Download Cold War hot spot images

Cold War Hot Spot A: Europe After WWII
Europe After WWII
Not only did communist regimes bring revolutionary changes to the societies they governed,
but they also launched a global conflict that restructured international life and touched the
lives of almost everyone…That rift began soon after the Russian Revolution with the new
communist government became the source of fear and loathing to many in the Western
capitalist world.…Underlying that conflict were the geopolitical and ideological realities of
the postwar world. The Soviet Union and the Unites States were now the major
political/military powers, replacing the shattered and diminished states of Western Europe,
but they represented sharply opposed views of history, society, politics, and international
relations. Conflict, in retrospect, seemed inevitable.
This new tension was put to the test when on February 21, 1947, the British informed the
United States that they could no longer provide economic and military aid to Greece which
was given to assist in stabilizing their government, thereby resisting influence from the
USSR. In March of 1947 Truman gave a national radio speech in which he asked Congress for
$400 million to assist Greece and Turkey. This assertion became known as the Truman
Doctrine – that since the Communist challenge was worldwide, it had to be confronted
everywhere around the globe to prevent countries from succumbing to Communism like a
row of falling dominoes. Truman declared that the US must “support free peoples who are
resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
The initial arena of the cold war was Europe, where Soviet insistence on security and control in
Eastern Europe clashed with American and British desires for open and democratic societies
with ties to the capitalist world economy. What resulted were rival military alliances (The
North Atlantic Treaty Organization –NATO- and the Warsaw Pact), a largely voluntary
American sphere of influence in Western Europe, and an imposed Soviet sphere in Eastern
Europe. The heavily fortified border between Eastern Europe and Western Europe can to be
known as the Iron Curtain. Thus Europe was bitterly divided. But although tensions flared
across this dividing line, particularly in Berlin, no shooting war occurred between the two
sides.
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Cold War Hot Spot B: The Cold War in
Europe – Crisis in Germany
Crisis in Germany
The division of Germany into four zones after World War II was supposed to be temporary.
Soon Great Britain, France, and the United States had combined their democratically
ruled zones. Tension grew between democratic western Germany and Soviet-controlled
eastern Germany. Germany became a major focus of Cold War tension. Capitalizing on
the support provided by the Marshall Plan which provided $13 billion to European
nations as a whole, the Allies were trying to rebuild the German economy, but Stalin
feared a strong, united Germany. Berlin, the divided capital, was located in East
Germany.
The Berlin Airlift: In 1948, Stalin hoped to force the Allies out of Berlin by closing all land
routes for bringing essential supplies to West Berlin. Americans interpreted this
aggressiveness from Stalin as a tipping point in the cold war, believing that if Berlin fell
the Soviets would target West Germany next. In response to the crisis, the western
powers mounted a successful airlift, delivering much needed supplies to Berlin. For
almost a year, food and supplies such as fuel, medicine, coal, and equipment – totaling
7,000 tons of goods - were flown into West Berlin. In the case of an impending war,
thousands of former military pilots were called into war and Truman revived the draft.
Finally, in May 1949, the Soviets ended the blockade.
A Divided Germany: This incident, however, led to the creation of the Federal Republic of
Germany (West Germany) in 1949. Germany, like the rest of Europe, remained divided.
In 1961, the East German government built a wall that separated East Berlin from West
Berlin. East German soldiers shot anyone who tried to escape from East Germany.
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Cold War Hot Spot C:
The Cold War in Europe – Repression in
Eastern Europe
Repression in Eastern Europe
The Soviet Union kept a tight grip on its Eastern European satellites. Tensions arose
in both East Germany and Poland in the 1950s. In East Germany, a revolt was put
down with Soviet tanks. In Poland, some reforms were made, yet the country
remained under the domination of the Soviet Union. Though Stalin died in 1953,
his successors continued his policy of repression.
The Hungarian Revolt: In October, 1956, Hungarian nationalists, encouraged by
American propaganda broadcasts through Radio Free Europe, revolted against
Comminist troops in Budapest. The revolution was led Imre Nagy, called for the
end of one-party rule, the removal of Soviet troops, and to withdraw Hungary
from the Warsaw Pact. In response, the Soviet Union quickly sent in 500,000
troops and 4,000 tanks. Thousands of Hungarian “freedom fighters” died, and
the revolt against Soviet domination was suppressed. The Soviets installed a new
puppet government which would rule Hungary in the Soviet model.
