the cold war. origins of the cold war in 1945, canada and her allies celebrated victory over germany...
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The Cold War
The Cold WarOrigins of the Cold War
In 1945, Canada and her Allies celebrated victory over Germany in the Second World War. But Hitler's Nazi
menace would soon be replaced by a new threat to world peace as the Soviet Union and the United States faced off in a war of cold stares and harsh words known as the
Cold War.
As studied earlier in this unit, Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union (also known as Russia). He was a dictator and a communist. As dictator, Stalin was a one-person ruler. As a communist, he believed in economic equality in society, but he was prepared to force equality
with the use of violence.
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Interactive Map Illustration of Cold War Europe
The Cold War
The World and the Cold War
In 1945, Stalin’s troops occupied the countries of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and some others. Although Stalin had promised the
United States and England that he would allow free elections in these countries, he did not deliver on this
promise. By 1948, Stalin had forced communist governments on these countries.
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Stalin’s actions infuriated the United States and its allies. The world was rid of one powerful dictator (Hitler), but now he had been replaced by another
(Stalin).
After the six years of terrible fighting during World War II, neither side wanted more casualties, therefore they resorted to the Cold War. The Cold War was deadly serious, especially after the Soviet Union gained possession of the atomic bomb in 1949.
The Cold War
Berlin CrisisWith the conclusion of World War II in Europe,
Germany was divided into four occupation zones. The German capital, located deep in the Soviet zone, was similarly divided between the four victors. On March 25, Soviet forces began restricting Western traffic into Berlin and stated that nothing could leave the city
without their permission. This led to Clay ordering an airlift to carry military supplies to the American garrison in the city. The Soviets cut off all ground access to Berlin. Having cut off Allied forces in the city, Stalin elected to test the resolve of the West.
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Unwilling to abandon the city, American policy makers directed Clay to meet with General Curtis LeMay, commander of United States Air Forces in Europe, regarding the feasibility of supplying West Berlin's
population by air. The Royal Air Force had calculated the supplies required to sustain the city: 1,534 tons of food and 3,475 tons of fuel per day. By the end of July the airlift was delivering around 5,000 tons a day. Alarmed the Soviets began harassing incoming aircraft. On the ground, the
people of Berlin held protests and the Soviets were forced to establish a separate municipal government in East
Berlin. As winter approached, airlift operations increased to meet the city's demand for heating fuel.
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On average an aircraft was landing in Berlin every thirty seconds. Stunned by the success of the airlift,
the Soviets signaled an interest in ending the blockade. The Berlin Airlift signaled the West's
intention to stand up to Soviet aggression in Europe. Operations continued until September 30 with the goal of building a surplus in the city. During its fifteen months of activity, the airlift provided 2,326,406 tons of supplies which were carried on 278,228 flights.
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Berlin Airlift Videos from the CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/international-politics/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-berlin-
wall/berlin-blockade-begins.html
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/international-politics/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-berlin-
wall/berlin-airlift-keeps-city-supplied.html
The Cold WarSpy Scandal
In September 1945, a young Russian man symbolically ushered in the Cold War when he walked into Ottawa
newsroom and announced he had proof of a widespread Soviet spy ring operating in Canada.
"It's war. It's Russia," he told the night editor of the Ottawa Journal.
The man who touched off the political crisis was Igor Gouzenko. Gouzenko had spent part of the Second World War at the Soviet Embassy in Canada, as a cipher clerk,
encoding communications to Moscow. In 1945, Gouzenko received orders to return to the Soviet Union, but disillusioned with his communist homeland and attracted by life in the West, he decided to stay.
The Cold WarHe plotted his escape for several weeks, stealing
classified material that he could use to ingratiate himself with his Canadian hosts.
"During the course of about half a month, I examined the materials so as to select the best ones that would
disclose the operative work, leaving the informational telegrams on one side," he wrote, "the telegrams which I wished to take out I marked by bending over slightly one
of the corners."The information revealed a spy ring had operated in Canada during the war. It involved civil servants,
scientists, even a Member of Parliament. The Soviets were trying to get information about North American
technology including the atom bomb.
