The Cold WarSIPHO MKHONTO

1945-1991

Overview The Cold War began to form after World War II.

The disagreements started between 1947-1951. The world split into two large organizations NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw pact. Many people believed at that time that a nuclear war would start. The main tensions were between The Soviet Union (“Russia”) and The United States. Both sides and their allies were building up their weapons but did not use them. It was a fight between political systems for power.

Important People ON COLD WAR

Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971) After Joseph Stalin died Nikita Khrushchev became chief director of the Soviet Union. He was a strong believer in the communist party, and he became the First Secretary from September 7, 1953 to October 14, 1964. Khrushchev was Premier of the Soviet Union from March 27, 1958 to October 14, 1964. He was born on April 17, 1894 and died on September 11, 1971 when he was 77 years old. He was notorious for his rudeness of interrupting speeches and removing his shoe to bang it on the podium during debates at the United Nations.

Nikita Khrushchev

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He was in office from January 20, 1961 until November 22, 1963. Kennedy was the president during the Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam war and the American Civil rights movement. On November 22,1963 Kennedy was in Dallas, Texas and was assassinated.

John F. Kennedy

Ronald Reagan(1911-2004) Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States on January 20, 1981 and left office on January 20, 1989. He was the governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Regan served two terms also partly during the cold war. He ordered a massive military buildup while racing against the Soviet Union. He later spoke with Mikhail Gorbachev and they shrunk the US and Russia's nuclear weaponry.

Ronald Reagan

Mikhail Gorbachev(1931- ) Mikhail Gorbachev is the leader of the Union of Social-Democrats. He used to be the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was also head of the USSR. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He had helped end the Cold War and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev was born March 2, 1931 and he is still alive.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The US vs. the Soviet UnionNATO- Blue Warsaw Pact- RED

Russia became communist and also captured many countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Together with the Russian Federation these fifteen republics formed the USSR.The United States also

was affected by the Cold War because of the Bay of Pigs an the Cuban Missile crisis.

Lots of the conflict happened in Germany because it had borders with allies of the Warsaw Pact and NATO.

COMPETING IDEOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

1. Wanted to spread democracy & capitalism to Eastern Europe.

VS.

1. Continued to occupy Eastern Europe & turned countries into satellites (puppet

states), to protect the Soviet Union from invasion from the west.

2. NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization. U.S. &

several Western European Countries.

2. Warsaw Pact - Soviet Union & Eastern European satellite countries.

SOVIET UNIONUNITED STATES

One party leadership

Citizens have basic rights

Citizens elect representatives

People & corporations can own land

Government controls all production

Censorship

Secret policeGovernment controls radio, T.V. & Newspapers

DictatorshipFreedom of Press

Freedom of press

Freedom of Religion

People can form own political parties

Use of propaganda

Collectivization

Primary Source

Khrushchev wrote to Kennedy twice about the Cuban missile crisis. The first letter was sent on October 26, 1962 and contained the statement that if the United States agreed not to attack Cuba then the Soviet Union would take the weapons out.Below is part of the first letter.

“Why have we proceeded to assist Cuba with military and economic aid? The answer is: We have proceeded to do so only for reasons of humanitarianism. At one time, our people itself had a revolution, when Russia was still a backwards country. We were attacked then. We were the target of attack by many countries. The USA participated in that adventure. This had been recorded by our participants in the aggression against our country. A whole book has been written about this by General Graves, who, at that time, commanded the US Expeditionary Corps. Graves called it ‘The American Adventure in Siberia.”

Kruschev wrote a second letter to Kennedy which was more aggressive and asking him about the missiles stationed in Turkey pointing at Russia.

Letters from Khrushchev to Kennedy

Berlin Blockade The Soviet Union wanted all of Berlin. At that time

the United States,the Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain all occupied some part of Berlin. On June 24, 1948 the Soviet Union blocked off all roads and rail roads entering and leaving East Germany. The other countries were not able to access their part of Berlin. The people in Berlin were starving so the United States and Britain started sending airlifts of food. They ultimately lasted 321 days. A plane took off every three minutes to bring the food and medicine. The blockade ended May 11, 1949.

The Forming of NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization include twelve nations that have an alliance. These include The United States and The United Kingdome. NATO was officially formed on April 4, 1949. They all signed the North Atlantic Treaty. After the fall of communism NATO has become a political force rather than a military force.

The NATO flag.

The Formation of the Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and mutual assistance was formed on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Pact was formed the same year that NATO was announced and is thought to have been created due to NATO’s formation. There were eight members of this pact. This pact is ,since 1991, extinct or “nonexistent”.

Warsaw poster

Bay of Pigs On April 15, 1961 aircrafts flew over

Cuba attempting to wipe out Castro’s air force. It was supposed to look like it was only Cuban exiles. The attack might have worked if the second and third air strikes had not been cancelled. The mission was overall unsuccessful.

Postwar GermanyPostwar GermanyNuremburg Trials for war crimesDivided into 4 zones:

West Germany – U.S., Britain, and France

East Germany- Soviets Capitol city of Berlin divided into 4

zones (in East Germany)Berlin Airlift: In 1948-49, the U.S.

and Europe flew food and supplies to save West Berlin, until Soviets reopened roads.

Improve your knowledge The Russians took very high

casualties to capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the early occupation trying to take over all zones of the city but were stopped by German democrats such as Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer. Reluctantly the Russians had to admit the Americans, French and British to their respective zones.

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall was

constructed on August 13, 1961. The wall divided East and West Berlin, the people on the East were not allowed to leave. Over 125 people were killed attempting to escape East Berlin.East Berlin was controlled by the Soviet Union and was communist. The wall stayed up for 28 years until June 13, 1990 when the wall was officially taken down.

The Berlin Wall

THE BERLIN WALLVideo.asx

Space Race The Space Race was race

between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could explore outer space first. When the Soviets launched Sputnik the whole race slowly began. The Apollo 11 mission by the United States was very successful and was watched by 500million people around the world.

Landing on the moon

ARMS RACE

The United States developed the Atomic Bomb during WWII. Soviet scientists developed one in 1949.

For 40 years the superpowers spent huge amounts of money to develop more & more powerful weapons. This raised the tensions

between the two countries. It also raised the fears among many people that the superpowers might become involved in a conflict that

would destroy the world.

How it Ended Economic reforms were made by

Mikhail Gorbachev when he became head of the Soviet Union. His new policies were called perestroika. Gorbachev and Reagan worked together to eliminate nuclear weapons. Demonstration started in East Germany and the Soviet republics began rebelling.

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