2-4 Notes 5:The End of the Cold War

Unit 2-4: The Cold War

Modern US History

May 22, 2009

The Berlin Wall

• Back to Europe. By 1961, Berlin was having problems. Almost 3 million East Germans – 20% of the population – had fled into West Berlin to escape from Communist rule. These refugees were an embarrassment to Communist East Berlin and severely weakened that region’s economy.

The Berlin Wall

• The Soviet Union tried to solve the problem by asking the United States to leave West Berlin. Kennedy refused and said that Berlin was a “testing place of Western courage and will.”

Kennedy at the Berlin Wall - June 1963

The Berlin Wall

• On August 13, 1961 – East German troops began to erect a wall of concrete posts and barbed wire along the border in the city.

The Berlin Wall• Within days the wall

was complete and Berlin was divided. Armed guards along the Berlin Wall slowed the flow of refugees between the cities, but also became a symbol of Communist oppression.

The Berlin Wall

The End of the Soviet Union• The problems and struggles of the cold

war continued into the 1980’s. America continued to try to prevent countries from becoming Communist and both nations continued to compete. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev inherited an ill country. The Soviet economy was suffering and as Reagan increased U.S. defense spending, the Soviet Union tried to keep up but instead began to collapse.

The End of the Soviet Union

• Realizing that the Soviet Union was failing, Gorbachev outlined plans for change. These were called glasnost (openness) and perestroika. Glasnost allowed for open criticism of the Soviet government and more freedom of press.

The End of the Soviet Union• Perestroika was a restructuring

of Soviet society that introduced some private enterprise, reduced government control of the economy, and took steps towards establishing a democratic government. Both of these changes released a tide of rebellion amongst people in the Soviet Union – the first time this had been allowed to happen for decades.

The End of the Soviet Union

• Knowing that the Soviet economy was faltering and that better relations with America would help, Gorbachev also initiated a series of arms control treaties. These treaties allowed the U.S. and USSR to make less weapons because both had agreed to it. Gorbachev’s changes marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union as nationalism rapidly declined.

The End of the Soviet Union

• In 1988, Gorbachev encouraged the people of East Germany and Eastern Europe to go their own ways. He reduced the number of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe and allowed non-Communist parties to organize.

The End of the Soviet Union

• On November 9, 1989 East Germany opened the Berlin Wall. Free passage was allowed between the two parts of the city for the first time in 28 years. In 1990 East Germany held its first free elections and on October 3rd the two Germanys were united.

The End of the Soviet Union

• In December of 1991, 14 of the non-Russian republics that made up the Soviet Union declared their independence from the USSR. After 74 years, the Soviet Union dissolved. The Cold War was over.