In response, Eisenhower offered his sympathy for the Hungarian people, but did
not offer monetary or military aid. His strategy in this case was to “take a hard
line – and bluff,” hoping the Soviets would back down their aggression in
Hungary. Although Eisenhower avoided sending American troops to Hungary,
Hungarian freedom fighters who had believed the promises of American leaders
such as Secretary of State John Foster Dulles who said “to all those suffering
under Communist slavery, let’s say you can count on us,” paid with their lives. For
his part, Eisenhower felt pangs of guilt, stating that the US was “turning our
backs on [the Hungarians] when they are in a jam.”
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Cold War Hot Spot D: China and Taiwan
One of the thorniest postwar problems, the Chinese civil war, was fast coming to a head in
1949. The Chinese Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, had been fighting Mao Zedong and
the Communist since the 1920s. After the Second World War, the Nationalists were put on
the defensive as the Communists one over most of the peasants. By the end of 1949, the
Nationalist government was forced to flew to the island of Formosa, which it renamed
Taiwan. Truman’s critics – mostly Republicans – now asked bitterly, “who lost China to
communism?” What they did not explain in attacking Truman was how he could have
prevented a Communist victory without a massive US military intervention, which would have
been risky , unpopular, and expensive. Initially, the Truman Administration declared a military
nonintervention policy for Taiwan, effectively signaling that should the PRC launch an invasion
of Taiwan, the US would not interfere.
Cultural Revolution Communist Propaganda
After 1949, the United States continued to recognize the Nationalist government on Taiwan
as the official government of China, delaying formal relations with “Red China” (the People’s
Republic of China) for thirty years. When the Chinese communists began their active
industrialization efforts in the early 1950s, they largely followed the model pioneered by the
Soviet Union in the late 1920s and the 1930s [state ownership of property, central planning,
heavy industry, mobilization of resources, and Communist Party control]…
The policy of nonintervention changed with the Korean War – the USA and the PRC were then
at conflict. In response, Truman deployed naval forces to opposed a PRC strike against
Taiwan. At the close of the Korean War, President Eisenhower made it clear for the first
time that the United States was formally committed to defending Taiwan from armed
attack with the Mutual Defense Treaty. This new relationship and formal recognition of
The Republic of China, exiled in Taiwan, was punctuated by a formal visit by Eisenhower to
the island of Taiwan.
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition, Shannon Tiezzi “How
Eisenhower Saved Taiwan”
Chiang Kai-shek and Dwight Eisenhower
Cold War Hot Spots E: Korea
Korean War (1950-1953): By mid-1950, tensions between the United States and
the Soviet Union in Europe had temporarily eased into a stalemate as a result
of the “balance of terror” created by both sides having atomic weapons. In
Asia, however, the situation remained turbulent. Chinese Communists had
driven Chinese Nationalists to exile in Taiwan. With support from the United
States, Japan was experiencing dramatic recovering f from the devastation of
defeat and destruction caused by US bombing raids.
After World War II, Korea, like Germany, became divided into two parts. North
Korea was occupied by Soviet forces who had established a Communist
government in the northern industrial region of the peninsula, the Democratic
People’s Republic of Koreas. South Korea was occupied by American forces
who supported a democratic government in the populous agricultural region.
North Korean forces, seeking to unify the country under communist rule,
invaded South Korea in 1950.
This was the first military action authorized by the United Nations forces, whose
forces were commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. For the United
States, this military action set a worrisome precedent: war by order of the
president, rather than through Congressional approval which Truman was
able to do by calling the mission a “police action” rather than a war.
Coalition forces drove the North Koreans back, invaded North Korea, and
approached the Chinese border. Chinese soldiers then entered the war and
pushed the UN forces back into the south. In 1951, General MacArthur
wanted to push his troops through Korea and invade China. His proposal was
refused by Truman who wanted to “limit the war to Korea.” MacArthur,
however, openly criticized the President’s decision and issued an ultimatum to
the China to make peace or face invasion. In response, Truman fired
MacArthur, replacing him with General Matthew B. Ridgway.
