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Post-war America
&
The Cold War
1945 - 1960
“I believe that it must be the policy of the United
States to support free peoples who are resisting
subjugation by armed minorities or by outside
pressures.”
--Harry Truman
The American Stance and Soviet Aims
The United States
emerged from
World War II more
powerful than any
other nation
 Determined to use
that power in the
creation of a
democratic world
 Soviet aims
included

– rebuilding after
the ravages of
war
– restructuring of
her borders to
prevent a repeat
German invasion
The Yalta Conference
Often cited as the
beginning of the Cold
War.
 Meeting of the "Big
Three" at the former
palace of Czar Nicholas
on the Crimean
southern shore of the
Black Sea took place
February 4-11, 1945.

Stalin Pauses
Stalin's army had
reached the Oder
River and was
poised for the
final attack on
Berlin,
 Feb. 3 Stalin
ordered the army
to pause while the
conference was in
session.

Stalin and Churchill
Stalin’s Army
Largest in Europe
His occupation of
Poland was complete,
and he possessed
command of the largest
army in Europe, 12
million soldiers in 300
divisions.
 Eisenhower's 4 million
men in 85 divisions
were still west of the
Rhine.

Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius,
Jr., and Foreign Secretary Molotov at
the airport
Did FDR’s illness contribute to
“secret deals”?




Roosevelt appeared weak
and tired in photos of the
Yalta conference
He would present his Yalta
report to Congress March 1
sitting down.
In two months, he would be
dead of a massive cerebral
hemorrhage.
Although FDR suffered from
high blood pressure, there
was no evidence that his
health impaired his judgment
at Yalta.
"I didn't say the result was good. I
said it was the best I could do."
-FDR

Critics would accuse Roosevelt of
a "sell-out" at Yalta, of giving
away Eastern Europe to Stalin, of
"secret deals" with a ruthless
dictator.

Stalin did not hold free elections
in Eastern Europe and the
American press turned
increasingly hostile to Russia.

FDR was hoping the future United
Nations organization would be
the place to deal with Stalin, not
at Yalta.
Stalin’s Eyes on the Prize
Stalin to enter
Asian war, and to
get S. Sakhalin,
Kuriles, control of
ports and
railroads
 Korea divided at
38th parallel

Harry S. Truman Must Decide
Apr. 11 - Ike
stopped 9th Army
at Magdeburg on
the Elbe River
 Apr. 12 - death of
FDR; Harry S
Truman sworn in
as President

Truman to Stalin:
"Carry out your agreements and
you won't get talked to like that"



Apr. 23 - Truman spoke
harshly to Molotov
U.S.-Soviet relations will
no longer be "on the
basis of a one-way street"
U.S. did not expect to get
100% on important
matters, but "we should
be able to get 85%"
July 17-Aug. 2 - Potsdam Conference


Truman, Churchill,
Stalin met in a
suburb of Berlin for
the Potsdam
Conference
no agreement on
Poland's western
boundary but Lublin
government allowed
to expel 9 million
Germans from
eastern Poland
Agenda at Yalta
Soviet Agreement
for Soviet entry
into the Pacific
War.
• Number of Soviet
votes in the UN.
• Veto power in the UN.
• Control of Germany.
• Borders of Poland.
• Situation in Eastern
Europe.
•
American Concessions at Yalta for
Soviet Entry into the Pacific War





Recognition of
autonomy for Outer
Mongolia.
The return of the
southern half of
Sakhalin Island.
The return of the
Kurile Islands.
Recovery of a warm
water port for in
Manchuria for the
Soviets.
Soviet control of the
Chinese Eastern
Railroad.
Goal: To Assure Soviet Entry into
the War on Japan
Needed to guarantee
the Soviets the
concessions they
sought in
Manchuria/Asia.
 This was the last
meeting of the Big
Three before the war’s
end.
 With the American
delegation was the
Alger Hiss of the State
Department.

The Thriving Peacetime
Economy

The years following
World War II saw
one of the longest
sustained economic
expansions in the
history of the U.S.
Movement West

Postwar American became more mobile than ever
before; most headed west
Population Shifts, 1940 – 1950
Cities throughout the Sunbelt South and West coast saw
enormous growth
Shifts in Population Distribution,
1940 - 1960

Population
shifted away
from the
traditional
city to
outlying
suburbs
where
housing was
cheaper
Population Growth



During the Great
Depression, the birthrate
had dropped to an alltime low
The birth rate exploded
as millions of postwar
Americans began families
The death rate was also
declining due to
peacetime and new
medical breakthroughs
A technological revolution occurred as scientists began
to improve transportation, satellites, and other
consumer goods, often byproducts of military research

