Download LL Cold War

The Beginning
End of World War II
•Toward the end of World War II, it was becoming clear that Britain and the USA had
different world goals from the USSR.
•The USSR had liberated Eastern European
nations from the Nazis, but it appeared they
were going to stay and impose communist
governments there.
•FDR & Churchill wanted Stalin’s promise
that there would be free elections in these
nations after the war. Stalin readily agreed
to hold “free” elections — which to him
meant that people would be free to vote for
the one communist candidate on the ballot.
•Stalin offered to “help” the United States
end the war with Japan in the Pacific. He
suggested the Red Army would aid the U.S.
in the invasion of the Japanese
home islands. The U.S. did not
want the Soviets to set up a
communist state in Japan like they
had in Eastern Europe. The U.S. decided to
use atomic weapons to end the war quickly.
Military Split
•As Europe took on a new shape, new
military alliances were created.
•NATO
NATO — The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization was a defensive military
alliance between the USA, Canada & 10
Western European nations.
•Warsaw
Warsaw Pact — The Warsaw Pact
was a defensive military alliance
between the USSR & 7 Eastern
European nations.
•The world was now divided into three
camps: Countries led by the USA, countries
led by the USSR, and those who tried to
negotiate a neutral path between the two.
SLMS/11
The Iron Curtain
•After the post-WWII conferences were
over, Churchill made the observation that
an “iron curtain” had descended across
Europe. There was a significant division
between Eastern & Western European
countries. People could not travel freely
back and forth.
•Politically, most Western
European nations were
democratic. Most Eastern
European nations were
communist.
•The USSR was using Eastern European
nations as a “buffer” zone from the west.
These nations had “puppet” governments
set up by the Soviet Union, and were often
referred to as Soviet satellites.
U.S. Policy of Containment
•The United States became firmly
committed to the policy of containment.
Quite simply, the goal of the policy was to
contain the spread of communism. The U.S.
would use political, economic and even
military tools to contain communism.
•The Marshall Plan (1948-52) offered free
financial aid to any European nation
rebuilding after World War II. This offered
insight into the U.S. containment plan.
Therefore, the aid was considered an
investment in stable economies and
permanent democracies.
•The Truman Doctrine (1947) offered aid to
countries fighting outside “pressures”. This
was less subtle than the Marshall Plan, as
the U.S. suggested it would send direct
economic and/or military aid to any free
nation fighting against a communist forces.