Europe in the Aftermath of the Second World War (1945–7): An Overview

Abstract

The end of the Soviet Union, communism and East-West rivalry has put into a different perspective the half a century of the Cold War. With that historic conflict safely behind us, the time has come to judge more dispassionately what has until now been regarded as an unmitigated evil. After all, the Cold War did not lead to actual war, much less to the nuclear holocaust that so many prophesised and feared. Nor, for that matter, did the Soviet subjugation of Eastern Europe, which was part and parcel of the Cold War, prove to be more than a passing episode, however distressing it was for those who had to endure it. And the Western Europe that emerged from the Cold War has been, despite all its problems, more prosperous, peaceful and stable than ever. In this new perspective, the old topic of who was to blame for the Cold War may be superseded by a more productive discussion about its effects.