Tiny
transistors
would help
miniaturize
computers
for use in
many items
from ovens
to vacuum
cleaners
The automobile industry played a key role in the
expansion with millions of cars quickly produced and the
steady construction of the interstate highway system
Changing Work Patterns



The United States
stopped being primarily a
goods producer and
became a service
provider
People enjoyed the
leisure resulting from less
time required for work
White-collar and bluecollar workers enjoyed a
higher standard of living
than ever before
Trouble Spots
Appear

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Stalin sealed all land
access to East Germany
Stalin allowed to take
25% of West German
industry in exchange for
food, coal
Nazi leaders to be tried as
war criminals at
Nuremberg
Stalin refused to hold
elections in occupied East
Europe
Stalin told on July 24 of A-bomb
weapon and the test July 23




Aug. 6 - Hiroshima - 20
kiloton Little Boy uranium
bomb killed 80,000
Aug. 8 - Stalin declared
war on Japan, sends
troops into Manchuria
Aug. 9 - Nagasaki - 22
kiloton Fat Man plutonium
bomb killed 70,000
Aug. 15 - Emperor
Hirohito made surrender
broadcast; VJ Day
The basis for the Cold War was
Democracy versus Communism.
•Clash between the two
most powerful nations in
the world
•In 1949 the Soviet
Union tested its first
atom bomb
•China turned to
communism and began
gaining power
Nuclear bomb test site
•US responded by
making more nuclear
weapons
Winston Churchill (1946)

“From Stettin in the
Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron
curtain has
descended across the
Continent. “
Bernard Baruch (1947)

Let us not be deceived
- we are today in the
midst of a cold war.

(speech given in 1947)

Presidential economic
advisor
Member of FDR’s Brain
Trust

Difference in World Views

USSR wanted to create
– Sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe
– Buffer Zone in Eastern
Europe

After World War II,
Joseph Stalin saw the
world as divided into two
camps:
– imperialist and capitalist
regimes
– Communist and
progressive world
George Kennan and Containment

Summary: Soviet
pressure against the free
institutions of the
Western world is
something that can be
contained by the adroit
and vigilant application of
counterforce at a series
of constantly shifting
geographical and political
points, corresponding to
the shifts and maneuvers
of Soviet policy, but which
cannot be charmed or
talked out of existence.
Head of State Department
and “Mr. X” who wrote
article anonymously.
Containment Defined
By George Kennan


Containment theory taught
that the Soviets would
never turn from their plans
of world domination unless
hindered by force at every
turn
Containment created the
need for America to assist
any country that was
perceived to be falling
under the influence of the
Soviets
The Next
Steps


The Marshall Plan: rebuilding the devastations of wartorn Europe with massive American aid
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a twelvemember alliance that vowed that an attack on one
nation-member would be an attack on all
The Marshall Plan



George C. Marshall stands with two cadet
officers beneath the Marshall Arch at Virginia
Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, on May
15, 1951, during dedication ceremonies
naming this entranceway into barracks
Cost the U.S. taxpayer
more than $11.8
billion.
The goal was to
– (1) increase production;
– (2) expand European
foreign trade;
– (3) encourage European
economic integration
and cooperation; and
– (4) control inflation.

As a result, Marshall
received the Noble
Prize in 1953.
Impact of the Marshall Plan
as developed by
George C. Marshall, Sect. of State




Stimulated the
European economy.
Fostered economic
growth in the U.S.
While it was opened to
the Eastern Bloc, they
refused to participate.
Aided European
recovery to prevent
further spread of
communism
Truman
Doctrine
The Cold War:
The Early Years 1945 - 1950
Communist
Russia and
Eastern
Europe VS
democratic
US and
Western
Europe
Internal conflict in China
produced a revolution to Communism that the U.S.
was in no position to stop
Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia

Czech government invited to participate in
the U.S. Marshall Plan

The communists organized strikes and
protests, and began clamping down on
opposition parties.

Then President Benes tried desperately to
hold his nation together, but by February
1948 the communists had forced the
other coalition parties out of the
government.

On February 25, Benes gave in to
communist demands and handed his
cabinet over to the party.

Rigged elections were held in May to
validate the communist victory.
Jan Masaryk
Murder or Suicide?

Benes then resigned and his former
foreign minister Jan Masaryk died
under very suspicious
circumstances.

Both the United and Great Britain
denounced the communist seizure
of power in Czechoslovakia, but
neither took any direct action.

