cold war period of misunderstanding, tension and rivalry between the usa and the ussr was described...
TRANSCRIPT
Cold War• Period of
misunderstanding, tension and rivalry between the USA and the USSR was described as the Cold War (1945-1990).
• Involved indirect conflict in world events to promote either Communism or Democracy
Comparison of the Two Superpowers
USA
• Superpower: 3rd Largest Country
• UN Permanent Member
• NATO• Capitalism• Democracy• Freedom
USSR
• Superpower: Largest Country
• UN Permanent Member
• Warsaw Pact• Communism• Dictatorship• Little/No Freedom
Origins
• Germany, which had been ruled by the Hitler and the Nazis until their defeat in 1945 was split in two.
• The western side became West Germany (a democracy) and the eastern side became East Germany (communist).
Germany Divided
France, Great Britain and the U.S. wants Germany Democratic
Soviet Union wants it Communist
Iron Curtain – A term used by Winston
Churchill to describe the separating of those
communistlands of East Europe from
the West.
City of Berlin
• Major city of Berlin was divided into a democratic side (West Berlin) and a communist side (East Berlin). Even though it was located in Communist East Germany
The Berlin Wall 1961-1989
• Visible barrier separating Communism and Democracy
• People living in East Berlin were not allowed to leave
Government after WWII
Many countries became communist after WWII
- North Korea (1945)- Poland (1947)- Hungary (1947)- Czechoslovakia (1948)- China (1949)- Cuba (1959)
Snake Eating Western Europe
Each side built up their weaponry, but didn’t want to use it. The two Superpowers didn’t want to start another all out
war, WWIII.
The Korean War 1950-1953
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
The Vietnam War c.1963-1975
Speech at the Berlin Wall
•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6nQhss4Yc
•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A
The Soviet Union Collapses
• 1989 Berlin Wall comes down. Germany reunified in 1990
• December 26, 1991 Soviet Union dissolved
• Soviet Union flags lowered and replaced by Russian flag
Mikhail Gorbachev: Last Soviet President
Communism Loses Its Foothold in Eastern Europe
Communism