Cold War
In the mid-20th century, devastation left by World War II upended the previous international order. Between 10 and 20 percent of the total populations of Poland, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia perished in the war; between 4 and 6 percent of the total populations of Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Japan, and China also perished. Many other untold losses left nations vulnerable to restructuring and disruption before long-term recoveries from the war could develop. As various international powers shifted into new alliances, a prolonged geopolitical conflict emerged between the Soviet Union, United States, and their respective allies that by the end of the century was commonly called the “Cold War.” This conflict often manifested in proxy wars, trade battles, and complex diplomacy, which shaped the political landscape for much of the world in the latter half of the century.
The decolonization of regions that European states had formerly claimed as colonies marked a significant phase in the Cold War. As newly independent nations emerged, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the United States and Soviet Union competed for influence and viewed decolonization as an opportunity to expand their ideological reach—communism by the Soviet Union and free-market capitalism by the United States. Several direct confrontations over which style of government would replace a former colony erupted, sometimes with terrible effect. The Korean War (1950–1953) and the Vietnam War (1955–1975) were especially intense, both sparking large international controversy and concentrating various nations’ allegiances toward either of the two superpowers. The superpowers’ sponsorship of respective allies’ conflicts or participation by proxy led to mutual hostilities across several battlefronts. A critical nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962, often called the Cuban Missile Crisis, concluded after deep negotiation and urgent diplomacy among many international coalitions.
While the armed forces of the Soviet Union and the United States did not engage each other in direct combat, the competition between these two superpowers was widely seen in sporting events such as the Olympics and in a race to land on the moon.
A series of strategic shifts during the 1980s altered the balance of Cold War tensions. Seizing upon forecasts of economic stagnation in the Soviet Union, government officials in the United States increased their diplomatic, military-supply, and economic pressures. The rise of Mikhail Gorbachev as the Soviet premier brought a number of reforms, namely glasnost (“openness”) and perestroika (“reorganization”). These reforms, coupled with the end of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan in 1989 and Gorbachev’s refusal to supply military aid to East European governments, signaled broad dissolution of Cold War structures. Many geopolitical rivalries and tensions certainly persisted, but other previous barriers of travel, trade, cooperation, and even borders—such as the Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany—came down.
Elder Thomas S. Monson with Gary Schwendiman, Walter and Edith Krause, Gottfried and Gertraude Richter, and Henry and Inge Burkhardt in East Germany, 1975.
International policies during the Cold War era often limited the access of Church leaders, missionaries, and members to certain nations and regions. Conflicts in eastern Europe, Korea, and Vietnam created narrow pathways for the Church to become established. In the midst of these challenges, many individual members and families in these regions maintained strong albeit small branches. Even so, in these decades the Church worldwide experienced the fastest rate of growth in its history and grew into an international community.
Related Topics: World War II, Globalization, Ezra Taft Benson, Thomas S. Monson