the most important question of 1945 was… what should be done after the war?
TRANSCRIPT
The Big Three(the first time around, in Yalta)
UK:
Winston Churchill
USA:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
USSR:
Josef Stalin
Yalta Conference, Feb. 4-11, 1945
The Big Three(the second time around, in Potsdam)
UK:
Clement Atlee
USA:
Harry S. Truman
USSR:
Josef Stalin
Potsdam Conference, Jul. 17 – Aug 2, 1945
What did they decide?• The Big Three agreed that Germany should
be divided into 4 occupation zones after the war, overseen by the US, UK, France, and the USSR
• The United Nations was created – Tried to avoid the problems of the League of
Nations– The US joined and they agreed to establish the
UN Security Council, which could use force against an aggressor
The “Iron Curtain” Speech
• Given by Winston Churchill in 1946
• Proclaimed that the world was then ideologically divided into two opposing camps: Democratic (the West) and Communist (the East)
Truman Doctrine (1947)
• The US must take responsibility for defending “free peoples” throughout the world
• Designed to contain communism by giving economic and military aid to countries resisting its spread– 1st countries: Greece and
Turkey
• Why so significant?
Containment• Truman Policy based on:
Containment Policy– George F. Keenan
• The policy of the US towards the USSR– Firm resistance to Soviet
aggression to prevent its spread in the hope the system would eventually change from within
Marshall Plan (1947)
• European Recovery Program– Written by George
C. Marshall
• Plan to rebuild and strengthen the European economies destroyed by WWII
Map of Cold-War era Europe and the Near East showing countries that received Marshall Plan aid. The red columns show the relative amount of total aid per nation.
Molotov Plan (1947)
• USSR rejected the US plan put forth by Marshall
• Created Molotov Plan in response
• Plan to rebuild Eastern European nations’ postwar economies
But, what about Germany?
• Germany was once again blamed for the war– Nuremberg Trials, 1945-1949– Presided by Allied Powers: 22 Nazi leaders were tried
for war crimes; 12 sentenced to death
• To prevent their ability to strengthen themselves, Germany was divided into 4 zones– Basically, the democratic US, UK, and France against
the communist USSR
• The capitol, Berlin, was also divided into four zones
Berlin, Germany
A divided Germany
The Problem• When the western powers decided to unite
their regions, the USSR felt threatened• In response, the USSR stopped all rail and
street access by the American, Brits, or French to West Berlin; they even cut off the electricity to some regions of West Berlin– Blockade of Berlin: 1st act of the Cold War
• Without access to the outside, how would the West Berliners survive?
The Solution: The Berlin Airlift
Arms Race• Around 1950, the Soviet Union successfully tested
their first atomic bomb• Began the arms race – a “race” between the US
and USSR to stockpile the most atomic bombs• Mutual Assured Destruction: the belief that the
best way to prevent total nuclear destruction is for both sides to have access to nuclear weapons– Huh? How does that work?– By knowing that you and your enemy have an equal
ability to wipe each other out, nobody will make the first strike
China• Communists win the
Chinese Civil War and take over the country in 1949
• Mao Zedong • Jiang Jieshi (Chiang
Kai-shek) and the Nationalist Party flee to Taiwan
NATO• North Atlantic Treaty Organization• Formed on April 4, 1949• An alliance of nations stating that an “attack
against one… shall be considered an attack against them all”
• Original members were: US, Canada, Britain, France, Iceland, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Italy
Climate of Fear
• Fearful of a communist takeover and the constant threat of an nuclear war, American society was consumed with a “climate of fear”
• Came to be known as the Red Scare• Watch: Duck and Cover
Korean War (1950-53)
• North Korea invades South Korea to establish a Communist regime
• US sends troops to South Korea
• Stalemate– DMZ at 38th Parallel
• What is the significance?
Stalin dies (1953)
• Replaced by Nikita Krushchev
Warsaw Pact (1955)
• Alliance signed by communist countries in response to NATO
• With the USSR as leader, member nations pledged to defend each other in case of attack
A Series of Crises (1956)• Suez Canal: seized from Britain and France
by Nasser of Egypt– British and French forces attack, start Suez War
• Hungarians declare independence from USSR on Nov. 1, 1956– USSR attacked Budapest on Nov. 4
Berlin Wall
• Problem: East Germans are escaping Soviet control through West Berlin!
• On Aug. 17, 1961, construction began on a wall to surround West Berlin
• Became the symbol of the Cold War
You are the President of the United States, and a spy plane has just brought back this photo
from a run over Cuba—what do you do?
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)• The Soviets supplied Cuba (a recent convert to
Communism) with missiles that could hit the US
• Kennedy and Khrushchev succeed in defusing the situation through letters and a naval blockade
• VERY tense moment in the Cold War