History 11/03/20 How in the world changed their attitude to the Soviet Union after the victory over Hitler
for Long the allies celebrated victory over Nazi Germany. Soon after the war they were separated by the iron curtain. Democratic and “progressive” West has seen a new threat in the face of the totalitarian Communist regime of the USSR.
pending changes
At the end of the Second world war, the Soviet Union was finally included among the superpowers. Our country had a high international status, which is emphasized by membership in the UN security Council and veto power. The only competitor of the Soviet Union in the international political arena were another superpower – the United States of America. Intractable ideological differences between the two global leaders does not allow to hope for a sustainable relationship.
For many of the political elites of the West, radical changes in Eastern Europe and some countries in the Asian region, was a real shock. The world was divided into two camps: democratic and socialist. The leaders of the two ideological systems of the United States and the Soviet Union in the early postwar years did not understand the limits of tolerance of each other, and therefore, took a wait and see position.
Harry Truman, who succeeded to the post of American President Franklin Roosevelt, advocated a hard confrontation between the USSR and the Communist forces. Almost from the first days of the presidency of the new head of the White house has begun to revise its relations with the Soviet Union – one of the fundamental elements of the policies of Roosevelt. For Truman it was essential intervention in postwar Eastern Europe without considering the interests of the Soviet Union, and if need be, from a position of strength.
the West
the First lull broke the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who instructed the chiefs of staff to assess the prospects of military intervention in the USSR. The plan of operation “Unthinkable”, is scheduled for 1 July 1945 included a lightning attack on the Soviet Union to offset the Communist government. However, the British military considered the operation impossible.
Very soon the West got a more effective means of pressure on the Soviet Union. On 24 July 1945 during a meeting at the Potsdam conference, Truman hinted to Stalin about the creation by the Americans of the atomic bomb. “I’m casual remarked to Stalin that we have a new weapon of unusual destructive force,” Truman recalled. The American President considered that Stalin did not show much interest in this message. However, the Soviet leader understood and was soon given the order to Kurchatov you can easily develop their own nuclear weapons.
In April 1948, entered into force a plan developed by U.S. Secretary of state George Marshall, who on certain conditions suggested the economic recovery of European countries. However, in addition to the help of the “Marshall plan” provided for a gradual expulsion of the Communists from the power structures of Europe. Former Vice-President Henry Wallace condemned the “Marshall plan”, calling it a tool of the cold war against Russia.
the Communist threat
Immediately after the war in Eastern Europe with the active assistance of the Soviet Union began to form a new political bloc of the socialist countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia came to power the left forces. Moreover, the Communist movement gained popularity in several countries of Western Europe – Italy, France, Germany, Sweden.
In France, as ever, there was a high probability of arrival of Communists to power. This caused discontent even in the ranks of European politicians who sympathized with the Soviet Union. The leader of the French Resistance during the war, General de Gaulle called on the Communists “separatists” and the Secretary-General of the French section of the international Working guy Mollet declared to the deputies-Communists in the National Assembly: “You are neither left nor right, you from the East.”
The governments of Britain and the US openly blamed Stalin attempted Communist takeover in Greece and Turkey. Under the pretext of eliminating Communist threats from the Soviet Union to assist Greece and Turkey provides for the allocation of $ 400 million.
Countries of the Western bloc and the socialist camp on the path of ideological war. The stumbling block continued to be Germany, which former allies, despite the objection of the USSR, proposed to divide. When the Soviet Union suddenly supported by the French President Vincent Auriol. “I find this absurd and dangerous idea to divide Germany into two parts and use it as a weapon against the Soviets,” said he. However, the division of Germany in 1949, the socialist GDR and the capitalist FRG is not saved.
the Cold war
Churchill’s Speech, which he delivered in March 1946 at the American Fulton in the presence of Truman, can be called the starting point of the cold war. Despite the flattering words addressed to Stalin, said a few months ago, the British Prime Minister accused the USSR of creating the iron curtain, “tyranny” and “expansionist tendencies” and the Communist parties of the capitalist countries called “fifth column” of the Soviet Union.
