Cold War 1945-1989

Notes on the Cold War

Europe during Cold War

• Following World War II, Soviet forces occupied much of Eastern and Central Europe and East Germany

• The Soviets were looking for a buffer between themselves and Germany as a result of previous German aggression.

• Because USSR was Communist, this created conflict between them and the United States.

Germany• Following World War II, Germany was divided as

follows:• West Germany was occupied by the U.S., Britain,

and France until the adoption of a democratic government

• East Germany was dominated by the Soviets• Berlin was occupied by all four powers. The

Berlin Airlift brought supplies to Berlin when the Soviets blockaded land routes from West Germany to West Berlin.

Germany

Germany

• This division was intended to be temporary, but the Soviets’ imposition of a Communist government in their sector violated the intent of the agreement.

• The occupation of West Germany ended when they adopted a democratic government, but French, British, and US troops remained in West Germany to protect it from Soviet invasion.

• These forces remain today, although the numbers have decreased since the collapse of Communism in 1990.

Japan

• Following World War II, Japan was occupied by the US until the adoption of a democratic government.

The Marshall Plan

• In an attempt to prevent the spread of communism, the Marshall Plan provided assistance to European countries destroyed by the war.

• The infrastructure of Europe had been destroyed as a result of the war.

• The fear was that without financial assistance from the U.S., these countries would be easy prey for communist takeover.

The Marshall Plan

• Soviet satellites – independent nations under control of a more powerful nation, were offered money, but they refused it.

• Does the practice of providing economic assistance to foreign countries benefit the US? How? Do we provide economic assistance today? Why?

United Nations• Formed near the end of World War II. Its

purpose was to prevent future wars.• Headquartered in New York City.• Security Council has 5 permanent members with

veto power. Maintains international peace and security.1. China2. France3. United Kingdom4. Russian Federation5. United States

Cold War

• United States vs Soviet Union• U.S. has a market economy, which promotes

private ownership of the means of production, and the Soviet Union had a command economy in which the government owned the means of production.

• This was a fundamental difference between the two countries. Sometimes the disagreements between them resulted in military action.

The Truman Doctrine

• Was a United States pledge to resist the spread of communism worldwide.

• It was originally a proposal of immediate financial assistance to Greece and Turkey, but it became a foreign policy to resist communist aggression everywhere.

• It was a guiding principle of “containment of communism”, not to roll it back but to keep it from spreading and to resist communist aggression into other countries.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• NATO was formed to provide a defensive alliance to protect Western Europe against an invasion by the Soviet Union.

• Warsaw Pact, an alliance of Soviet and East European countries, was a response to NATO. and for nearly 50 years, both sides maintained large military forces facing each other in Europe.

NATO Member Countries

China• In 1949, the communists took over China led by

Mao Zedong. • This increased American fears of communist

domination of most of the world. Rather than becoming strong allies, however, the communist nations of China and the Soviet Union eventually became rivals for territory and diplomatic influence.

• American foreign policy under President Nixon in the 1970s exploited this rivalry.

China

• Mao Zedong led the communists and Chiang Kai-shek led the opposition backed by the U.S.

• When Mao took over mainland China, Kai-shek took the opposition to Taiwan off the coast of China and formed Nationalist China.

• The U.S. has backed Taiwan but this has caused a lot of tension between communist China and the United States.

Mao Zedong

Nuclear Arms Race• After the Soviet Union matched the US in

nuclear weaponry in the 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war that would destroy both countries was ever-present throughout the Cold War.

• The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race during the Cold War.

• Americans prepared for a possible nuclear attack by constructing bomb shelters and having drills at schools

• http://www.cnn.com/US/9511/gimme_shelter/

Eisenhower’s Policy

• President Eisenhower, adopted a policy of “massive retaliation” to deter any nuclear strike by the Soviets.

• It threatened the use of nuclear weapons in response to Soviet aggression against another country.

Korean War

• The United States became involved in the Korean War in 1950 when communist North Korea invaded South Korea.

• Japan had annexed Korea prior to World War I at the end of WW II Japan had to give up control. Korea, left with no government, was divided, but the division was supposed to have been temporary.

Korean War

• North Korea was occupied by the Soviets and South Korea was occupied by the United States. A pro-American government emerged in South Korea and a pro-communist government emerged in North Korea.

• The occupation ended in 1949. The next year North Korea invaded South Korea.

• American involvement in the Korean War in the early 1950s reflected the American policy of containment of communism.

Korean War

• China entered the conflict on the side of North Korea. A truce was signed in 1953. Korea remained divided along the 38th parallel. It was a stalemate.

• To this day they still have not signed a peace treaty and are officially still in a state of war.

• China still backs North Korea and we still have troops in South Korea.

Vietnam

• The Unites States began providing economic aid to the French in Vietnam as part of the American policy of containment.

• Vietnam was par of French Indochina. The French were defeated by the Vietminh n 1954.

• The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into two countries: North Vietnam was communist under Ho Chi Minh, and South Vietnam was anticommunist under Ngo Dinh Diem.

Vietnam

• In the 1950s and 1960s, communist North Vietnam attempted to force a communist government in South Vietnam. The United States provided assistance to South Vietnam to resist.

• Ho Chi Minh was loved by the Vietminh and Diem was not liked by a lot of the South Vietnamese. The US backed Diem.

Vietnam

• The American military buildup in Vietnam began under President John Kennedy.

• After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the buildup was intensified under President Lyndon Johnson.

• American military forces repeatedly defeated North Vietnam but were unable to force an end to the war through a “limited” war.

Vietnam

• Americans became deeply divided over the Vietnam War. Especially when Lieutenant Calley was convicted of killing civilians in a small village (My Lai massacre) in 1968. War protests took place throughout the US, especially on college campuses.

• The Kent State University antiwar rally ends with four students killed.

Vietnam Execution

Vietnam Protests

My Lai Massacre

Kent State

Vietnam

• President Johnson decided not to run for re-election and Richard Nixon was elected president in 1968.

• “Vietnamization” was Nixon’s plan to withdraw American troops and replace them with U.S.-supplied South Vietnamese forces.

• It was unsuccessful because South Vietnamese forces were unable to resist invasion from Soviet-supplied North Vietnam.

LBJ Helpless, Decides Not to Run

Vietnam

• A peace agreement was signed in 1973, and United States troops left Vietnam.

• In 1975, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam, which was unable to resist.

• Vietnam became a united country under a communist government.