On June 24, 1951 a cease-fire was proposed by the Soviet representative to the
UN. After over two years of negotiation, in 1953 an armistice was signed,
leaving Korea divided at the 38th parallel, the original dividing line between
the two countries, with a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Cold War Hot Spots F: Vietnam
Vietnam War: During the 1950s, the US also became embroiled in the complex
region of Southeast Asia. Indochina, created by French imperialists in the
1800s, was in the midst of a nationalist revolution for independence led by
Ho Chi Minh. After World War II and the expulsion of Japanese occupation
forces, Minh controlled the northern portion of Vietnam and declared the
created of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
The French, underestimated the determination of the Vietnamese nationalists
to maintain their independence. French forces quickly took control of the
cities whereas the Viet Minh controlled the countryside. Following the
Korean War, the United States continues its efforts to strengthen French
control of Vietnam and by 1953, the US was paying nearly 80 percent of the
cost of the French military effort.
In December 1953, 12,000 French soldiers parachuted into Dien Bien Phu, a
cluster of villages surrounded by mountains, with the intention of building a
fortified baste and luring the Viet Minh guerilla fighters into open battle. The
French had assumed the mountains were impassible but within a few
months, the French fortification was surrounded by Viet Minh soldiers
supplied with Chinese Communist weapons. After a two month siege, The
Viet Minh fighters overwhelmed the last French resistance at Dien Bien Phu,
signaling the end of French colonial rule in Asia.
In 1954, Vietnam was temporarily divided into a northern half, ruled by
communist leader Ho Chi Minh, and a southern half, headed by noncommunist Ngo Dinh Diem. Eisenhower began providing military and
economic help to Diem. The president remained opposed to the use of US
combat troops, believing that military intervention would lead to a costly
stalemate – as indeed it eventually did. Large numbers of American forces
were eventually sent to Vietnam to prevent Ho Chi Minh from uniting
Vietnam under northern rule.
From Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World and Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Viet Minh troops taking over the French Headquarters
Cold War Hot Spots G: Iran
The anti-colonial independence movements unleashed by WWII placed the Unites States in the
awkward position of watching nationalist groups revolt against British and French rule. In Iran in
May 1951, the parliament seized control of the nation’s British-run oil industry. Europeaneducated Mohammed Mosaddeq came to prominence in Iran in 1951 when he was appointed
premier. A fierce nationalist, Mosaddeq immediately began attacks on British oil companies
operating in his country, calling for expropriation and nationalization of the oil fields.
Mossadeq’s actions brought him into conflict with the pro-Western elites of Iran and the Shah
(monarch), Mohammed Reza Pahlevi. Indeed, the Shah dismissed Mossadeq in mid-1952, but
massive public riots condemning the action forced the Shah to reinstate Mossadeq a short time
later.
U.S. officials watched events in Iran with growing suspicion. British intelligence sources, working
with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), came to the conclusion that Mossadeq had
communist leanings and would move Iran into the Soviet orbit if allowed to stay in power.
Working with Shah, the CIA and British intelligence began to engineer a plot to overthrow
Mossadeq. The Iranian premier, however, got wind of the plan and called his supporters to take to
the streets in protest. At this point, the Shah left the country for “medical reasons.” While British
intelligence backed away from the debacle, the CIA continued its covert operations in Iran.
Supporters of Mohammed Mosaddeq
Orchestrating the Iranian coup d'état was a first for the CIA and would serve as the template for
future Cold War covert operations worldwide. Working with pro-Shah forces and, most
importantly, the Iranian military, the CIA cajoled, threatened, and bribed its way into influence
and helped to organize another coup attempt against Mossadeq. On August 19, 1953, the military,
backed by street protests organized and financed by the CIA, overthrew Mossadeq. The Shah
quickly returned to take power and, as thanks for the American help, signed over 40 percent of
Iran’s oil fields to U.S. companies.
Mossadeq was arrested, served three years in prison, and died under house arrest in 1967. The
Shah became one of America’s most trusted Cold War allies, and U.S. economic and military aid
poured into Iran during the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s.
Adapted from: The History Channel and NPR “Declassified Documents Reveal CIA Role In 1953 Iranian Coup” From Shi and Tindall’s
America: The Essential Learning Edition
British Queen Elizabeth II and The Iranian Shah
Cold War Hot Spots H: The Suez Crisis
The United States was much more successful in handling an unexpected
international crisis in Egypt which was uunfolding at the same time as the
revolt in Hungary. In 1952, an Egyptian army officer, Gamal Abdel Nasser,
had overthrown King Farouk. Once in power, Nasser set out to become
the leader of the entire Arab world. To so so, he promised to destroy the
new nation of Israel which had been established when the United
Nations voted to divide (“partition”) Palestine into separate Jewish and
Arab states in 1947. With Soviet support, Nasser sought control ov the
Suez Canal, the crucial international waterway in Egypt connecting the
Mediterranean and Red Seas. The canal had been under British authoiry
since 1882 and when Nasser’s nationalist regime pressed for the
withdrawl of British forces, the Eisenhower Administration supported
the demand.
