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Images from the Post World War I Era. The objectives for this slide show are:. You will have a visual picture of the devastation of World War II. You will understand the reasons behind the Berlin Airlift
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The objectives for this slide show are: You will have a visual picture of the devastation of World War II. You will understand the reasons behind the Berlin Airlift You will learn about some of the Treaties after World War II that helped to build European Unity and prevent future war. You will learn about terms closely associated with the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West (USA & Europe).
The concentration camps were opened…and the terrible sights were beyond comprehension…
An “iron curtain” separated Eastern Europe from Western Europe—and iron curtain of Soviet controlled countries.
Remember, the Soviet Union had lost 25 million of its citizens and soldiers, so they felt they deserved a large “share” of Eastern Europe.
In 1948, the Berlin Blockade begins…when the Western Zone refuses to dismantle factories and other infrastructure and send to the Soviet Union for reparations.
Communism remains a threat, but the Marshall plan helps to re-build Europe.
Great Britain was a declining power…rationing continued long after the end of the war…
In Britain, coal and steel were nationalized. This would have a long term detrimental effect on Britain’s economy.
Charles de Gaulle came back to lead France—after the role of President (the executive) was strengthened.
France entered it Fifth Republic from 1958 to the present day.
It is sad to say, that despite this, Germany will be forever “stained” by the deeds of the Holocaust.
Germany had the Nuremberg trials, and paid reparations to Russia and the newly formed state of Israel.
Stalin died in 1953. He was revered as a leader—but soon after, the atrocities of his “leadership” were made known.
The ideas of containment and brinkmanship and mutually assured destruction were part of the cold war vocabulary.
NATO—the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to draw Europe and North America closer together: they united against a common enemy…
And throughout the world, the former colonial powers evacuated their colonies….who would fill that gap?
Communism or Democracy: the choice contributed to great tension.
And lurking behind all this was the very real fear that the nuclear arsenal would blow the world to bits.
All sorts of films and books were made about life after the nuclear war. People built bunkers in their back yards.
Mrs. Olsen remembers bomb drills at Faye Wright Elementary School in the 1960s…
In Europe, in 1961, Krushchev told the Western Powers to leave the City of Berlin, which was a free island in the middle of communist controlled Eastern Germany.
Too many Germans were fleeing to the free, West Germany through Berlin.
The Berlin wall was built—a 28 mile wall of concrete, barb wire and guard stations. Several hundred would meet their deaths trying to escape.
Khrushchev was kicked out of office in 1964. The next Russian premier was Leonid Brezhnev. He saw the benefit of relaxing relations.
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Salt I) 1972 and later SALT II all sought to limit the arsenal of nuclear weapons.
But just when things begin to improve, Iran overthrows its Shah, the Russians invade Afghanistan to prop up the weak government there—they do not want Afghanistan’s pro-Soviet government to turn fundamentalist like Iran.
We boycott the Moscow Olympics—and then the Russians boycott the LA Olympics in 1984.
It seems as though the cold war is going strong….stay tuned—!
The objectives for this slide show are: • You will have a visual picture of the devastation of World War II. • You will understand the reasons behind the Berlin Airlift • You will learn about some of the Treaties after World War II that helped to build European Unity and prevent future war.
