preview

The Cold War

Good Essays

Historical Context:

The Cold War started by the end of the Second World War. The aim of this war was to spread opposing ideologies of Capitalism and Communism by the two world superpowers without the result of a hot war. The war was between the Capitalist West - namely: the United States of America, Britain and France – and Communist East – known to be Russia and all the satellite states which communism had taken over. An agreement made at the Yalta meeting of 1945 was that Germany would be divided into four sectors. One sector went to Britain, one to France, one to the USA and the last and biggest sector to Russia. The Russian sector surrounded the Capital city. In addition to this, the German capital of Berlin was also divided into four sectors. However by 1961, all Capitalist sectors had merged to form one independent country known as the German Federal Republic and so too, did all the Capitalist zones in Berlin merge to form West Berlin. In the same light, the Russian Sector also formed an independent country known as the German Democratic Republic and the Russian Sector of Berlin was thereon seen as East Berlin.

Each superpower had different agendas with regards to Germany. The West built up Germany to ensure that it would not fall to communism and to show the rest of Europe the outcome of capitalist support. While the East completely crippled Germany by stripping the country of its commodities in order to ensure a German attack on Russia would not be possible.

Get Access