The Spread of Soviet-Backed Communism Across Eastern Europe after 1945

Security has been disputed to be another driving factor, and possibly the main factor to the cause of the cold war as it is interlinked both with ideology and the nuclear race. For instance, ideology and security both influenced the same event, which in this case was the creation of the Eastern bloc. (Heywood, 2014) stated that Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe was seen as “defensive rather than aggressive”, motivated essentially by a buffer zone desire. Security was an important factor because the Soviets believed that by having the eastern bloc, they would be protected from Germany as they had been invaded twice since 1917. Stalin wanted to ensure that future attacks will not happen again. (Daddow, 2013) highlights how “states are primarily concerned with their own survival and therefore prioritise military and security concerns”. As a result this factor has great importance because it highlights how misperceptions about the soviets desire to protect itself from future invasion had led to several missed chances of peace. (Heywood, 2014) shows how the US was concerned that the creation of a soviet-bloc was an expression of Russian imperial ambitions.

In 1945, one major war ended and another began. After World War II, the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union were involved in what became known as the Cold War, which was a period of mutual fear and distrust. The war was given the name "cold" because the two sides never actually came into direct armed conflict; it was a war of words and ideologies rather than a shooting war (Crawford, 2009, p. 6). The Soviet Union and the United States came out from World War II as the new world superpowers, and despite their common victory with the defeat of their enemies, their primary bond was broken. There were deep-rooted ideological, economic, and political differences between the United States and the Soviet Union prior to the Second World War. Their differences, most notably their political systems and their visions of a postwar Europe, were intensified as a result of their mutual suspicions and during and after the Second World War drove the allied nations into an ideological conflict that lasted for 45 years.

Emerging victoriously from World War II, America became the leader of the free-market capitalist world, and proved to be a military, economic, and political powerhouse. However, as one major war came to a close, another battle was brewing between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union expanded farther West into Europe, America as well as its NATO allies worked together in an effort to contain the USSR’s expanding communist party. The Cold War went far beyond a battle between different ideologies. Rather, it developed into a global conflict where espionage, treason, and massive propaganda campaigns were inflicted on all aspects of individuals’ lives internationally. The plausibility of communism seeping into the confinements of the United States caused nation-wide fear to erupt. American businesses feared the idea of a communistic revolution on the basis that it would disturb the very groundwork that holds capitalism together. As a result, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed to investigate communist and fascist organizations within America. Unfortunately, the controversial tactics used during the HUAC hearings contributed to the fear, blacklisting, and repression that existed from 1940 through the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold War, several American opinions materialized concerning the role of the HUAC, in which Americans either praised the committee for its patriotic ideals, applauded but recognized the

“The originally propagated view that the Marshall Plan was an altruistic endeavour … has long been dismissed.” Instead, “The overwhelming body of literature looks at the Marshall Plan either from a political and diplomatic or from an economic viewpoint.” Overall, the Plan was primarily motivated by the former, rather, than the later, albeit both were heavily intertwined. This is because containment and a fear of Soviet expansion categorised US foreign policy for much of the postwar period, with economic considerations being the method used, to enact this policy of containment.

The collapse of the communist Soviet Union ultimately led to the end of the cold war. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. Thus highlighting the inferiority of communism and the superiority of western capitalism. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, however, was a result of both domestic and international factors including policies established by both the US and the Soviet leaders, most importantly Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’ reforms combined with the hard-line approach of Ronald Reagan. It has also been argued that the collapse of communism in eastern Europe was inevitable due to its moral bankruptcy, as well as the growing economic pressures which ultimately forced the Soviet Union to

The Cold War was called Cold War since it was not a bloody war but, a political war. The Cold War was war between The United States and the Soviet Union it caused separation between these two countries for 45 years. Both these countries fought for the spreading of their political beliefs, bringing controversies between these two countries. The U.S as usual became involved in other country affairs and did the most possible to stop communism from spreading. The U.S teaching their civilians how wrong communism was and the dangers of communism created changes during the 1950’s and 60’s, causing fear and terror of ever being attacked or “bombed”. The Cold War changed lives in the 1950’s and 1960’s and can be measured politically and socially; the struggles between democracy and communism still exist in the 21st Century through North Korea and South Korea.

