Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Cold War was an ideological power conflict between two opponents, the US and the
USSR,thatoccurredfromtheendofWW2tothefalloftheBerlinwall(Novemberthe9thof
1989). During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union allied against Nazi
Germany, however, after WW2 these grievances ripened into an overwhelming sense of
mutual distrust and enmity. Both of them opposed themselves on every topic: militarily,
politically, economically and ideologically. The US with a democratic, capitalistgovernment
vs. dictatorial, communist government in the USSR.
Claim: USSR is a ruthless aggressor, bent on the spread of communism, bore almost
total responsibility for the Soviet-American power tensions after 1945.
1940-1950
Traditionalist view
Claim: Maintained the view that the USSR was a ruthless aggressor and Americas
reaction was legitimate and understandable, following the aggression on the part of the
Soviet Union.
1950-1960
Stalin's aggressive Soviet expansionism.
Revisionist vision
Claim: This school of thought suggested that America was to blame for the outbreak of
the Cold War.
1960-1970
In 1959 the historian William Appleman Williams was the first to suggest
that America was to blame.
The Revisionists said America was engaged in a war to keep countries open
to capitalism and American trade.
Blame on the US for their use of the atomic bomb seen as a mean to
intimidate the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union's occupation of Eastern Europe was seen as a defensive
mechanism to avoid being encircled by the United States and its allies
Post-revisionist vision
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 198990, many new Soviet sources were made
available. Russian historians were also now free to write their own accounts of the Cold
War without Communist Party censorship.
Conclusion
The Capitalist West and Communist East held philosophies which were both opposite and
antagonistic to each other. They were forced allies during the war, and fought against the
sameenemyratherthanwitheachother.TheColdWarhadtobeinevitable,thecausesare
plurals and thiswarwasalreadywritteninhistorybeforeitbegan.However,towhatextent
was this opposition necessary, and did the Soviet Union had achanceinfrontoftheUSall
along?