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.

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).

The Cold War [1945-1991]: An Ideological Struggle

Soviet & Eastern Bloc

Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.[George Kennan]

METHODOLOGIES:

1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”

4. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

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)

The Bipolarization of Europe

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)

George Kennan [“X Article”]: CONTAINMENT

Goals Means Actual Application1.Restoration

of the balance of power

2.Reduction of Soviet ability to project outside power.

Encouragement of self-confidence in nations threatened by Soviet expansion.

Exploitation of tensions in international communism.

Long-term program of U.S. economic assistance [Marshall Plan]

Cooperation with communist regimes; [supporting Titoism in Yugoslavia]

3.Modification of the Soviet concept of international relations.

Negotiating settlement of outstanding differences.

Using “carrots & sticks’; containing Germany with an embrace and Russia at arms length.

George Kennan [“X Article”]: CONTAINMENT

Goals Means Actual Application

National Defense Budget [1940-1964]

The Cold War: Roots of the Conflict

Soviet Expansion:

· The Soviet Union occupied most of Eastern Europe by the end of World War II.

• In 1946, Winston Churchill correctly warned that the Soviets were creating an “iron curtain” in Eastern Europe.

Winston Churchill giving the “Iron Curtain” address at Westminster College on March 5, 1946

Peep under the Iron curtain

March 6, 1946

· By 1948, every Eastern European country was under communist control.

American Response:

· Truman Doctrine – statement of President Truman that promised military and economic support to nations threatened by communism.

• In 1947, the U.S. gave $400 million to Greece and Turkey in order to help them put down communist revolts.

· Secretary of State George Marshall toured Western Europe and witnessed widespread homelessness and famine.

Aid for Europe:

Children in a London suburb, waiting outside the wreckage of what was their home. September 1940.

Nuremberg, Germany, April 20, 1945

· Marshall, fearing that communist revolts could occur in such an atmosphere, proposed that the U.S. help to rebuild the European economy in what became known as the Marshall Plan.

* The U.S. gave over $12 billion in aid to European countries between 1948 and 1952, helping to improve their economies and lessen the chance of communist revolutions.

The Division of Berlin

Focus on Berlin

• After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones, occupied by French, British, American, and Soviet troops.

Occupation zones after 1945. Berlin is the multinational area within the Soviet zone.

· In June of 1948, the French, British and American zones were joined into the nation of West Germany after the Soviets refused to end their occupation of Germany.

Soviet blockade:

West Germany

East Germany

West Berlin

East Berlin

· In response, the Soviets cut off West Berlin from the rest of the world with a blockade

Eventual site of the Berlin Wall

· President Truman decided to avoid the blockade by flying in food and other supplies to the needy people of West Berlin.

A huge airlift:

· At times, over 5,000 tons of supplies arrived daily.

· The Soviet zone of Germany, including East Berlin, became known as the nation of East Germany.

Germany remains divided:

· In May of 1949, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union ended the blockade.

October, 1949

Korean War

[1950-1953]

Korean War[1950-1953]

Syngman Rhee

Kim Il-Sung

“Domino Theory”

The Shifting Map of Korea[1950-1953]