COLDWAR

Definition of the Cold War

The competition that developed between the US

and the Soviet Union for power and influence in the world between 1945-1991

Conflicting Post-War Goals

•US wants to spread democracy throughout Europe

•Soviet Union wants to spread communism throughout the world

Post-War Situation in Europe

•Near economic and political collapse

•Need help to rebuild and restore nations

Post-War Situation in Soviet UnionRussian Revolution of 1917

•Tsar of Russia overthrown; Replaced by small communist party led by Vladimir Lenin

•Renames nations the United Soviet Socialist Republic

•Follows doctrine of Marxism

•“Capitalism will destroy itself”

•Communism makes everyone equal and the government controls all

Joseph Stalin Takes Over

•All private farms eliminated and created collective farms

•10-15 million people died in collectivization process

Soviet Influence in Europe

•USSR controls Poland and the Balkans region

•Spreading communist ideals by forming satellite nations to protect Soviets

The views of Karl Marx (left) were the

basis of the communist system, put into place in the

newly formed Soviet Union by Vladimir Lenin

(bottom)

Post-War Situation in America

•Major Economic Boom

•Intense Fear of Communism

•Desire to Spread Democracy Across Europe

Rebuilding the World

-Yalta Conference, 1945 meeting of the Big Three

•Before the end of the war, Stalin wants to divide Germany into zones (4 zones to each ally)

-Creation of the United Nations

•Peacekeeping union created after V-E Day to prevent world wars

•Sets up 2 houses: General Assembly and Security Council

•Created at San Francisco Conference

-Potsdam Conference, July 1945

division of Germany

•4 sections to be occupied by major Allied nations, Berlin also divided

-Nuremburg Trials

•German leaders tried for actions during the Holocaust

war crimes

several leaders executed

San Francisco Conference

UNITED NATIONS

SECURITY COUNCIL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Mutual Protection Most International Matters

6

Alternating Seats

5

Permanent Seats

US

Britain

France

China

Soviet Union

Potsdam Conference

Division of Germany

British ZoneSoviet Zone

US ZoneFrench Zone

French Zone

BERLIN

-Truman pushes for free elections

•Wants all nations in the world to be open to democracy (not communism)

-Winston Churchill

Iron Curtain refers to all nations under Soviet control

•Curtain divides western and eastern Europe

-satellite nations

•Nations under Soviet control

-purges

•Stalin gets rid of all opposition in satellite nations

-buffer zone

•Wants eastern nations to protect Soviets against invasion

Iron Curtain“From Stettin in

the Baltic to Trieste in the

Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

Winston Churchill

Containment

-theory of trying to stop the spread of communism

•Would close off world markets and disrupt free trade

George F. Kennan

-what did communism promise?

a way to rebuild the war torn area

•Would give money and military aid to underprivileged nations

-go to war???

•Stalin sees containment as challenge against Communism

-Term “Cold War” is applied

•No actual fighting will occur between the US and Soviet Union

Containment PolicyKEEP COMMUNISM

FROM SPREADING

George Kennan, in his telegram on

containment, suggested a “long-term,

patient but firm, and vigilant

containment of Russian

expansive tendencies.”

Truman Doctrine

-Greece and Turkey were in danger of becoming communist, 1947

•Britain was aiding them but ran out of money, asked America to take over aid

-Truman decides to give aid to any nation that needs it to prevent communism

•U.S. will give money and military support to stop the spread of communism

-becomes known as the Truman Doctrine

•New plan for foreign policy in the 20th century

In March of 1947, Harry Truman will ask Congress for $400 million to protect

Greece and Turkey. The president also declared that the US should support

peoples throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by “armed minorities” or “outside pressures”. This doctrine will

guide US foreign policy throughout the 20th Century

$$ Marshall Plan $$

-Europe destroyed by the war

•Economy hurt as industries and farms are destroyed

-devastation made communism more promising

•Feared that communism might spread to western Europe

-George Marshall created a recovery plan for Europe

•Send aid to rebuild Europe and keep from becoming communist

-offered to all nations

•16 European nations accept

•No eastern European nations accept

-plan was a great success as Europe recovered

•$13 billion in 4 years

•Communism did not spread

US Secretary of State proposed that the US provide aid to all European

nations that needed it, saying that this move was directed “not against any

country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.”

However, the nations receiving aid had to remove trade barriers and to

cooperate economically with one another.

Berlin Airlift

-Germany and its capital Berlin were split

•All of Berlin is in Soviet East Germany, even though part is controlled by the other 3 Allies

-Soviets blockade Berlin in hopes of controlling it

•Cut off all Allied access to Berlin

-U.S. decides to airlift supplies for the city by plane rather than back down

-airlift lasted nearly a year and brought over 2 million tons of supplies

•Soviets called off blockade

•Americans gained prestige

Truman adopted a two phase policy to deal with the blockade of Berlin:

1)Massive airlift of food, fuel, and supplies for the 10,000 troops and 2 million civilians in Berlin. Tonnage increased daily.

2)Transferred 60 America planes capable of delivering atomic bombs to bases in England.

The Berlin blockade increased Western European fear of Soviet aggression. As a

result, western allies formed MATO. The 12 members of NATO pledged “an armed attack

against one or more shall be an attack against all.” Dwight Eisenhower was

appointed supreme commander of NATO forces and four American divisions were

stationed in Europe as the center of the NATO army. For the first time in US history, we had entered a military alliance with other nations during peacetime. The Cold War ended any

hope of a U.S. return to isolationism.

Cold War Security

-National Security Act, 1947

-Created Department of Defense

-created the CIA and NSC

•Central Intelligence Agency

•National Security Council

-NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

-end of U.S. isolationism as we partner with Western Europe

•Peacetime alliance between the U.S., Canada, and 10 Western European nations

-Atomic bomb tested in USSR, 1949

•Begins an arms race

-Warsaw Pact unites communist nations

- Communist military alliance between Soviets and satellite nations; reaction to NATO

Early Cold War Alliances - NATO and the Warsaw Pact

This is only the beginning…

It will continue for 46 years and millions

of lives will be lost.