Download East/West ppt

Heirs to War
The conflict between
East and West
Background: USA
 1945: The United States was the only major
political power whose territory was not
devastated by WW2
 It produced, at that time, more than half of the
world’s total industrial & agricultural output
 It had vast reserves of oil
 It was the only nation that had the atomic bomb
 It was, therefore, the new leader of the
industrialized world, under President Harry S
Truman.
Background: USSR
 The Soviet Union had lost 27 m of its citizens in WW2.
(More than 40 million people had lost their lives by the
time World War II ended in Europe on 8 May 1945.
 It had the largest land mass
 It was a highly centralized totalitarian state under Josef
Stalin
 It had a bounty of natural resources
 Along with the other Eastern European occupied
countries, it was a major source of technological expertise
& industrial equipment. It was the second largest
industrial power in the world
 It had, therefore, “superpower” status
Hardship and upheaval for many
nations
 Western European economies were devastated. Why?
 Japan’s economy was ruined & its territory occupied
 China was in the midst of civil war. On August 9, Soviet
forces had invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria in
China.
 India was struggling for independence from Britain
 Many African & South East Asian nations were trying to
come out from under the yoke of colonialism
 Most Latin American countries were under military
dictatorships
Origins of the East-West conflict
 Relations between the USA and Soviet Union were often
strained.
 1st “Red Scare”: In the US after the Russian Revolution of
1917 (which did away with the Russian empire under the
Czars), there was much radical political activity- hence,
much fear
 But in 1933: USA under President Franklin Roosevelt
extended diplomatic recognition to the USSR
 Then, in 1939: the USSR signed a secret non-aggression
pact with Germany
 But…
The “Grand Alliance”
 1941- Germany
defied pact and
attacked USSR
 December, Germany
declared war on US
 So the USSR, USA,
and Britain formed
the Grand Alliance in
1941