Who do you blame for the Cold War?

Originally posted by LazyD
I love how the Russians say everyone has the right to nuclear technology, including Iran, when infact they basically stole it from the US.

...who stole it from Germany. Note also that we do the same thing, i.e. Iran right now, telling them they shouldn't have weapons, while we're using depleted uranium (which has now been detected in Britain) in Iraq.

The Russian government could be quite paranoid in those days. The U.S. meanwhile had signed the 1947 National Security Act, the thinking being that manufacturing many weapons of war would give jobs to lots of people. In truth, it was the U.S. who whipped up a frenzy against Russia, since America was wanting to stay in permanent war. It was the U.S. who whpped up fear about Russia, who then felt the need to protect themselves against us.

When I was in USSR in 1977 for a month, I met not one person who hated America; on the contrary they were extremely gracious to me and gave me the impression that they actually liked Americans and understood that the people and the government had different veiws on this cold war. They were extremely curious about America and Americans. When I was there, all you had to do was to look around at the badly built, crooked buildings and the empty marketplaces to know that there was too much poverty in Russia for Russians to do anything really dangerous to us. What with their really bad technology, I would imagine that they couldn't put together a workable missile. Don't get me wrong, I loved Russia and the warmth of the Russian people, but their technology is not so hot.

America isn't always innocent, contrary to what many Americans believe.
I love my country, but like any other institution or human being, it's not perfect and neither is our foreign policy.

-Forestlady

Thank you ForestLady, I am Russian and lived there for many years. I haven't meet many Russians that have anything bad to say about Americans. Although there are bad apples in every culture. I am sorry to inform you guys on this but the scientist what figured out how to make the Abomb work was ENSTEIN!!!!! Maybe the two German scientist started something but Albert finished it. By the way Wikipidea is not a very good source of information as the articles are contributed by civilians, not by historians, researchers, or novelists. You can post your own theory on Wikipidea and it will work. So please, find a better source.

So its the US's fault for Stalin not pulling out of East Germany and Eastern Europe? I can't go with that. In my opinion, the cold war started before WW2 was over. I dont know if anyone will go with me on this but the Cold War was started over German technology(the V2, Me 262, Nuclear studies ect.) The US and Russia were racing each other to Berlin to get their hands on this technology first. Thats what it was all about, I mean, look at where society is today, I dont think we would be where we are at today technologically if it werent for the Cold War. Just an opinion I formed after watching a thing on th History Channel about Nazi Tech in WW2. Anyone agree, disagree?

Originally posted by ludaChris
So its the US's fault for Stalin not pulling out of East Germany and Eastern Europe? I can't go with that. In my opinion, the cold war started before WW2 was over. I dont know if anyone will go with me on this but the Cold War was started over German technology(the V2, Me 262, Nuclear studies ect.) The US and Russia were racing each other to Berlin to get their hands on this technology first. Thats what it was all about, I mean, look at where society is today, I dont think we would be where we are at today technologically if it werent for the Cold War. Just an opinion I formed after watching a thing on th History Channel about Nazi Tech in WW2. Anyone agree, disagree?

