The Heirs of War

After World War II 1945 to nowUnit 1 The Heirs of WarAfter WWII, the US:was only major power whose territory had not been destroyed by warproduced more than industrial and agriculture outputhad vast reserves of oilhad the atomic bombhad replaced Europe as leader of industrialized worldThe Soviet Unionhad lost an estimated 20 million citizenswas the largest land mass in the worldheld vast resourcesoccupied Eastern European countries that provided technical and industrial expertise

Other countriesThe economies in Western Europe were devastatedJapan was in ruins; its territories occupiedChina was in the middle of a Civil WarIndia was struggling for independence from BritainAfrica and South East Asia were only in the early stages of developmentLatin America was mostly under military dictatorshipWorld War II ImagesImages used are all from Bing Images, retrieved October 18, 2010

West vs EastFree market economies (West) vs centrally planned economies (East)Multi-party democracies (West) vs single party states (East)Different Types of EconomiesPure command or centrally planned economiesPure (Free) market economiesDecisions made by centralized authorityPublically ownedProduction determined by governmentMarket is controlled by governmentFull employment is guaranteed. Restricted choice in jobs and trainingAll workers belong to state-run unionsDecisions made by individualsPrivately ownedProduction determined by consumer demandMarket is competitive and free from governmentEmployment rises and falls with business cycle.Free choice in jobs and trainingLabour viewed as market commodity no unionsOrigins of the West-East Conflict1917 Russian Revolution the beginning of the Red Scare in the West1933 US President Franklin Roosevelt extended diplomatic recognition to the USSRThroughout 30s relationship was cool1939 USSR signed a secret non-aggressive pact with GermanyWest-East relations once again strainedBut in 1941 Germany attacked USSR and declared war on the USTherefore US, Great Britain and USSR signed Grand Alliance against GermanyRelationship was cool during war but collapsed after war The Cold War beganUS and British PerspectivesWinston Churchill coined phrase iron curtainWhile US reduced military after WWII, the USSR maintained forces in Hungary, Bulgaria and CzechoslovakiaUS feared a communist takeover from Eastern Europe into Western1946 fears heightened when Russian spies arrested in Canada for nuclear espionage Igor Gouzenko The Gouzenko Affair | CBC ArchivesCanada was now part of the Cold War1947 Communist government imposed in HungaryCoup brought Communist government to CzechoslovakiUSSR also pressuring Turkey to give up control on waterway between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean SeaTruman Doctrine departed from USs policy of peacetime isolationism to one of interventionDoctrine promoted containment of communismThe Soviet PerspectiveResented US delaying entry into WWIIUS terminated steady military supply shipments to USSR (Lend Lease Act of 1941) USSR felt Trumans decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was deliberate intimidationStalin refused to accept Marshall Plan aid package Planned to establish parallel market with Eastern Europe and ChinaNuclear Arms RaceAfter WWII, US had monopoly on nuclear weapons1949 USSR developed an atomic bomb (Nuclear fission)1953 US detonated first hydrogen bomb (Nuclear fusion)Within a year USSR had hydrogen bombBoth countries developing efficient systems for delivering bombs to targetsUS dominant throughout 50s In 1957 the USSR developed ICMB (Inter-continental Ballistic Missile)The US followedBy 1970 each superpower had enough missiles to create massive worldwide destructionNuclear Club was growing to include:BritainFranceChinaBy 1990 estimated that another 5 nations had nuclear weapons and as many as 20 more had technology to develop themNuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance | Arms Control Association1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty signed by 108 nations1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty signed by 115 nations promising non-transfer of weapons or technologyDetenteThe Hot Line Agreement of 1963 (after Cuban Missile Crisis) demonstrated improvement in relations between the super powersLasted 20 yearsMAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) superpowers recognized need for balance

Conflicts Continued despite DetenteUSSR backed North Korea and the Chinese vs US (Korean War 1950-53)USSR armed North Vietnamese during Vietnam War (1965-72)US armed Mujahedeen Rebels vs USSR in Afghanistan (1979-1987)Both sides provide arms in Middle Eastern conflicts

Dissent in the WestMedia stereotyped Soviets as villainsBeginning in late 1940s, people were scrutinized as communist sympathizers1950 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg found guilty of spying and executedBeat Generation challenged US lifeStrong movement against arms race Ban the Bomb rallies1960s the Beat Generation became the Hippie GenerationBan the Bomb became make love not warMain concerns poverty and civil rights1970s feminist movementDissent in the USSRWhen Stalin died in 1953 more than 8 million people were in Soviet prisonsAfter his death, relaxation of state controls under leader, Nikita KhrushchevHowever, by 1960, he had tightened controls dissidents exiled or incarcerated in mental hospitalsSoviet youth copied western style called stiliagi (style boys) source of frictionUSSR refused to publish critical writings Samizdat authors became famous outside of USSRAuthors imprisoned, exiled or ridiculed in USSR Pasternak (Dr. Zhivago); Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich)Andrey Sakharov, a nuclear physicist critical of atmospheric nuclear testing was internally exiledDissent in CanadaCanada also had protests and its own civil unrest in 60s and 70sThe FLQCulminated in October CrisisPierre Trudeau Just watch me!

Dissent brings changeRonald Regan US President 1980 talked defensive military strategy suggested an end to dtente But Mikhail Gorbachev, president of USSR bringing about changePerestroka (economic restructuring)Glasnost (openness)By 1990 relationships between superpowers mellowed i.e. supported sanctions vs Iraq for invading KuwaitWest vs East ends1956 USSR crushed Hungarian uprising1968 Prague Spring uprising in Czechoslovakia also crushed by USSRPoland had strong Solidarity movement against USSR1989 people took to streets to demand free electionsCommunist party was replaced in Poland by Solidarity partyOther Communist leaderships failed1989 - The Berlin Wall crumbles1990, East and West Germany united1991 military coup aimed at restoring communist control failed and the USSR collapsedConfederation of Independent States formedAssignmentCompare the two poems Buffy Sainte-Maries The Universal Solider and Manifesto of Man by Yury Galanskov. (See handout)Sainte-Marie a Canadian Cree, became a popular anti-war protestor and entertainerYury Galanskov died in a prison labour camp. Your task: 1. Briefly describe the meaning of each poem. Make sure you use lines from the poems to illustrate your points. 2. Then discuss how the differences in the poems and the poets lives reflect the nature of dissidence in North America and the Soviet Union. This will count as a pairing (Communications Unit 2 and a History Assignment for Module 1 or 2)ReferencesThe 60s. You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5pnonuZc-M&feature=related, retrieved Oct. 24, 2010.FLQ backgrounder. The CBC Digital Archives Website.Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Last updated: Sept. 23, 2008. [Page consulted on Oct. 24, 2010.]Just watch me. The CBC Digital Archives Website.Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Last updated: Oct. 8, 2010. [Page consulted on Oct. 24, 2010.]British diplomat kidnapped. The CBC Digital Archives Website. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Last updated: Dec. 4, 2008. [Page consulted on Oct. 24, 2010.]Moments in History. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2qq5J5A1s&feature=related. Retrieved October 24, 2010.Buffy Sainte Marie The Universal Soldier. You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw00. retrieved October 24, 2010.Google Images