During World War II, the United States and the Soviets put their political differences aside in their need to defeat their common foe, Germany. However, even during the war against Germany, and later Japan, the political and post-war tensions between the United States and the Soviets were ever underlying and continued to grow. As both sides of the Axis allies continued to gain ground, during their victories in Europe, the questions and positioning for future world domination of political ideals continued to mount up. Shortly after Germany surrendered, the issues began to come to light at the Potsdam Conference that was attended by the current British, American, and Soviet leaders. After the use of the atomic bombs and Japan’s surrender,

The Cold War was a direct result of the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. Due to this feud both countries made alliances, Canada went with the United States as well as many other countries and together formed NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Following the influence and model of the United States’ social structure and capitalist economy, as well as the constant threat of nuclear warfare and communism, a new social structure was created within Canada. The Cold War created new identities and lifestyles for all Canadian citizens. This was done to eliminate communism, increase patriotism and as a way for Canadian citizens to work together to combat nuclear threats. Communism was a constant threat in Canada and was to be eliminated if not at least controlled at all costs. This meant that everyone had to act according to the new social structure, or risk suspicion of being a Soviet spy. This new social structure resembled harsh sexist stereotypes where the men are the breadwinners and the women are the homemakers. This type of relationship was called the nuclear family. This paper is going to look at the social roles that the Cold War created because of the threat of communism, nuclear warfare, governmental influence and social influence within Canada for men, women and children.

1. The three sources of tension between the United states and the Soviet Union from the end of the Second World War to the Marshall Plan are religious conflict, commercial expansion, and the consolidation of dynastic power that transformed Europe. United States and the Soviet Union both wanted to expand their territories with strong military and power. The Marshall Plan dealt with the social issues which helped aid Western Europe economy. However, from the experience of World War II, U.S. policy makers came to the decision that no hostile state can be allowed to gain control over the populations, territories, and resources of Europe and East Asia. Americans in the United States developed stronger military naval bases where they wanted to increase

World War II shocked and dismantled many Eastern European countries leaving Europe in a state of shock, with many unanswered, open ended questions. Buildings were blown up, streets cracked, people slaughtered, and governments destroyed. As turmoil struck Eastern Europe, an opportunity arose for a new political system to come into power. However, this process is never a simple one; two common political ideologies fought to control the heart of Europe. Capitalism led by the Western Allies, funded by the United States Marshall Plan, spread providing a short time of economic prosperity. The American’s plan however could not venture as far east as West Germany with Moscow’s direction of Communism led by Joseph Stalin and he took over a large portion of Eastern Europe with many open statements and empty promises. These two ideologies caused an enlarged time of tension stemming from the drastically different values they were known to embrace, leading to a horrific time known as the cold war.

Post World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union were fearful of fighting each other directly from fear of nuclear weapons and mass destruction (D. Johnson, P. Murray). Instead, they fought each other by participating in wars on separate parts of the world. Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union constantly fluctuated due to both sides trying to influence political and economic developments around the world (D. Johnson, P. Murray).

McCarthyism: McCarthyism is the name associated with the reckless and unsupported accusations against individuals were “deemed” Communists during the beginnings of the Cold War. It gets its name from Senator Joseph R. McCarthy from Wisconsin, who, in February 1950, claimed that Communists had infiltrated the American government. He shocked the State Department when he announced he possessed a list of over two-hundred communists who worked in the department, but the number later dropped to fifty-seven individuals. The only evidence to support his claims of enemy invasion were the name of the fifty-seven individuals who he believed “… [appeared] to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party” (Voices of Freedom

The Cold War, in one sense, was a power struggle between the two nuclear military giants of the age, the United States and the Soviet Union. But on a more basic level, the Cold War was a contest between two opposing ways of life. One was democratic capitalism, whose leading representatives were the United States and the nations of Western Europe. The other was totalitarian Communism, the system of the Soviet Union and its "satellite" nations in Eastern Europe. Between 1945 and 1990, despite constant tensions and an alarming buildup of nuclear arms on both sides, the United States and the Soviet Union officially remained at peace—hence the name the "cold" war. Yet it was hardly a peaceful era. Furthermore through newspapers in USSR (Pravda and

“We promised the Europeans freedom. It would be worse than dishonorable not to see they have it.” General George S. Patton believed this and was right to a certain degree. America didn’t declare war on the Soviets but they did play a major role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Americans didn’t fire a shot on Russian soil but they pressured them into doing acts that the Russian economy wasn’t capable of doing. Although the Soviet Union was a super power after World War 2, their power was cut short because of the involvement in the space race and arms race.

During World War II women in the Soviet Union played a major role in helping the