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On September 5, 1945, Gouzenko stuffed 109 documents under his shirt and walked to the
newsroom of the Ottawa Journal. He confronted the night editor, Chester Frowde.
By noon on September 6, the Canadian government was aware of Gouzenko and Mackenzie King was
informed of the incident.Canada was about to meet with the Soviets, Britain, France and the United States to discuss and construct a post-war peace, and King was worried that this scandal would damage international relations.
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Later that day Gouzenko applied for Canadian citizenship, then wandered around Ottawa,
unsuccessfully seeking asylum. At that point, the Canadian government was unclear how to act on the unfolding developments. But the Soviets were now aware of the theft and were looking for Gouzenko.That night, Gouzenko and his family stayed with a neighbour. Just before midnight four men from the Soviet embassy broke into the apartment searching for Gouzenko and his documents. The Ottawa police quickly arrived, followed by the RCMP and staff from
External Affairs.
The Cold WarThe Canadian government finally offered Gouzenko and
his family the asylum he sought. His story remained secret for five months while an investigation was conducted into the activities of
suspected spies named in the documents, most of them civil servants. In February 1946, arrests were made.Israel Halperin, a mathematician who did military research, was arrested and detained for five weeks
without charge, and questioned by a Royal Commission, not knowing whether he was a suspect or a witness. Twenty people were eventually sent to trial. Nine were acquitted, including Dr. Halperin. Fred Rose, a Communist Member of Parliament, was convicted of spying for the Soviets, and sentenced to six years. All spend the rest of their lives under suspicion, their reputations tarnished.
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The Gouzenko spy scandal reverberated throughout the world. In the United States as in Canada, there
was heightened suspicion and paranoia of communist spies. A more lasting legacy of Gouzenko's revelations was an increased the distrust between the Soviet Union and the West, helping ignite the Cold War.
Gouzenko and his family were given a new identity. In 1948, he wrote his memoirs entitled This Was My
Choice. Gouzenko occasionally emerged in the public spotlight but he but always wore a hood over his face
to conceal his identity. He died in 1982.
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American orbit In the post-war era, Canada moved closer to the American sphere of influence as international
tensions escalated. In 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and in reply Canada's military
spending soared. In 1950, Communist North Korea invaded the U.S. backed South Korea adding further pressure on
Canada to build up its armaments. Canada took part in a United Nations force deployed to the area.
The Cold WarCommunist paranoia
At the height of the Cold War, Canada joined its southern neighbour in an effort to unearth homegrown
communists, real or imagined. Communism was a dirty word in Canada and the western world after the Second World War. The common view was that communists were planning to overthrow
democracy. Therefore anyone with communist leanings, or even progressive opinions should be under suspicion. In the United States, Senator Joseph McCarthy led the
communist witch-hunts in the 1950s. He convinced many Americans that members of the Communist Party had
infiltrated the United States government.
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McCarthy's unfounded charge sparked a frantic search for "Reds" under every American bed. A
parade of the nation's actors, writers, journalists and labour leaders appeared before the House Un-
American Activities Committee, to be interrogated about political affiliation and beliefs.
In Canada, Minister of External Affairs Lester B. Pearson cautioned against following in American
footsteps. "Let us by all means remove the traitors from
positions of trust, but in doing so, I hope we may never succumb to the black madness of the witch
hunt."
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On the whole Canada proceeded forcefully but more discreetly that the Americans. Ottawa set up a sweeping system of security checks. In one year
alone, 70,000 checks were done. The RCMP quietly investigated civil servants, scientists, university
professors, and trade unionists, seeking out political or sexual nonconformity.
In Quebec, Premier Maurice Duplessis was a vociferous anti-communist crusader.
The Quebec Padlock law gave police the power to seal off any property where communist literature or
activity was suspected.
