Question

Which event caused the outbreak of the second or new cold war?

Answer 1

After the fall of the Nazi Germany in May 1945 near the end of World War II, the uneasy  alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other began to unravel. In 1948 the Soviets had elected communist governments in the countries of eastern Europe that had been liberated by them. The Americans and the British were a bit uncomfortable with  the  Soviet domination of eastern Europe and the threat of Soviet-backed communist parties coming to power in the democracies of western Europe. The Soviets were determined to maintain their dominance in eastern Europe in order to safeguard against any possible renewed threat from Germany.  They were determined on spreading communism worldwide, largely for ideological reasons. The Cold War gained momentum by 1947–48, when U.S. aid provided under the Marshall Plan to western Europe led  countries to get  under  their influence where the Soviets had installed openly communist regimes .

Answer 2

Answer:

Historians have distinguished various causes that led to the outbreak of the Cold War, which includes tensions among the two governments at the conclusion of World War II, the conflict of ideologies among the United States and the Soviet Union, the evolution of nuclear weaponry, and the terror of communism in the United States.