To what extent did events in the final year of World War Two turn wartime allies into Cold War enemies?
To what extent did events in the final year of World War Two turn wartime allies into Cold War enemies?
Wa’ays Hassan 11C
There were several events in the final year of World War Two that turned wartime allies into Cold War enemies. The main reason being the ideological mistrust between the US and U.S.S.R. On the part of the Soviets, their communist ideology stated that capitalist countries would surely try to destroy them. They believed this even more because of the fact that the US and England, among others, had been very opposed to the creation of the Soviet Union. On the part of the US, they believed that the communists wanted to take over the world. They thought that the Soviets' desire to control Eastern Europe was simply the first step in a communist effort to spread their ideology over the whole world. Because the two sides distrusted each other's ideologies, they felt the need to defend against one another. Any move one side took to defend itself would be seen as an act of aggression by the other side. Once the common enemy (the Nazis) had been defeated, there was nothing to prevent this suspicion from causing enmity. (Main reasons of Cold War.2010. http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-u-s-u-s-s-r-which-had-been-allies-wwi-395374.) In this essay, the events I will be discussing are as follows, the end of the war in Europe, the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Though these events did play a large role in turning War time allies into Cold war enemies, the events in 1945 only sowed seeds for conflict, but in fact it was the way the powers reacted to events afterward that actually turned the U.S and USSR into cold war enemies. (Kelly Rogers and Jo Thomas, 2008, pg.36)
The end of the war in itself meant that there was no common interest holding the USA and USSR together, thus already hinting that there was a strong likelihood of them going against each other and
Wa’ays Hassan 11C
There were several events in the final year of World War Two that turned wartime allies into Cold War enemies. The main reason being the ideological mistrust between the US and U.S.S.R. On the part of the Soviets, their communist ideology stated that capitalist countries would surely try to destroy them. They believed this even more because of the fact that the US and England, among others, had been very opposed to the creation of the Soviet Union. On the part of the US, they believed that the communists wanted to take over the world. They thought that the Soviets' desire to control Eastern Europe was simply the first step in a communist effort to spread their ideology over the whole world. Because the two sides distrusted each other's ideologies, they felt the need to defend against one another. Any move one side took to defend itself would be seen as an act of aggression by the other side. Once the common enemy (the Nazis) had been defeated, there was nothing to prevent this suspicion from causing enmity. (Main reasons of Cold War.2010. http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-u-s-u-s-s-r-which-had-been-allies-wwi-395374.) In this essay, the events I will be discussing are as follows, the end of the war in Europe, the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Though these events did play a large role in turning War time allies into Cold war enemies, the events in 1945 only sowed seeds for conflict, but in fact it was the way the powers reacted to events afterward that actually turned the U.S and USSR into cold war enemies. (Kelly Rogers and Jo Thomas, 2008, pg.36)
The end of the war in itself meant that there was no common interest holding the USA and USSR together, thus already hinting that there was a strong likelihood of them going against each other and