-The Cold War--The Cold War-

-Post War Europe – Early Cold War Era-

Cold War = Tension between nations without physical fighting

I. Wartime Conferences – During WWII, Allied leaders met to discuss not only strategy, but also the future structure of Europe

A. Atlantic Charter – Roosevelt and Churchill

1. Liberated nations would have self-determination

2. Collective security organization (UN)

B. Teheran, Iran (1943) – First meeting of the “Big Three”

1. Churchill

2. Roosevelt

3. Stalin

C. Yalta Conference (1945)

1. Stalin agreed to help fight Japan after Germany’s defeat

2. The Allies stated that nations in Eastern Europe would hold elections after WWII

3. Germany would be divided into occupation zones between Britain, France, the U.S. and the Soviet Union

D. Potsdam, Germany (1945) – Despite demands from Churchill and Truman, Stalin refused to allow elections in Eastern Europe

II. Occupation of Germany

A. As determined at Yalta, the four allied powers occupied Germany

1. Berlin was also divided by the four nations

B. The Soviet Union sought to punish Germany for WWII

1. German factories were dismantled and taken to the U.S.S.R.

C. Britain, France, and the U.S. combined their sections

1. This became West Germany

III. Expansion of Soviet Influence

A. By 1948, all Eastern European nations had communist governments

1. They became known as Soviet “satellites”

B. Stalin argued that he needed these states as a buffer against futureGerman aggression

C. The U.S. saw Soviet influence as a growing threat

1. Several nations were embroiled in communist civil wars

D. Domino Theory – If one nation fell to communism, other neighboring nations would fall as well

E. Iron Curtain – Term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the division of Europe between the democratic and communist states

-The War Turns Cold-

I. The U.S. and Western European nations wanted to stop the spread of communism

A. Containment – Official policy of Western nations

B. Truman Doctrine – Stated that the U.S. would help nations defend themselves against communism

1. Turkey and Greece

C. Marshall Plan – U.S. program to help Europe recover

1. The U.S. feared European nations would turn to communism if they became too poor

2. The U.S. offered aid to all European nations

3. The Soviet Union refused to allow Eastern European nations to participate

a. They called it “Yankee Imperialism”

D. Arms Race – The U.S. and Soviet Union both built expansive arsenals of nuclear weapons

1. The fear of full-scale nuclear war made both superpowers leery of a direct confrontation

II. Berlin

A. When West Germany was formed, the Soviet Union cut off all roads and railways into Berlin

1. They wanted the western powers to give up Berlin

B. The U.S. organized an airlift of supplies into West Berlin

C. In 1949 the Soviets ended the blockade

D. Berlin Wall – Built in 1961 to stop the flood of East Germans into West Berlin

III. Cold War Alliances

A. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – U.S., Canada, ten Western European nations

1. Pro-democracy, anti-communism, anti-soviet

B. Warsaw Pact – Soviet Union and seven Eastern European

nations, known as the Eastern Bloc

1. Pro-Communism, anti-westerners

-Cold War – Soviet Union, 1945-1968-

I. After WWII, the Soviet Union needed to rebuild

A. Stalin launched a new five year plan

1. Industrial production returned to pre-war levels

B. Farm production struggled to meet demands

C. Purges – Political opponents executed or put in labor camps

II. Nikita Khrushchev – Became dictator of the U.S.S.R. after Stalin’s death (1953)

A. Khrushchev criticized Stalin’s harsh policies

1. De-Stalinization

a. Writers and artists gained more freedom

b. Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd

B. Khrushchev introduced small economic incentives to improve farm production

C. Sputnik (1957) – The first manmade satellite, demonstrated Soviet technology

D. “Peaceful coexistence” – Unlike previous Soviet leaders, Khrushchev attempted to improve relations with western nations

E. Cuban Missile Crisis – Facing U.S. threats, Khrushchev withdrew plans for Soviet missiles in Cuba

F. Khrushchev was forced out by hard-line communists in 1964

III. Opposition in Eastern Europe

A. Although communist, Yugoslavia, under the direction of Marshal Tito, never became a Soviet satellite

1. Yugoslavia was neutral in the Cold War

B. Hungary (1956) – Hungarian leaders wanted to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and hold free elections

1. The Soviet Union responded with force

a. Leaders of the movement were executed

C. Czechoslovakia (1968) – The Soviet Union crushed a democratic uprising

-Cold War Conflicts-

I. Korea

A. After WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel

1. North Korea – Communist

2. South Korea – Democratic

B. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea

C. The U.S. led a United Nations initiative to defend South Korea

D. The war ended in 1953 and resulted in Korea remaining

divided at the 38th parallel

II. Vietnam

A. When France withdrew from Vietnam in 1954, the U.S.

negotiated a peace settlement that resulted in Vietnam being divided

1. North Vietnam was communist and led by Ho Chi Minh

2. South Vietnam was non-communist and supported by the U.S.

B. Ho Chi Minh led a guerilla war against the government of SouthVietnam after promised elections to unite Vietnam were not held

1. The U.S. sent troops to aid the government of South Vietnam

2. North Vietnamese regular army fought alongside South

Vietnamese rebels known as the Vietcong

C. By 1975, the U.S. had withdrawn and North Vietnam had taken control of the south

1. Vietnam was united as one nation with a communist

government

III. Afghanistan

A. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 when a Muslim revolt threatened the communist government

B. The rebels, called Mujahideen, used U.S. supplied weapons and the rugged mountain geography to resist the Soviets

C. The U.S. boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the invasion

D. The Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989

-Collapse of Communism-

I. During the 1980s, communism collapsed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe due to a combination of internal and external forces

A. Internal Forces

1. Shortage of consumer goods

2. Overspending on the military

3. Inefficient and corrupt Central Planning Boards

B. External Forces

1. Economic isolation

2. Policy of containment

3. Failure of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

II. Due to severe economic problems, Mikhail Gorbachev created plans for economic and political reform

A. Perestroika – capitalist economic reforms

B. Glasnost – policy of political openness

1. Free speech

C. Democratization – people granted more meaningful voice in government

III. Key events in Eastern Europe / Soviet Union in 1989

A. Collapse of Berlin Wall

B. Voters in Poland elect Lech Walesa and remove communists from power peacefully

C. Communist leader of Romania, Ceausescu, was removed frompower and executed

D. Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and other Eastern European nationsremoved their communist leaders

IV. Key events in Eastern Europe / Soviet Union in 1990-1991

A. The Baltic states declared their independence from the

Soviet Union

B. Reunification of Germany

C. Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected president of Russia

D. August Coup failed to reinstall a communist government in Russia

E. Communism in Russia ends

F. Former Soviet republics agreed to form the Commonwealth ofIndependent States (CIS)

V. Former Eastern Bloc countries have joined NATO and the European Union

VI. With the collapse of communism, ethnic tensions in some former communist states flared

A. Areas such as Yugoslavia, Serbia, Bosnia, Chechnya and Kosovo saw some of the worst violence

B. Many former nations of the Soviet Union subdivided along ethnic lines

1. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia are two examples

VII. After the collapse of communism economic problems such as unemployment, inflation, and shortages developed in some former communist states