UVOD U HLADNI RAT - ISTORIOGRAFIJA SAD О DIPLOMATIJI DRUGOG SVETSKOG RATA
COLD WAR - HISTORIOGRAPHY OF USA ON THE DIPLOMACY OF WORLD WAR II

Summary/Abstract: For over thirty years United States diplomacy during World War II has been one of the major battlegrounds of American historiography. Like other areas of intense dispute, the history of this period has inspired a large volume of literature, has been assessed in the light of present-day issues, and has been affected by the emergence of distinct schools of interpretation. In at least (two areas, however, the historiography of World War II diplomacy is unique. Owing to an apparently insatiable public interest in the war and the availability of massive documentation, the number of historical works is not simply large; it is enormous, and continues to grow rapidly. And while these works can be divided into schools of thought which parallel those for other major historiographical issues, interpretations of United States World War II diplomacy often have a distinctive quality because of the influence of the cold war on its interpreters. Throughout the postwar era, in fact, World War II diplomacy has been treated not as an event unto itself, but as an explanation of the events that followed. The impact of the cold war on World War II historiography may not appear as great as it did during the 1950 s and 1960 s, but that is because the conflict itself is more uncertain and non ideological than it was in the past. Just as the interpretations of the 1950 s reflected the cold war consensus and those of the 1960 s reflected the breakdown of that consensus, so recent interpretations reflect the more balanced and polycentric approach of the United States to Soviet-American relations in the 1970 s. As long as the victors of World War II continue to play a major role in international affairs, the state of their relations will continue to have a major impact on interpretations of United States World War II diplomacy.

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