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The Cold War 1945-1991
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YALTA (in the USSR)
Date: Feb 1945
Present: Churchill,
Roosevelt and Stalin
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Decision was made to
divide Germany into
zones administered by
the allies. Stalin
wanted the Germans to
pay for damages and
Russia would join the
war effort against Japan
"Potsdam Declaration"
POTSDAM (Germany)
Date: July 1945
Present: Churchill,
Truman and Stalin
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1. Stated the terms for
Japan’s surrender and the
Allies' postwar intentions
2. Decided to send an
ultimatum: Japan must
surrender, or face "prompt
and utter destruction".
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• The Russians took very high casualties to
capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the
early occupation trying to take over all
zones of the city but were stopped by
German democrats such as Willy Brandt
and Konrad Adenauer. Reluctantly the
Russians had to admit the Americans,
French and British to their respective
zones.
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Iron Curtain –
A term used by
Winston Churchill
to describe the
separating of
Those communist
lands of East
Europe from the
West.
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• The atomic bomb gave America a lead
which was expected to last at least 5
years. The rapid Russian development of
atomic technology, helped by the work of
the “atom spies” was a shock.
Significantly, Russia hurriedly declared
war against Japan at the beginning of
August 1945 and rushed to advance into
Asia to stake out a position for the postwar settlement. This helped make both the
Korean and Vietnamese conflicts more
likely.
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The ‘Truman Doctrine’
• Truman had been horrified at the prewar Allied policy of appeasement and
was determined to stand up to any Soviet
intimidation.
The Truman Doctrine in March 1947
promised that the USA “would support
free peoples who are resisting
subjugation by armed minorities or
by outside pressures”.
• Triggered by British inability to hold the
line in Greece, it was followed by aid to
Greece and Turkey, and also money to
help capitalists to stop communists in
Italy and France.
•
It signalled the end of “isolationst”
policies.
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The ‘Marshall Plan’
• The Marshall Plan offered huge sums to
enable the economies of Europe to rebuild
after World War II, and, by generating
prosperity, to reject the appeal of
Communism.
The Soviet Union (USSR) prevented Eastern
European countries from receiving American
money.
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The Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  spread worldwide Communism
METHODOLOGIES:
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]
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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.
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-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
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Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)
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Berlin
• West Berlin, was an outpost of Western democracy and
economic success deep within the communist zone –
like a capitalist island within communist East Germany
• The Soviet Union did not want West Germany to rejoin
(as the US, Britain, and France proposed) as one
country
• They began the Berlin Blockade was an attempt to
starve West Berlin into submitting [giving up] to the
communists (June 1948 – May 1949)
• The Allied [western powers] airlifted supplies into West
Berlin by the Berlin Airlift, showing their
determination to use all resources to defend Berlin.
• Soviets finally backed down and the blockade ended
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US delivered
1,783,572.7 tons
of supplies, while
541,936.9 tons
were delivered by
the British
totaling 2.3
Million tons from
277, 569 total
flights to Berlin
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The Arms Race:
A “Missile Gap?”
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}
The Soviet Union
exploded its first
A-bomb in 1949.
}
Now there were
two nuclear
superpowers!
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)
 United States
 Luxemburg
 Belgium
 Netherlands
 Britain
 Norway
 Canada
 Portugal
 Denmark
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 France
 1955: West Germany
 Iceland
 Italy
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 1983: Spain
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
A.K.A NATO
• Western powers were afraid of Soviet aggression
• 1949 Ten western European countries allied with
the U.S. and Canada to form defensive military
alliance
• All pledged to aid the others if attacked
• As an answer the Soviet Union formed the
Warsaw Pact in 1955 (Russia, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania,
Bulgaria, and Albania)
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Premier Nikita Khrushchev
About the capitalist
states, it doesn't
depend on you
whether we
(Soviet Union) exist.
If you don't like us,
don't accept our
invitations, and don't
De-Stalinization
invite us to come
Program
to see you. Whether
you like it our not, history is on our
side. We will bury
you.
-1956
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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Sputnik I (1957)
The Russians have beaten America in
space—they have
the technological edge!
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U-2 Spy Incident (1960)
Col. Francis Gary
Powers’ plane was
shot down over Soviet
airspace.
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The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961)
Checkpoint
Charlie
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Berlin Wall
• During the night of August 13, 1961, East German
soldiers and members of its militia surrounded
West Berlin with temporary fortifications that
were rapidly replaced by a concrete wall
• 12 feet high and 103 miles long, of which 8 miles
lay between two sides of the city
• Where a wall was not possible, buildings were
bricked-up
• The only openings in the wall were two closely
guarded crossing points
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Ich bin ein Berliner!
(1963)
President Kennedy tells
Berliners that the West
is with them!
• What he actually says is
he is a jelly pastry (donut)
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YOUR TURN
• The Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1990.
• With a partner find a song about or from that
time.
• The lyrics of the song should deal with some
topic from the Cold War.
• On a piece of paper write down:
– The name of the song
– The lyrics that deal with the Cold War.
– You will present your song today or during down
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time next week.