The Communist Party, with support
and aid from the Soviet Union,
dominated Czechoslovakian politics
until the so-called "Velvet
Revolution" of 1989 brought a noncommunist government to power
War on the Korean peninsula
produced a stalemate between a communist North
and a democratic South that exists to this day
Monument to Korean War in
Washington state.
The Middle East


The state of Israel,
created by the United
Nations as a homeland for
the Jews of the Holocaust,
unfortunately displaced
thousands of Palestinian
Arabs from their
traditional lands along the
Mediterranean
This action solidified Arab
hatred of the western
sponsors of Israel
Vietnam, an American conflict inherited
from the French, closely resembled the
problems of Korea with one exception:
communism won
Financial Costs of the Cold War
Nikita Khruschev


Whether you like it
or not, history is on
our side. We will
bury you.
Nikita Khruschev (said
to Western diplomats
in 1956)
Dean Rusk
Secretary of State 1961 - 1969



HAWK and strong believer in
the use of military action to
combat Communism.
During the Cuban missile crisis
he initially supported an
immediate military strike, but
he soon turned towards
diplomatic efforts.
His public defense of US
actions in the Vietnam War
made him a frequent target of
anti-war protests.
During Cuban Missile Crisis: “We're eyeball
to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just
blinked.”
Dean Rusk
The Cold War:
The Division of Europe
•
The meeting was
delayed because of
Roosevelt’s health.
•
Many didn’t like
the meeting place –
but Stalin would not
leave Russia.
•
Americans did
not like Roosevelt
traveling so far from
home.
•
Despite
everything, FDR was
in ill health.
Post World War II
Germany
Germany divided
into “occupation
zones”
 West Germany
occupied by Allies
 East Germany
occupied by USSR
 Thousands fled to
West Germany
and freedom

The Wall Goes Up
Stalin hoped to
destroy Germany,
stripped of its
wealth and
resources.
 The Allies wanted
to rebuild Germany,
make it a free
democracy.

Get Out of Berlin!




In 1958 Khruschev gave
the Allies 6 months to
evacuate West Berlin and
return it to East Germany.
Allies refused
In 1961Khrushchev met
with Kennedy.
Kennedy was viewed as
weak because of Bay of
Pigs fiasco, but he
refused to give up West
Berlin
Why the Berlin Wall?



In August the
Berlin Wall was
erected to divide
the city.
From 1949 to
1961 2.5 million
people escaped to
West Berlin
In 1961 not a
single soul got
out, but 170 died
trying.
Berlin Blockade



Allies introduced a
new currency into
Germany to
strengthen its
economy;
Stalin reacted with
the Berlin Blockade
Churchill said an
“iron curtain” had
come down across
Europe
LeMay’s Feed and Coal Company


Under the leadership of
General Curtis LeMay,
ten-ton capacity C-54s
began supplying the city
on July 1.
By the fall the airlift,
code-named "Operation
Vittles "and often referred
to as "LeMay's feed and
coal company ," was
bringing in an average of
5,000 tons of supplies a
day.
Blockade Backfires on the Soviets



Not only did the blockade
turn out to be totally
ineffective, it ended up
backfiring on the Soviets in
other ways.
It provoked genuine fears of
war in the West.
And instead of preventing
the establishment of an
independent West Germany,
it accelerated the Allies plans
to set up the state.
Supplied Only by Air
May, 1948 to July, 1949
It also hastened the
creation of the North
Atlantic Treaty
Organization, an
American-Western
European military
alliance.
 In May 1949, Stalin
had little choice but to
lift the blockade.

Daily Food Rationing

It was determined that the
city's daily food ration would
be 646 tons of flour and
wheat; 125 tons of cereal; 64
tons of fat; 109 tons of meat
and fish; 180 tons of
dehydrated potatoes; 180
tons of sugar; 11 tons of
coffee; 19 tons of powdered
milk; 5 tons of whole milk for
children; 3 tons of fresh yeast
for baking; 144 tons of
dehydrated vegetables; 38
tons of salt; and 10 tons of
cheese. In total, 1,534 tons
were needed daily to keep
the over 2 million people
alive.
Seems to me I’ve seen him somewhere before.
Necessities of Life?
That's not including other
necessities, like coal and fuel.
 In fact, the largest quantity of
anything required was coal. It
wasn't needed to heat homes as
much as it was necessary for
industry.

In addition, there was limited
electricity, because the city's
power plant was located in the
Soviet sector, so that was cut off,
too.

1000 Flights Each Day


It was determined
that in total supplies,
3,475 tons would be
needed daily. A C47 can haul 3.5
tons.
In order to supply
the people of
Berliners, C-47's
would have to make
1000 flights each
day. Impossible.
1st Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen


On July 17, he
decided that on
one of his off days,
he would hitch a
ride as a passenger
on a C-54 and visit
the City he was
saving.
He walked to the
end of the runway
to film some
aircraft landings
when he noticed a
group of children
near the fence
watching the
planes, too.
Why?


