Which event is commonly referenced as the beginning of the Cold War?

The end of World War II is often regarded as the beginning of the Cold War due to the geopolitical shifts that occurred immediately after the conflict. With the defeat of Germany and Japan in 1945, the world witnessed the emergence of two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Their contrasting ideologies—capitalism and democracy versus communism—set the stage for a prolonged period of political tension and rivalry.

The post-war landscape was characterized by mutual suspicion and differences in how each superpower viewed global governance and influence. This ideological divide led to various confrontations and indirect conflicts in the years that followed, establishing what became known as the Cold War.

Events like the Yalta Conference, while pivotal in shaping post-war Europe, happened during the war and were part of the discussions for rebuilding and re-organizing Europe rather than a direct onset of the Cold War. Similarly, the Cuban Missile Crisis, occurring later in the 1960s, was a significant flashpoint that demonstrated the intensity of Cold War tensions but was not its beginning. Germany's invasion of Poland, although it initiated World War II, does not factor into the Cold War’s origins directly. Thus, the conclusion drawn from the end of World War II encapsulates the root causes