The cold war dominated international relations throughout the world for over 35 years. It showed political and military tension between the Western and Eastern powers. Some people suggest there was a thaw (improved relations) in the cold war between 1953 and 1960 while others suggest there wasn’t.
One the one hand it could be said that there was a thaw in the cold war between 1953 and 1960. There were two main events that showed the thaw itself in 1953: the death of Stalin and the end of the Korean war.
The death of Stalin was a possible reason for a thaw. People suggested that the changes in leadership were an important reason for the thaw. Less suspicious Soviet personalities as for example Nikita Khrushchev and Prime Minister Malenkov ascended. Also, the same happened in the USA with the end of Truman’s presidency and the election of Eisenhower. This was important because the cold war had been extremely tense when Stalin was the leader of the USSR and Truman the president of the USA.
In 1954 the US senator McCarthy was discredited. He was extremely anti-communist and during he speeches he accused people living in the USA of being communist spies even though he had no evidence for this. Because of this he created a hysterical anticommunist feeling in the USA and made it difficult for presidents to make a balance in the country. In 1954 he was discredited, he was shown being a liar. This helped a lot in balancing the atmosphere of the country, and soon afterwards president Eisenhower announced that the American people wanted to be more friendly with the Soviet people.
The thaw showed itself in many different ways. In 1955 the Russians made concessions. They agreed to give up their military bases in Finland. They also lifted their veto on the admission of 16 new member states to the United Nations. When Khrushchev paid a visit to Tito the quarrel with Yugoslavia was healed. Also the Cominform was abandoned, which suggested more freedom to the satellite states.
Another thing that showed improved relationships was Khrushchev’s famous speech in 1956. During the speech, Khrushchev talked about Stalin saying that he was a terrible person. He also attacked the crimes committed by Stalin and his associates. This speech showed that the USSR was changing, that it was now more open to the world. With the visit of Khrushchev to the USA in 1959, a change between the relationship with the USA was shown as it compared when Stalin was in power he had never visited the country.
As well, in 1959 there was a big development in the thaw. After the World War II, Austria had been divided into 4 zones of occupation. The Austrian government had limited powers and they were facing the same problems as in Germany. The 3 western zones were recovering while the Russian zone insisted on squeezing reparations as in the form of food supplies. In 1955, the Russians were persuaded by the Austrian government to be more co-operative. This resulted in the withdrawal of all occupying troops and therefore the independence of Austria. The country remained neutral, with limited armed forces.
On the other hand, it could be said that there wasn’t a thaw in the cold war between 1953 and 1960, and that the thaw was only partial.
Even though Khrushchev made conciliatory moves, he was also very quick to respond to anything that seemed to be a threat to the East. This showed his policy was a curious mixture. For example, he had no intention of relaxing Russia’s grip on the satellite states.
In 1956 the Russians invaded Hungary. This showed the contrary to a thaw in the cold war. They invaded it to make sure the country didn’t turn democrat. There was also a rising in Budapest against the communist government and Russian tanks ruthlessly crushed it.
In 1955, the Warsaw pact was signed between Russia and her satellite states shortly after West Germany was admitted to the NATO. This pact was a mutual defense agreement, which the west took as a gesture against West Germany’s membership of NATO, which showed more tense relations.
The arms race and the U-2 spy plane showed that there wasn’t a thaw in the cold war between 1953 and 1960. The arms race continued throughout the 1950s. This showed that the USSR and the USA were both frightened of each other and that’s why the arms race continued. The Russians continued to build up their nuclear armaments. In 1960 the USA send the U-2 spy plane to spy on the USSR, which also showed fright and suspicion.
In 1958 the Berlin Wall was constructed which caused a lot of tension in the cold war. Khrushchev announced that the USSR no longer recognized the rights of the western powers in West Berlin. The Americans said they would ressit any attempt to push them out while the USSR did not press that point. In 1960 Khrushchev felt aggrieved when the U-2 spy plane was shot down inside Russia. Eisenhower refused to apologize and defended America’s right to make reconnaissance flights.
