Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Social Sciences
Year: 2023
DOI:
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The Opening Speeches of the Cold War: Churchill, Truman, Stalin, and Zhdanov, 1946-1947
Sean Brennan
ABSTRACT:
Arguably the three most important countries involved in the Cold War were the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. These countries were also the three pivotal members of the coalition which defeated the Axis powers, especially in the European Theatre, during the Second World War. Following the surrender of Germany and Japan, the WWII Allies started to drift apart over very different conceptions of what the future of the world would look like, and the bounds which united three countries with vastly different political and economic systems were soon severed. This essay will examine four speeches, two each from the Western and Soviet sides, as British, American, and Soviet leaders proclaimed what would eventually become known as the Cold War. How and why these speeches marked a point of no return, one which lasted for over forty years, and if that truly was the intention of Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Andrei Zhdanov from 1946 to 1947.
keywords: diplomacy, international relations, rhetoric, united states, soviet union