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Click the icon to play Listen to History audio. Click the icon below to connect to the Interactive Maps. Beginnings of the Cold War. Main Idea
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Click the icon to play Listen to History audio. Click the icon below to connect to the Interactive Maps.
Beginnings of the Cold War Main Idea Once partners in war, the Soviet Union and the other former Allies found it much more difficult to cooperate in peace. The result was an era of conflict and confrontation called the Cold War. • Reading Focus • How did peace create problems for the Allies? • How did the Cold War conflict worsen in the late 1940s? • What were some of the early Cold War confrontations? • How did the arms race begin in the 1950s and early 1960s? • How did the Cold War contribute to conflict around the world? • How did the superpowers attempt to achieve arms control during the Cold War?
Occupying Germany Four Zones Capital Divided • Much of Germany in ruins when war ended, May 1945 • Allies needed to establish system to govern and rebuild nation • Allies began to plan Germany’s future before war’s end • Agreed on major issues at Potsdam • Agreed to divide into four zones of occupation • Soviet Union to control one-third • Remaining two-thirds controlled by rest of Allies • Also divided capital of Berlin into four occupation zones The Problems of Peace • In World War II the Allies worked together to defeat the Axis • At war’s end, shattered European nations needed to be dealt with • This task placed a great strain on the alliance
Ridding Germany of Nazis • Allies also worked together to establish plan to rid Germany of any remnants of Nazi Party, Nazi beliefs • Brought former Nazi, military leaders to justice for crimes committed during war at Nuremberg trials in Nuremberg, Germany; 1945–1949 • Trials and Reparations • Military courts tried more than two hundred Nazi, military officials • Several dozen sentenced to death for roles in Holocaust, war crimes • Allies also agreed on plan for Germany to pay reparations for destruction caused by war; in form of currency, industrial equipment • Soviet Union got largest share; had suffered greatest destruction
Eastern Europe • Beyond Germany • Allies agreed on Germany, what to do with rest of Europe more difficult • Even before war ended, major Allied powers in conflict over Eastern Europe • Eastern Europe bordered Soviet Union, was occupied by Soviet forces • Buffer Zone • Soviet leaders had been invaded by Germany in both wars • Wanted buffer zone of friendly governments to guard against another attack • Stalin promised to respect Eastern Europeans’ right to choose governments • Growing Tensions • American, British leaders believed Stalin planned to establish pro-Soviet Communist governments throughout Eastern Europe and beyond • Growing tensions between Allies about to lead to another conflict
The Struggle Begins Pro-Soviet Governments • Cold War more than military rivalry • Struggle for power, control between two nations with very different approaches • Conflict between communism, capitalist democracy • Backed by Soviet troops, pro-Soviet Communist governments established in Eastern Europe • Only Yugoslavia avoided Soviet domination, although it was led by Communist dictator The Conflict Worsens The relationship between the Soviet Union and the Western nations continued to worsen after the war. Soon the United States and the Soviet Union entered an era of tension and hostility, which became known as the Cold War. As communism spread throughout Eastern Europe, tension between the Soviet Union and the western democracies continued to grow.
Iron Curtain Another Possible War • March 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave speech in U.S. • Churchill used image of iron curtain to describe the division of Europe as result of Soviet actions • Said this was serious threat to peace • Tension worsened by Soviet failure to remove troops from northern Iran • January 1946, President Truman warned “Another war is in the making.” • February 1946, Stalin stated publicly he believed war between East, West bound to happen More Tension
The Truman Doctrine The Marshall Plan • Early 1947, Soviet backed Communists threatened governments of Greece, Turkey • President Truman announced TrumanDoctrine—pledge to provide economic, military aid to oppose spread of communism • Congress agreed to send aid to Greece, Turkey • Because of post-war economies, Truman believed more European countries might turn to communism • U.S. launched massive program of economic aid • Marshall Plan provided $13 billion for rebuilding Europe • Plan helped Western Europe make rapid recovery from war, preserved political stability The West Resists The democratic nations of the West soon faced a test of their resolve to contain the Communist East.