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A Macleans magazine columnist described the paranoid atmosphere of the time:
"If a housewife in Ottawa hears a knock on her door, it can be one of only two people. The milkman or the
RCMP".Canada's hunt for communists began to lose
momentum in the mid-1950s as the anti-Communist fervour died down throughout the West. Senator
Joseph McCarthy was discredited in the United States after he directed his anti-communist attacks on the American army. In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin
died in 1952 and was replaced by the more moderate leader Nikita Khrushchev.
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A CBC Video about the fear of communism in Canada:
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/war-conflict/cold-war/cold-war-culture-the-nuclear-fear-of-the-1950s-and-1960s/calgary-evacuates-operation-
lifesaver.html
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Peacekeeping milestone
In 1956, a brilliant diplomat named Lester B. Pearson led Canada into middle power respectability when he pulled the world back from the brink of war in the Middle East.
The chill between the two superpowers left little room for Canada to have a voice in international relations. Now the External Affairs Minister in the Liberal cabinet of Louis St. Laurent, Pearson believed Canada could be an independent force for international peace and goodwill. But as the Cold War locked Canada into the American orbit, Lester Pearson feared his dream was threatened.
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"We are constantly faced with the problem of trying to influence United States policy in a manner which will protect our own interests and our conception of what is good for the world, but which will not involve
us in public quarrels with a great and friendly neighbour."
But in the mid-1950s events would unfold in the Middle East that finally gave Pearson a chance to
realize his vision for Canada's place in the new world order.
In the post-war world, Egypt was growing closer to the Moscow and accepting Soviet arms.
The Cold WarIn the summer of 1956, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel
Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal, a critical shipping route, which was run by French and British interests. Nasser had acted in response to the two countries
withdrawing foreign investment funds to build a dam on the Nile River.
In October, despite American opposition, Britain and France, together with Israel launched attacks on Egypt. Nasser appealed to Soviet leader Khrushchev, who
threatened to shower the west with nuclear weapons if the British and French didn't withdraw.
At the United Nations, Pearson proposed a striking solution. The plan called for the British and French to withdraw but would allow for a United Nations force to
remain in the area, stabilizing the situation.
The Cold WarThe British were unhappy with the proposal, but when it was tabled, all 57 member nations voted for it. There were some in Canada who were critical of it as well, angry that Canada had not sided with Britain.
It was the first large international peacekeeping force. It included 6000 men from ten countries under the
command of a Canadian General E.L.M. Burns. It helped to keep peace in the Middle East until Egypt demanded
that it leave the area in 1967.Pearson emerged from the Suez crisis as hero, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his role. He had also fulfilled his dream to give Canada an independent place on the world
stage. Pearson would be elected Prime Minister in 1963 and Canada's peacekeeping operation would continue to
grow and flourish under his leadership.
The Cold WarThe Avro Aero
The CF-105, or Avro Arrow, was a supersonic jet developed by a Canadian company. Faster than any other aircraft, the Arrow was designed to carry nuclear-tipped
missiles to destroy Soviet bomb attacks over the Canadian North.
Canada's greatest aeronautical achievement was the CF-105 jet fighter, and the subsequent cancellation of the project in 1959 still remains a story of political intrigue
and controversy.
But the costs of development kept mounting - the original production estimate of $2 million per aircraft rose to $12 million. At the same time, demand for the
interceptors fell as the world entered the age of the long-range missiles.
The Cold WarPrime Minister Diefenbaker was under pressure from the US to join their defence plan by acquiring the American Bomarc missiles. Faced with the skyrocketing costs, and the inability to sell the Arrow to Europe or the US,
Diefenbaker cancelled the project on February 20, 1959. An angry A.V. Roe immediately fired his 14,000
employees, and the government ordered all plans and prototypes destroyed.
Cancelling the Arrow made good economic sense, but the effects were felt throughout Canada. Most of the
scientists and engineers involved in the project moved to the US, and Canadians bemoaned the devastation of the Canadian aircraft industry. Negative public reaction marked the beginning of the decline of Diefenbaker's
popularity, and led to his eventual defeat.
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Avro Arrow Videos