A. Poland and the Cold War
Soviet troops occupied Poland at the end of World War II. Future elections in Poland were one of the subjects at the Yalta Conference in 1945. Josef Stalin was not enthusiastic about the prospect of free elections in Poland. Because of the violence committed by the Soviets against the Polish people during the war, there was a great deal of animosity between Russians and Poles. Stalin assumed that if Poles had their choice in free elections, they would not be voting in favor of the current communist administration in the Soviet Union. Poland and the Soviet Union had been at odds since before the war. In the 1920s Poland had invaded the Soviet Union. Poland had opposed the Bolshevik Revolution. Also, before World War II Poland had provided an avenue of invasion for German troops entering Russia. All of these bad feelings contributed to Stalin’s harsh policies and oppressive actions in Poland. The Soviet Union’s attitude toward Poland was a major factor in creating the Cold War environment there. Poland held their first elections after the Cold War had already commenced. In 1947, maneuverings by the Soviets compromised Poland's free parliamentary elections. Any opposing party was discouraged and Soviet politics dominated Poland leading to censorship and suppression. After Stalin died in 1953, there was a period during which protests and demonstrations occurred in Poland demanding free elections and freedom from Soviet domination. The military put down these protests and the Soviet-supported Polish Communist Party remained in power.
1) What did the Truman Doctrine establish?
The Truman Doctrine established the United States’ practice of offering economic, political, and military support to countries around the world who favored democratic governments. This proved to be the final and irrevocable step in reversing any lingering isolationist policies in the United States. Instead of avoiding civil wars and conflicts between communist forces and democratic forces in other countries, the United States increased intervention around the world. The specific conflict that the United States entered with the passing of the Truman Doctrine was the Greek Civil War. At first the United States supplied weapons to the nationalists in Greece. Later the United States sent troops to Greece to repel the fascists and communists. The Greek civil war was so devastating that the country did not begin to recover economically for many years. It was not until 1974 that Greece became a democracy.
2) The 1973 Yom Kippur War within the Context of the Cold War
Egypt and Syria invaded Israel on Yom Kippur in 1973. Egypt sent troops across the Suez Canal and Syrians attacked the north. The United States and the Soviet Union were embroiled in an arms buildup and nuclear stalemate during this period of the Cold War. The United States assisted Israel with intelligence missions and aircraft surveillance. OPEC (Arab states) cut off oil to the United States causing shortages. The war caused hostilities between the Soviets and the Americans to escalate. The war jeopardized the nuclear détente between the two super powers. United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger worked with the Soviets to encourage a cease-fire between the combatants. However, by then Israeli troops had the advantage against Egyptian troops and did not want to yield. The Soviets took the side of the Egyptians and threatened military intervention. The threat of a nuclear confrontation by the United States and the Soviets caused a Stage 3 alert. Kissinger and his colleagues negotiated peace talks and finally Israeli troops withdrew from Syria and Egypt.
3) SALT Treaties
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviets signed SALT I and SALT II in order to limit the nuclear arms race. Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev began SALT I negotiations in 1969 and they settled in 1972. The series of treaties agreed that both countries would regulate antiballistic missiles and maintain only one launch area each. Additionally, the countries agreed to freeze strategic ballistic missile production for five years. The United States and the Soviet Union began negotiations for SALT II in 1972 and concluded them in 1979. At that time the United States had advanced missile technology and the Soviets had amassed large warheads. SALT II regulated the production of missiles, launchers, and many other weapons systems. Technically, the United States did not ratify SALT II because Cold War hostilities were so intense at the time. Instead, both countries began voluntarily abiding by the terms of SALT II.
Bibliography
Allen, Debra J, and Sabine Lee. 2004. "REVIEWS OF BOOKS - The Oder-Neisse Line: The United States, Poland, and Germany in the Cold War". The International History Review. 26 (2): 413.Gaddis, John Lewis. 2005. The Cold War a new history. New York: Penguin Press. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/61303540.html.Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. 2014. “Student Activity Harry Truman and the Truman Doctrine.” http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/doctrine.htmInbar, Efraim. 2007. Israel's National Security Issues and challenges since the Yom Kippur War. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=325484.Mahan, Erin R., and Edward C. Keefer. 2010. SALT I, 1969-1972. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State.Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. 2014. “MILESTONES: 1945–1952 The Truman Doctrine, 1947.” http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrineThe Annenberg Foundation. 2014. “The Truman Doctrine”. http://www.learner.org/workshops/primarysources/coldwar/docs/truman.htmlUnited States. 2011. The Salt II Treaty debate: the Cold War congressional hearings over nuclear weapons and Soviet-American arms control. St. Petersburg, Fla: Red and Black Publishers.
