Teme 1

Sara Teme
Interdisciplinary Unit
Ms. Amanda, Mr. Ervin, Ms. Anila, Ms. Aurora
13.05.2016
Title: The Cold War

How did the geopolitical situation during the cold war affect cultural expression
and daiy life?
The Cold War in itself was a mere rivalry between The United States, Russia and their respective
allies. It was fought on propaganda, politics and the economy and there was a limited access to
weapons. Even though this war was a cold one and was not as vicious and did not have as many
repercussion as the previous ones, it still affected the world a great deal. It had many
consequences when regarding international politics and international relations. US spread its
democracy on Western Europe whereas The Soviet Union spread its communism on the eastern
one. One of the biggest consequences on the Cold War; the division of Europe. The great wall of
Berlin is to this day living proof of that.
The ideology fed to the people on different sides of the iron curtains made a huge obstacle in the
development of the world. Europe lost so much during the Cold War. There were many
causalities since before the war and many cities were destroyed. All the years of warfare drained
Europe of its economic resources therefore shattering its economy. Europe lost its place as one of
the leading and most powerful continents as America and Russia rose to power. Europe was
turned into a battlefield and the testing ground of American and Russian weaponry. The mind of

Teme 2

Europeans were filled with this idea and the Iron Curtain as said by Winston Churchill just made
their ideology the more accurate.
The Cold War was a threat of a nuclear war that scared people all over the world. And not just
nuclear war as in some countries there were violent confrontation. In Vietnam, Korea, and
Afghanistan the non- communists fought against communists and blood was spilled. This is
because the tension was so high. All the countries worried if there would be a nuclear war
breaking in soon and they were scared. Also it greatly affected the people in the third world.
Some of those countries were colonial countries from Europe and the transition from a colony to
a self-ruled country or ruled by the Soviets and American was not easy. There were many wars
and violet transitions.
However not only was the land divided but also the people. The people on the different sides of
the wall led quite different lives. Some lived in communism and some in democracy and
capitalism. The Western people followed the American leadership and one of the biggest changes
between their people was religion. Americans were tightly bound to their religious commitment
whereas the Soviets were proud atheists. So in order to be a good American and by conclusion an
Anti- communist was to fear God. To be a good American you had to have a good attendance at
religious services whereas atheism was one of the most prominent features of the eastern
people.
Espionage also was a huge obstacle. People would spy on each other all the time. Neighbors
would spy on neighbors and would report them for anything remotely suspicious. Parents would
fear their own children might turn them over to the government. They had to speak in code
within their own family walls. Always guarded in order to be safe. If there seemed to be
communism ideology inside a western house or a democratic ideology in an eastern one there

Teme 3

would be people that knew within days. This made people afraid of friend and family. It made
people afraid of people.
Although the Cold War caused such a huge rift between people it also helped them a great deal.
America and The Soviet union helped the countries that were incredibly damaged by war and
sent financial and medical help. They competed with each other even over this. Who would send
more help? But the poor countries in need of help benefited from the economic aid offered to
them from the US and the USSR and their competition was in their interest.

All in all the Cold war had many negative effects and also a few positive ones. It generated a set
of geopolitical problems for the global economy and also shaped the international order. But it
will always be remembered as the greatest war ideologically fought in the history of the world.