An overview of the Cold

War

How can a war be ‘cold’?

What were the Hotspots of the

Cold War?

After World War 2 the Cold War began and caused tension

throughout the world.• The USA and the USSR were

the two world Superpowers.• The USA was a capitalist

society with a democracy.• The USSR was a communist

country with a dictatorship.• Both wanted to be the most

powerful nation in the world.

Nuclear tensions• The USA had shown its atomic power

when it exploded the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 2.

• The USSR was also developing atomic weapons/bombs.

• The USA and the USSR were in competition with each other to have the best, most powerful weapons in the world – this was called the Arms Race.

After World War 2, the world changed!

• Many countries became communist after World War 2 including:

- Czechoslovakia (1948)- Poland (1947)- Hungary (1947)- China (1949)- Cuba (1959)- North Korea (1945)

Germany - divided• Germany, which had been

ruled by the Hitler and the Nazis until their defeat in 1945 was split in two.

• The western side became West Germany and the eastern side became East Germany.

• East Germany became another communist country.

The domino effect• The USSR had a lot of influence over

many of the new communist countries (especially those in Europe).

• The USA was very worried that the USSR’s influence over these countries was making the USSR and communism more powerful.

• The USA did not want communism to spread any further – they were worried about the domino effect (one country becomes communist, then another, then another etc)

Cold War?• The tension and rivalry between the

USA and the USSR was described as the Cold War (1945-1990).

• There was never a real war between the two sides between 1945 and 1990, but they were often very close to war (Hotspots). Both sides got involved in other conflicts in the world to either stop the spread of communism (USA) or help the spread (USSR).

Containment

• US did not trust Soviet Union– Feared they posed a threat to the

noncommunist world– Regret decision at the Yalta Conference

• Soviets place troops in Eastern Europe

Containment

• Containment policy which advocated confining/limiting communism to areas it already existed

George Kennan

The Iron Curtain• “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…

• The outlook is also anxious in the Far East and especially in Manchuria. The agreement which was made at Yalta, to which I was a party, was extremely favorable to Soviet Russia, but it was made at a time when no one could say that the German war might not extend all through the summer and autumn of 1945 and when the Japanese war was expected by the best judges to last for a further eighteen months from the end of the German war…

• Last time I saw it all coming and I cried aloud to my own fellow countrymen and to the world, but no one paid any attention. Up till the year 1933 or even 1935, Germany might have been saved from the awful fate which has overtaken her and we might all have been spared the miseries Hitler let loose upon mankind.

The Iron Curtain

Truman Doctrine

• Greece and Turkey were undergoing post-World War II political and economic upheaval

• USSR wants to extend influence into these areas– Under policy of containment, USA cannot let

this happen

Truman Doctrine

• Truman Doctrine– Pres. Truman asks Congress for $400 million

in aid for Turkey & Greece in 1947• Hoping pumping money into their economies

would prevent the turn to communism• By 1950, US gave over $660 million to Greece and

Turkey• Truman doctrine represents further movement

away from neutrality

Truman Doctrine

The Marshall Plan• Most of Europe in shambles after WWII• Communism seemed to offer a solution to the

problems caused by the war destruction and devastation

• Sec. of State General George Marshall has an idea…

The Marshall Plan

• The Marshall Plan Send $13 billion in economic aid to help rebuild Europe– Help stabilize European

economies

– Restarted consumer production in factories

Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)

Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)

The Berlin Wall 1961

Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)

• Stalin blockades roads into West Berlin, so Allies cannot get supplies in

• Stalin hopes to take complete control of Berlin– Believes US will not

fight for Berlin Blockade

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

• Allies airlift supplies into West Berlin

• After 321 days, Stalin gives up blockade and creates communist East Germany

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

• Operation Little Vittles– Drop candy and gum

with handmade mini-parachutes for kids in West Berlin

NATO & Warsaw Pact

• In 1949, US and 11 other nations sign collective security agreement– North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• Agreed that if one member were attacked, the others would come to their defense

• Coordinated defensive/military arrangements• Today there are 26 members

– Warsaw Pact• Soviets later form alliance in response to NATO

The Cold War

• In 1949, Truman learns that Soviets successfully tested an atomic bomb

• Distrust + Military Alliances + Atomic Bomb = COLD WARDistrust + Military Alliances + Atomic Bomb = COLD WAR

• Cold War– What is it? Period of tense conflict, mistrust & uneasiness

between the United States and Soviet Union• Capitalism/Democracy vs. Communism

• Period of militarism– Build up of weapons of mass destruction

– NO ACTUAL WARS EVER FOUGHT BETWEEN US & USSR but fought many “proxy wars” where each side supported a different group within a country at war

The Korean War 1950-1953

The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

The Vietnam War c.1963-1975

Two Races occur during the Cold War

• The Arms Race, with both sides continuing to add weapons (arms) to make themselves stronger – all those weapons act as a deterrent keeping all out war from happening – WORLD WAR 3! Yikes

• The Space Race, both sides race to get into space and dominate that area – Soviets get to launch first, US gets to moon first