The Cold War developed from dissensions on the postwar European universe. The Soviet Union wanted to experience secure on the western boundary line and did non desire to give up what it had gained in Eastern Europe by get the better ofing Germany. Eastern Europe was an country of dissension in that the United States and Great Britain were in favour of democratic freedom for the liberated states of Eastern Europe. nevertheless Stalin feared this would take to traditional anti-Soviet attitudes if they were allowed free elections and he hence was against the programs of the West. The Red Army proceeded to put in pro-Soviet regulating governments in Poland. Romania. Bulgaria. and Hungary.
The civil war in Greece between the Communist People’s Liberation Army and the anti-Communist forces over control of Greece led to the creative activity of the Truman Doctrine. It stated that if the Soviets were non stopped in Greece the US would hold to confront the spread of communism worldwide. President Truman was concerned about the possibility of Soviet enlargement. and the Truman Doctrine paved the manner for US support to states who were threatened by it. The Marshall Plan was based on the belief that Communist aggression fed off economic convulsion and provided support for the recovery of Europe. Albania. Bulgaria. Czechoslovakia. East Germany. Hungary. Poland. Romania. and the Soviet Union became a military confederation in the Warsaw Pact which was divided from NATO. At the terminal of World War II. the Soviets occupied all of Eastern Europe and the Balkans except for Greece. Albania. and Yugoslavia.
Both Albania and Yugoslavia had Communist opposition motions during the war and the Communist Party assumed power when the war ended. Communist authoritiess were placed in East Germany. Bulgaria. Romania. Poland. Hungary and subsequently Czechoslovakia. Hungary attempted to go independent from Soviet control but was crushed by the Soviet Union’s armed forces in 1956. The Red Army attacked Budapest after Nagy. the Magyar leader. declaring Hungary a free state with free elections which meant the terminal of Communist regulation in Hungary. The Soviets reestablished control of the state. Worker protests erupted in Poland in 1956 which led to the Polish Communist Parties following reforms and plighting to stay loyal to the Warsaw Pact in Soviet exchange leting Poland to follow its ain way to socialism.
The election of Alexander Dubcek as first secretary of the Communist Party led to a period of euphory in Czechoslovakia known as “Prague Spring. ” This was induced by reforms including freedom of address and imperativeness. freedom to go abroad. and a relaxing of the secret activities of the constabulary. In order to halt the spreading of what was referred to as “spring fever” . the Red Army invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and crushed the motion. Gustav Husak. Dubcek’s replacing. abolished Dubcek’s reforms and reestablished the old order.
The address by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was given at the Fifth Congress of the Polish United Workers’ Party to warrant the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In it. he explains that oppressing this effort was to protect communism itself. or in other words the whole on the job category motion and its socialist ends. He says that Czechoslovakia. by damaging socialism in their state. in kernel perverts from its international responsibility. A adult male life in a society can non be free from the society nor free from the common involvements of the community.
In other words. the suppression of rebellion is stated as working for the good of the whole Communist state to contend against “small state narrow-mindedness. privacy and isolation. ” He attributes this as a Domino consequence. the weakening of any links in the universe system of socialism straight impacting all of the socialist states. This would hold been damaging non merely to Czechoslovakia’s involvements but other socialist provinces. Harmonizing to Breshnev. the invasion was an international responsibility to support socialist additions.