In 1955, Nasser, adept at playing both sieds in the cold war, announced a
hughe arms deal with the Soviet Union. The US countered by offereing to
help Egypt finance a massive hydroelectric dam on the Nile River. That
offer was withdrawn after Nasser increased trade with the USSR and
recognized the legitimacy of The People’s Republic of China.
Unable to retaliate directly against the United Staets, Nasser seized control of
the Suez Canal Company and denied access to Isreal-bound ships.
Fruious, Israeli, British, and French forces invaded Egypt – Nasser sank all
forty of the international ships. In repsonse, British and French
commandos and paratroopers took control of the canal.
The attack on Egypt nearly destoyed the NATO alliance. Eisenhowe saw the
military action as a revial of the “old fashioned guboat diplomacy”
associated with colonial imperialism and stated, “Howe could we possibly
support Britain and France if in doing so we lose the whole Arab world?”
Eisenhower adopted a bold stance demanding the British and French
withdraw from the Suez Canal and that Israel evacuate the Sinai
peninsula or face sever economic sandtions. The three aggressor nations
grudgingly complied with a cease-fire agreement – a testement to
Eisenhower’s strength, influence, and savvy in dealing with military
matters.
Dwight Eisenhower and Gamal Abdel Nasser
From Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
Cold War Hot Spots I: Lebanon
The Eisenhower Administration’s decision to issue this doctrine was motivated in
part by an increase in Arab hostility toward the West, and growing Soviet influence
in Egypt and Syria following the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Suez Crisis, which had
resulted in military mobilization by Great Britain, France, and Israel—as well as
United Nations action—against Egypt, had encouraged pan-Arab sentiment in the
Middle East, and elevated the popularity and influence of Egyptian President Gamal
Abdel Nasser. President Eisenhower believed that, as a result of the Suez conflict, a
power vacuum had formed in the Middle East due to the loss of prestige of Great
Britain and France. Eisenhower feared that this had allowed Nasser to spread his
pan-Arab policies and form dangerous alliances with Jordan and Syria, and had
opened the Middle East to Soviet influence. Eisenhower wanted this vacuum filled
by the United States before the Soviets could step in to fill the void. Because
Eisenhower feared that radical nationalism would combine with international
communism in the region and threaten Western interests, he was willing to commit
to sending U.S. troops to the Middle East under certain circumstances.
The first real test of the Eisenhower Doctrine came in 1958 in Lebanon, where the
threat was not armed aggression or a direct Soviet incursion. Lebanon’s President,
Camille Chamoun, requested assistance from the United States in order to prevent
attacks from Chamoun’s political rivals, some of whom had communist leanings and
ties to Syria and Egypt. Eisenhower responded to Chamoun’s request by sending
U.S. troops into Lebanon to help maintain order. Although Eisenhower never
directly invoked the Eisenhower Doctrine, the American action in Lebanon was
meant not only to help Chamoun’s Government against its political opponents, but
also to send a signal to the Soviet Union that it would act to protect its interests in
the Middle East.
Adapted from the Department of the State Office of the Historian
Cold War Hot Spots J: Guatemala
The success of the CIA-engineered coup in Iran emboldened Eisenhower
to authorize other secret operations designed to undermine
“unfriendly” government regimes. In 1954, the target was Guatemala, a
desperately poor Central American country led by Colonel Jacobo
Arbenz Guzman. Abenz’ decision to take over the US-owned property
and industries in Guatemala convinced US Secretary of State John Foster
Dulles that Guatemala was falling victim to “international communism.”
He persuaded Eisenhower to approve a CIA operation to organize a
secret Guatemalan army in Honduras. One June 18, 1954, aided by CIApiloted warplanes, the 150 paid “liberators” crossed the border into
Guatemala and forced Arbenz Guzman into exile in Mexico. The United
States then installed a new ruler in Guatemala who eliminated all
political opposition.
United Fruit Company Map
The CIA operations revealed that the United States was secretly overthrowing elected governments around the world to ensure that they did
not join the Soviet bloc. The illegal operations succeeded in toppling
rulers, but in doing so, they destabilized the regions and created
problems that would fester for decades.
From Shi and Tindall’s America: The Essential Learning Edition
“Glorious Victory” by Mexican artist Diego Rivera