The Cold War and the Remaking of Europe, 1945-1960

K ennedy held an emergency meeting. A number of high-ranking officials urged the president to immediately begin an invasion of Cuba.

I n the event of such a development of events, the Red Army would immediately strike a nuclear missile strike against the landing force. T his could well lead to a worldwide nuclear war. T herefore, both sides began to look for possible compromises. A.

fter all, everyone understood what such a cold war could lead to. T he years of nuclear winter were clearly not the best prospect. T.

he situation was extremely tense; everything could change literally at any second. A ccording to historical sources, at this time Kennedy even slept in his office. A s a result, the Americans put forward an ultimatum — to remove Soviet missiles from the territory of Cuba. T hen the sea blockade of the island began. K.

hrushchev also held a similar meeting in Moscow. S ome Soviet generals also insisted not to succumb to Washington’s demands and in case of which to repel an attack by the Americans. T he main blow of the Union could not be at all in Cuba, but in Berlin, which was perfectly understood in the White House. The world in the years of the Cold War suffered the greatest threat of nuclear strikes on October 27, on Saturday. O n this day, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flew over Cuba and was shot down by Soviet antiaircraft gunners.

I n a few hours, this incident became known in Washington. The United States Congress advised the president to immediately begin the invasion. T he president decided to write a letter to Khrushchev, where he repeated his demands. N. K hrushchev answered this letter immediately, having agreed to them, in exchange for the United States promise not to attack Cuba and take out missiles from Turkey.

I n order for the message to reach as quickly as possible, the appeal was made through radio. T his concludes the Cuban crisis. S ince then, the heat of the situation has gradually decreased." Cold War" led to the fact that in both «camps» there were repressions against dissidents and people who advocated cooperation and rapprochement of the two systems.

I n the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe, people were arrested and often shot on the charge of «cosmopolitanism» (lack of patriotism, cooperation with the West), «adultery before the West» and «Titoism» (ties with Tito). I n the United States, began a «witch hunt», during which secret communists and «agents» of the USSR were exposed. T.

he American «witch-hunt», unlike the Stalinist repressions, did not lead to mass terror. B ut it also had victims, caused by spy mania. S oviet intelligence really worked in the USA, and the USA intelligence services decided to show that they are able to expose the Soviet spies.

T hus, for the role of «chief spy» was chosen employee Julius Rosenberg. H e really provided insignificant services to Soviet intelligence. I t was announced that Rosenberg and his wife Ethel «stole the atomic secrets of America.» Later it turned out that Ethel did not know about her husband’s cooperation with intelligence.

D espite this, both spouses were sentenced to death and, despite a campaign of solidarity with them in America and Europe, were executed in June 1953. The execution of the Rosenbergs was the last serious act of the first stage of the Cold War. I n March 1953 Stalin died, and the new Soviet leadership led by Nikita Khrushchev began to search for ways which could help to improve relations with the West. I n 1953;1954 wars were ceased in Korea and Vietnam. I n 1955 the USSR established equal relations with Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Germany.

T he Great Powers also agreed to grant the neutral status of Austria. In 1956, the situation in the world deteriorated again due to unrest in the socialist countries and attempts by Britain, France and Israel to seize the Suez Canal in Egypt. B ut this time, both the «superpowers» — the USSR and the USA- have made efforts to ensure that conflicts do not grow. K hrushchev during this period was not interested in strengthening the confrontation. I n 1959 he came to the United States.

T his was the first visit of the leader of our country to America. T he American society made a great impression on Khrushchev. P.

articularly struck by his successes in agriculture, much more effective than in the USSR. At the same time, the USA government put forward a broad program for the economic recovery of Europe, which was called the «Marshall Plan» — by the name of the then USA Secretary of State. G eorge Marshall was who implemented this project. T he Soviet Union and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe under his pressure rejected this plan.

B ut 16 countries in Western Europe adopted the «Marshall Plan», the plan also extended to the western zones of the occupation of Germany. O ver the period 1948 — 1952, these countries received aid from the USA for more than $ 13 billion, which greatly accelerated the economic revival of the West European region. T he Marshall Plan prepared the ground for closer military-political cooperation between the USA and these countries.

