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Europe and Japan after the war,
Continuing Aid, and The United
Nations, Troubling Differences, The
Iron Curtain, The Berlin Airlift
• How did the term “Cold War” and the term
“Iron Curtain” originate and are the terms
accurate descriptions of the time following
WWII?
** Don’t copy
**Many European cities were left in
ruin. Places in Asia and in the Pacific
were devastated. Many people found
themselves without enough food and
clothing. Many people had no place to
live or enough money to rebuild.
Americans wanted to help all the
people who were affected by the war
even the people they fought against.
**Before the end of the war Stalin,
Roosevelt, and Churchill held a
meeting to decide what to do for
Europe. Stalin demanded that the
Soviet Union have control over the
countries in its boarders so they would
not be attacked again. The US did not
like this demand and felt these
countries should have their own
independence.
**The US also knew that this would
expand communist power. Roosevelt
agreed to keep negotiations moving.
The leaders agreed that the Allies
would remain in Europe to help with
recovery and keep the peace. The US
and Soviet Union also agreed to divide
Korea to rid it of Japanese forces.
**The Soviet Union now controlled
much of Eastern and Central Europe
including East Germany, Finland, and
Poland.
With the victory, military strength and
resources made the Soviet Union and
the United States the most powerful
nations in the world. They were now
the superpowers.
**The US had two reasons to help
Europe. One was to show kindness the
other was to assist Western European,
so countries become stronger to go
against a new threat, the Soviet Union.
** George C. Marshall, United States
secretary of state, had an idea of
making Western Europe stronger. The
United States would provide food,
funds, and materials for recovery. The
plan helped promote democracy in
Europe and helped form strong
friendships between European
countries and the US.
**The US also helped Asian countries
rebuild as well. Farms and industries
were rebuilt and Americans helped
people find new jobs.
**To promote global cooperation and
avoid such terrible wars, a new
organization was formed called the
United Nations.
Although the Soviet Union (SU) and the
US were allies during WWII, the two
countries had little in common. The SU
was a communist controlled
government. Communist is a political
and economic system in which the
government owns all the businesses
and land. Individuals have very little
personal freedoms.
There were also other differences. The
US and the west valued human rights
and wanted to work for peace. The SU
did not share these ideals. The
differences caused problems from the
beginning.
The countries that the SU controlled,
established a communist government.
People were not allowed to travel
outside their borders or communicate
with anyone “outside”. Churchill said,
“An iron curtain has descended across
the continent.” The term iron curtain
describes the closing off of the SU.
An alliance was formed between the
Western European countries and the
US called the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, or NATO. NATO promised
to help each other if there was an
attack by the SU.
Berlin, Germany’s capital, had also
been divided. The SU stopped all
traffic into West Berlin. No food was
allowed in and the SU cut off the
power to the city. Stalin hoped that
this would bring Berliners under
communist control.
Americans and British did not want
West Berliners to starve or freeze so
they organized the Berlin Airlift.
Airplanes flew fuel and food to West
Berlin. The blockade was lifted, but
the SU kept East Berlin cut off from
West Berlin.