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The Cold War – Brief Summary – Part I
The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the
Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United
States, its NATO allies and others). Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe
is the period (the second half of the 20th century) between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine (a U.S.
foreign policy pledging to aid nations threatened by Soviet expansionism) was announced, and 1991, the
year the Soviet Union collapsed.
The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides,
although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold
War split the temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union and the United
States as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences. The USSR was a Marxist–
Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, who in turn were ruled by a dictator
(Stalin) or a small committee ("Politburo"). The Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and
all organizations. It also controlled the other states in the Eastern Bloc, and funded Communist parties
around the world, sometimes in competition with Communist China, particularly following the SinoSoviet split of the 1960s.
In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press and independent
organizations. A small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement; it sought good relations with
both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were
heavily armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war.
Each side had a nuclear strategy that discouraged an attack by the other side, on the basis that such an
attack would lead to the total destruction of the attacker: the doctrine of mutually assured destruction
(MAD). Aside from the development of the two sides' nuclear arsenals, and their deployment of
conventional military forces, the struggle for dominance was expressed via proxy wars around the globe,
psychological warfare, massive propaganda campaigns and espionage, rivalry at sports events, and
technological competitions such as the Space Race.
The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in
1945. The USSR consolidated its control over the states of the Eastern Bloc, while the United States
began a strategy of global containment to challenge Soviet power, extending military and financial aid to
the countries of Western Europe (for example, supporting the anti-communist side in the Greek Civil
War) and creating the NATO alliance. The Berlin Blockade (1948–49) was the first major crisis of the Cold
War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean
War (1950–53), the conflict expanded.
The USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and
Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets. The expansion and
escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis (1956), the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban
Missile Crisis of 1962. Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, a new phase began that saw the Sino-Soviet
split complicate relations within the communist sphere, while US allies, particularly France,
demonstrated greater independence of action. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization
program in Czechoslovakia, and the Vietnam War (1955–75) ended with the defeat of the US-backed
Republic of Vietnam, prompting further adjustments.
Questions ---- (You will need to look for information online to answer some of these
questions.)
1. When did the Cold War begin? and end? and who “fought” it?
It was fought between the Eastern and Western Blocs that formed after WWII as the victors extended
dominance over the losers and others. It began in 1947 with “the Truman Doctrine (a U.S. foreign policy
pledging to aid nations threatened by Soviet expansionism”, and it came to an end in “1991, the year
the Soviet Union collapsed.”
2. Why is it called a “cold” war?
Because there was never a direct war between the most powerful opposing nations. They supported
armed conflict in third party nations – called proxy wars – and might have participated directly
themselves, but never against each other. For example, the US send soldiers to Korea and Vietnam, and
China sent troops to Korea, and Russia went into Afghanistan, but none of the nuclear powers fought
each other.
3. What are “secret police”?
The secret police are agencies beyond the scope of the written law of the land who are used primarily to
spy on, intimidate, and/or arrest individuals considered a threat to the government. They are not
considered part of a democratic process or nation.
4. Why did the two strongest nations in the Eastern and Western Blocs never directly attack each other?
Because of MAD: “Each side had a nuclear strategy that discouraged an attack by the other side, on the
basis that such an attack would lead to the total destruction of the attacker: the doctrine of mutually
assured destruction (MAD).”
Both sides had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire Earth. So, if one side had ever attacked
the other directly, it could have easily led to an exchange of nuclear weapons which could have led to
the complete destruction of humanity.
5. What were the differences between the Eastern and Western Blocs?
The Eastern Bloc was led by the Soviet Union, particularly under Stalin at the start, and Stalin
slaughtered tens of millions of his own people. The United States was not a full democracy: Blacks could
not vote in many areas of the US until the 1970s. Blacks and Whites couldn’t go to the same schools in
the South, but as bad as things were in the US, the Soviet Union was Hades…
6. What is a “proxy” war?
It is when more powerful nations are too afraid to attack each other so they support wars in smaller
countries to drain the resources of each other.
7. What was the first major crisis in the Cold War and what happened during it?
The Berlin Blockade was an effort to starve the Western Bloc out of Berlin. Berlin was a divided city
carved up by all the big powers of Europe who won the Cold War: the USSR, US, UK, and France.
The blockade began when Russia reused to allow convoys of supplies to reach the western half of the
city. President Eisenhouer used airplanes to keep the western half alive. WWIII almost began due to this
conflict, but eventually, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade.
8. What was the Suez Crisis?
The UK had controlled Egypt and the Suez Canal for a long time. The were under threat of losing it, so
they sent in military forces to maintain control. The invasion of Egypt also involved Israel which was the
most contreversial part of the action.
9. What was the Vietnam War?
Like the Korean War, the US sent troops into South Vietnam to support the supposedly democratic
government there while Russia and China supported the North Vietnemese communist government.
The number of US troops started out small but increased into a large fighting force then dwendled as
the US lost.
10. What was Turkey’s position during the Cold War?
Russia had had a long, long interest in Turkey, but after WWII, in the shadows of the Ottoman Empire,
Turkey turned West to seek an alliance with the United States and Western Europe. This effectively
blocked Soviet expansion south. Turkey’s key position allowed it a negociating advantage between the
different nations, because it was a vital nation in the Cold War.