I t should be noted that this plan pursued far-reaching economic, political and military-strategic goals. W estern Europe serves not only directly but also indirectly the most important market for American capitalism. T.

he export of food and raw materials to Europe from Latin America, Canada and other countries increases the purchasing power, and consequently, the importance of these countries as a market for USA goods. I n 1947, USA exports exceeded imports by about 2.5 times, and USA exports to Europe exceeded imports from Europe by 7 times. S uch an abnormal balance in American trade with Europe was bound to continue to have a detrimental effect on the entire state of USA foreign trade. Taking into account the intensified struggle of the two systems as a result of the policy of the Cold War deployed by the United States, Washington believed that the stabilization and strengthening of the positions of capitalism in Western Europe are economically and politically necessary for the United States. M.

eanwhile, in the early postwar years, private US capital was reluctant to go abroad. W ith the completion of the Lend-Lease in 1945 to the spring of 1949, the US government provided about $ 20 billion in loans and grants to foreign countries, while the export of private capital from the United States amounted to only about $ 1.5 billion And most importantly, in Washington at that time plans were being made for the unification of capitalist Europe against the USSR. In general, the «Marshall Plan», like the «Truman Doctrine», pursued military-strategic and political tasks, but only incomparably larger ones. H e also, though more cautiously, covertly envisaged US intervention in the internal affairs of Western European countries. B ut formally, Marshall tried to give his plan a democratic coloring. H.

e said that European states wishing to use his plan should themselves take the initiative and work out the details of this plan, calculating the necessary funds, etc. Simultaneously with the preparation and implementation of the «Marshall Plan,» the United States, together with Britain, conducted separate actions in occupied Germany that frustrated the fulfillment of the decisions of the Potsdam Conference and the work of the Control Council of the Four Powers, restoring the West German industrial monopolies, the pioneers of the two world wars, preparing the ground for the remilitarization of West Germany and the transformation her into a military ally of the United States. O n December 2, 1946, Washington concluded an agreement on the merging of the American and British zones of occupation in Germany, which formed the so-called Bizonia. I n the summer of 1948, the French occupation zone joined them, thus creating Trizonia. J une 18, 1948 the United States, Britain and France announced the holding of a separate monetary reform in the western zones of Germany. So, an integral part of the new foreign policy of the United States was the program of economic revival of the war-ravaged Europe. T.

he USSR regarded this plan as aimed at the economic enslavement of Europe by America and exerted pressure on the Eastern European countries so that they refused to participate in the implementation of the Marshall Plan. I n total, 16 Western countries signed the Marshall Plan. Thus, the «Cold War» of the period 1945;1960 arose shortly after the end of World War II, when the Allies began to sum up its results and wasmainly caused by the fact that half of Europe was in the Soviet zone of influence; a powerful wave of liberation movement arose in the colonies against the metropolises. A lso the world quickly became polarized and turned into a bipolar one and on the world arena, two superpowers — the USSR and the USA, whose military-economic power gave them substantial superiority over others, emerged. CONCLUSIONThus, the «cold war» arose shortly after the end of the Second World War, when the Allies began to sum up its results. M arch 5, 1946, speaking in the presence of US President Truman in Fulton, W. C.

hurchill accused the Soviet Union of deploying world expansion, of the offensive in the territory of the «free world.» The most important region of confrontation between the two superpowers was Western Europe. At the beginning of 1947, during a threat loomed over Greece, in order to support local governments, the US adopted a program of assistance to these countries, known as the «Three Swords» doctrine, according to which Greece and Turkey were given economic assistance, and military missiles were sent there. In order to conduct the economic recovery of Europe, the US government put forward a broad program for the, which was called the «Marshall Plan». Itincludes 16 countries in Western Europe adopted the «Marshall Plan» and also the western zones of the occupation of Germany. O ver the period 1948 — 1952, these countries received aid from the USA for more than $ 13 billion, which greatly accelerated the economic revival of the West European region. T hus, the aim set in writing the work is achieved and the tasks are performed.

W ere investigated main reasons and the premises of the «Cold War», considered the division of Europe into spheres of influence and American imperialism and the arms «race»; was investigated the Caribbean crisis and post-war alignment of forces in Europe. REFERENCESHunt, L. T he Cold War and the Remaking of Europe, 1945;1960. — C h. 22. Miller, S. T. M.

astering Modern European History. 2nd edition. — H oundmills: Palgrave, 1997.

— C h. 30, 31. Cold War 10 of 24 Cuba / [electronic resource]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Ost_yPfgA&list=PLnK8dyMAVbZ85xkMooOKkJ4bqdn3P_iUa&index=10Video CNN Cold War Documentary Part 2 24 Iron Curtain 1945 1947 / [electronic resource]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qLsDX6sXwE&list=PLnK8dyMAVbZ85xkMooOKkJ4bqdn3P_iUa&index=2Thomas W. Laqueur, European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present / [electronic resource]:

https://yandex.ru/video/search?filmId=3 777 052 107 745 692 160&text=Thomas%20W.%20Laqueur%2C%20European%20Civilization%20from%20the%20Renaissance%20to%20the%20Present&reqid=1 522 749 086 798 316−84 939 895 403 264 037 879 808-sas1−1759-VTruman's speech at a meeting of the Congress on March 12, 1947 «The Doctrine of Truman» / [electronic resource]:

http://www.coldwar.ru/truman/doctrine.php.