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The Cold War
A Divided Europe
Following the war, the Soviet Union and the United States did not trust each other. The Soviet Union
was communist. The United States and Great Britain were free democracies. Great Britain and the U.S. believed
that the Soviets wanted to spread communism to all of Europe.
After the war, the Allies (U.S., Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) agreed to divide Germany.
Great Britain, France and the U.S. controlled the western portion of the country. The Soviet Union controlled
the eastern portion and most of Eastern Europe. The Allies also divided the German capital of Berlin.
The Western Allies saw this arrangement as temporary. They wanted Germany, and all of Europe to be
independent, free democracies. The Soviets saw things differently. After suffering from two world wars, the
USSR was determined not to be invaded again. It kept Eastern Europe. It put
communist governments in power that would be loyal to the USSR.
Europe became divided between Eastern and Western Europe. Western Europe
nations remained or became free democracies. The countries in Eastern Europe
became communist states. Germany eventually divided into 2 countries. West
Germany became free democracy. IT allied itself with other Western European nations and the United States.
East Germany became a communist nation allied with the USSR
The “Iron Curtain”
By the late 1940’s, Europe was divided between Western free nations
and Eastern communist nations. During a famous speech, former British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that an “iron curtain” had descended
upon Europe. The term iron curtain came to symbolize the dividing line that
separated Western Europe and Eastern Europe
.
The Cold War
During World War II, the United States developed an atomic bomb. It was the world’s first nuclear
weapon. A nuclear weapon can destroy an entire city and kill hundreds of people in one strike. Soon, the USSR
had nuclear weapons too.
After World War II, the United States and the USSR became the world’s two great
superpowers. Both had nuclear weapons and neither one trusted the other. Great tension
existed between the two. People in both countries and around the world feared the tension
would one day result in nuclear war. The tension between the United States and the USSR
that many feared would lead to war became known as the cold war. It divided most of the world into two
camps. On one side were the countries that supported free democracy and capitalism. On the other were
countries supporting the USSR and communism?
The Cold War Especially affected Europe. Since Europe included communist and free states, many
feared that any war between the superpowers would begin in Europe.
The Berlin Wall
Many East Germans wanted freedom. They did not want to live in a communist country. Large numbers
of East Germans fled to West Germany. This upset East German leaders and the Soviet Union. In the 1960’s,
communist leaders build the Berlin Wall. The wall made it hard for people to escape from Communist East
Berlin to free West Berlin. East German soldiers shot anyone who tried to scale the wall. The wall stood until
1989. It became a worldwide symbol of the Cold War.
Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold
War
Ronald Regan became president of the United States in 1981. Reagan did not trust the USSR. He did not share
the beliefs of earlier U.S. presidents who tried to negotiate with the Soviets. He believed that the United States
should build up its military. He wanted to make nuclear weapons. Reagan believed that the Soviet economy was
weak. He knew the USSR did not have enough money to continue an arms race. HE felt that communism would
eventually collapse.
In 1985, a progressive leader named Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR. HE al so
recognized that the Soviet economy was failing. He knew that his country could not afford to keep up with
Regan’s military programs. He made several changes. His programs allowed more
political openness and permitted limited capitalism. Soon, communist governments
fell throughout Europe. The East German government announced that people could
freely travel between East and West Berlin. Citizens immediately began tearing
down the hated Berlin Wall.
By the early 1990s, the Soviet Union ceased to be a country. It divided Russia and several other
independent states. In 1990, Germans voted for the reunification of Germany. For the first time since WWII,
Germany became one country. Today, Germany is a free democracy and Europe is no longer divided by the
“iron curtain.”
Europe in the 20th century
1. After the war, the Soviet Union and the U.S. did not trust each other. What kinds of government did
each have?
2. Why was the U.S. concerned about the Soviet Union?
3. Between which countries was Germany divided? Which portion did the Soviet Union control? What
happened to Berlin?
4. Explain what the 2 divided parts of Europe were like:
-
Western Europe and West Germany
-
Eastern Europe and East Germany
5. What does the term “iron curtain” mean? What is the origin of “iron curtain?”
6. After WWII, what 2 countries emerged as superpowers? Why did the tension exist between the two?
7. What was the Cold War and how was the world divided by it?
8. What was the Berlin Wall and what was its purpose? What happened to anyone who tried to cross it?
The Berlin Wall came down in what year?
9. Who was Ronald Reagan? List three things that Reagan believed. Why did he believe that the Soviet
Union could not continue an “arms race?”
10. Who was Mikhail Gorbachev? List two things that Gorbachev believed. What changes did
Gorbachev make to the Soviet Union?
11. What happened when the East German government announced that people could freely travel
between East and West Berlin?
12. What happened in 1990?
13. In 1990, what happened to Germany?