Japan and the Cold War
1.The Dodge plan and the impact of the emergence of the Korean war greatly contributed to Japan’s recovery and emergence as a world economic power after even after being defeated in World War II. The Korean war created a boom that led to increase in production that helped to speed up Japan’s economic growth. Increase in production was made possible through the different forms of technology imported into the country to boost production (Franks, 2018). Since Japan was greatly affected by the war, resulting to import technology ensured that little time was wasted trying to develop different forms of technology. Importing ensured that the technology acquired was of good quality and that production could commence early in advance, giving Japan the boost, it needed to recover from the consequences of the war.
Other that advanced technology, recovery after the war was greatly as a result of the country’s ability to implement the skills and knowledge gained from engaging with Western countries. The information gained from experiences with other countries acted as a basis of reference on what recovery processes were ideal following a crisis (Franks, 2018). Japan’s ability to implement utilise the information greatly contributed to the accelerated growth.
- The berlin wall was seen by many as a representation of the philosophical, political and physical differences that existed between the east and the west. Building the Berlin wall was significant to the onset of the cold war because it attacked other nations indirectly without starting World War III (Sarrote, 2014). The wall was formed under the notion that a stable government would be formed leading to the signing of a new peace treaty which would result in the wall becoming unnecessary.
When relationships between the Soviet Union and the West started to deteriorate, it became clear that the wall was causing political problems for all parties involved, resulting to the emergence of the cold war. The soviets opted to block access to Berlin and prevent those from the west from coming into the region (Sarrote, 2014). Since Berlin relied on shipments to resupply its goods, medicine, coal and raw materials needed for fuel and heating, the wall strained relationships between Berlin and the west and this contributed to the emergence of the Cold War.
- The collapse of the Berlin wall was significant to the end of the Cold War because it facilitated the falling of communism in East and Central Europe. After the collapse, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was dissolved and restrictions such as policies barring movement of diplomats and other official personnel were lifted (Sarrote, 2014). The collapse also greatly contributed to the reunification of Germany where East Germany was dissolved and further facilitated the reunification of the German state in the region along the democratic lines of West German Basic Law.
The collapse also led to the scraping of the Warsaw pact and this contributed to the abolition of the institutional basis for the cold war. In a psychological scale, the fall had a positive outcome as it helped get rid of a symbol that was used to divide people into different groups (Franks, 2018). The collapse however meant that the Soviets and Westerners could no longer see each other as enemies of individuals competing for similar resources. Negotiations were no longer held with the intent to gain an added advantage but rather to help all regions involved to recover and this greatly contributed to the end of the Cold War.
References
Franks A, (2018) “Gale researcher guide for: Japanese economic recovery after World War II” Gale, Cengage Learning
Sarotte E, (2014) “The collapse: The accidental opening of the Berlin wall” Perseus Books
