Images from the

Post World War I Era.

The objectives for this slide show are:

• You will have a visual picture of the devastation of World War II.

• You will understand the reasons behind the Berlin Airlift

• You will learn about some of the Treaties after World War II that helped to build European Unity and prevent future war.

• You will learn about terms closely associated with the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West (USA & Europe).

After World War II, many parts of Europe were ruins.

The Soviets moved in and took Berlin.

Hunger and devastation was everywhere.

The concentration camps were opened…and the terrible sights were

beyond comprehension…

An “iron curtain” separated Eastern Europe from Western Europe—and iron curtain of Soviet

controlled countries.

Remember, the Soviet Union had lost 25 million of its citizens and soldiers, so they felt they deserved a large “share” of Eastern

Europe.

In 1945, in San Francisco the United Nations was formed.

In 1948, the Berlin Blockade begins…when the Western

Zone refuses to dismantle

factories and other

infrastructure and send to the Soviet Union for

reparations.

Communism remains a threat, but the Marshall plan helps to re-build Europe.

Europe moves toward more economic cohesion..

The European Coal and Steel community was a start…

Great Britain was a declining power…rationing continued long after the end of

the war…

England had a new queen when

George VI died…

In Britain, coal and steel were nationalized.

This would have a long term

detrimental effect on Britain’s economy.

Charles de Gaulle came back to lead France—after the role of President (the

executive) was strengthened.

France entered it Fifth Republic from 1958 to the present day.

Germany struggled to rebuild its psyche. and its country

It is sad to say, that despite this, Germany will be forever “stained”

by the deeds of the Holocaust.

Germany had the Nuremberg trials, and paid reparations to Russia and the newly

formed state of Israel.

Stalin died in 1953. He was revered as a leader—but soon after, the atrocities of his “leadership” were made known.

The new leader was Nikita Khrushchev.

The ideas of containment and brinkmanship and mutually assured destruction were part of the cold war

vocabulary.

NATO—the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to draw Europe and North America closer together: they

united against a common enemy…

The Communists, in turn, formed the Warsaw Pact.

And throughout the world, the former colonial

powers evacuated their

colonies….who would fill that

gap?

Communism or Democracy: the choice contributed to great tension.

And lurking behind all this was the very real fear that the nuclear arsenal would

blow the world to bits.

All sorts of films and books were made about life after the nuclear war. People

built bunkers in their back yards.

Mrs. Olsen remembers bomb drills at Faye Wright Elementary School in the

1960s…

In Europe, in 1961, Krushchev told the Western Powers to leave the City of Berlin, which was a

free island in the middle of communist controlled

Eastern Germany.

Too many Germans were fleeing to the free, West Germany through

Berlin.

The Berlin wall was built—a 28 mile wall of concrete, barb wire and guard stations. Several

hundred would meet their deaths trying to escape.

Khrushchev was kicked out of

office in 1964. The next

Russian premier was Leonid

Brezhnev. He saw the benefit

of relaxing relations.

This became known as “détente.”

Many agreements were reached during this time:

The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Salt I) 1972 and later SALT II all sought to limit the

arsenal of nuclear weapons.

The Helsinki Accord focused on Human Rights abuses

But just when things begin to improve, Iran overthrows its Shah, the Russians invade

Afghanistan to prop up the weak government there—they do not want Afghanistan’s pro-Soviet

government to turn fundamentalist like Iran.

We boycott the Moscow Olympics—and then the Russians boycott

the LA Olympics in 1984.

It seems as though the cold war is going strong….stay tuned—!

The objectives for this slide show are:

• You will have a visual picture of the devastation of World War II.

• You will understand the reasons behind the Berlin Airlift

• You will learn about some of the Treaties after World War II that helped to build European Unity and prevent future war.