The years between 1945 and 1965 were unique ones in history. In 1945 World War II was ending, changing the landscape of Europe. In Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union was devastated despite winning the war (Zickel n.p.). It began a period of reconstruction, putting itself together after the war. Western Europe was in shambles as well, except it had Germany to contend with. Fortunately the end of the war also brought about an increase in trade among nations, increase in technological advances and foreign aid from the United States, helping all of Europe to come out of its economic downturn by 1948 ("ECONOMIC RECOVERY" n.p.). In an effort to prevent future issues such as the Nazi Party the United Nations was formed and had its first meeting in Paris. It also created a faction to distribute aid to needed countries, which was highly beneficial to many countries in Eastern Europe at the time ("ECONOMIC RECOVERY" n.p.). While Western Europe was beginning to thrive, the Soviet Union was suspected of Western Europe and the United States and their motivations; they also were afraid of invasion, so sought to create a buffer of subservient countries to prevent this (Zickel n.p.). This was known as the Iron Curtain, a phrase coined by Winston Churchill in a speech. Many Eastern European countries adopted communism and the Soviet Union used the Iron Curtain, and their military resources to create trade deals which were largely in the Soviet Union’s favor (Zickel n.p.). Arguments between the United States and The Soviet Union about how to handle reconstructing Germany were plentiful, and led to the Soviet Union cutting several countries off from parcels of land that were theirs (Zickel n.p.). Thus the Cold War had begun. NATO was established to deal with the threat of the Soviet Union. The Soviets Iron Curtain had been the first straw because of its effect on the rest of Europe as far as trade, but the United States could no longer stand back and watch the Soviet Union act as they did. While the curtain was metaphorical, it has been just as much of a barrier to the United States and Europe as if it had been physically put there. The Cold War was still in effect in 1965.
Works Cited
"ECONOMIC RECOVERY". Funfront.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 May 2016.
Zickel, Raymond. "Soviet Union 1945-1985". Shsu.edu. N.p., 1989. Web. 22 May 2016.
