CW Magazine

In this podcast — at least at the beginning of the lecture — we’ll be focusing more on the threat of conventional military confrontations. Highlights are listed below. 00:52: War is again imminent. Problem areas include Manchuria, Iran, Turkey, and Europe. China is also central. 2:58: Stalin promises to work with Chiang Kai-shek, not Mao Tse-tung. In return, the Russians receive substantial territorial concessions. 3:43: Plebiscite in Mongolia results in the country moving closer to Russia; Stalin prefers a divided China. 4:38: The US State Department tries to end the Chinese Civil War, but Manchuria is a sticking point 7:22: Truman pulls out of China; emphasis is now on Western Europe and the Middle East. 8:06: Iran 9:43: Turkey, the Dardanelles, and the Mediterranean; the “Domino Theory” 11:54: Declarations of Cold War by Churchill and Stalin 13:06: German reparations; the control of atomic weapons: the Acheson-Lilienthal Report; Bernard Baruch; the UN Atomic Energy Commission; the Baruch Plan 16:52: US Atomic Energy Commission under the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 17:10: The rebuilding of war torn Europe; the West is threatened by internal collapse To conclude, President Truman is under attack from liberals for being too militaristic and from conservatives for his economic policies. Unlike Stalin and Churchill, he has not yet publicly joined the Cold War. He’s still “on the fence.”

The Cold War has dominated the international scene since 1945, and the causes of the Cold War are still relevant in today’s 21st century. This podcast will help us understand the Cold War’s legacy and its residuals. This understanding may help us avoid some some conflict in the future. Below are some highlights of the podcast: 00:35: The beginnings of the competition between the United States and Soviet Russia 2:30: 1917, the Russian Revolution, Lenin, Marxism, and the ‘new’ Soviet 3:34: 1919, the Versailles Peace Conference, and the creation of Eastern European ‘buffer’ states 4:13: Lenin dies, Stalin takes over 5:52: Hitler invades Poland marking the beginning of World War II 8:27: American postwar objectives, Bretton Woods, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 11:10: the Red Army begins its sweep over Eastern Europe 12:06: the Big Three meet at Yalta to shape the postwar world; the Declaration of Liberated Europe 13.59: Roosevelt dies; Truman becomes president and takes a hard line toward the Soviets 15:01: Stalin’s Doctrine and the Soviet postwar approach; the wartime destruction in Russia 17:03: America’s perception of security 18:15: Article 51 of the UN Charter; the founding of the United Nations 19:12: the problem of Germany (and Poland) 20:15: Potsdam Conference 21:14: the Atomic Bomb obliterates Hiroshima; the Arms Race begins 22:27: Peace negotiations begin between Japan and the United States 22:46: Soviet Russia and the United States emerge from World War II