Modern History 4.4 : Aggression and Fear during the cold war 1945

Task:
‘The Cold War was caused by fear not aggression.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The time of the cold war was stamped by fear and aggression. Fear was spread by the victorious powers: the United states of America and the Soviet Union. The question is:
Are they scared? Yes they are. The main cause of fear was the threat of using the atomic bomb. The atomic arms race was a firm component of the cold war. During the cold war phases of armament and phases of relaxation alternated. Besides, the military use of nuclear energy played a big role. By the development more a new of atomic blasting compositions and weapons a nuclear disaster became the lasting danger. The USSR could not keep up on a continuing basis with the armament of the USA. Measures were also taken for the protection in the Soviet Union and partially also in the USA and the west. The aim of the arms race was to be weakened it the opponent which also succeeded. The economy of the Soviet Union was not functioning by the high military issues anymore. This led to the decline of the USSR.
Another cause of Fear was the Sovietization. The Sovietization is the influencing control of the Soviet Union on the political creation of the states in hemisphere of influence in East Europe after the 2nd world war. The Sovietization contained the establishment of communist systems, the vote of the foreign affairs and the economic and social transformation of the society to Soviet model.
On the 5th June in 1947 the American foreign minister George C. Marshall presented the European Recovery program. The so-called Marshall plan. The aim was to rebuilt the economy in Europe. A part of the Marshall plan was the currency reform. The reactions of the European states to his speech were different. The Soviet Union had a big interest in Marshall’s plan like most west-European countries. However, already the Paris conference /from 27th of June to the 2nd of July, 1947) of three European great powers France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union were broke off un successfully. Though the Soviet government was interested in an American economic aid, however, did not want to accept the American edition to the coorperation of all European states, because she saw the Soviet Union in danger. For the proposal of Marshall to a common European program a west-European program with anti-Soviet direction of attack had become.
On March 5, 1946 Sir Winston Churchill hold the Iron Curtain Speech. So that was meant the bolting of the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union at that time compared with the western world. The British politician Winston Churchill had stamped in 1946 this expression. Is Churchill physically aggressive? No he is not. But the language he uses is aggressive.
The cold war was a game. Everybody wanted to trump the other and win.
Fear was caused by lots of different ways to the enemy and the own population. The Berlin Blockade caused a lot of fear. In the Soviet occupied zone, the foundation of the German democratic republic occurred on the 7th of October 1949. The Germans were separated by the cold war between both superpowers (The Soviet Union and the USA) in the east and west physically more and more. Many people in Germany lived in fear.
On the other hand was the aggression. The degree between fear and aggression is very narrow. The United States were extremely vigilant regarding the expansion of communism in Europe and all over the world. This fear dragged the US to push through the Truman Doctrine on the 12th of March 1947, shifting the US foreign policy from isolation to intervention and containment. Many actions during the cold war can be seen as a trigger for fear as well as aggression. For example using the atomic bomb is aggressive and causes fear. A different act of aggression was the Pravda speech. This speech was very aggressive. Also verbally can be traded aggressive.

Summed up I can say that Fear, in itself can be extremely motivating. It is a fact that Fear in all sorts of shape, formed the emotional centre of the cold war. The motto of the cold war was “risk the world fire to prevent it”. It was about bring fear on and banish fear again. The superpowers fought around their sphere of influence, they investigated about the Secret Service rebellions against unpopular governments, waged deputy’s wars. Everything is a thing of the perspective. For example the Marshall plan was not aggressive from the point of view of the Americans, but only from the point of the Soviet Union. In my opinion I agree on the statement that the cold war was caused by fear not aggression. Examples like the atomic arms race show that acts cause fear and aggression at the same time. The elements of fear and aggression both had individual impacts on the development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949. Furthermore, aggression, by itself, does not provide entire justification for the developments of the Cold War. Yet, instead it was an amalgamation of a variety of individuals, policies and ideologies.
The cold war was based on a paradoxical logic of the deterrence. On the one hand one tried to suggest to the public, there are possibilities to escape the danger: “ If builds atomic shelter” ; on the other side one had to maintain always also the image , we must do everything to the preservation of peace because if it comes to the war, we can’t survive him. The ability in the destruction of the opponent indicates but to run the risk also always, to be destroyed independently when this weapon is used. This puts out the centre of the fear during the cold war.

Fear

• Atomic bomb (are they scared? YES they are!),
• threat
• Sovietization
• Marshall Plan
• Iron Curtain Speech (Ist Churchill physically agressive? NO) But the language he uses
• Germany , Berlin (Why ? divide, Berlin Blockade)

Agression:

• Using an atomic bomb is agressive (and causes fear)
• Imperialism -> Novikov
• Pravda Speech (very aggressive)
• Verbal , aggressive