As the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore once said, "fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."

And that seems to be the idea behind Truman's use of historical allusion in sentences 59 and 60:

One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. (59-60)

Okay, so he's not exactly evoking Voldemort-levels of fear, but Truman is definitely doing some uneasy name-swapping in order to elicit an emotional response from his audience.

Think about it—Truman doesn't just come out and say "World War II" or "the second world war." Instead, he alludes to the conflict by referring to it as "the war with Germany and Japan." This indirect reference allows HST to put some distance between himself and the event. Why is he looking for space, you might ask? Well, it's a strategic move meant to help him convey his main point about the current Cold War threat.

Still a bit confused? Let's break it down some more.

The devastation and painful memories of WWII were still fresh in 1947. No American wanted to go to war, but they all understood that they had to go in order to protect things like freedom and democracy (a.k.a. "a way of life free from coercion"). Truman knew that the crowd he was addressing was aware of this sense of duty and historical context.

He also knew that they would absolutely hate to discover that the blood, sweat, and tears they had put into winning the war went down the drain two years later because of Joseph Stalin and they-who-must-not-be-named (the Soviet Union).

So what does he do? Like the good persuasive speaker he is, Truman gets everyone's attention by making an ever-so-slight reference to "the war with Germany and Japan" and lets the audience's imagination do the rest. The result: heartstrings are pulled, eyes tear up, and just about everyone in the room is that much more interesting in hearing what the president has to say.

And who said drama was a bad thing?