The Cold War Begins

Tension between the western Allies and the Soviet Union following World

War II.

Cold War

Iron Curtain

The European continent was divided between the western democracies and

Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe.

"A shadow has fallen... an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

Winston Churchill Iron Curtain Speech

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste

in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has

descended across the Continent.

Behind that line lie all the capitals of

the ancient states of Central and

Eastern Europe…all these famous

cities and the populations around

them lie in what I must call the

Soviet sphere”

“From what I have seen of our

Russian friends and Allies during

the war, I am convinced that there is

nothing they admire so much as

strength, and there is nothing for

which they have less respect than for

weakness, especially military

weakness. For that reason the old

doctrine of a balance of power is

unsound. “

-Winston Churchill

Soviet Satellite Nations

Nations in Eastern Europe that were occupied by the Soviet Union and

controlled by communist governments that answered to the USSR.

NATO

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Chartered April, 1949. The 11 member nations agreed to fight for each

Other if attacked. It is an international military force for enforcing its charter.

NATO was established to halt the spread of Communism.

Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact (Russian, East German, and other Eastern European nations) To counter the NATO buildup, the Soviets formed this military organization

with the nations of Eastern Europe. Also gave Russia an excuse for garrisoning

troops in these countries.

Containment Policy

The U.S. focus on containing communism to those countries in which it

already existed and not let it spread any further.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

Stated that the United States would not hesitate to intervene and aid nations

overseas to resist communism.

WHO ARE YOU

GOING TO

CALL?

RED BUSTERS

1-900-RID-REDS

One Call…

That’s All…

Marshall Plan (1947)

Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall in 1947, he proposed

massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe to revitalize the

European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism.

Stuttgart, Germany 1947 Stuttgart, Germany 1955

Stuttgart, Germany 1947 Stuttgart, Germany 1955

Two years after the war Stuttgart’s inner city still reflected the

destruction of urban centers during wartime bombings.

The Marshall Plan helped provide for the rebuilding of cities.

Germany is Divided

After World War II Germany was divided into four sectors of occupation

by the victorious allies:

U.S.

British

French

Soviet Union

United States

France

England

Soviet Union

Berlin Blockade

Russia under Stalin blockaded Berlin completely in the hopes that the West

would give the entire city to the Soviets to administer.

Berlin Airlift (1948)

Wanting to avoid a war, yet deal firmly with Stalin, U.S. and British planes

delivered needed supplies to West Berlin over a fifteen-month period.

To bring in food and supplies, the U.S. and Great

Britain mounted air lifts which became so intense

that, at their height, an airplane was landing in

West Berlin every few minutes.

West Berlin children waving to American planes

delivering supplies to West Berlin during the Soviet

blockade.

Mao Tse-tung

Mao Tse-Tung led the Communists in China. Because of the failure to

form a coalition government between Chiang Kai-Shek and the

Communists, civil war broke out in China after WWII. The Communists

won in 1949. The new communist government was not recognized by

much of the world, including the U.S.

Communist China

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang and the nationalists were forced to flee to Formosa, a large island off

the southern coast of China, after the Communist victory in the civil war.

Throughout the 1950's, the U.S. continued to recognize and support Chiang's

government in Formosa as the legitimate government of China, and to ignore

the existence of the Communist People's Republic on the mainland.

Communist China

Formosa

China Falls to Communism

In 1949 the communists won control of the mainland China, forcing

Chiang Kai-shek and his supporters to flee to the island of Formosa

(known today as Taiwan).

United Nations

Organization founded in 1948 where nations meet to negotiate peaceful

solutions to problems.

* Replaced the League of Nations.

U.S. Occupation of Japan

General Douglas MacArthur appointed military governor of Japan. Soviets

wanted Japan to be divided into 4 zones like Germany. The United States told

the Soviets ...NO!!!

President Truman was cheered because he stood up against Stalin's demands.

General Douglas MacArthur

The Korean War

In June 1950, the Korean War began when North Korean forces crossed

the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The United Nations came to

South Korea's aid.

Korean Conflict (Map #1: North Korean Invasion)

1. Communist North Korea invaded South

Korea in June 1950.

2. By July 1950, American and South

Korean forces were trapped inside the Pusan

Perimeter.

General Douglas MacArthur

U.S. general who led the U.N. forces in the first two years of the Korean War.

Korean Conflict (Map #2: U.N. Counter Attack)

3. General Douglas MacArthur, the U.N.

Commanding General, invaded Korea at

Inchon in order to relieve the South Korean

forces.

4. The U.N. forces, under the command of

MacArthur, chased the North Korean and

Communist forces across the Yalu River to the

Red Chinese border.

The Korean Conflict (1950-1953) Cont.’

Communist China came to the defense of North Korea and intervened in

Nov. 1950.

200,000 Chinese troops launched an attack against the U.N. forces.

The U.N. forces were forced to retreat to the south again.

Truman Fires McArthur

Truman removed MacArthur from command in Korea as punishment for

MacArthur's public criticism of the U.S. government's handling of the war.

Intended to confirm the American tradition of civilian control over the military,

but Truman's decision was widely criticized.

The Korean Conflict (Map #3: Stalemate)

• Communist North Korea

could not win without Soviet

intervention.

• The U.N. could not win

without invading China.

By June of 1951, both sides fought

along a limited front.

