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The Cold War 1945-1990
US vs. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Democracy vs. Communism
Capitalism vs. Socialism
US/USSR Relationship during WWII
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1939: Stalin (USSR) makes a deal with Hitler
(Germany).
1941: Hitler breaks deal and attacks USSR.
Stalin changes sides and fights with US and
other allies.
2
Post-World War Two Tensions
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The U.S. and the Soviet Union were
allies in WWII, however the only
commonality between them was
opposition of the Axis powers
As tensions grew both countries
used espionage (spies) and
assisted their allies during small
conflicts (wars)
Both countries stockpiled arms
including nuclear weapons, and
became known as superpowers
The super powers did not fight
directly with one another (=
nuclear annihilation), but
competed for political influence
over smaller countries
The tensions between the
superpowers began through
political and economic
differences: the Soviet Union
was communist and the U.S.
capitalist
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US
Promote open markets for
US goods to prevent another
depression
 Promote democracy
throughout the world,
especially in Asia and Africa
 Stop the spread of
communism
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•“Domino Effect”
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Post WWII/Cold War Goals for USSR
Create greater security for itself
• Lost tens of millions of people in
WWII and Stalin’s purges
• Feared a strong Germany
Establish defensible borders
Encourage friendly governments on its
borders
Spread communism around the world
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Excerpt from Winston
Churchill’s “Iron Curtain
Speech.”
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in
the Adriatic an iron curtain has
descended across the Continent. Behind
that line lie all the capitals of the ancient
states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna,
Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and
Sofia, all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I
must call the Soviet sphere, and all are
subject in one form or another, not only
to Soviet influence but to a very high
and, in some cases, increasing measure
of control from Moscow.”
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Tensions between the USA and
the Soviet Union (USSR)
The tensions
between the
U.S. and the
Soviet Union
became known
as the Cold War
because the
conflict never
erupted into
an open war.
It lasted over
forty years.
Cold War Characteristics
• Political, strategic and ideological struggle
between the US and the USSR that spread
throughout the world
• Struggle that contained everything short of
war
• Competing social and economic ideologies
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Key Concept: What were the six major
strategies of the Cold War?
1.
The six major strategies were:
1.
Brinkmanship,
3.
2.
Espionage,
3.
Foreign aid,
4.
Alliances,
5.
Propaganda,
6.
Surrogate wars.
2.
4.
6.
5.
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Canada and the Marshall Plan
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UK and USA wanted Europe to recover after WWII
USSR wanted Europe to remain in despair to make
communism appealing
Canada loaned the UK large sums of money from
1945 -1948 to help in their recovery
1948, Secretary of State George Marshall came up
with a plan to help Europe recover
Canada and the US jointly contributed 13.5 billion
dollars (mostly from the US) in supplies and loans
from 1948 -1953
The recovery in Europe was beyond the expectations
of those who created the plan
Stability and prosperity returned to Western Europe
within a decade
Canada
and
the Cold
War
Canada and the Cold WarConcerns and Suspicions
The Gouzenko Affair
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In September 1945 a Russian
clerk at the Soviet Embassy in
Ottawa, Igor Gouzenko took
documents proving a Soviet
spy ring was operating in
Canada to the Ottawa Journal.
At first no one paid him any
attention, so Gouzenko fearing
for his life and his family’s he
went to the RCMP, the
department of justice, and the
PM’s office.
The Gouzenko Affair – cont’
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it wasn’t until Soviet agents
broke into Gouzenko’s apartment
that the police listened to his
story.
In February 1946 the RCMP
arrested several people
suspected of being Soviet spies;
eighteen were brought to trial
and eight were found guilty.
The spy ring was likely trying to
discover the secrets of the atomic
bomb
The threat of communism and
the Cold War now hit home for
Canadians
The Red Scare
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The massive fear of communism
became known as the Red
Scare
The RCMP began inquiries of
potential communists in Canada
PM Louis St. Laurent refused to
outlaw communism, believing
doing do was a dictatorship
tactic not a democratic
Quebec Premier Maurice
Duplessis introduced the
Padlock law to shut down
suspected communist
organizations
Policy of Containment
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Western countries
feared that the goal of
communists was to
overthrow all societies
the American strategy
was to ‘contain’
communism by
preventing it from
spreading to other
countries
The U.S. therefore
provided economic aid
and military support
to those countries
threatened by
communism
Policy of Containment
Containment – Domino Theory
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The Domino Theory: the
Americans developed this
metaphor to describe the
fear of countries falling
one by one to the
Soviets and communism
Stalin had quickly created
communist regimes in
Bulgaria, Hungary,
Romania, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and
Yugoslavia after WWII
McCarthyism
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In the U.S. anyone
suspected of being a
communist could be
persecuted, fired or black
listed; this became
known as “witch
hunting” or
McCarthyism because it
was led by Senator
Joseph McCarthy and
the “Committee of UnAmerican Activities”
The Division of Germany
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At the end of WWII Germany was split into
four zones of occupation
Britain, France, the U.S. joined their three
zones to form West Germany and the
Soviet Union created East Germany
(German Democratic Republic)
Although Berlin was
located in East Germany, it
also was divided into four
zones. Western nations
were permitted access
through specific highways,
railways and air corridors.
Germany – Berlin Blockade
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When the West introduced new
currency into West Germany,
the Soviet Union refused to
accept it in Berlin and blocked
transportation routes which the
West used to supply West
Berlin.
