Cold War1945-1991

Cold WarState of tension and hostility between nations aligned with the United States on one side and the Soviet Union on the other, without armed conflict between the major rivals.

Soviet Union Josef Stalin wanted to spread communism throughout

Eastern Europe. He wanted to create a buffer zone of friendly

governments as a defense against Germany which invaded Russia during WWI and WWII.

Felt the United States was not consulting the Soviet Union about peace terms.

They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life; especially after the U.S. development of atomic weapons.

CommunismMovement to create a classless society.Command Economy

Government owned industryPrice controlsProduction goalsLittle to no privately owned property

United StatesRoosevelt and Churchill rejected Stalin’s view.They both pushed for Stalin to hold “free elections”

in Eastern Europe.Stalin ignores the pledge.

Felt that Soviet occupation was part of communist expansion that threated to extend to the rest of the world.

Democracy-CapitalismVarying degrees of wealth.Creation of goods and services to make profit.

People have the freedom to make decisions for themselves.

ContainmentPolicy of the United States.Idea was to ensure that communism would not spread after the end of World War II.

Examples of Containment: Military Examples:

Korean War Vietnam War “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Afghanistan)

Foreign Policy Examples: Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan

Truman DoctrineMarch 12, 1947Rooted in the idea of containment.Truman doctrine would limit communism to the areas already under Soviet control.

Americans planned to resist Soviet expansion in Europe or elsewhere in the world.

Marshall PlanMassive aid package offered by the United

States.The United States funneled food and economic

assistance to Europe to help countries rebuild.The plan helped war-shattered Europe to recover

rapidly.Aid was also extended to the Soviet Union.

Stalin declined and forbid Eastern European countries to accept.

Germany Divided

Western leaders wanted the German economy to recover in order to restore political stability to the region.

Germany was divided into communist and non-communist zones West- Democratic, allowed people to write their own constitution East- Socialist Dictatorship Pg. 955 Textbook

Iron Curtain “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron

curtain has descended across the continent.” Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

Berlin Airlift

June 1948 Stalin tried to force the Western allies out of Berlin by

sealing off every railroad and highway into the Western sectors of the city.

The West powers responded to the blockade by mounting a round-the-clock airlift to supply West Berlin with food and fuel.

Berlin Wall West Germany (democratic) was more prosperous than East

Germany (communist). Because of this, many East Germans fled to Western Germany By 1961- 3 million had left.

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961, In the Eastern Zone of Germany. 15 feet high and topped with barbed wire. The Wall had 300 watch towers manned by border guards.

Berlin Wall Designed to keep East Germans from fleeing to the Western

sector of Berlin The west called the Berlin Wall the "Wall of Shame" and it

served to remind those who lived in Berlin that those in the Soviet controlled east lived far inferior lives to those who lived in western Berlin.

NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization

AllianceMembers:

United States, Belgium, Italy, France, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, West Germany

Pledged to help one another if any one of them were attacked.

Warsaw Pact Soviet Union forms it’s own military alliance in response to

NATO. Members:

Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland

Used often by the Soviets to keep communist countries in order.

These alliances separate Europe into “eastern” and “western” blocs.

Nuclear Arms Race By 1953, both sides (United States and Soviet Union) had

produced Hydrogen Bombs (H-Bombs). Smaller in size than the atomic bomb, but 2500 times more

powerful. B52- United States- Bomber that could fly 6,000 miles and

deliver a nuclear pay load.

Both sides began to meet to reduce the threat of nuclear war. 1963- Nuclear Test Ban 1972- SALT- to freeze existing number of nuclear weapons and to

restrict missiles each side could have.

Air-Raid DrillsNuclear air raid drills were part of everyday life for

schoolchildren in the late 1940s and early '50s. Children were taught to "duck and cover" under

their desks and were herded into school basements for periodic air raid drills.

Bert the Turtle Air Raid Cartoon

Red Scare on the Home front During the 1940s and 1950s- Americans began to fear

communists inside the United States. Joseph McCarthy

McCarthyism- Accusing innocent people of communism. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Sought to find communist sympathizers in Hollywood’s movie industry.

Cuban Missile Crisis-Soviet Union began shipping nuclear missiles to

Cuba. Less than 100 miles off the coast of Florida.

United States imposed a naval blockade on Cuba.

Tense confrontation that lasted one week and brought the world close to the brink of nuclear war.

End of the Cold War1991The Soviet Union dissolved into component republics.Internal and External Pressures helped to end the Soviet Union and ultimately the Cold War itself.