Korean War Ends

After three years of fighting both sides signed a truce in 1953.

The agreement left the country divided at almost the same point as when

the conflict started.

Leadership Change in the USSR

Joseph Stalin (Soviet Premier) died in July 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev

replaced Stalin and became the new ruler of the Soviet Union.

Joseph Stalin died in 1953.

Stalin’s successor, Nikita

Khrushchev denounced Stalin

in 1956.

Khrushchev fought in the

Battle of Stalingrad and other

battles against the Nazis during

WWII.

Khrushchev and De-Stalinization

Beginning in 1956, Khrushchev launched a de-Stalinization program throughout

the Soviet Union. Statues and portraits of Stalin were removed from government

buildings and any cities, towns, or public works with Stalin’s name were

renamed.

Hungarian Revolt, 1956

Anti-government demonstrations in Budapest on Oct. 23, 1956 as

revolutionaries demanded the denunciation of the Warsaw Pact and

liberation from Soviet troops. On Oct. 21, 1956 the U.S. announced it

wouldn’t give military aid to the revolutionaries. On Nov. 4, 1956 the Soviets

and other Warsaw Pact members attacked Hungary.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

The CIA was enacted to pursue and conduct espionage and analyze information

and facts concerning the actions of foreign countries. It also became involved in

undercover operations to destroy operations made to be hostile toward the U.S.

* Spying on the USSR and its allies.

The Rosenbergs

In 1951, the United States put the Rosenbergs on trial for selling U.S. atomic

secrets to the Soviet government.

The Rosenbergs were found guilty and executed in 1953 by the electric chair.

Many people were upset that a woman was electrocuted.

The executions of Julius and Ethel

Rosenberg stirred intense emotions in the

Cold War era. While some Americans

favored putting the convicted spies to death,

others insisted the couple was the victim of

anti-Semitism.

Russians Obtain the Bomb

A team of Soviet scientists led by Igor Kurchatov raced to develop a nuclear

weapon for the USSR and were successful in August 1949. In 1953, the

Soviets successfully detonated one.

Nuclear Arms Race

Both the Soviet Union and the United States continued to build updated

weapons and threaten each other with them.

In 1952, the US successfully tested a Hydrogen

Bomb at Bikini Atoll. Survey teams picked up

fish in the sea 3 miles from Ground Zero that

had the skin burned off them.

Massive Retaliation

To respond to a nuclear attack with every weapon available.

Dr Strange Love Video

Fallout Shelters

Underground shelters built by private citizens in their backyards, which they

hoped could provide protection if the Soviets launched a nuclear attack.

Red Scare Many in the US thought that the Communists would stop at nothing short of

worldwide domination.

In the late 1940s and into the '50s, the government investigated, arrested, and

sometimes harassed many people due to their alleged connections to the

Communist Party.

Alger Hiss

A State Department official who was identified as a member of the

communist party and accused of transmitting secret U.S. documents through

microfilm to the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Although he initially denied

these claims, proof was given that Hiss was involved these espionage charges.

In 1950, he was indicted for perjury and sentenced to five years in prison.

•

McCarran Internal Security Act

Required all organizations that were believed to be communist by the

attorney general to submit a roster of the members and financial

statements to the Department of Justice. It also excluded communists from

working in defense plants, passports to communists and deported aliens

suspected of subversion.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Committee in the House of Representatives founded on a temporary basis in

1938 to monitor activities of foreign agents.

After World War II it investigated alleged communists from 1947-1949. It

conducted a series of sensational investigations into supposed communist

infiltration of the U.S. government and the Hollywood film industry.

Joseph McCarthy with his

assistant Roy Cohn (behind)

during one of many anti-

Communism congressional

trials.

Sen. Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957)

Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin took advantage of the "Red Scare,"

by accusing U.S. citizens of being communists. Utilizing the fear and panic of

United States citizens, McCarthy created a national hysteria of fear and

intimidation to advance his own interests and power. Many resented that he

accused people of being Communists without having proof of their disloyalty.

Though many Americans believed the investigations were wrong, few said

anything.

Sen. Joseph McCarthy displays one of his many

reports on Communists he found in the woodwork.

He failed to prove any of the accusations he made

and the Senate decided to censure McCarthy in

1954.

When McCarthy started to investigate the Army in

a series of televised hearings. These hearings made

McCarthy look so foolish that public opinion turned

against him and further investigations were halted.

.

"Are you now, or have you

ever been, a member of the

Communist party?"

Hollywood Blacklist

People from the entertainment industry called before the House Un-American

Activities Committee as "unfriendly" witnesses in October 1947 became

known as the Hollywood Ten. All refused to state whether they were

communists, served prison sentences, and were blacklisted in the film industry.

Many celebrities attended the trials to support their

friends and fellow actors who they felt were wrongly

accused of being communists.

Concepts to Know

Compare and contrast Communism and Democracy.

Describe the Berlin Crisis of 1948.

Describe the U.S. strategies for winning the Cold War.

Explain how China fell to communism.

Describe the establishment of Israel.

What countries made up the NATO Alliance? The Warsaw Pact?

Who were the Rosenbergs?

Describe the McCartney anti-Communist Witch Hunt of the 1950s.

Describe the Korean conflict 1950-1953.

Describe the leadership change in the Soviet Union.