so far i can relate with u the best and i think what u said is very good

There are two great books out there that are important reading for anyone wanting to understand the origins of the cold war.
The first is: The Russo German War by Col. (British) Albert Seaton (In fact I think this book is out of print, sad, it's a great one)
And the second is still out and it is: Armaggeddon, the collapse of nazi Germany 1944-45 by Max Hastings.
In both of these books it outlines that during the war, the Western Allies intended the Russians to have to bear the brunt of the German war machine in order to insure that they entered the post war situation greatly weakened, and therefore not a threat to the West. It backfired.
As Colonel Seaton relates in the early chapters of his book, Stalin viewed Hitler as a buffer against the Imperial powers of the West and was actually quite shocked when, despite warnings from Molotov, Gavrilovich and Kalinin, Hitler invaded on June 22nd 1941.
When the Germans spent their last mobile reserves in the twin offensives of the Ardennes and Alsace-Lorraine in the winter of 44-45, the Russians proceeded to knife through the German lines in East Prussia and western Poland like a knife through butter. Although the Germans did launch a final offensive aimed at releiving the encircled armies at Budapest, despite nearly succeeding, they failed and thus the door was open to cross the Oder River and assault Berlin. As this was happening, British and Canadian forces were slogging their way towards the Rhine (taking the majority of Western Allied losses in the last months of WWII) against fnatical German resistance while US forces were encircling the Ruhr and preparing to cross the Rhine.
Now a political war began. Churchill wanted Ike to send the allied forces pell mell towards Berlin and get there before the Russians, Roosevelt was adamant about sticking to the agreed upon plan conceived at the Yalta conference. Eisenhower would have liked ot send his forces to Berlin (Patton was absolutley salivating at the idea) but he was a political general, not a true strategist. Ike's job was merely to be the peacemaker between the amazingly strong egos which made up the field command of the different allied armies. So Ike refused, and after losing tens of thousands of men in crossing the Rhine and destroying the Ruhr pocket, when US forces linked up with Soviet forces at the River Elbe, (after a few minor friendly fire exchanges) Ike called for a complete halt of the central armies. (he did allow Patton to race down and capture Austria and Czechoslovakia before the Soviets reached them.)
When the smoke cleared at the end of the final battle of Berlin, 800,000 Soviets were dead, nearly 500,000 Germans as well, and the map of Europe was changed forever.
Stalin refused to back down to the allies and began to occupy the Eastern European countries that had formally been allied with Nazi Germany just like Churchill feared. In Asia the Soviets suddenly declared war on Japan and the cold war officialy began when Soviet troops lanced into Manchuria and the northern half of Korea, killing over a million Japanese troops in the process. It was clear to President Truman that the Soviets were playing for world domination, just as Stalin had intended.
In my mind, the cold war was started long before the D-Day landings. Stalin kept calling for a second front (The allies had invaded Scicily and Italy in 43. But the Germans were such good fighters and had better tactical officers that the Italian front was held by minimal German forces and still managed ot inflict an average of 2-1 loss ratio against the allies.) in order to draw away German forces so as to lance into central Europe and be THE power after the fall of Nazi Germany.
Patton realized the threat of the Russians better possibly even then the true hero of WWII, Winston Churchill. (Yes I'm a Yank but my English ancestry forces me to call Churchill the babyface) Patton wanted to rearm the Germans and launch a joint US, German offensive back towards Moscow. Although many wanted this, it was politicaly unfeasible. (Patton was a little off his rocker despite beign the greatest American general since Robert E Lee)
So...I don't think you can blame anyone individual or group, it was a multi-pronged event, with both sides beign complicit.
And to second someone elses opinion from earlier, although the Western Allies got all the glory for the fall of Nazi Germany, it was the Soviet Union that truly won WWII. They took the lions share of the losses (22,000,000) and inflicted the most German losses (5,500,000 as opposed to the Western figure of around 2,000,000, this doesn't count prisoners). It's ironic that the only way ot beat a totalitarian regime was ot fight it with another one. I guess Fascists and Communists just make meaner fighters.

This may be a rather simple way of looking at it, but blame humanity. Both sides needed a boogeyman to justify their own actions in many fields. I think there's a difference in asking "Who do you blame for the Cold War," and "Who do you think had the least noble justifications for their actions immediately after WW2," but that's my answer to the former.

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Great input factual and concise. As someone interested in the topic but sadly un informed, i find it hard to comment but can certainly applaud!

Great thread!

Originally posted by WithinyouWithoutyou
The Japanese had been in secret talks to surrender for quite some time prior to the dropping of the A-bombs. Truman had them detonated in order to send Stalin a message: Don't **** with us, we can explode you, you commie rat!


[edit on 21-2-2006 by WithinyouWithoutyou]

The earlier surrender talks the Japanse wanted conditions with their surrender mainly that the Emperor remain in power. The US would accept nothing less then unconditional surrender on the part of the Japanese. I took 2 Atomic bombs for the Emperor to see the light.

There were factions of the Japanse military that didnt want to surrender even after two atomic bombs. The military even attempted a coup to steal the Emperors radio surrender message before it was played to the people. Luckly one single man hid it very well.

Surrender was far worse then death in many Japanese eyes at that time.

Besides the A bombs were no secret to Stalin before they were dropped he knew about them. The US told him about them before they were even dropped but he knew about them way before even that.

[edit on 23-2-2006 by ShadowXIX]

[edit on 23-2-2006 by ShadowXIX]

Its all Adolf's fault. If he hadn't turned right before Moscow he would have kicked Koba's backside all the way to Kamchatka...maybe. However, perhaps, that wouldn't have been such a good thing!!!!

Or you can always blame the Jews!