Download The Cold War 1945-1989

The Cold War
1945-1989
What is the Cold War
It was an intense rivalry between
the United States and Russia –
between West and East and
between capitalism and
communism that dominated the
years following WW II.
The Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
GOAL  spread worldwide Communism
METHODOLOGIES:
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
 Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
 Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
 Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
Words of Wisdom
Winston Churchill;
“Germany is finished.
The real problem is
Russia. I can’t get
Americans to see it.”
-- 1945
Cold vs. Hot
It is called the
“Cold” War
because there
was never any
direct attacks
made by the U.S.
or Soviet Union
on each other.
The United Nations
The Big Three all
agreed on
establishing this
international peace
keeping organization.
Goal: to promote
justice and
cooperation
First official meeting
held in London in
1946
Permanent
headquarters
established in New
York in 1953.
FDR dies; Truman Takes
Command
Roosevelt never
saw his dream of
the UN come to life
FDR died on April
12, 1945
Truman, his Vice
President for only a
few months,
became the leader
of our country
Conflicting Postwar
Goals
Americans: wanted democracy and economic
opportunities for the countries of Europe and
Asia
Soviets: Wanted to rebuild their nation in
order to protect their own interests. They
wanted to establish satellite nations,
countries controlled by the Soviets along the
western boundaries of the Soviet Union.
Following Communist doctrine, Stalin wanted
to overthrow capitalism around the world and
install Communist governments.
Satellite Nations
Like dominoes, one
by one countries in
Eastern Europe fell
to Stalin and
communism
Poland, Romania,
Bulgaria, East
Germany,
Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Albania.
The Iron Curtain
A phrase coined by
Winston Churchill in
1946 it refers to the
division between
Communist and
non-Communist
nations
Became symbol of
division between
East and West
The “Iron Curtain”
From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the
Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient
capitals of Central and Eastern Europe.
-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
Containment
This became the
dominant U.S. policy
during the Cold War
Developed by George
Kennan, it stated that the
U.S. could not do
anything in Eastern
Europe where Russia
already took over, but
that it should attempt to
stop the formation of
Communist governments
any where else in the
world.
The Truman Doctrine
“I believe that it must
be the policy of the
U.S. to support free
peoples who are
resisting (conquest)
by armed minorities
or by outside
pressures.” –
President Truman,
1947
We will support any
nation threatened by
Communism.
Marshall Plan [1948]
1. “European Recovery
Program.”
2. Secretary of State,
George Marshall
3. The U. S. should provide
aid to all European nations
that need it. This move
is not against any country or doctrine, but
against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.
4. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe
extended to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this
was rejected].
Germany: A Land Divided
By 1949 there were two
Germany’s in
Europe:
1. West Germany:
democratic
2. East Germany:
communist
The capital of Berlin was
also divided – by a
wall!
Post-War Germany
Berlin Airlift
Many Eastern Europeans who did not like
living under Soviet communist rule fled their
homes and escaped to West Berlin.
Stalin wanted to stop this escape route by
forcing the Western Powers to abandon West
Berlin.
Stalin blockaded all Allied shipments to West
Berlin through East Germany.
This threatened severe shortages of food and
other needed supplies in West Berlin.
Truman did not a war
with the Soviets, nor
did he want to give up
West Berlin.
During the next 15
months both British
and U.S. aircraft
delivered food, fuel,
etc. by plane to the
city.
The Soviets finally
gave up in 1949 and
ended the blockade.
Berlin Airlift Map
Berlin Blockade & Airlift
(1948-49)
NATO- North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
Because the Soviet Union used its veto
power to block any action that stopped
communism in the United Nations, the West
needed another way to deal with Soviet
aggression.
In 1949 12 nations formed NATO. The
guiding principle of NATO is; “an armed
attack against one or more…shall be
considered an attack against them all.”
This is an example of collective securitymutual military assistance among nations.
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (1949)
 United States
 Luxemburg
 Belgium
 Netherlands
 Britain
 Norway
 Canada
 Portugal
 Denmark
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 France
 Iceland
 Italy
 1955: West Germany
 1983: Spain
China Falls To
Communism
A civil war had existed between the Nationalists
and Communists in China since the 1920s.
In 1949, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the
Communists won and established the People’s
Republic of China.
The Nationalists fled to Taiwan and claimed to be
the legitimate government of China, establishing
the Republic of China. The U.S. and UN
recognized this Republic as the true government
of China.
Many Americans wanted Truman and the
government to focus not only on Europe but also
on Asia in their policy of containment.
Mao’s Revolution: 1949
Who lost China?
Chairman Mao Zedong
Chinese Revolution
Poster: 1949
The Arms Race
The greatest area
where the Soviet
Union and the U.S.
competed for world
domination was in
the arms race - the
struggle to gain
weapons superiority.
The Arms Race:
A “Missile Gap?”
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The Soviet Union
exploded its first
A-bomb in 1949.
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Now there were
two nuclear
superpowers!
Modern Day Arms Race: Pakistan
and India
Korean War
After WW II Japan was forced to give up
control of Korea.
The Soviets accepted the surrender
above the 38th parallel and the U.S.
accepted it below that line.
