Eastern Bloc

deciding Germany’s fate when Germany would suffer and the fate of eastern European states. American President Roosevelt had no real power to tell Stalin to leave countries, but because the United States traditionally pushed the self-determination, Roosevelt and Churchill would hope that Stalin would move out on his own. With all of these threats that are appearing form the war it seems the Big Three gathered together and agreed that the eastern countries would have free elective governments. As…

1 Cory Babineau U.S. American History- E 10/19/14 The Berlin’s Wall’s impact on Germany On August 13, 1961, the city of Berlin and the country of Germany would be changed forever. On this date in August, the Berlin Wall was built. The Berlin Wall symbolized the division of Germany and the world between the communist and the capitalist alliances. The rise of the Berlin Wall was a powerful symbol of the Cold War, and the wall split a city, friends, and a world apart forever. The rise of the…

divided Europe stood through the rigorous tensions of political and physical war. After WWII, Germany was split up into 4 different zones ruled by different countries. The western half was split into the British, American, and the French sectors. The Eastern half was controlled by the Soviet Union. Later, the western half unified into the Federal Republic of Germany and the Soviet sector became the German Democratic…

strict surveillance from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and lived with additional regulations. Berdahl presents Kella as floating between the East and West; however, the impenetrability of the inter-German border from 1952 to 1989 instituted Eastern economic and cultural practices in Kella until the entire GDR experienced the fall of socialism. In this paper, I will demonstrate that…

Fallout Shelter (Scott Peters, 1961) In the beginning of the cold war, it seems that some Americans had a sense of confidence about the war, as can be seen in this excerpt from the song; “I’m not scared/I’m prepared/I’ll be spared” (Peters.) Many people purchased fallout shelters as a means of defense against the possible nuclear war they thought Russia would start, they were designed to protect people from nuclear fallout and have enough supplies in them to typically last a few weeks. While the…

At the conclusion of the Second World War, the tension between America and the Soviet Union are still very much prominent. The intense friction has roots in core values each world power pictured the postwar world would look like. America expressed their perception as basically a loss of nationality globally, and ridding of military alliances. They wanted an organization to govern every country and protect everyone’s right of self-determination. On the other hand, the Soviet Union envisioned the…

After the events of World War II America was almost facing another war. This time with a more familiar enemy, Stalin and the Soviet Union. The two world powers clashed almost resulting in nuclear war. Experts have argued that they were bound to clash due to them being the only world powers at the time. However, the Cold War was started because the actions during World War II, the vague agreements postwar, and the almost nationalistic hatred of communists. During World War II America and Great…

He wants to end fighting and war in and with Eastern Europe. Reagan addresses Americans and the people of West Berlin, Germany in 1987 in order to sway their thinking towards what is, in his opinion, the best solution to the strife in Europe. Reagan seeks to stop and prevent any and all war in Germany and all of his actions are for the good of all people in the world, especially in Eastern Europe. He desires safety for all those who are in Berlin and ensures it through…

Stasiland is the first book of the author Anna Funder. Funder won a prodigious nonfiction writing award for Stasiland. Funder, born in Australia, currently lives in New York. Previously, Anna Funder was an international lawyer. Anna also worked in Berlin for a German communication production service. Anna Funder amalgamated various sources to present a detailed account of the time period she calls “Stasiland.” Funder used personal accounts as sources. She gathered information from face-to-face…

The Soviet-Afghan War began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, and ended with the withdrawal of Soviet forces on February 15, 1989. It was a war that had a global impact and indirectly led to the fall of the USSR. Afghanistan in the 50s and 60s, was a country that was beginning to modernize and industrialize with the help of both the Soviet Union and the United States. As animosity grew between the two world superpowers, the U.S. quickly created military ties with the…