70
in their recent past as well as the lure of communism, and they remade
themselves into economic powerhouses firmly allied to the United
States and the West. Japanese foreign minister Saburo Okita recalled
how, after Japan’s defeat, its people nursed hopes for the future: “It’s
miserable now, but in time Japan will get back on its feet again, not
through military power, but by new technology and economic power.”
45
Overall, the West’s pursuit of the ColdWar, despite its occasional over-
reach and paranoia, helped produce a postwar world that was largely
stable and prosperous.
The tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized the crumbling of
Soviet power in Europe. The subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991 signaled to many the end of the Cold War and the long hoped-for
commitment to democracy in former Eastern Bloc countries.
