At the end of
the Second World War The United States and The Soviet Union stood as allies.
Both nations along with the British worked together to topple Nazi regime in
Germany. However on the 6th of August 1945 the United States dropped
the first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, sifting the balance of power among the
allies and propelling the two nations into the Cold War. We have all heard the
story of Russia spreading communism across a war weary poverty stricken Europe,
stamping out capitalism democracy, and the United States poised to the “Evil
Empire” and lift the “iron curtain”. In fact PBS.com even has a series
about how President Truman stood up to the bully Soviet Union and its mighty
military machine. But is this the whole story or even an accurate depiction of
the years following the Second World War, the build up to the Cold War?
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Courtesy of picturehistory.com
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The Soviet Union faced the brunt of
the Nazi-fighting machine, as it stood alone on the Eastern front, no other
nation faced amount casualties and sheer devastation that the soviets did as
they pushed the Germans back across Eastern Europe.[1]
The United States on the other hand lost a lot of soldiers as it pushed the
Germans out of France and into Germany; however, the nation itself was spared
any type of physical damage caused by war. The US economy was strong and
growing and by the end of the war American stood as the supreme military in the
world with the most devastating weapon it had ever seen. Truman saw the atomic
bomb as a bargaining chip and attempted to use it to force American policies
what the Soviet’s called “atomic diplomacy”.[2]
With America using the bomb to spread is sphere of influence; Russia hurried to
develop one to level the playing field. The years directly following World War
II, Truman continued to isolate the Soviet Union with such things as the Truman
Doctrine and aiding countries like Greece and Turkey. The Soviets saw these
actions as direct threats to their national security and a modern extension of
the “Monroe Doctrine” being applied “to the Old World”.[3]
[1] Oliver Stone, and Peter Kuznick. The
Untold History of the United States. Gallery Books, 2012. P.229
[3] Kuznick. The Untold History of the
United States. Gallery Books, 2012. P.258
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