Summary of the Cold War

By 1943, the outcome of World War II was inevitable. The Axis powers led by Germany were isolated and dealt with severely. The disastrous German invasion of Russia, tipping over of Italian support in favor of the Allies and American intervention resulted in the Allies getting stronger. Germany and Japan were contained in their mad race for procuring armaments and territories in Europe and Asia. Finally, in 1945, the suicide of Adolf Hitler marked the end of the war in Europe.

Germany was invaded by the American forces from the west and the Russian military in the east. The two forces closed in on Berlin and demarcated their areas of support. This led to the building of the Berlin Wall amidst the calm that the end of the war had ushered in. The hushed animosity surfaced again in other territories and the air was filled with animosity. The only withholding fear was the presence of nuclear warfare. This led to a build up of tension, but the aversion to war and hence the term 'Cold War' was adopted.

The United States represented the preference for a capitalist form of government, while the Soviet Union represented the Communist Bloc. The whole of Europe and Asia got divided, with every nation either willingly accepting or being forced into an alliance with any one side. The end of the Second World War also ushered in an era of decolonization and subsequent, liberation of many enslaved nations. These newly liberated countries battled with bankrupt economies and territorial divisions that led to an exodus of refugees. Taking advantage of the situation, the Communist and Capitalist nations began to influence the people and empower them with financial aid.

The monetary aid and alliances strengthened and fueled the rivalry between the two superpowers. The Cold War was characterized by a number of domestic and international military coalitions, political propaganda, armament race, espionage and technological development of the destructive kind. This space and nuclear arms race resulted in proxy wars between the pawns used by the US and USSR. Ironically, the liberated countries now became part of a bipolar world, forced to align themselves with either one of the superpower blocs. It took grit and courage for nations like Yugoslavia and India to rally a Non-Aligned Movement.

The rivalry between the tow power blocs was suppressed and while the US capitalized on alliances in Western Europe and the Middle East, the Soviet Union encouraged revolutionary movements in Eastern Europe, the Asian Subcontinent and Latin America. The Cold War witnessed great tension amidst an unnerving calm. The Berlin Blockade, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis and the Soviet War in Afghanistan were all results of this crisis. Direct attacks were luckily deterred due to the experimented potential of nuclear weapons.

This animosity and the wanton loss of precious life were severely criticized by the common man, around the world. It was an era of rebellion against crazy political notions and destructive diplomacy. In the 1980s, the US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev took the initiative and initiated the culmination of the situation, with the signing of the INF Treaty in 1987. The Cold War lasted a good four decades. The period witnessed escalated military expenditures and tremendous loss of lives in Vietnam and Korea. The power crazy strategies of the diseased politicians had once again led the common man into death and debt.