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THE COLD WAR
& POST WWII
WORLD RELATIONS
The Onset from
1945-1950
THE UNITED NATIONS
A. Post-war International
peacekeeping organization
1. Created August 1945
San Francisco,
CA, to establish the UN on
April 25,1945 (Before WWII even
1. Fifty nations met in
came to an end)
2. It officially came into existence on
October 24, 1945, when it was ratified
by China, France, the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and
a majority of other signatories.
3. Permanent
headquarters are now
located in NYC.
4. Originally had 50
members; now has
192.
5. Delegates developed a
General Assembly and
a Security Council.
6. Security Council
has 15 members: 5
permanent (US, GB,
USSR, France, &
China) and 10
rotating members.
7. According to the Charter, the UN has
four purposes:
a. to maintain international peace and
security
b. to develop friendly relations among
nations
c. to cooperate in solving
international problems and in
promoting respect for human rights
d. to be a center for harmonizing the
actions of nations.
II. Two Major Meetings to
decide the Postwar Setup of
the World:
Yalta & Potsdam
A. YALTA
1. February, 1945
was seen as
the beginning of the Cold War.
2. The Yalta Conference
3. FDR (US), Churchill (GB), and Stalin (Russia)
met on the Crimean southern border of the
Black Sea Feb. 4-11, 1945.
4. At this time, Stalin had control
of the largest army in Europe
(12 million soldiers).
5. MAJOR POINTS
a. Germany (and the city of Berlin)
would be divided into U.S., British,
French, and Soviet occupation
zones
b. Berlin, although in the quadrant
controlled by the Soviets, would
divided as well.
be
BRITISH
SOVIETS
AMERICANS
FRENCH
c. US and GB let the Soviet
occupation of Poland continue in
the hopes of retaining Soviet
alliance. Stalin
did, however,
promise to be
fair with elections
in Poland.
b. POTSDAM
1. July 16- August 2, 1945
2. Stalin, Truman, and Churchill (who
was replaced during the conference by
new PM of GB Clement Atlee) met near
Berlin.
3. The “Big Three” finalized the
divisions of Germany and Berlin,
establishing the borders and
occupation zones.
4. The leaders also offered an ultimatum
to Japan- surrender or be annihilated.
5. Nuremberg Trials: 1945-1949
a. After the war, some of those
responsible for crimes of the
Holocaust were brought to trial in
Nuremberg, Germany.
b. Judges from the Allied powers (GB,
France, the USSR, and the US)
presided over the hearings of 21
major Nazi criminals. 12
prominent Nazis were sentenced to
death.
6. Japan’s War Crimes Trials:
1946-1948
a. Took place in Tokyo, under
direction of General MacArthur.
b. Tojo was among those
sentenced to execution.
(7 in all sentenced to death)
"The crimes which we
seek to condemn
and punish have
been so calculated,
so malignant and so
devastating, that
civilization cannot
tolerate their being
ignored, because it
cannot survive their
being repeated.“
~ Robert Jackson ,
US Supreme Court
iii. THE COLD WAR
A. The Cold War was the competition for
global power and influence between
the US and the USSR.
B. It was waged on mostly political and
economic fronts, but there was always
a threat of all-out war.
The Cold War [1945-1991]:
An Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
GOAL spread world-wide Communism
METHODOLOGIES:
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts
of Third World peoples [Communist govt. &
command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist
economy]  “proxy wars”
5. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
!!!!! USSR tested its first
atomic bomb in 1949!!!!!
1. At the heart of the conflict were two
very different world-views held by the
two nations and their allies:
a. The USSR viewed capitalism as a
monster, which, if unchecked, would
consume the entire world.
b. America viewed Communism as an
evil tool designed to destroy the
rights and liberties of all mankind.
2. Both sides believed that the other was
seeking world domination.
C. RELATIONS AFTER WWII
1. US and GB aligned themselves with the
USSR during WWII because of its location
near Japan. Although the US and GB had
many concerns about the type of rule in the
Soviet Union, its lack of economic wealth,
military power, and national unity made
them a non-threatening ally.
2. However, after WWII, old dissentions over
governmental ideals arose. Plus, the
USSR had military and occupational
strength that was not prominent before.
D. SUSPICIONS AGAINST THE USSR
1. America feared that Soviet expansion
would increase communism.
