How do you think De-Colonization in the 1950s will impact the Cold War?

1. How do you think De-Colonization in the 1950s will impact the Cold War?

2. Korean War 1950-1953 According to your homework - How did this war come about?

3. Who was involved in the Korean War other than the United States and South Korea? • “When hostile North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in Korea in June of 1950, the United Nations Security Council called for an immediate end to hostilities. When its further demand that North Korea withdraw forces from the southern half of the Korean peninsula fell on deaf ears, the UN Security Council recommended that members of the United Nations join forces to repel the attack. Twenty-one nations agreed to contribute arms, money, medical supplies, and/or troops to rid South Korea of the Communist aggressor.” • The move succeeded only because the Soviet delegate, who had veto power, was absent because he was protesting the U.N.’s refusal to recognize the Communist government in China. • General Douglas MacArthur, as head of the US military presence in Korea and Japan, was placed in charge of task for sent to handle this “police-action” • “Fifteen foreign nations other than the United States and South Korea sent combat forces to serve in the United Nations Command in Korea during the Korean War. Five noncombatant nations provided hospitals or ambulance units. Approximately 150,000 foreign servicemen fought, and foreign casualties included 3,360 killed, 11,886 wounded and 1,801 servicemen missing in action. There were 1,376 foreign prisoners of war repatriated to 12 countries in 1953.” 3

4. How far did the North Koreans advance in 1950? In 1951? • What is the northernmost city that UN troops were heading towards? Did they obtain their goal? • Why do you think China became involved in the Korean War? • Where is the Armistice Line?

5. The End of the Korean War • Finally, in July 1953, the UN forces and North Korea signed a cease-fire agreement. (armistice) • The border between the two Koreas was set near the 38th parallel, almost where it had been before the war. • A demilitarized zone, which still exists, separated the two countries. • One notable effect of the war- Truman increased assistance to the French in IndoChina, creating the Military Assistance Advisory Group for Indo-China (entrance of America into the deepening Vietnam Conflict)

6. Another Notable Effect of the Korean War in the United States Fear of Communism in the United States (Red Scare) Senator Joseph McCarhy - (1950s) recklessly accused many government officials and citizens of being communist. (McCarthyism – making false accusations based on rumor or guilt by association.)

7. How do you think the bi-polarized world will react to Stalin’s Death? Death of Stalin, March 1953

8. 1953 “New Course” in Soviet Union and East Germany (GDR) • Nikita Khruschev takes over after Stalin’s death. • Promise better consumption and lower work quotas

9. Political Upheaval in the GDR • June 17, 1953 Uprising • Spread to all of GDR

10. 20th Party Congress: 1956 Khrushchev’s Secret Speech Khrushchev repudiated Stalin’s use of the vast Gulag (or labor camp complex) and attempted to separate Stalin’s “crimes” from true communism

11. Repression and Dissent in 1956 • Polish and Hungarian intellectuals and students held demonstrations calling for free elections, withdrawal of Soviet troops, etc. • 1956 - Soviet Crackdown in Hungary • Soviet tanks were sent in to crush dissent • despite anti-Soviet propaganda sent via the USIA - Americans did not intervene to help the Hungarian dissenters.... • Eastern Europe remained under Soviet Control

12. Kitchen Debate, 1959American National Exhibition

16. Aim: How did Vietnam become the next major battle of the Cold War?

17. Vietnam Leaders of the Viet Minh: Vo Nguyen Giap (left) and Ho Chi Minh (right) • Late 18th C. – WWII – French control Indo-China (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) • World War II • Viet Minh (communists) successfully resisted Japanese occupation • Provided assistance during famine • Instituted communist reforms • Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent from France in 1945 • French refused to recognize independence and tried to reoccupy the region • US backs French claim due to the rising fear of Communism • Defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954

18. Geneva Agreement (1954) – Ends French-Indochina War giving independence to Laos, Cambodia, &Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh agrees to divide Vietnam into two parts at 17th Parallel • Communists dominated northern Vietnam • U.S. backed government in the South • Elections were promised within two years to decide who should rule a united Vietnam • U.S. sends in “advisors” to help South Vietnam in 1954 • U.S. viewed conflict as part of the Cold War • U.S. supported anti-communist dictator Ngo Dinh Diem • Diem attempted to suppress communists in South Vietnam • Viet Minh (Viet Cong) sent military supplies to aid southern communists (National Liberation Front)

19. Vietnam War (1954-1973) August 1964 – After President Lyndon Johnson reports that U.S. destroyers off the coast of North Vietnam have been attacked on the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passes the Tonkin Gulf Resolution (only two dissenting votes in Congress) which allowed LBJ to send any and all forces he needed to Vietnam (This was not a declaration of war)

20. Viet Cong and the Ho Chi Minh Trail • National Liberation Front (NLF) - an anti- Ngo Dinh Diem organization of both communists and non-communists formed in 1960 • Viet Cong – The militant arm of the NLF - a Communist guerrilla force, staffed and funded by North and South Vietnamese in rebellion to Diem’s authoritarian rule. • The Ho Chi Minh Trail – A series of interconnecting trails and tunnels built from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia, to provide logistical support to the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. It was a combination of truck routes and paths for foot and bicycle traffic.

21. The United States Gets Involved • U.S. Troops Enter the Fight • In 1964, U.S. sends troops to fight Viet Cong and North Vietnamese • U.S. fights guerilla war defending increasingly unpopular government • Vietcong gains support from Ho Chi Minh, China, and Soviet Union • Despite appearances of South Vietnamese victory, with American help, the North Vietnamese launch the Tet- Offensive in January of 1968 which turns the tides of American public support for the war

22. 1968-1971

23. The United States Withdraws • War grows unpopular in the U.S.; in 1969, Nixon starts withdrawing troops • Vietnamization—Nixon’s plan to withdraw U.S. from war gradually

24. Some Buddhist monks expressed opposition to the war by practicing self-immolation. This monk, Thich Quang Duc is a national hero in Vietnam • President Richard Nixon continued to escalate U.S. presence in Vietnam despite his official Vietnamization Policy • Resorts to carpet bombing & chemical warfare • Some historian argue the bombing of Cambodia triggered the rise of the Khmer Rouge • Pol Pot killed approximately 20% of the Cambodian population • U.S. ended its involvement in the Vietnam Conflict 1973

25. End of the War • 1973 – Paris Peace Accords called for immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of U.S. troops • 1975 – Last U.S. troops leave, North Vietnam unifies country with the Fall of Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) • Costs of the war -55,000 American dead, over 3 million Southeast Asians dead • About 1.5 million people flee Vietnam, some settling in the U.S. and Canada • In 1995, United States normalizes relations with Vietnam

26. In 1975 South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos became communist states.

27. The Khmer Rouge

28. Postwar Southeast Asia • Cambodia in Turmoil • Khmer Rouge—Communist rebels who take control of Cambodia in 1975 • They slaughter 2 million people; overthrown by Vietnamese invaders • In 1993, Cambodia adopts democracy, holds elections with UN help Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian Communist Party, literally “Red Khmers”) in 1977 at the height of his power

29. Postwar Southeast Asia • The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Vietnam War.

30. Postwar Southeast Asia • At least 200,000 people were executed by the Khmer Rouge (while estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease and starvation, range from 1.4 to 2.2 million out of a population of around 7 million). A commemorative stupa filled with the skulls of the victims.