The Cold WarDrama, drama, drama

Quick Review• What made the U.S. upset with the

Soviet Union at the beginning of the war?– Signing a non-aggression pact with

Germany• What did the leaders decide at the

Yalta conference about Germany?– Divide Germany into zones of

occupation controlled by Allies

Differing goalsHow had the war treated them differently?

• United States• World’s richest country• Cities and factories

remained intact• Encourage democracy

and prevent communism

• Rebuild European governments to promote trade

• Reunite Germany to stabilize it and Europe

• Soviet Union• 50 times more deaths• Many Soviet cities

were destroyed• Encouraged worldwide

communism• Protect its borders by

controlling Eastern Europe

• Keep Germany divided to prevent its waging war again

• What kind of governments did the Big Three agree to create in E. Europe?– Democracies

• Stalin decided to install Communist governments in “buffer” countries to protect themselves– Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech.,

Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia

The Iron Curtain• Germany was split into two sections

– Eastern part = Soviets• (including half of the capital, Berlin)

– Western Part - democratic

Winston Churchill

“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory…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…the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another,

not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and…increasing measure of control

from Moscow.” –Winston Churchill

Please discuss the following questions within your groups:

1. What does Winston Churchill mean when he says, “an iron curtain has descended across the Continent?”

2. Why was “an iron curtain” present in Europe at the time?

3. Look at the map of Europe in your textbook and determine about where this “iron curtain” was located in Europe? (pg. 966)

4. What should the United States do in regards to the Soviet Union?

What should the United States do?

• President Truman adopted a foreign policy called containment

• Intended to block Soviet influence and stop the expansion of communism

• How do you go about doing this?– Form alliances against Soviet Union– Helping weak countries resist the Soviet

Union

Truman Doctrine• Truman’s support for countries

that rejected communism• Caused great controversy• Some people didn’t want the

Americans to interfere in other nations’ affairs

• Others argued that the US could not afford to carry on a global crusade against communism– But he still did

• Remind me…what did the Yalta conference decide?

• In 1948, France, Britain, and the US decided to withdraw their forces from Germany and allow their zones to form one nation

• How would Stalin feel about this unification?

Berlin• The capital of Germany, Berlin, had

been divided as well• The Soviet Union cut off highway,

water, and rail traffic into Berlin’s western zones

• The city faced starvation• Stalin gambled that the Allies would

surrender West Berlin or give up their idea of reunifying Germany

Berlin Airlift• American and British

officials flew food and supplies into West Berlin for nearly 11 months!!

• In May 1949, the Soviet Union admitted defeat and lifted the blockade

http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/11/berlin.airlift/

The Berlin Airlift

Why is this called the “Cold War?”

• Cold war = struggle over political differences carried on by short military action or war

• Included:– Spying– Propaganda– Diplomacy– Secret Operations

NATO• Berlin blockaded heightened

Western Europe’s fears of Soviet aggression

• Essentially, much of the world joined one of the two sides

• 1949, ten western European nations joined with the US and Canada to form a defensive military alliance– NATO = North Atlantic Treaty

Organization

Warsaw Pact• What do you think the Soviet Union

will do?– Form its own pact!

• Warsaw Pact = Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechosolovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania

Berlin Wall• East Germans built

up a wall to separate East and West Berlin

Heating Up• US already had atomic bombs• 1949- Soviet Union exploded its

own atomic bomb• President truman wanted to

develop a more deadly weapon before the soviets did

Hydrogen Bomb• “H-BOMB” - THOUSANDS more

powerful than the A-Bomb• United states tested first h bomb –

1952• Soviets tested h bomb – 1953

“Arms Race”• Eisenhower’s policy – “he ain’t playin”• Brinkmanship – a policy of threatening

to go to war in response to any enemy aggression

• In order to do this, the United States strengthened air force and began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons

• Soviet Union – doing the same thing

Cold War in the Skies• There was also a race in science and

education between the two countries• Oct. 4, 1957 – Soviets launched Sputnik – the first unmanned satellite above the earth’s atmosphere

• 1958 – Americans launched its own satellite

• Eisenhower believed that both countries should be able to fly over each other’s territory to guard against surprise nuclear attacks

• Soviet Union – said no• 1960, Soviets shot down a U-2 plane

that was on a spy-flight over Soviet territory

What will happen??