2. At this time, Soviet Union controlled
most of Eastern Europe (satellite
nations).
3. Soviet leaders promised free
elections in their satellite nations;
however, they did not follow through.
E. STALIN’S SUPPRESSIONS
1. The Soviet Union crushed all
opposition in Eastern Europe (which it
had liberated from Nazi control) after
1945, rigging elections in order to
receive communist votes.
2. The Communists gained control by
promising to abolish poverty,
privilege, and private property.
3. By 1948, with the
occupying Soviet
Red Army always
in the
background, the
communists had
taken over the
governments of
8 Eastern
European
countries.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) is a broadcaster
funded by the US Congress that
provides news, information, and
analysis to countries in Eastern
Europe, Central Asia, and
the Middle East“ where the free
flow of information is either
banned by government
authorities or not fully
developed”
Founded as an anti-communist
propaganda source during
the Cold War
F. THE IRON CURTAIN
1. 3/12/1946: Fulton, Missouri
2. Winston Churchill visited
Westminster College and
summed up Soviet relations
with the US and GB:
“From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste in
the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has
descended across the Continent.”
3. “Iron Curtain”: term used to
describe Soviet control in
Europe, 1945-1990.
THE
IRON
CURTAIN
Note to self: this
is NOT the Berlin
Wall!!!
G. CONTAINMENT
1. George KennanState Department
official and Soviet
expert- suggested
the U.S. and Great
Britain instill a policy
of CONTAINMENT:
restricting the
expansion of Soviet
communism.
Good Afternoon!
Complet
e
bellringer
on back
of last
class’s
BR.
2. Containment measures included:
a. The Truman Doctrine
b. The Marshall Plan
c. The Berlin Airlift
d. The Korean War
e. The Eisenhower Doctrine (occurred
later during the presidency of Dwight D.
Eisenhower)
March 12, 1947
• It became "the policy of the United States
to support free peoples who are
resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside
pressures."
• Specifically targeted Greece and Turkey,
who were fighting Communist forces.
• $400 million sent to these 2 countries!
- This replaced British support in Greece!
Greece and Turkey
• U.S. economic aid to Europe – try
to contain Soviet influence on the
continent!!!
• Designed to help rebuild the Allied
nations in Europe
• $13 billion over four years!
• Under influence of Stalin, Eastern
Europe rejected the plan of aid.
- Aka: European Recovery Program
Marshall
Plan aid
sent to
European
countries
• First major crisis of Cold War
• June 24, 1948: USSR blocked railroad
and street access to West Berlin.
• American, British, and French
forces airlifted food and other
provisions to the Western-held sectors of
Berlin.
• USSR did not respond with force, and war
was avoided!
• Blockade ended on May 12, 1949
BRITISH
SOVIETS
AMERICANS
FRENCH
The Berlin Airlift
• Message to Congress on Jan 5, 1957
• Implied that U.S. would take military
action in response to imminent or actual
aggression to the U.S.
• Countries that took stances opposed
to communism would be given aid
in various forms.
• Applied to Middle East the next year
(troops to Lebanon)
H. NATO
1. In 1948, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization was formed. The
organization established a system of
collective security, in which its
members pledged to defend the others in
the case of an attack by an external party
(communist nations were the threat!)
2. The Communists later formed the
Warsaw Pact to counter NATO.
28
NATO
Countries
NATO in Europe
NATO Flag
The Soviet Warsaw Pact
The Communists
will form the
Warsaw Pact in
1955 to counter
NATO.
In a 1946 speech, Stalin said communism and
capitalism were incompatible – and another war was
inevitable
Warsaw Pact (1955)
U. S. S. R.
East Germany
Albania
Hungary
Bulgaria
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Rumania
NATO
WARSAW
NEUTRAL
I. Israel is Formed
1948: Following the massextermination of Jews by the
Nazis during WWII, a homeland
was established for the
Israelites. This was preceded
by more than 50 years of
efforts to establish a
sovereign nation as a
homeland for Jews.
The First Arab Israeli war
The proclamation of an independent Israel
brought immediate attack by the Arab
nations surrounding Palestine.
Although recognized by the US and Soviets
the Arabs refused to recognize the Jewish
state.
The outnumbered Jews were able to defeat
the Arabs armies of 4 nations and a UN
negotiated armistice by Ralph Bunche
ended the first conflict.