Sometimes, friendship isn't forever. At the conclusion of World War II, the old structures of power were a shambles. The traditional European powers were greatly weakened by years of total war and widespread destruction. The USSR was looking to expand its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, and at the same time, the United States was assisting with the rebuilding of Western Europe (with some hegemonic strings attached). As two nuclear-armed superpowers emerged, the world entered the Cold War. Sources -Anslover, Nicole L. Harry Truman: The Coming of the Cold War. New York: Routledge, 2014. -Burleigh, Michael. Small Wars, Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World, 1945–1965. New York: Viking, 2013. -Feinberg, Melissa. Curtain of Lies: The Battle over Truth in Stalinist Eastern Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017 -Smith, Bonnie G. Europe in the Contemporary World, 1900 to the Present. 2nd ed. London: Bloomsbury, 2020. -Westad, Odd Arne. The Global Cold War : Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever: Eric Prestemon, Sam Buck, Mark Brouwer, William McGraw, Siobhan Sabino, Jason Saslow, Jennifer Killen, Jon & Jennifer Smith, DAVID NOE, Jonathan Zbikowski, Shawn Arnold, Trevin Beattie, Matthew Curls, Rachel Bright, Khaled El Shalakany, Ian Dundore, Kenneth F Penttinen, Eric Koslow, TimothyJ Kwist, Indika Siriwardena, Caleb Weeks, HAIXIANGN/A LIU, Nathan Taylor, Andrei Krishkevich, Sam Ferguson, Brian Thomas Gossett, SR Foxley, Tom Trval, Justin Zingsheim, Brandon Westmoreland, dorsey, Jessica Wode, Nathan Catchings, Yasenia Cruz, Jirat -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com/ Support Crash Course on Patreon: http://patreon.com/crashcourse CC Kids: null #crashcourse #history #europeanhistory