Disagreements between the USSR and the West became more and more involved opposing camps in a protracted ideological confrontation, which at any moment threatened to turn into a real war. The establishment in 1949 of the military-political bloc of NATO has brought the possibility of an open collision.
September 8, 1953, the new U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower wrote to Secretary of state DULLES, regarding the Soviet threat: “In the current circumstances, we would have to consider, is it not our duty to future generations to start a war in a favorable, selected by us time.”
however it was during the Eisenhower administration, the US softened its attitude toward the Soviet Union. The American leader once again was the initiator readlocal negotiations, the parties have come closer together in their positions on the German problem, agreed on the reduction of nuclear weapons. However, once in may 1960 over Sverdlovsk was shot down an American reconnaissance aircraft, all contact ceased.
Cult of personality
In February 1956, Khrushchev made to the twentieth party Congress condemning Stalin’s personality cult. This event is unexpected for the Soviet government has hit the reputation of the Communist party. Criticism of the Soviet Union crumbled from all sides. So, the Swedish Communist party accused the Soviet Union that withholding information from foreign Communists, the CPSU Central Committee “generously shares it with the bourgeois journalists.”
many Communist parties of the world were created by groups depending on the relationship to Khrushchev’s speech. Most often it was negative. Some said that the historical truth was distorted, others felt the report premature, and the third one was disappointed in the Communist ideas. At the end of June 1956 in Poznan, there was a demonstration in which participants carried slogans: “Freedom!” “Bread!”, “By God!” “Down with communism!”
on 5 June 1956 at the resonant event have responded, the American newspaper “new York times” published the full text of Khrushchev’s speech. Historians believe that the material of the speech of the head of the Soviet Union came to the West through the Polish Communists.
Commenting on the speech of Khrushchev, journalist of “the new York times,” Jim bell noted that during the Khrushchev report – with tears, an enumeration of intrigues, conspiracies and kontrbigoval surrounding the last days of Stalin, someone from the audience asked: “Why didn’t you kill him?” Khrushchev replied: “what could we do? Then there was terror.”
In the Tretyakov gallery, continued bell, where the considerable part of the exhibition was paintings of Stalin, there are only two small portraits of the leader of the people. The American journalist did not hide his positive attitude to the incident, but ended the article with the words: “the Ghost of Stalin for a long time to wander about the Earth.”
Passions cool down
In October of 1962 broke out the Cuban missile crisis that brought the world to the threat of thermonuclear war. Who was President of the USA John Kennedy in his speech in one of American universities said about the possibility to find common ground between the USSR and the USA. He noted many similarities between the two States, including “no more pronounced than our mutual abhorrence of war.”
Kennedy continued to maintain the position of strength, however, was a supporter of the more Mature and realistic approach to Soviet-American relations. In August 1963 between the two countries signed a Treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons, which Kennedy called “the first step toward peace, a step toward reason and step away from the war” responding “to our interests and especially the interests of our children and grandchildren”.
in addition, Washington and Moscow have agreed to establish a line of “hot communication” and establishing better economic relations. Soviet Ambassador to US Anatoly Dobrynin wrote about a strong desire to continue Kennedy with Khrushchev dialogue. The trend of rapprochement between the two superpowers were there, but she was interrupted by the tragic death of the 35th President of the United States.
June 20, 1966, held a historic visit to the Soviet Union of the French leader Charles de Gaulle. The President of the Fifth Republic, despite the height of the cold war and the existing ideological contradictions, intended to demonstrate to the world the need for cooperation with the Soviet Union.
in 1950, de Gaulle had prepared a document “Perspectives on our relations with Russia”, which set out the position of building a trust relationship with Moscow. He believed that it will protect “France and its Empire” from subordination to US interests. In February 1966 he confirmed his words and brought France out of the NATO military structure.
it is Curious that de Gaulle preferred to use the term “Russia” not “USSR”. The French essayist Roland’s Office for this occasion he wrote: “He always said, “Russia”, because they believed that the nation or party.to or, at least, unchanged, and ideology, such as communism, was a temporary phenomenon”.
Russian Seven
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