He went over to
them. They asked
questions about
the aircraft, the
cargo, how fast it
was going and
things like that.
During this
conversation he
noticed that these
children, did not
ask him for any
candy or gum, like
others always
had.
Doublemint Gum

Some having been born
during wartime had not
even heard of treats like
that.

He reached into his
pocket and found that
he had only two sticks
of Wrigley's Doublemint
Gum.

He remarked that if
they did not fight over
it, he would drop some
candy to them if they
were there the next
day.


They agreed,
took the sticks of
gum and divided
it amongst
themselves,
some happy to
get only a piece
of the wrapper.
Before he left
them, a child
asked him how
they will know it
was him flying
over. He replied,
"I'll wiggle my
wings."
“I’ll Wiggle My
Wings.”
The Chocolate Flier

Halvorsen was True to his
word, the very next day, on
approach to Berlin, he rocked
the airplane and dropped some
chocolate bars attached to a
handkerchief parachute to the
children waiting below.

Every day, the number of
children would increase and he
made several more drops.

Soon there was a stack of mail
in Base Ops addressed to
"Uncle Wiggly Wings', "The
Chocolate Uncle" and "The
Chocolate Flier".
Operation Little Vittles

Halvorsen didn't tell anyone
about what he was doing for
fear he'd get in trouble.

Then, he was called into his
commander and asked what he
was doing. His commander
pulled out a newspaper with a
picture of Halvorsen's plane and
tiny parachutes trailing behind.

Apparently, a newspaper
reporter narrowly escaped being
hit on the head with a chocolate
bar.

It was dubbed "Operation Little
Vittles“. Candy and parachutes
were assembled and sent from
Chicopee Falls, MA to assist in
the gesture.
Three TONS of Candy


In the end, over three tons
of candy was dropped over
Berlin, some even in the
Soviet sector.
For this simple kindhearted
gesture, Halvorsen became
the most recognized pilot of
the Berlin Airlift
North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization

The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4, 1949, at the beginning of the Cold
War.
The original purpose of NATO was to defend Western Europe against possible attack

Followed by creation of Warsaw Pact

by Communist nations, led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962
United States
detected weapons
being secretly shipped
into Cuba from the
USSR.
 Cuban pilots were
being trained for war
in Czechoslovakia.

Blockade Begins

Finally ballistic
missile sites were
discovered –
aimed at the US

President Kennedy
set up a
“quarantine”
blocking Russian
ships from getting
into the
Caribbean.
Ultimatum to Khruschev

Dear Mr. President,

Imagine, Mr. President, what if we were to present to you such an ultimatum as you
have presented to us by your actions. How would you react to it? I think you would
be outraged at such a move on our part. And this we would understand.
Having presented these conditions to us, Mr. President, you have thrown down the
gauntlet. Who asked you to do this? By what right have you done this? Our ties with
the Republic of Cuba, as well as our relations with other nations, regardless of their
political system, concern only the two countries between which these relations exist.
And, if it were a matter of quarantine as mentioned in your letter, then, as is
customary in international practice, it can be established only by states agreeing
between themselves, and not by some third party. Quarantines exist, for example, on
agricultural goods and products. However, in this case we are not talking about
quarantines, but rather about much more serious matters, and you yourself
understand this.
His Excellency
Mr. John F. Kennedy President of the United States of America
Washington




Kennedy Responds

Soviet ships advanced
to the barricade and
refused to turn back.
Brink of Nuclear Disaster
The next day the
Soviet ships turned
around and left
 Later the USSR
agreed to remove all
offensive missiles in
Cuba

The Attempted Overthrow of Castro at
the Bay of Pigs
Instigated by
President
Eisenhower
 Continued by
Kennedy
 CIA directed with
$46 million to
train anticommunist forces

Where was the Air Support
Promised?
April 17, 1961,
Cuban exiles
landed at the
Bay of Pigs.
 Believed they
would enter
Cuba
unchallenged.
 Captured within
72 hours

Other Reasons for Failure
at Bay of Pigs




Training of Cuban exiles
not kept high security.
News leaked
When Kennedy found out
he pulled out the US air
force and navy
Huge embarrassment for
US
Pushed Castro closer to
USSR
Captured and Convicted
April 14, 1962 –
Cuban military
tribunal convicted
1,179 American hired
Cubans
 The men had been
recruited by the CIA
 Sentenced to 30 years
in prison UNLESS a
ransom was paid by
the US.

$62 MILLION

Christmas Eve, 1962 these men were freed after
payment of $53 million in
–
–
–
–
Baby food
Drugs
Medical equipment
Other materials from the embargoed items.
On November 9th, 1989, after 28 years of separation, East and
West Germany were united once again.
People celebrating the fall of the
Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate