We explain what the Cold War was, who were the countries involved in the conflict and what were the main events of the period.
What was the cold war?
After World War II, postwar conflicts and competition between the United States (USA) and the Soviet Union (USSR) generated a growing international tension worldwide. Although the USSR and USA avoided directly confronting the confrontation between communism and capitalism was translated into war conflicts in other territories.
The European continent, which had barely begun to cure the wounds of the war and, more specifically, Germany, the great defeated of World War IIwere the scenario of the birth of the Cold War.
The countries occupied by the Soviet army after World War II (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) were becoming what the communist authorities called “popular democracies.” In principle, they were elected governments and that is why they were called democracies. However, over time They became dictatorships that applied the Soviet communist model.
In parallel, the US consolidated its influence in the countries of Western Europe, through the formation of NATO and the economic financing of liberal governments.
On the other hand, the tensions soon extended to Asia; The defeat of Japanese imperialism had left a situation of great instability. China and Korea were the great confrontation scenarios.
Key points
- The cold war was a political, ideological, economic, social and warlike conflict.
- It was triggered after World War II, as a consequence of the growing political power and influence of the United States and the Soviet Union.
- Two blocks were faced: one led by the United States (capitalist bloc, organized around NATO) and another led by the Soviet Union (communist bloc, organized around the Warsaw Pact).
See also: Chronology of the Cold War
Berlin and Germany partition
Berlin, The ancient capital of Germany was located in the heart of the Soviet occupation zone and had been divided into four sectors assigned to each of the four winning powers: USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR. Berlin quickly became the key point of the cold war.
Germany's partition looked as irremediable. The United States, Great Britain and France decided to initiate a constituent process in their occupancy zones. The first measure was to create a new currency in its occupancy zones: the Deutsche Mark.
The Soviet response was immediate: the Berlin blockade. The Soviet army interrupted any terrestrial communication between the western occupancy and Western Berlin areas. Stalin was confident that the Western Berlin area could not subsist the blockade.
However, the Western powers included the importance of maintaining an enclave under their control, in the Soviet territory. For that, they organized an air bridge to supply the besieged population. Finally, on May 12, 1949 the Soviets raised the blockade of the city.
The Berlin crisis accelerated Germany's partition. The three western areas were constituted in the Federal Republic of Germany on May 8, 1949. Its Constitution established A democratic liberal system directly influenced by Western powers.
The USSR reacted in October with the establishment in its occupation zone of the Democratic Republic of Germany, a state created following the model of “popular democracies.”
The Germany partition concretized in the heart of Europe the bipolar division of the world.
The Chinese Communist Revolution (1949)
After two years of civil war, on October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong's communist troops entered Victorious in Beijing (Beijing), and proclaimed the People's Republic of China. Chiang Kai Chek's nationalist troops (Jiang Jieshi) fled to the island of Taiwan where they established a pro-western dictatorial regime protected by the US.
In 1950, Mao traveled to Moscow, where he signed various agreements with the USSR. Among them, a military alliance for thirty years “against Japan or any aggressor attached to Japan.” The passage of the most populous country in the world to the communist field traumatized the western world, especially to American opinion.
The Korean War (1950-1953)
The first victim of the Cold War was the Korean people. For the first time, the confrontation between the western block and the communist bloc took place in a large -scale armed conflict.
The Korean War arose following the cast in two areas of occupation of this territory (formerly protected by Japan) after the Japanese defeat in 1945. North Korea, was dominated by a pro-Soviet communist dictatorship under the iron hand of Kim Il Sung, and South Korea, by a pro-norteamerican right dictatorship under the direction of Syngman Rhee. When the occupant powers withdrew in 1948-1949, two antagonistic states were face to face.
The conflict began with North Korean aggression in June 1950. North Korea received Soviet military aid and had the intervention of Chinese communist army units. An American expeditionary army went to the Bank of South Korea, with the help of other Western countries.
After a bloody war, the situation ended in a tactical tie. In July 1953, the armistice was signed in Panmunjong, where a new demarcation line was agreed that winds around the 38th n parallel (it was a border similar to the one before).
The Korean war clearly showed the world dimension of the Cold War. From now on, Asia became one of its main scenarios.
THE DIVISION OF THE WORLD
The partition of Germany and the Korean War showed the world a new reality: the division into two large blocks led by the USA and the USSR. From now on, each block defended its area of influence against the progress of the opposite block. Washington and Moscow used different mechanisms to achieve these objectives:
- Capitalist-western bloc. Leaded by the USA, it strengthened capitalist development in the countries that remained under its influence, especially in Western Europe and America. The international relations of the block were consolidated with the Constitution of NATO (organization of the North Atlantic Treaty) in 1949 and, subsequently, through the treaties of Anzus (1951), Seato (1955) and Cento (1955).
- Communist-western bloc. Led by the USSR, he consolidated the implementation of communism in the countries that were under the Soviet orbit. The communist governments were linked through the Kominform (International Office of Communist and Workers' Parties) in 1947, the Comecon (Economic Mutual Aid Council) in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955.
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References
- Hobsbawn, eg (1998). The cold war. In 20th century history. Criticism.
- McMahon, R. (2009). The cold war. A brief introduction. Alliance.
- Tucker, SC, & Roberts, PM (2007). The Encyclopedia of the Cold War: A POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND MILITARY HISTORY, 5 VOLUME SET. ABC-Clio.
