could make a more advanced bomb. This was the goal of the whole war yet no bombs were ever used in the end.
Germany became a main battlefield in the cold war because of its positioning between the soviet union and america and its allies. Also, because west Germany believed in a democratic state, and east Germany believed in a communistic state, tension was created, and this progressed toward the advancement of a war.
ReplyDeleteThe Marshall plan, instituted by America, set out to re-make a better and stronger economic program for Europe. By putting this plan into action, and having it be such a success, the Americans formed an alliance with many surrounding nations, which allowed them to confront the threat of communism in Europe.
Because there was a wall put up in Germany, and all the railways and roads were shut down that led from east Germany into West Germany, the West Germans could not get any food or supplies. The west Germans were relying on the east Germans, and because they gave them nothing, the americans helped them out. Because the skies were not blocked, and nobody could stop them, the americans flew planes over the wall, and dropped goods and supplies to the West germans. This made the Russians take down the wall because it was useless, which made the american and soviet relationship even worse.
"Cold War" is a term that means no direct contact with another party. There was words and ideas tossed back and forth between both parties, but never any real guns or bullets were fired in this war.
The U.S. used containment as their policy to stop the spread of communism and Europe. As to not strike up any conflict with the soviets, they didnt want to do anything that would upset the Russians. In the effort to stop the communism from spreading to other nations, the U.S. contained the soviet's ideals and stopped them there.
The proliferation of nucler weapons made the relationship between the soviets and the americans very special. Each side knew the other had a nuclear weapon, but did not know how many they had. This, in turn, made it possible for a nuclear war to start and leave each country demolished. Because they did not want this to happen, the cold war happenned, and no shots were fired at the other, and it was simply a war of ideals.
Germany immediately became an epicenter of controversy, because after it was divided up at the end of WWII, there were conflicting ideologies within the same country. Although the USA and USSR were allies in WWII, they were not fighting for the same type of society. They were only interested in the fall of Nazism.
ReplyDeleteThe USA, not wanting another war, took a policy of containment. They were not going to start an unnecessary war, but if USSR wanted to spread its ideas, they would intervene. This came in the form of the Marshall Plan, which was the primary containment plan created by Secretary of State George Marshall.
The Berlin Airlift was a response to the Blockade that the USSR put on between East and West Germany. This blockade established a relationship that was trying to make there be no relationship. By blockading the East, Stalin was hoping that the USA would just ignore them and forget about this and let them live in there own words. The airlift was essential to the USA because it allowed them to have territory in Berlin, and not give total control to the most powerful city in Germany to communism.
Cold War refers to the type of war between the US and USSR. There was no actual fighting or violence between the two powers. It was a war of threats and hate between the countries. There was always the fear of a full-blown war, especially with the new weapons of nuclear bombs. But that’s all the war amounted to, threats.
The US chose to have a containment policy to avoid any unnecessary violence. They knew that communism was a bad thing, and they were not going to let the USSR spread their views as they wished. But with the threat of nuclear war, they did not want to attack a country armed with nukes that could destroy the entire Earth if they so desired.
The nuclear weapons strained the relationship but also controlled it. They were now both holding the cards to wipe the other off the map. This made fear between the East and West. However it controlled things from getting out of hand because they knew that if they did something bad enough that a nuke could be on its way so they never went too far.
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