Division was never the goal but became
a reality: a communist controlled north
and a democratically controlled south.
The Korean War: A “Police
Action” (1950-1953)
Kim Il-Sung
Syngman Rhee
“Domino Theory”
Conflict in Korea
Citizens on both
sides of the parallel
wanted to reunite
their country.
War breaks out
when North Korean
troops came across
the 38th parallel to
try to unite the
country by force.
The Forgotten War
The UN (mostly
American) sent troops
to Korea
The UN troops do well
initially but are driven
back close to the
original 38th parallel.
The war becomes a
stalemate and in 1953
an armistice is signed
agreeing to keep
Korea divided.
Map of Korea
Warsaw Pact
Eastern Europe’s response to NATO
Formed in 1955, its function was
collective self-defense against external
aggression (attack on one is attack on
all)
All Eastern/Communist nations join
initially, except Yugoslavia
Ended in 1991 with fall of communism
Warsaw Pact (1955)
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U. S. S. R.
}
East Germany
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Albania
}
Hungary
}
Bulgaria
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Poland
}
Czechoslovakia
}
Rumania
Yugoslavia the Rebel
Leader Josip Tito (part Croat and part
Slovene) was unique in the East since he
broke away from Stalin and kept Yugoslavia
independent of U.S.S.R. interference.
Although communist, Yugoslavia ( provinces
of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia), received
special privileges from the West
Citizens were far more free than in the Sovietbloc countries
Success of Yugoslavia was based in illusion
(western loans)
Yugoslavia, cont.
When Tito finally died in
1980, a void was left
He had spent his time
emphasizing unity over
ethnic differences
Nationalist feelings arose
when sense of unity died
with Tito
The evil Slobodan
Milosevic took power –
wanting to create Serbian
dominance
Cold War and Space
In 1957 the Soviet Union proved that they
were ahead of the U.S. in the technology war
when they launched Sputnik into space.
Sputnik was the first artificial satellite to orbit
the earth.
Problem: The rocket used to launch Sputnik
could just as easily carry a nuclear bomb to
America’s shores!
In response the U.S. created NASA in 1958
and increased spending on science and math
in America’s school.
Sputnik
Sputnik I (1957)
The Russians have beaten America in
space—they have the technological edge!
Paris, 1961
Khrushchev & JFK meet to discuss Berlin and
nuclear proliferation. Khrushchev thinks that
JFK is young, inexperienced, and can be rolled.
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
(1961)
Checkpoint
Charlie
Ich bin ein
Berliner!
(1963)
President Kennedy
tells Berliners
that the West is
with them!
Cold War and Cuba
In October of 1962 U.S. spy
photography revealed that the Soviet
Union was building missile bases on
Cuba.
What followed, the Cuban Missile Crisis,
is the closest the world ever came to
nuclear war.
Khruschev Embraces
Castro,
1961
Bay of Pigs Debacle (1961)
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets placed
these missiles in
Cuba, 90 miles from
the U.S., to counter
the missiles the U.S.
had in Turkey – very
close to the
U.S.S.R.
These missiles in
Turkey were old and
probably wouldn’t
work – but the
U.S.S.R., under
Nikita Khruschev,
did not care about
that detail.
Kennedy Decides
After much
deliberation,
president Kennedy
decided to use a
U.S. naval
quarantine of Cuba
to prevent any
Soviet ships
carrying weapons
into Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the
Russians, and the other man blinked!
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Disaster Avoided
After some secret negotiations, in the final
hour, the U.S. agreed to remove its missiles
from Turkey while Russia would remove their
missiles from Cuba.
It appeared that if Russia either broke the
quarantine or refused to remove their
missiles, Kennedy would have used nuclear
weapons on Cuba and maybe the Soviet
Union directly!!!
Chernobyl
Nuclear chemistry not only used in
weapons, but also as a power source
April 26, 1986 – Ukraine – worst nuclear
accident in history
Disaster released 300 times more
fallout than the bomb dropped on
Hiroshima
Contamination numbers uncertain, but
parts of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
are still experiencing health problems
Chernobyl, cont.
Belarus was the
hardest hit
Some scientists say this
area will experience
fallout for many 24,000
years
It has created a “new
race” of people in that
area
Communism Falls
Root: 1980 Poland/ Solidarity movement, a
democratic-based political and economic party,
challenges communist leadership
1985: Mikhail Gorbachev abandons old Soviet policy
of using military force to keep communist rulers in
power and rather encourages individual nations to
adopt reforms, not threats, to keep people loyal to
communism
These reforms often allowed free elections – all
across Europe the vote was anti-communist
Poland – 1989- first country to install a noncommunist regime – Solidarity (Lech Walesa leader)
Revolutions erupted in the East in 1989 – by 1991,
communism collapsed and the Cold War ended
Conclusion
The Cold War was a tense time and a time of
great uncertainty and fear
No one knew if the Soviets or the U.S. would
use one of their many weapons of mass
destruction -- they came close but never did!
The Cold War ended when the U.S.S.R.
collapsed and communism failed to make the
people happy or meet their basic needs.