The Warsaw Pact Movement

First, before the Second World War, the nation of Czechoslovakia had been a strong democracy in Central Europe, but beginning in the mid 1930s it faced challenges from both the West and the East. Until the Soviet’s invasion where they installed a whole new communist government in Prague. For the next twenty

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.

For decades, the United States and Russia, formerly The Soviet Union, have held tensions with each other over different political stances and military actions and intelligence. Starting from the late years of World War II - when the Soviet Union had aggressively spread communism throughout Eastern Europe - up to a couple years ago when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine out of nowhere; their relationship has been a rollercoaster of a ride for these two countries. Even though the United States and Russia are no longer in a Cold War, there has been and continues to be tension between the two countries as exemplified by many events of conflict including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Russian military’s current presence in Syria.

The emergence of the Cold War with the Soviet Union had far reaching impacts on American society, including hindering the pace of social reform in the United States. While some aspects of the Cold War may have helped promote certain social reforms, the net impact, deterred inevitable social reforms. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War induced a fear of communism in Americans that had numerous effects on American policies. McCarthyism, a period of controversial accusations on supposedly “communist” Americans, developed from the panic that communism would overcome the United States’ government, leading to loss of individual freedoms. In addition, social reform, especially the Civil Rights Movement, received inadequate attention as American leaders fixated on defeating communism and preventing it from contaminating the United States. Therefore, the United States’ preoccupation with containing communism throughout the Cold War Era hindered social reform domestically. As a result, social reform successes were limited primarily to those exhibiting visible political value by demonstrating the United States’ belief in equality and democracy to the rest of the world.

America’s foundation was constructed on the ideal of freedom, whether that be religious, political, or individual freedom. U.S. citizens have very strong feelings about their independence and will do almost anything to protect their rights from being taken away. During the 1950s Americans were afraid that their freedom was going to be threatened and taken away by the communist style of government. The Soviet Union and America were both trying to win control on a global scale, but with the USSR being communist the paranoia of a socialism takeover was heightened. Americans were so fearful of communism that it became known as the Red Scare. All over the country people were being accused of being communist spies and federal employees were being interrogated, the U.S. was in full panic mode. The United States was so fearful of the USSR being able to gather more communist allies and take over that the U.S. stepped in militarily to protect South Korea from North Korea’s communist invasion. This battle for dominance between the nations was named the Cold War. I believe that this war was justified because there were clear threats towards the United States and their capitalist ideals. In the very beginning of the Cold War the Soviet Union successfully tested an atomic bomb. This seemed like a clear indication that the USSR had plans to use that bomb in order to establish their dominance and embark on a communist takeover. America fought to keep their freedom and rights safe from the

Following World War II, America, and its allies, closely observed the USSR’s expansion movements in Eastern Europe, fearful of a Soviet scheme to take command through the influence of communism. This mass hysteria, leading to enduring actions committed by the American society and government, became

Shortly after World War II, the world’s two most powerful nations, the United States and the Soviet Union, emerged as arch-adversaries and in doing so, they created a rivalry that casted a shadow over international affairs for decades known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union saw the United States as a ruthless, imperialist power whose goal was to destroy communism and encourage the growth of a capitalist world. In contrast, America saw the Soviets as a ruthless, imperialist, and totalitarian power whose goal was to destroy democracy and encourage a Communist revolution through expansion. Therefore, the United States’ actions toward the Soviet Union was justifiable after World War II. American diplomat George Kennan said how the Soviets were

From Eisenhower to Reagan, US administrations aimed to maintain their territory and population safe without compromising its empire figure. Most of the policies and decisions made during the Cold War period can be understood under the Realism theory, as the presidents and other relevant parts of the government such as the CIA engaged in different activities to stop the potential world domination of the communist block, even if it meant the dead of thousands of Latin Americans under repressive and military governments.

In 1945 the Second World War came to an end, many people thought there would be peace and happiness once it ended. They were correct for a while, until the turmoil left over by the World War II began a new war in itself. Germany did not like its punishment as it nearly ruined their economy and it was divided up into four areas, each controlled by United State, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France respectively. But at the time they did not agree with many things which began to affect the territory control. The Soviet Union began to take over Eastern Europe and create communist governments. Along with the Communist governments being created in Europe, the Soviet Union began to create communist governments in Korea, Asia, and other parts

Warsaw Pact Formed- In 1949, the expansion of the communist party and insurgents led to the United States and 11 other US affiliated nations to form NATO, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As a result of this organization forming, The Soviets in May 14, 1955 formed the Warsaw Pact with several other communist affiliated countries in the presidential Palace in Warsaw. The Warsaw Pact was very worried about the increasing political power of Nato, and wished to establish peaceful connections as well as full and total domination of West Germany. The original members of the Warsaw Pact were: The Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and the German Democratic Republic. The Warsaw Pact also called to support

The USSR combined its control over the states of the Eastern Bloc while the United States began a strategy of global containment to challenge Soviet power, extending military and financial aid to the countries of Western Europe (for example, supporting the anti-Communist side in the Greek Civil War) and creating the NATO alliance. The Berlin Blockade (1948–49) was the first major crisis of the Cold War.

relations with the West in the form of the Marshall plan nor the lack of

The primary warning USSR inflicted on the Americans was the alarm implanted in the American civilians. Directly after the triumph of World War II, America could be depicted as delirious in its accomplishments of post-war life. For the American nation the melancholy had concluded, upscale suburbs were springing up across the nation and the economic state was at its pinnacle. Material abundance had now proceeded to determine the flourishing way of life of the new America. The communist’s capability to obliterate America’s accomplishments and the constant warnings to do so impede America’s honour and faith dramatically. Consequently, creating terror and loss of mind all through the America society. This panic and paranoia eventually resulted to the deteriorating relationship between USSR and USA. In a speech composed by the American President Truman during 1947, he defines the distinguishing contrasts among Communism and Capitalism. He emotionally expresses that a capitalist nation is fuelled by the will of the majority and it is defined by “free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.” It is clear through the regular use of the word ‘free’ and ‘freedom’ that Truman believed strongly about the theory of capitalism. On the other hand, he defined communism as a way of life based on the will of a minority effectively forced upon the majority. Truman’s speech focuses on the current fundamental debates over government capability and social structure and reveals how it separated the previously allied nations and caused a fierce battle for world authority. The ideological differences between USA and USSR were undoubtedly the most destructive factor to their

When conducting a comparative analysis there are several arguments that need to be developed in order to come up with a feasible conclusion. Therefore by using a three-fold approach I will be exploring the question of why the Warsaw Pact intervened in Czechoslovakia but not in Poland. One could begin by focusing on the origin of the reforms in both countries. Czechoslovakia adopted a “top down” approach headed from within the Communist Party by the liberal reformist Alexander Dubcek, the First secretary of the party. This is contrasted with the reforms in Poland as they spurred out of “Solidarity” that consisted of the working class and

The citizens of Czechoslovakia had not known freedom in decades. During much of World War II the nation was occupied by the Nazis and later by the Red Army as it drove the Nazis back to Berlin. When they Red Army moved into an area, communist regimes were set up to govern the area, and establish satellite nations. There were numerous uprisings throughout the decade that were violently suppressed by the communist governments with help from the USSR. After Alexander Dubcek tried to grant reforms to the people of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the USSR and most members of the Warsaw Pact sent their military forces to intervene and suppress any unrest or reforms. Things grew somewhat violent and brutal, as any demonstrators were either or beaten,