The Cold War Adapted from Ms. Susan M. Pojer from Horace Greeley HS in Chappaqua, NY
The Cold War was a battle of ideas/ideologies Soviet Union & US & the Eastern Western European Bloc European Nations Democracies GOAL “Containment” GOAL spread world- or limiting the spread wide Communism of Communism Former allies against Hitler’s Nazi Germany in WW2, the democratic United States and the Communist USSR had different forms of government, economy, and different world views. Both sides wanted to win over the minds and hearts of the rest of the world, especially the countries in Africa and Asia. Both countries wanted to prevent a WW3.
The “Iron Curtain” – a line separating the democratic Western European countries from the Communist Eastern European countries. From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe. -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
Truman Doctrine [1947] The U. S. should support free peoples throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by armed minorities or outside pressures…We must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. US President Harry S. Truman (basically resist Communism) The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million in aid to defeat communist groups.
Marshall Plan [1948] 1. US Goal: Rebuild the European countries devastated by WW2. Named after the Secretary of State, George Marshall 2. The U. S. should provide aid to all European nations that need it. This move is not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. (Real goal was to preserve democracies in Europe and strengthen America’s trading partners.) 3. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe. The USSR rejected aid for itself and the Eastern European countries. Western Europe’s economy improves very quickly with US aid.
Post-War Germany, including Berlin
Germany and Berlin • Germany is occupied by soldiers from the US, Great Britain, France, and the USSR. • Berlin is also divided into 4 zones. • The Soviets block the roads and railroads into Berlin to force the other countries to leave. America leads the Berlin airlift for over a year, flying in all the supplies needed to keep the city going. Planes landed, unloaded, and took off in 8 minutes. Eventually the USSR allowed ground transportation to resume.
Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)
The Cold War The Cold War was an era of competition and conflict between the superpowers the US and the USSR, along with their allies, when the threat of nuclear war created constant world tension. It was “cold” because the superpowers never attacked (“hot”) each other. The US led NATO and the USSR led the Warsaw Pact.
The Arms Race: The Soviet Union exploded its } first A-bomb in 1949. Both the US and USSR will race } to develop more powerful nuclear weapons and make thousands of them.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) Democracies United States Luxemburg Belgium Netherlands Britain Norway Canada Portugal Denmark 1952: Greece & Turkey France 1955: West Germany Iceland 1983: Spain Italy
Germany The US and NATO decided to make Germany a powerful ally in the defense of Western Europe and not treat them as formers Nazis to be punished. West Germany became a country in 1949 and joined NATO just six years later. Its economic growth was considered a miracle. Germany even paid off over 50% of its debts to US banks from the Great Depression East Germany was a Warsaw Pact, Communist country directly led by the USSR.
Warsaw Pact Communist Governments under direct control of the USSR (1955) U. S. S. R. East Germany } } Albania Hungary } } Bulgaria Poland } } Czechoslovakia Rumania } }
Mao’s Revolution: 1949 Who lost China? – A 2 nd } Power!
Communist China In 1949, the Nationalists in China, US allies against Japan in WW2, were overthrown by Mao’s Communist army. The Nationalists were corrupt and had treated the people they ruled poorly. The defeated Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan. In the US, President Truman and the Democrats were blamed for “losing China.” Fear of Communism becomes a powerful force in domestic politics.
The Korean War: A “Police Action” (1950 -1953) Kim Il-Sung Syngman Rhee “Domino Theory”
The Korean War (1950-53) After WW2, the US and USSR split the Korean peninsula into two regions. • North Korea becomes a Communist USSR ally • South Korea becomes a US ally and a democracy In 1950, the North Koreans invaded South Korea and nearly won a quick victory. The United Nations supported South Korea and many countries helped the US defend South Korea. US commander General MacArthur launched a surprise invasion of North Korea and quickly drove North Korean forces up to the border with China. Mao’s China warned the US not to approach the Chinese border and launched its own surprise attack in December, 1950. It was called a “Police Action” because fear of WW3 and nuclear weapons kept the US from using all its might to win the war.
The US Army and Air Force made up the greatest part of the United Nations forces in the Korean War.
The Korean War The Chinese invasion appeared to be winning and General MacArthur called for the use of Atomic Bombs. He also criticized Truman for not trying to win the win war aggressively enough. Truman feared a nuclear war with the USSR might result. In the US, the President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Although MacArthur was tremendously popular, Truman “fired” him for attempting to determine how the war would be fought and what its goal would be. In appointing a new US commander in Korea, Truman emphasized the fact that the President makes the decisions about waging war and not the military. In 1953, President Eisenhower compromised with North Korea and the fighting stopped. The war has never ended but the 38 th parallel now divides the two countries.
The House Committee on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) McCarthyism: the use of unproven accusations against someone to label them a Communist Blacklisting: preventing someone from getting work because they are suspected of being a Communist Fear of Communism / the Cold War / the Korean War led many Americans to believe in Senator McCarthy that Communists were undermining the US in the government and , Hollywood, everywhere
McCarthyism From 1950- 54 many people’s careers were ruined by the accusation of being Communists or for not identifying others as “Commies”. Pleading the 5 th Amendment = Guilty to HUAC Finally in 1954, Senator McCarthy’s accusations against the US Army and the televised hearings before HUAC led most Americans to reject him. The freedoms guaranteed under the Bill of Rights were considered less important than the threat of Communism.
Sputnik I (1957) The Russians have beaten America in space — they have the technological edge!
Sputnik – The Space Race In 1957 the USSR successfully launched the world’s first satellite, which orbited the globe. Americans feared that the satellite could direct nuclear missiles and that the USSR was significantly ahead of the US in scientific research. Overnight, the US added great emphasis to scientific education and the development of satellites and missiles. Over the next two decades the US invested billions of $ into research that led to the 1969 landing on the moon!
Paris, 1961 USSR Leader Khrushchev & President John F. Kennedy meet to discuss Berlin and nuclear proliferation. Khrushchev thinks that JFK is young, inexperienced, and can be rolled.
The Berlin Wall (1961-1989) The Berlin Wall prevents East Germans from fleeing Communism and going to West Berlin, from there travelling to freedom in the NATO countries Checkpoint Charlie
Ich bin ein Berliner! (1963) President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them!
Khrushchev Embraces Communist Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro, 1961
Bay of Pigs Disaster (1961) The US secretly helps Cubans try to overthrow Fidel Castro and end Communism. The invasion is a disaster and a humiliating defeat for the US. Castro will turn to the USSR for protection afterwards and Krushchev will secretly have nuclear missiles installed in Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) US photo of nuclear missiles being set up in Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) For 13 days in October, 1962 the US and USSR stood ready to go war and possibly use their nuclear weapons. Tense negotiations ended with the USSR retreating and their missiles being removed from Cuba. Later, the US removed missiles from Turkey. This is considered the closest mankind has come to a nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and the other man blinked!
Vietnam War: 1965-1973
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