Chapter 17 Section 1 Two Superpowers Face Off

By: Natalie Willis, Alyssa Perkins, and Erin Wittekind Chapter 17 Section 1Two Superpowers Face Off

Allies During the Postwar Former Allies diverge A joint postwar plan Leaders of the Allied nations (US, Britain, and the Soviet Union) met in Soviet Black Sea resort city of Yalta They agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation controlled by the Allied military forces Stalin promised Eastern Europeans would have free elections. But he would only keep his pledge if Eastern Europeans followed a policy friendly to Russia. In return, Stalin joined the war against Japan. • Before WWII ended, the alliance between the US and Soviet Union started to unravel • This was because Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler in 1939 • Stalin also blamed the Allies for delaying their invasion of German-occupied Europe until 1944

Yalta Conference When the leaders of the US, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain met at Yalta, their goals were; -to promote world peace -to provide emergency relief -to help form interim governments based on the will of the people

Creation of the United Nations • In June 1945, the US and Soviet Union came together with 48 other countries to form the United Nations • This internal organization was intended to protect the members against aggression. • The members pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. • The new peacekeeping organization established a large body called the General Assembly • An 11-member body called Security Council had the real power to investigate and settle disputes • The five permanent members of the Security Council were Britain, China, France, the US, and the Soviet Union. Each could veto and SC action

Differing US and Soviet Goals • The war affected the US and Soviet Union very differently… • The US, the world’s richest and most powerful country at that time, suffered 400,000 deaths. Its cities and factories remained intact, however. • The Soviet Union experienced at least 50 times as many fatalities. One in four Soviets was wounded or killed. In addition, many Soviet cities were demolished.

Superpower Aims in Europe United States Soviet Union Encourage communism in other countries as part of a worldwide workers’ revolution Rebuild its war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe’s equipment and raw materials Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet borders and balance the US influence in Western Europe Keep Germany divided to prevent its waging war again • Encourage democracy in other countries to help prevent the rise of Communist governments • Gain access to raw materials and markets to fuel booming industries • Rebuild European governments to promote stability and create new markets for American goods • Reunite Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe

Soviets Build a Wall of Satellite Nations • As the war drew to a close, the Soviets pushed the Nazis back across Eastern Europe and by the end of the war, Soviet troops occupied a strip of countries along the Soviet Union’s own western border. • The Soviets used those countries as a buffer, or wall of protection • Stalin installed a Communist government in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Roland, and Yugoslavia • Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met at Potsdam and there, President Truman pressed Stalin to permit free elections in Eastern Europe • Stalin declared that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world and that war between the US and the Soviet Union was certain

The Iron Curtain Divides East and West East West The Western zones became the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 Churchill's phrase “iron curtain” came to represent Europe’s division between a mostly democratic Western Europe and a Communist Eastern Europe • Soviets controlled the eastern part, including half of Germany’s capital, Berlin • Under a Communist government, East Germany was named the German Democratic Republic

Quiz What was the Marshall Plan? What is a Cold War? What is SEATO? Why was SEATO established? What was Sputnik I? • Us, Soviet, and Great Britain met at the ____ Conference in 1945. • What are the 5 Permanent members of Security Council? • What was the Soviet Unions goal with Germany? The US’? • What part of Germany did the Soviets control? • What was the Truman Doctrine?

The UN and the beginning of the Cold War • Despite the US and the Soviet’s mutual presence in the Security Council, both countries decided to split in their alliance after World War II because the war had affected the two superpowers very differently and this altered the gap of differences each country had in their postwar goals. • Both countries had many disagreements such as the Soviets wanting to retain from allowing free elections and the US for it which later caused tension between the two countries.

The Truman Doctrine • The US president Truman declared that they should stop “babying the Soviets” • Truman’s plan was to adopt the policy of containment which was directed at blocking Soviet influence and preventing the expansion of communism. • Containment policies included creating alliances to help weaken the Soviets. • Truman’s support for countries that rejected communism was called the Truman Doctrine.

The Marshall Plan • In June 1947, George Marshall, U.S Secretary of State, proposed that America should give aid to any European country that needed it. • This was called the Marshall Plan and it would provide food, machines, as well as other materials.

The Berlin Airlift • The United States, as well as their allies, wanted the unification of Germany while the Soviet Union wanted Germany to remain divided because it would allow the Soviet Union to hold more power over them. • As a result of this disagreement, the Soviet Union held West Berlin hostage. They cut off all supplies, and the city faced starvation. • It was Stalin’s goal to force the U.S to surrender West Berlin or give up on the idea of unification of Germany.

Rival Alliances • Much of the world allied itself with one side or the other. • The Berlin blockade increased Western Europe’s fears of aggression in the Soviet Union. As a result, an alliance was formed between 10 Western European nations called NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization. • The Soviet Union then viewed NATO as a threat so they came up with an alliance of their own called Warsaw Pact.

Nuclear Threat • Both the United States and the Soviet Union held nuclear weapons which led to a race of who could obtain the most deadliest weapons. • Both nations were ready to fight and their willingness to go to the brink, or edge, of war became known as brinkmanship. • As the United States strengthened its air force, the Soviets began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

The Cold War in the Skies • The Soviet Union announced the development of a rocket that could travel great distances, and on October 4, they were able to launch Sputnik 1 into earth’s atmosphere. • The United States began to feel like they have fallen behind in technology, so they poured large investments in education. Soon enough, the U.S was able to launch their own satellite.

Works Cited • http://www.gcsehistory.org.uk/modernworld/coldwar/satellitestates.htm • http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html • http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651424/Yalta-Conference • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16380/Allied-Powers • http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/coldwar.html • http://www.funfront.net/hist/europe/coldwar.htm

Chapter 17 Section 1 Two Superpowers Face Off