Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 9 years ago

Why do you think the cold war really started?

it would seem vague to say capitalism vs communism. it is bigger than that.

6 Answers

Relevance
  • ?
    Lv 7
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    The Cold War actually started with the fall of Berlin at the end of World War II. The British and American troops had taken Berlin from the west while Russian troops had invaded from the east.

    Joseph Stalin, the Russian leader wanted to claim all of Berlin and Germany for Russia. This may have been spurred by anger and a desire for revenge over the atrocities by the Germans during the invasion of Russia. It's hard to say.

    Nevertheless, the Allies held the western part of Berlin for fear of what the Russians would do to the German citizens. In East Berlin, the Russians proved themselves every bit as brutal as the Nazis. The second and bigger reason was that none of the Allied nations really trusted Stalin. He was seen as opportunistic, oppressive, and somewhat psychopathic.

    So Berlin became a divided city. When Stalin refused to let American and British aid through to the war-weary and starving citizens of Berlin, the Allies organized the Berlin Airlift, flying in planes with supplies on a continuous basis. Stalin finally relented, but held tight to East Berlin and Germany.

    Stalin's successor was an idiot: Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev. His philosophy was to conquer and control as many countries as possible to further the Soviet quest for empire-building. The dividing line between free and Soviet controlled Germany was the Berlin Wall, and later became known as the "Iron Curtain".

    Nikita Krushchev aggravated the Cold War with his bully tactics. He was arrogant, loud, and stupid. His biggest mistake was taking on U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the Cuban missile incident. He believed he could bully the young American president into backing down over the Soviet missiles in Cuba. Krushchev was wrong. He paid dearly for that blunder with his job.

    The Cold War continued to be "business as usual" until two visionaries: U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev decided that enough was enough. A new age of "glastnost", or reaching out in friendship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union had begun. The culmination of this great movement was in 1989 with the destruction of the Berlin Wall which had separated East from West for over 40 years.

    Today, the Soviet Empire is gone. Former Iron Curtain nations are free and self-determining. Russia is a nation that has evolved from an "Evil Empire" to a casual ally.

    Source(s): History and memory
  • Ishan
    Lv 6
    9 years ago

    I would blame Stalin. He was a hungry wolf and betrayed the US(USSR received huge amount of equipment, food from USA during the war). After the surrender of the Axis Powers, America relinquished possession of almost all the nations she liberated, but Stalin liberated and occupied. Stalin promised to hold elections in Poland, which was never kept. He let the partisans massacre Greece. And we all know the plight of the two Germanys during the cold war. While Germany was invaded from the west, US troops did not go all the way to Berlin, that was a historical error. Though during the days of Vietnam, the Cold War was unnecessarily escalated bu the US.

    Source(s): I'm neither American nor Russian.
  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    FDR proved to Stalin in 1943 that he was a Liar after Making secret deals Behind Churchill's Back

    and Churchill asked what was going on and Stalin said FDR said you had approved Of killing 100,000 german officers at the end of the war

    and Churchill said It was never discussed

    and to try and Laugh it Off FDR said Maybe 49,999 would Do

    if you were the Leaders of your country would you trust a Liar No Nether did stalin

  • 9 years ago

    It was democracy vs. communism really, a conflict of ideals politically as well as economically.

    The Cold War cannot be summed up this easily though, it is an offence to history to even try. As simply as I can put it, here were the reasons for the Cold War.

    -Communism and Democracy had become the prominent systems of government in the world and with the takeover of Berlin and its subsequent division, a visual rift occurred between the two ideals.

    -With the display of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an arms race took place. With so many nations so heavily armed after the second world war, tension was abundant.

    -With the spread of each ideal came the fear by each party that their system would be engulfed and destroyed (people don't like this idea) and as such, each side began pursuing allies.

    -When small conflicts began around the world, the Eastern and Western powers used them as microcosms for their overall conflict with one side supplying troops and the other side supplying weapons and covert troops in order to never display a 'true' East-West war on paper.

    That is the best summary that I can offer for the Cold War's causes... Heavily-armed nations, a conflict of political and economic ideologies, and small conflicts around the world allowing for the giants to flex their muscle in a 'passive aggressive' way.

    Source(s): highschool and university history courses as well as some subsequent research and recreational history programming.
  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • malara
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    i think your searching for purely one snapping element. It grow to be easily brewing over it sluggish, and in case you may opt to correctly known greater relating to the string of activities i will bypass into element extra in case you ask a greater different question. in spite of the undeniable fact that, i think of you're searching for greater of a particular journey. i ought to offer you 2 strategies. at first, after the top of WW2 the contract btwn the allies grow to be to split Germany into 4 quadrants. and that they desperate that the growing to be to be a member of of any of the two might must be agreed upon via all 4 (France, Britain, US, and Russia). in spite of the undeniable fact that, through Stalin's stubborness and non-cooperative strategies-set, Britain, France, and the US blended thier areas to create a unified u . s . (West Germany) without consent of the U.S.. long tale short the Russian's have been given pissed and made East Germany, to that end the lines have been drawn for the chilly conflict. Secondly, you should declare the Berlin Airlift. Berlin grow to be deep interior of East Germany, in spite of the undeniable fact that, it grow to be split into 4 quadrants of administraion in simple terms like the rustic. regrettably, Stalin, in an attempt to tension the allies out, closed each and all of the roads into Berlin for "maintenance". So this left the allies with doubtless one selection...destroy through probably beginning yet another conflict, or renounce Berlin. truly they got here up with the Berlin airlift which resupplied Berlin via plane from Britain and northern France. it is probable the 1st demanding 2nd that quite pit the two into opposed tensions. desire this helped

  • 9 years ago

    Stalin wanted to spread Communism globally.

    Truman decided that this was unacceptable to USA,so needed to stop Stalin but without causing a US v USSR war in doing so.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.