Post World War II strategies for the United States and the U.S.S.R. were drastically different. Many elements shaped the way that each formed their policies and goals for post-war Germany and Eastern Europe.
After World War II, the United States had very strong opinions and ideas on what should be done in post-war Germany and Eastern Europe.
In Germany, the United States wanted to help rebuild, increase trade and send aid to the needy, and establish democracy in the government. The United States wanted peace to stay in Germany.
One of the post-war actions of the United States was the creation of the United Nations. Created to replace the not as successful League of Nations, The U.N. was put in place to help solve any future conflicts in order to prevent wars. Establishing the United Nations put 50 countries in charge of rebuilding instead of the U.S.S.R. being able to manhandle Germany and spread Communism widely with no objection. This was a good idea, but the Soviets would obey no such orders.
The United States also helped form trade again in Germany after the war and provided aid to the people. The United States wanted to rebuild Germany and have it prosper as a nation without Communism. The U.S. wanted to establish Democracy and create a successful government and economy. Building up Germany after the war was not something the U.S.S.R. was in favor of; thus is the struggle of the beginning of the Cold War.
The United States also had very specific plans for post-war Eastern Europe. To keep the Communist Soviets out of total control, the U.S. made several key moves.
On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine. This doctrine was designed to curb the strength of Communism by providing economic and military aid to the battered nations of Greece and Turkey. Many historians believe that the Truman Doctrine actually started the Cold War. With this doctrine, the United States went from avoiding the issue of Communism to having a containment strategy against the spread of Communism.
The United States, under the leadership of President Truman, were essentially trying to save the entire world from Communism. Truman knew from previous experiences, mainly World War II, that Communism spreads very quickly; especially in weak nations that can’t fight back for themselves. Truman took the initiative to defend these countries not only for their own well being, but for the United States too. Truman believed that the spread of Communism across Europe again would ultimately start World War III.
Another plan that the United States put into action was the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was basically a plan to provide aid to European countries in order to fight off the spread of Communism. The Marshall Plan was much like the Truman Doctrine, just on a much larger scale. The Marshall Plan also offered aid to the Soviets if they promised to make political and social reforms. The Marshall Plan helped many countries to grow and actually become successful. The Plan would see great protest from the Soviets, as this would be helping the countries that they were trying to occupy themselves. Strategies on how to provide aid for the U.S., and how to stop it for the U.S.S.R. was a huge part of the planning for the post-war rebuilding of Europe.
There are many reasons why the United States had all of these plans for post-war Germany and Eastern Europe. Perhaps the biggest reason was the extremely strong fear of the United States government and citizens of Communism. This fear, often called “The Red Scare,” was very strong in the minds of Americans.
Another reason for such strong plans against Communism was the fear of not only the United States, but of most of the world of another catastrophic war. People had seen the damage caused by World War II and never wanted to experience it again. People saw Communism as a probable catalyst of another great war. Overall, the fear of total Communist occupation of Europe and another looming war were the causes for such strong policies for post-war Germany and the rest of Europe.
The U.S.S.R. had a very different approach to the post-war dealings of Germany and Eastern Europe.
In Germany, the Soviets wanted to have total political control. Instilling the Soviet form of Communism would give them all the control they needed. They would appoint Soviet leaders and infiltrate every branch of German politics.
They also wanted control over young people. If they could get the young people of Germany thinking what they wanted they could control for generations to come. The Soviets wanted to have control over schooling in order to have command over the students and spread their way of thinking.
Industry was also on the Soviets’ mind. If you control a countries’ industry, you have power not only over the people, but most of the economy.
Perhaps the biggest concern of the U.S.S.R. was controlling the German military. They had been invaded too many times, and they wanted to make sure that the Germans would never have the chance to build up a strong enough military to do it again.
The Berlin Blockade was yet another plan that the Soviets had to stop Germany from rebuilding itself. The United States was trying to provide aid to the German people by shipping goods through railroads and roadways. In June of 1948, the Soviets blocked all Germany streets and railroads, making it so the goods never reached the people. With ground access cut off, the United States and Britain proceeded to bring supplies in by plane. This was called the Berlin Airlift. During the most successful point of the Airlift, a plane landed in Germany every minute with around 1,400 flights per day. In May of 1949, the U.S.S.R. ceased the blockade. The planes had been so efficient in providing aid that the blockade no longer mattered.
The U.S.S.R. also had plans for Eastern Europe. They would do basically the same thing to the other countries as they had planned to do with Germany. This was to infiltrate every aspect of society until they had complete and total control over everything.
A big strategy of the U.S.S.R. was to deny any aid from the Truman Doctrine of Marshall Plan for Eastern Europe. The Soviets took over countries, such as Czechoslovakia, and told them that they were to accept no aid from the United States and Britain. This was the biggest concern of the U.S.S.R. Keeping aid from these countries meant that they had control over them.
The Czech Coup is a great example of this. Though the Czechs had been allies with the U.S.S.R., they were trying to create a form of democracy in their post-war government. Due to this fact, they were willing and grateful for aid from the Marshall Plan. This did not sit well with the Soviets. They could not get any aid due to the control of the Soviets and their nation slowly was falling apart. All this was happening when countries like Germany were rebuilding and were working on once again becoming strong. The Soviets took the initiative of taking over the Czech government and arrested or removed from office any member who supported democracy. Communism took over the Czech government.
This was how the U.S.S.R. planned on controlling as much of Europe as they possibly could. The reason why the Soviets wanted such a strong hold on Europe was because they knew that Democracy would spread quickly in the governments of the countries that they were trying to control. The aid from the United States and Britain would only put the public’s eyes on democracy. Once the countries of Europe became democratic and were being rebuilt with aid from the U.S., Communism would be eliminated, as they would have no more power.
The United States and the U.S.S.R. were in a bitter battle to determine whose plan would prevail for post-war Europe. This is why the Cold War was very stressful for Americans as well as the citizens of these European countries. The United States public feared the spreading of the Soviet philosophies throughout the entire world as the citizens of Eastern and Western Europe feared total Soviet control over their home countries. The post-war plans of the United States and the U.S.S.R. for Europe were polar opposites. This caused a great struggle and the beginning of the Cold War.
