The Cold War... what was the Cold War? When did it start? Who started the Cold War? Why were the Western Democracies allied with the Soviet Communist during World War II; then, they became enemies? What kept the Cold War from turning into a hot war? When did the Cold War end? Who won the Cold War? Who was right and who was wrong?
These are good and difficult questions. Nonetheless, we are going to look at these questions and see if we can navigate through this very difficult and dangerous period in World History. The stakes were extremely high and the world itself was at risk of self-destructing.
First, when asked, most historians will tell you that the Cold War began in the closing days of World War II, shortly after the Potsdam Conference that effectively divided Europe into spheres of influence. Many also feel the start of the Cold War was directly tied to when the United States dropped Atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended World War II. While not incorrect, the statement it is not entirely true, either. The Cold War actually had its beginnings in 1920 when the allies interceded in the Russian revolution on the side of the Tsarists/White Russians against the Bolshevik/Communist/Red Russians.
At the point that the US - and several other Western countries - sent combat troops into Russia to help beat-back the Communist, the West endeared itself in a very negative fashion to the Bolshevik/Communist. Both sides had ample reason not to trust the other. The concepts espoused by the Bolshevik-Communists caused nightmares for any Western/Capitalist free market industrialist. The mere idea that labor and the masses should partake of the fruits of the industrialists' profits... labor be placed on equal footing with management... sent chills up the spines of the Western democracies - as it should.
In the eyes of the Western allies, Bolshevik-Communism had to be killed while it was still in the cradle; otherwise, what had begun with the October 1917 revolution in Tsarists Russia was prone to repeat itself in any number of the Western free market countries... including the United States When the allies failed to prop-up the Tsarists, and the Bolsheviks seized control of Russia, the stage was set for what we call today, the Cold War.
During the 1920's, as the Russian revolution gradually swung in favor of the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Nikolai Lenin, Bolshevik Russia consolidated power and reinvented itself into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). Upon Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin assumed dictatorial power and proceeded to rule the USSR with an iron fist. When it came to ruthlessness, murder, and deceit, Joseph Stalin could match Adolph Hitler, blow for blow.
Stalin was extremely aggressive in his attempt to spread a world communist order. Under Stalin, the Russian revolution was boxed-up and exported to numerous nations around the globe... including the United States. All through the 1920's and 30's, as Communism made inroads into Western/Capitalists societies. Often the reactions between the Western free market societies, and the often labor supported Communist movement, were brutal and ugly, with much blood shed, bodily injury, and often death. Ironically, today, the trade unions found throughout America came about in large part due to the Communist incited riots and strikes that were so prevalent during the 20's and 30's in the United States.
Like great boxers, the USSR - representing Communism, and the United States and the Western Democracies - representing Capitalism, sparred through the decades of the 1920's and 30's. As these two great economic and social philosophies grappled with each other, a man named Adolph Hitler was busy consolidating his own power base and rebuilding Germany from its bitter defeat from World War I.
Hitler was a dictator; however, his National Socialist Party (NAZI party) was intensely anti-Communist. Therefore, the Western Democracies soothed themselves with the belief that a strong NAZI Germany in Central Europe would help check the expansion of Soviet Communism. Basically, the Western Democracies leered at the Soviets, and the Soviets leered back... meanwhile, no one was paying much attention to the Germans until they marched into the Rhineland in 1936 and re annexed the Rhine, from the French, back into the German state.
Germany's rapid rearmament seemed to occur overnight; yet, Hitler would march into Austria and swallow the entire nation, without a shot... and, he did it again in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938... not a shot fired. All through the back half of the 1930's the Western allies were simply too busy focusing on Stalin and his Communist Soviets to pay much attention to Hitler and his NAZI Germany.
By the fall of 1939, when Hitler focused his attention on Poland, the Western Democracies finally recognized the error of their ways - but it was too late. Actions speak louder than words. Hitler had been gifted the Rhineland from France, all of Austria, and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia... he was sure the allies would not contest his annexing of Poland. He felt the democracies were weak and would be unwilling to go to war over Poland.
To make matters worse, the Western allies had grossly miscalculated both Hitler and Stalin. The two dictators - each loathing the other - signed a secret non-aggression pact that effectively divided Poland between them. NAZI Germany and the Communist USSR carved up Poland like a holiday feast.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler struck Poland from the west... Poland - believing the Western Democracies would come to their aid - put up a fight. The stunned Poles were not to be saved, though. France and Great Britain did declare war; however, they were unprepared to fight.
The start of World War II had begun; but, the war was over for Poland. In about 72 hours, the German sledgehammer blows - called blitzkrieg - overwhelmed the Poles. To make matters worse, Stalin swept in from the East to take his portion of the country; and, just like that... Poland was no more.
In signing their non-aggression pact, the stunned allies could not believe that Hitler and Stalin would get into bed with each other. The truth was, however that neither Hitler nor Stalin had any intention of honoring the non-aggression pact. After he swept the weak western alliance nations aside in western Europe, Hitler then turned east and in June 1941 struck the Soviets with the same lightening blows he dished out against the Poles.
Overnight, the Democratic-Western Allies and the Communist-Soviet Union found a much larger threat looming in Hitler's Nazi Germany. It was a matter of necessity that the adversaries between Communism and Democracy joined together, in order to defeat Nazi Germany, or otherwise, be defeated separately by Nazism.
From June 1941 until August 1945, an uneasy - but extremely effective - military alliance was enjoined between East and West. With the end of WWII, however, the US - with the help of a great many scientific members from Britain, Canada, and other nations - had developed and used the first Atomic weapons.
With the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, warfare was forever changed. The huge Soviet army was negated by American possession of nuclear weapons. So long as the US was the only nation to possess nuclear weapons, the balance of power was firmly in the control of the Western Democracies.
Once the Soviets developed their own nuclear weapons, the balance of power was re-established and the Cold War was enjoined.
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