As a conclusion, it could be said that there was a thaw in the cold war between 1953 and 1960 until a certain point, because it was only partial. There were a lot more reasons that suggested that there weren’t any improved relations.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc and powers in the Eastern Bloc. The cold was started in 1947 and lasted until its official ending in 1991. It was referred to as the “Cold War” because instead of using actual weapons the two sides used verbal weapons in the form of information and threats.…
- 1080 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
The Cold War was a state of political, military, and economic tensions and hostilities between the Communist World, primarily the Soviet Union, and the Capitalist Western World, the United States and its allies. The Cold War lasted over 40 years because the beginning and ending of it leaves room for some debate. Some sources say it started in the mid to late 40’ after the Second World War while other historians date it back to 1917 with The Bolshevik Revolution and ending in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In that case the Cold War then lasted for over 70 years. The periods when tensions were at the most high were from the late 40s to the 70’s. The international incidences of particular note that brought things to the boiling point were the Berlin Blockade (‘48-‘49), the Korean War (‘50-‘53), Berlin Crisis (‘61), the Vietnam War (’59-’75), and the Cuban Missile Crisis (’62). There were points, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, were the United States were very close to engaging in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and its allies. The Cold War spread at home too during a heightened state of fear and panic called the Second Red Scare. This lasted approximately 10 years from 1947-1957 during a time when the country was worried about national and foreign communists taking over society and the federal government. Anyone, from actors to politicians, and just the ordinary working class person accused of any communist ties, could lose their job, property, and face imprisonment even with lack of proof or evidence to support the claims.…
- 724 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War described the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union and began shortly after World War II and was mainly caused by the differing views of capitalism vs. communism and a distrust the two countries had for each other. A big reason for the distrust was because the Soviets had developed atomic bombs. Bombs kept by both countries kept each other on edge. The cold war lasted roughly 45 years beginning in 1945 and ending in 1991 after the falling of the berlin…
- 799 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
During the Cold War, many people were victimized by the accusations put forth by Joseph McCarthy. The Cold War was a political, military, and diplomatic struggle that defined the second half of the twentieth century. Beginning almost immediately after the end of World War II, the Cold War did not come to an end until the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991. While the United States and the Soviet Union were the primary nations involved in the Cold War, the conflict affected people and nations worldwide. These two superpowers were engaged in an ongoing battle of ideas, politics, and influence that consumed the entire globe for nearly fifty years (Bjornlund 4).…
- 1150 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War, which lasted from 1945 to 1991, was a conflict between the two Superpowers of the USA and the USSR. Even though there was no direct military action between the two countries, the 'war' greatly changed the political scene of Europe and the rest of the world.…
- 679 Words
- 3 Pages
Better Essays -
The Cold War was a period of hostility and rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union beginning soon after the end of World War II, lasting from 1945 until 1989. The Cold War originated from conflict over the type of government in Eastern Europe after the war. The United States pushed for freely elected governments while the Soviet Union denied it. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, shortly after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, the new president, Harry Truman ordered instant free elections throughout Eastern Europe. Stalin denied and in reply said, " A freely elected government in any of these East European countries would be anti-Soviet and that we can not allow." President Truman cut off all aid to Russia stating…
- 301 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War (1945-1991) conquered international relations within a structure of political, economic, and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War facilitated global leadership by the United States, and provided Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his successors with an enemy to validate their suppressive regime. The Cold War helped legitimize an unrepresentative government and uphold the Communist Party in the Soviet Union (Kennedy, 1989; Kissinger, 1994).…
- 1432 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War took off after the end of the Second World War when the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the two global dominant superpowers each grasping ideologies that were dichotomous from each other. This adverse relationship continued for half a century and the clash of two distinct and differing political ideologies of communism and capitalism saw no clear conclusion or victory for either side. The tense atmosphere resonated not only in the United States and the Soviet Union, but also around the world and into space. For most of the fifty years of the cold war, the ideological struggle and the many indirect physical conflicts between the West and the Soviet Union were in a deadlock with no visible success of either side. However,…
- 392 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
With that collapse we see the end of the Cold War itself. One could say that in Reagan's aggressiveness and reduction talks he got the ball rolling, and I think he did more than those that came before him, but if the leadership of USSR hadn’t changed I don’t think he would have been making concessions with…
- 529 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When World War 2 ended a new war surfaced: it was the Cold War. It began in the summer of 1945 at the Potsdam Conference in occupied Germany. The conference was attended by the Soviet leaders, the British leaders and American leaders. President Truman was also there but left the conference feeling that Soviet leader, John Stalin, was planning to have world domination. This was the beginning of worldwide rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.…
- 892 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War: The Cold War was a long stretched period of nuclear and political tension mostly between the Soviet Union and the US after WWII. While several events made tensions worse, including Truman's Containment Policy, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Berlin Wall. The Cold War was ended in 1990 when the Berlin Wall came down and Eastern Europe the started holding free elections.…
- 373 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Over the years, leaders on both sides changed. Yet the Cold War continued. It would continue to be a huge force in world politics for most of the second half of the twentieth…
- 1354 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The period of the Cold war began in 1945 following World War II after the defeat of Hitler, Germany and Japan. The Cold War wasn’t a one time event, rather it was a long period of fighting between the leadership of the Western World and Eastern Europe. The two countries known as superpowers led the charge with the Western side led by the USA and Eastern Europe led by the Soviet Union. Although once allies during World War II, mistrust with the leadership of Joseph Stalin and his leadership caused the USA to take a stand against the communist country. Although a war was never formally declared, the two super powers fought indirectly through proxy wars, space race, and arms race.…
- 275 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The Cold War happened between the years of 1945 and 1991, it was a time of military, political, and economic tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. Just after the second World War had ended, complications came up around the area of international power, who would gain more power and who would lose power. The main thing the Soviet Union attempted to do during this shifting of power was they tried to gain more territory in order to solidify their spot as a world wide power, while the United States attempted to limit the territory gained by the Soviet Union. The multitude of ideological differences separated the two countries as well, especially in the years coming after the second World War, during that time the American government…
- 1576 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The Cold War began not too long after World War II ended in 1945, was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed specifically between the United States and the Soviet Union(USSR) and those countries' respective allies from 1945 (end of World War II) to 1989 (fall of Berlin Wall). Throughout this period, the most powerful countries in the world were starting to became enemies. But instead of fighting with guns and bullets they fought with games and competition like the Olympics meaning that the conflict was expressed through military coalitions, weapons development, invasions, propaganda, and competitive technological development, which included the space race such as competition of who landed on the moon and go…
- 671 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays