Chapter 28, Section 1: The Cold War Begins

Main Idea: After WWII, distrust between

the US & USSR led to the Cold War.

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

Soviet & Eastern Bloc

Nations

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread Communism world-wide

GOAL “Containment” of Communism

METHODOLOGIES:

1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation] & Space Race

3. Division of Europe [“Iron Curtain”: NATO (Democratic) vs. Warsaw Pact (Communist)]

4. Competition for Third World peoples [Communist govt. vs. democratic govt.] “proxy wars”

Understanding Capitalism vs. CommunismCAPITALIST THEORY

Businesses, farms and industry are privately owned by individuals who profit from the sale of goods produced.

Individuals pay for the labor based on the efficiency and the skill of the worker. This system creates a social and economic class system (rich, middle & poor).

Promotes competition between privately-owned businesses.

COMMUNIST THEORY Workers, as a community, own and run all

businesses, industry and farms. Economically all people would benefit equally.

Socially this creates a classless society with great freedom where all people would be considered equal (everybody is in the “working class”).

Promotes cooperation with government- owned businesses.

Communism: From Theory to Practice

Marxism

Leninism

Stalinism

Karl Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto, promising a workers’ paradise

& creating the Communist theory.

Vladimir Lenin seizes control of agrarian Russia (WWI), imposing limited liberty.

Joseph Stalin takes control of Russia & forces industrialization on the agrarian society.

He centralizes power & takes away most freedoms.He takes control of Eastern Block countries

A. Origins of the Cold WarGrowing DistrustGrowing Distrust

Cold War – a state of constant tension between nations w/out actual fighting

– US & USSR were allies during WWII, but after the war they become bitter rivals for the next 50 years (distrust).

– USSR (East) = Communism/Socialism vs. US (West) = Democracy/Capitalism

Broken PromisesBroken PromisesThe Soviets drove Germany through Eastern Europe during WWII, then left their troops in those countries after the war. These 8 nations became “satellite nations,” with harsh communist dictators controlled by the USSR.

The “Iron Curtain”The “Iron Curtain”British leader Winston Churchill coined the term “iron curtain” to describe the separation of the communist nations of Eastern Europe from the democratic countries of Western Europe.

– Expansion (USSR) vs. Containment (US)

The Beginning of the Cold War

The Beginning of the Cold War

B. The U.S. Responds Truman’s US Cold War policy is called

containment, meaning to keep communism from spreading beyond its current borders.

The Truman DoctrineThe Truman Doctrine Truman Doctrine – The US pledged

to help (money & weapons) nations threatened by communist expansion– successful in Greece & Turkey ($400mill)

The Marshall PlanThe Marshall Plan Marshall Plan – Secretary of State

George Marshall feared that the war-damaged countries of Western Europe were vulnerable from weak economies

The US pledged over $12 billion to rebuild European economies damaged by WWII, so that they would not turn to communism as a solution to their problems. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!)

Soviet Communist

Threat To US &Western Europe Following WWII

Western European Conditions After WWII

HUNGER POVERTY DESPAIR

May cause Western Europeans to vote leaders into office who would align their country with the Soviet Union, thus causing the spread of communism.

The Marshall PlanPURPOSES

– Provide Europeans with an attractive option to communism

– Make the U.S. look good by giving Europeans hope by providing for immediate needs of the people

– Provide financial opportunities for the U.S. to later trade with European nations

– Cause Stalin (Soviet Union) to put up a “wall” dividing Europe which aided containment of communism

– Cause friction between Stalin and satellite countries by forbidding acceptance of U.S. aide

U.S. and WESTERN EUROPEAN TRADE

W. Europeans have money to purchase goods to rebuild

U.S. companies and farmers sell goods to Europe

U.S. economy flourishes

W. Europeans rebuild

W. Europeans continue to trade with the U.S.

U.S. gives grants to Western

Europe

* 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.

Step on it, Doc!

Marshall Plan

C. Crisis Over Berlin After WWII, Germany was divided into

4 zones occupied by the US, Britain, France & the USSR. Berlin was also divided, but was located in Soviet zone.

– 3 zones combined to form the democratic West Germany, while the Soviet zone became East Germany, a communist country.

Stalin closed all land routes to West Berlin, cutting it off from the rest of the world so that the USSR could control it.

Berlin AirliftBerlin Airlift The Berlin Airlift – for almost a year,

the US flew supplies into W. Berlin to keep it going. Stalin reopened the routes (big psychological victory for the US).

Berlin WallBerlin Wall Berlin Wall – Soviets built a wall

across the city of Berlin in Aug. 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin, and then West Germany (embarrassing). It will stay until 1989.

– Soviets send troops & tanks to Czech. in 1968 to end proposals of freedom there.

Yalta Conference:2/45

Yalta Conference:2/45 FDR wants quick Soviet entry into Pacific war.

FDR & Churchill concede Stalin needs buffer, FDR & Stalin want spheres of influence and a weak Germany.

Churchill wants strong Germany as buffer against Stalin.

FDR argues for a ‘United Nations’.

Potsdam Conference: 7/45

Potsdam Conference: 7/45 FDR dead, Churchill out

as Prime Minister during conf.

Stalin only original. The US has the A-bomb.

Allies agree Germany to

be divided into occupation zones.

Poland moved around to suit the Soviets.

P.M. Clement President Joseph Atlee Truman Stalin

Churchill Roosevelt Stalin

The “Big Three”The “Big Three”

Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin

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.

The Division of Germany:1945 -1990

The Division of Germany:1945 -1990Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)

The Berlin Wall and its crossing points

Total length around West Berlin 91 miles

Border between East and West Berlin 27 miles

Number of watch towers 302

Number of bunkers 20

Concrete wall height 11.81ft

The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961)The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961) Ich bin ein Berliner!Ich bin ein Berliner! (1963) (1963)

President Kennedy President Kennedy tells Berliners that tells Berliners that

the West is with the West is with them!them!

D. New AlliancesCold War AlliancesCold War Alliances

1.North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) -1949 – made up of democratic countries from Western Europe & North America (The US & Canada)2.The Warsaw Pact - 1955 – made up of communist countries (The USSR & the satellite nations)

United NationsUnited NationsUnited Nations (UN) - 1945 – new international peacekeeping organization (51 original members)

– General Assembly - every member – Security Council – only certain members – Most successful in fighting hunger &

disease & improving education•Food, medicine & supplies for famine & other natural disasters. Relief in war-torn countries.

NNorth orth AAtlantic tlantic TTreaty reaty OOrganization (1949)rganization (1949)

United United StatesStates

BelgiuBelgiumm

BritainBritain

CanadaCanada

DenmaDenmarkrk

FranceFrance

IcelandIceland

ItalyItaly

LuxemburgLuxemburg

NetherlandNetherlandss

NorwayNorway

PortugalPortugal

1952: 1952: Greece & Greece & Turkey Turkey

1955: West 1955: West GermanyGermany

Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact (1955)(1955)

} U. S. S. R.U. S. S. R.

} AlbaniaAlbania

} BulgariaBulgaria

} CzechoslovaCzechoslovakiakia

} East East GermanyGermany

} HungaryHungary

} PolandPoland

} RumaniaRumania

The Bipolarization of Europe

E. 1949: Year of Shocks The USSR successfully tested an atomic

bomb in September. The US is no longer the only country with atomic weapons – We lost the “upper hand.” Did spies help them?

Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communists to victory over Chiang Kai-shek, who was backed by the US, in a Chinese civil war.– China is now the People’s Republic of China.– Mao’s victory meant that the largest nation in

Asia was now communist. Along w/ the USSR, they made up about ¼ of the land on Earth.

Even though the communist leaders of China & the Soviet Union often disagreed with each other, this news contributed heavily to Americans’ fears of communist revolutions in other places around the world.

Chinese poster saying: "Chairman Mao is the Red sun of our hearts."

Growing Interest in China

Nationalists Led by Chiang Kai-shek

CommunistsLed by Mao Zedong

People’s Republic of China:• In the 1940’s, China was embroiled in a civil war.

•U.S. gave Chiang Kai-shek millions of dollars, but the communists won the war.

China became a communist country, & Chiang Kai-shek & his forces fled to Taiwan.