Download COLD WAR INTRO

Cold War: Beginnings
• The Yalta Conference:
--sometimes called the Crimea Conference and
-codenamed the Argonaut Conference
-- February 4, 1945 to February 11, 1945
• Heads of Government
– United Kingdom  Winston Churchill (Left)
– United States  Franklin D. Roosevelt (Center)
– Soviet Union (USSR)  Joseph Stalin (Right)
-
YALTA
Comparative Soviet Losses in WW II
U.S.
UK
FR
• Country Population 1939
132m
47.9m
41.7m
• Military deaths
407.3k
382.6k
212k
• Civilian deaths
11.2k
67.8k
267k
• Jewish Holocaust deaths
n/a
n/a
83k
• Total deaths
418.5k
450.4k
562k
• Deaths/ % of population
.32%
.94%
1.35%
USSR
168.5m
10.7m
11.5m
1.0m
23.2m
13.77%
The Decision I
• Justification for bombing to save heavy losses is
not universally accepted.
• Some sources estimate potential U.S. casualties
as significantly lower—perhaps as low as
50,000 men.
• Not entirely clear that an unconditional
Japanese surrender was impossible, especially
if Russia had entered the war before the
bombing.
• Russia officially declared war on Japan on
August 8, two days after the destruction of
Hiroshima.
The Decision II
• Some suggest that Truman, fearing a Soviet
attempt to dominate the postwar Asian
order as it had the Eastern European,
ordered the bombing to force Japan's
surrender before Russia had the chance to
enter the fray (and thus earn the right to
affect the peace settlement).
• Truman may also have wanted to intimidate
his potential rival Stalin with the United
States' new destructive capability.
Post War Reflections
Read Handout:
– The "Soviet Experience in World War II”
– Consider the sacrifices, losses and legacy of
World War II upon Russia.
– Write a 75-100 word response, addressing
the impact of Russian experiences in World
War II upon the Soviet psyche leading into
the Cold War.
POTSDAM DECLARATION
• Also: Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender
• Issued July 26, 1945 by Harry S. Truman,
Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-Shek.
• Outlined terms of surrender for Japan as
agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference.
• If Japan did not surrender, it would face
"prompt & utter destruction."
• Japan failed to respond to the declaration.
Potsdam Points
• Militarism in Japan must end.
• Japan would be occupied until the basic
objectives set out in this proclamation
were met.
• Japanese sovereignty limited to the
islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu,
Shikoku and such minor islands as the
Allies determined.
• Japanese army would be completely
disarmed and allowed to return home.
• War criminals would be punished
including those who had "visited cruelties
upon our prisoners."
Potsdam Points cont…
• Freedoms of speech, religion and thought--as well as
respect for the fundamental human rights shall be
established.
• Japan should be permitted to maintain a viable
industrial economy but not industries which would
enable her to re-arm for war.
• Allied forces would be withdrawn from Japan as soon
as these objectives have been accomplished.
• "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the
unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to
provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith
in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter
destruction."
TRUMAN DOCTRINE
• It is often cited by historians as the start
of the Cold War.
• The Truman Doctrine was 12 March 1947.
• U.S. would support Greece & Turkey w)
military & economic aid to prevent their
falling into the Soviet orbit.
• The Doctrine shifted American foreign
policy towards the Soviet Union from
“détente” to, as George F. Kennan
phrased it, a policy of “containment.”
MARSHALL PLAN
• The Marshall Plan was known officially following
its enactment as the European Recovery Program
(ERP).
• The primary plan of the United States: rebuild the
allied countries of Europe and repel communism
after World War II.
• Initiative named for United States Secretary of State
George Marshall and was largely the creation of
State Department officials, especially William L.
Clayton and George F. Kennan.
• Reconstruction plan developed at a meeting of the
participating European states in July 1947.
• Marshall Plan offered the same aid to the Soviet
Union and its allies, if they would make political
reforms and accept certain outside controls.
NATO
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
– also called the North Atlantic Alliance
– the Atlantic Alliance
– or the Western Alliance
• International organization for collective security
established in 1949, in support of the North
Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4
April 1949.
• Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Its other
official name is the French equivalent,
– l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)
– English and French are the two official languages of the
organization.
NATO
• MISSION:.
• NATO was founded early in the Cold
War with the express aim of defending
western Europe against a military
invasion by the Soviet Union.
• MEMBERSHIP:
– The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17
March 1948 is considered the
precursor to the NATO--members
included… •Belgium
•the Netherlands
•Luxembourg
•France
• the United Kingdom
Greece and Turkey also joined in 1952.
NATO added the
following to the
Brussels Members…
•The United States
•Canada
•Portugal
•Italy
•Norway
•Denmark
•Iceland
Key Events in Asia
• 38th Parallel as Dividing Line
– Set in 1945…end of WWII
– South: Singnan Rhee
North: Kim Il Sung
• North Receives Communist Aid:
– USSR: Equipment
PRC: Training
• 1949 Jiang Jieshi <Nationalist> out
Mao Zedong <Communist> in
– People’s Republic of China
• Fear of spreading Communism in Asia
• NSC-68 1950
– “Slavery vs. Freedom” “Fanatic Faith”
• June 1950: North Korea Invades South
– Depleted U.S./ROK forces “Pusan Perimeter”
BERLIN BLOCKADE
• The Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948 to May 11,
1949) became one of the first major crises of
the new Cold War.
• Soviet Union blocked railroad and street
access to West Berlin.
• Crisis ended after 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 by the
Americans and Operation Plainfare by the
British.
BERLIN REGIONS
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• 278,228 flights
• 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies, including
more than 1.5 million tons of coal, were delivered
to Berlin.
• At the height of the operation, on April 16, 1949,
an allied aircraft landed in Berlin every minute,
with 1,398 flights in 24 hours carrying 12,940 tons
(13,160 t) of goods, coal and machinery, beating
the record of 8,246 (8,385 t) set only days earlier.
• USSR lifted blockade at 00:01, on May 12, 1949.
• However, the airlift did not end until September
30, as the Western nations wanted to build up
sufficient amounts of supplies in West Berlin in
case the Soviets blockaded it again.
Korean War
North Korea
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
– official name: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk
• Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom.
– North Korea led by Kim Il-sung from 1948 until his
death on July 8, 1994, then son:
– Kim Jong-Il current.
– The government predominantly
• Korean Workers' Party (KWP)
• 80 percent of government officials belong.
– 5th-largest military in the world
• Largest % of citizens enlisted
– (49.03 active troops per thousand citizens).
– 1.08m troops vs. 686,000 South Korean troops
• 3.5 million paramilitary forces
• plus 29,000 US troops in South Korea.
State of Mind
• 2004
• Film by Daniel Gordon & Nick Bonner
• Filmed in North Korea
• “93 unblinking minutes of insight into the lives and
minds of the people living in North Korea…one of the
last locked-down communist dictatorships.”
• Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times
• The film tracks a pair of gymnasts training for
the 2003 Mass Games, while also documenting
the lives, culture, hardships and political
perspectives of North Koreans.
State of Mind
• Assignments:
– Journal:
•Impressions & Implications
•Due when Journals are collected
next week.
– Notes:
•Use in team CHOICES activity to
strengthen and support your
strategy/arguments.