This was considered a direct act
of confrontation by Stalin, and
the Western nations did not
want to give up Berlin (due to
the domino theory).
For 15 months (June 24, 1948
to May 11, 1949) West Berlin
got supplies through massive
airlifts by the Western Nations.
The Soviets realized the
blockade was not working and
the dispute ended with two
separate governments for
Berlin.
Berlin Blockade - Airlifts
Berlin Blockade
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Western Allies decided to form NATO
(1948) after the Berlin Blockade Crisis
• NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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The Berlin Blockade became one of the first
major crises of the new Cold War
The crisis subsided after the Soviet Union
did not act to stop American, British and
French humanitarian airlifts of food and
other provisions to the Western-held sectors
of Berlin; referred to as Operation Vittles.
The Berlin Blockade was one of the largest
blockades in history.
Germany – The Berlin Wall
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In August 1961 the Berlin Wall began
construction, closing the border between
East and West Berlin (for 28 years).
Professionals and skilled workers were
migrating to West Berlin, damaging the
East economically and Soviet leader
Khrushchev approved the building of a
wall to stop emigration.
The Berlin Wall became a major symbol of
the Cold War
Berlin Wall
East German construction workers building
the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961.
Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall view from West
Berlin - death
strip & graffiti;
In the last phase
of the wall's
development, the
"death strip"
between fence
and concrete wall
gave guards a
clear shot at
hundreds of
would-be
escapees from
the East.
Canada in Korea (1950-53)
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Canadian Government
sent troops, three navy
destroyers and air craft
Over 22,000 Canadians
fought in Korea between
June 1950 and July 1953
309 were killed, 1,203
were wounded and 32
became POWs
Canadians took on a
peacekeeping role after
the armistice was signed
Suez Crisis (1956)
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In 1956, Egypt seized the
Suez Canal from France
and Britain
France, Britain and Israel
joined forces and
attacked Egypt to take
back control of the Canal
The Soviet Union sided
with Egypt and demanded
a withdrawl of the
invading armies
The fighting increased
Looked as if this crisis
would ignite a Third
World War
The Suez Crisis & The Start of
UN Peacekeeping
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Canada’s Acting Minister of
External Affairs, Lester Pearson,
came up with a plan to end the
conflict
He went to the UN and
suggested creating a
peacekeeping force to run the
Suez Canal until a settlement
could be reached
The UN agreed and the battle
forces withdrew from the canal
Lester Pearson was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts
in ending the Suez Crisis
Vietnam War (1954-1975)
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Communist North Vietnam
invaded capitalist South Vietnam
The United States entered the
war to stop Vietnam from
becoming a united communist
nation
The US were involved militarily in
Vietnam from the early 1960s
until they withdrew in 1975
The communists took control of
Vietnam
The war divided the people of the
United States
1.3 million Vietnamese and
58,000 Americans were killed as
a result of the conflict
Canada and Vietnam (1955-1975)
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In 1965, PM Lester Pearson
criticized US involvement in
Vietnam in a speech he gave at
an American university
US President Lyndon Johnson
met Pearson the next day
Johnson lifted Pearson off the
floor by his coat collar and told
him, “You came into my house
and pissed on my rug!”.
The Canadian Government also
let US Draft Dodgers and
conscientious objectors into
Canada during the Vietnam War
This also angered the US
Government who felt that these
people should be tried as
criminals in the United States
Cuban Missile Crisis (1959-1962)
This was the closest the world ever came
to nuclear war. The US armed forces were
at their highest state of readiness ever,
and Soviets in Cuba were prepared to
launch nuclear weapons to defend the
island if it were invaded.
 In 1962, the USSR lagged far behind the
US in the arms race. Soviet missiles were
only powerful enough to be launched
against Europe but US missiles were
capable of striking the entire Soviet Union.
 In April 1962, Soviet Premier Khrushchev
deployed missiles in Cuba to provide a
deterrent to a potential US attack against
the USSR.
 Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a
way to defend his island nation from an
attack by the US. Ever since the failed Bay
of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a
second attack was inevitable.
Consequently, he approved of
Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the
island. In the summer of 1962 the USSR
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secretly installed the missiles.
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CIA map showing range of Soviet supplied
intermediate and medium range missiles if
launched from Cuba
The crisis began on October 15, 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis…when
reconnaissance revealed Soviet
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From top: Castro, Kennedy,
Khrushchev, and poster for
a movie about the crisis
called Thirteen Days
missiles under construction in Cuba.
 After seven days of intense debate within
the White House, Kennedy imposed a
blockade around Cuba to stop the arrival of
more Soviet missiles.
 On October 22, Kennedy announced the
discovery of the missiles and his decision
to blockade Cuba and that any attack
launched from Cuba would be regarded as
an attack on the US by the USSR and
demanded that the Soviets remove all of
their offensive weapons from Cuba.
 October 27 was the worst day of the crisis.
A U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba.
 Tensions finally began to ease on October
28 when Khrushchev announced that he
would dismantle the installations and
remove the missiles, expressing his trust
that the US would not invade Cuba.
 Further negotiations were held to
implement the October 28 agreement,
including a US demand that Soviet bombers
be removed from Cuba, and specifying 31
the
exact form and conditions of US assurances
not to invade Cuba.