The Cold War Begins

What can happen when powerful friends become enemies?

Pgs. 359-361

Superpowers

• Superpower - A very powerful nation with great influence in world events.

• After WWII the United States and the Soviet Union became the two most powerful nations in the world.

• However, the two nations were quite different from one another, so there were many conflicts between them.

The Cold War

• Although the two nations never went to war, the threat of war was great between the years of 1945-1991.

• These years were frightening for citizens in both countries.

The Berlin Crisis

• After WWII ended, the Allies divided Germany into four parts.

• Each major ally took charge of one part.• The United States, France, and Britain

worked together to build a strong West Germany.

• The Soviet Union took control of East Germany and formed a Communist country there.

East Germany

• With the formation of a Communist government in East Germany, the government took over land and businesses.

• The people had little freedom to make decisions about how their society should be run.

Berlin

• The capital of Germany, Berlin, was in East Germany. It was divided into four parts, too.

• West Berlin was controlled by the Allies.

• East Berlin was controlled by the Soviets.

• You could not get to West Berlin without traveling through East Berlin.

Berlin

• The Soviet Union would not let the Western Allies send supplies through East Germany to West Berlin.

• They blocked highways, railroads, and water routes so that no food or fuel could get to the city.

• They hoped to drive the Western Allies out of West Berlin.

Berlin

• To avoid the blockade, the Allies airlifted supplies for more than 11 months.

• Pilots made more than 272,000 flights into West Berlin.

• The planes carried about 2 million tons of food and supplies to the people of West Berlin.

• Eventually, the Soviets backed down and allowed supplies to be delivered over land.

The Berlin Wall

• After the blockade ended, many living in East Germany tried to escape communist rule.

• In 1961, the East German government, built a concrete wall with barbed wire on top to keep people from leaving.

• The wall was guarded by soldiers ready to shoot anyone who tried to cross it.

“The Iron Curtain”

• Communist countries were said to be “behind an iron curtain.”

• The iron curtain was an idea to show how people in communist countries were cut off from the rest of the world.

• Many viewed communism as a threat to freedom and worried about its spread to other countries.

“The Iron Curtain”

• East Germany• Poland• Czechoslovakia• Hungary• Romania• Yugoslavia• Albania• Bulgaria• Soviet Union