Crisis in Berlin West Berlin Blockade • Division of Germany, Berlin originally meant to be temporary • 1947, Western leaders began planning creation of independent democratic German nation • Also planned democratic government in West Berlin • June 1948, Soviets blocked off land, rail, water routes into West Berlin to force West to leave Berlin • Western leaders organized Berlin airlift to supply Berlin by air • Airlift successful; Soviets called off blockade May, 1949 Cold War Confrontations • Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan demonstrated West’s Cold War policy, containment • Containment involved resisting Soviet aggression in order to contain spread of communism • Confrontations between East, West soon became increasingly severe
New Nations and Alliances Germany and NATO • At end of Berlin crisis, western zones of Germany formed Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany • Soviet zone became German Democratic Republic, or East Germany • U.S., Canada, most Western European countries joined in military alliance—North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO—designed to counter Soviet power in Europe • 1955, Soviet Union, Communist nations of Eastern Europe formed own alliance, Warsaw Pact
War in Korea • Division of Korea • Allies gained control of Korea after Japan’s World War II surrender • Soviet Union, U.S. agreed to temporarily divide country in half • Soviets established Communist government in north; U.S. supported non-Communist regime in south • Eisenhower’s Warning • June 1950, North Koreans attacked South Korea • U.S. asked United Nations to approve use of force to stop invasion • Eisenhower: “We’ll have a dozen Koreas soon if we don’t take a firm stand.” • MacArthur at Inchon • UN formed military force; troops from 17 nations sent to Korea • North Koreans nearly conquered south within matter of months • American general Douglas MacArthur, UN forces landed behind enemy lines at Inchon; tipped balance back in favor of UN forces
UN Responds • Push Back • UN forces pushed North Koreans out of south • Drove deep into North Korea near Chinese border • War Shifts Again • War shifted again when Communist Chinese came to aid of North Korea • Drove UN forces out of north • Stalemate • 1951, war settled into stalemate • Battle lines lay about where they had been before North Korea’s initial invasion • End of War • 1953, both sides agreed to armistice; war over • Little changed during war • North remained Communist state; South, ally of West
The Nuclear Arms Race Hydrogen Bomb • 1949, Soviets successfully tested atomic bomb • Great military advantage of U.S. over Soviet Union gone • U.S. sought to develop even more powerful weapons • Atomic bombs used energy created by splitting atoms • Nuclear fusion—larger explosion • 1952, U.S. tested first fusion-powered hydrogen bomb, vaporizing island on which tested The Arms Race Begins During the 1950s and early 1960s nuclear war seemed to draw ever closer as the Soviet Union and the United States raced to develop powerful new weapons. This rivalry between the world’s two superpowers became increasingly tense—and dangerous. The U.S. technological advantage was short-lived. Less than one year later the Soviets tested their own hydrogen bomb.
Change in Tactics • Both sides forced to change military tactics • Could no longer rely on conventional forces, like troops, tanks • U.S., Soviets increased stockpiles of nuclear weapons • Nuclear weapons central to deterrence • Strategy of Deterrence • Deterrence, development of or maintenance of military power to prevent attack • Two superpowers locked in arms race to gain advantage in weapons • U.S. had more weapons, but nuclear attack by either side would lead to terrible destruction
Sputnik Public Fears • Sputnik, history’s first artificial satellite—object orbiting earth • Soviet military technology now feared to be in the lead • U.S. government established National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA • Agency would eventually return United States to forefront of space research • Growing threat of nuclear war • Significant impact on people • Built bomb shelters to help protect from nuclear explosion • Schools led air-raid drills to prepare for possible Soviet attack • Books, movies, comic books had plots centered on dangers of radiation, nuclear war Soviet Union Launches Sputnik In October 1957 the arms race took another leap forward with the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik.
Red Scare Cold War led to so-called Red Scare in U.S. • Many Americans feared possible Communist influence in U.S. government • U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy • Prompted congressional committee in effort to expose Communists in American film industry, government, late 1940s, early 1950s • Accused many innocent people of Communist activities
War in Southeast Asia Vietnam Divided American Support • End World War II, France tried to reestablish control over Southeast Asia • Communist rebels in Vietnam fought back, forcing French to give up control • Peace agreement temporarily divided Vietnam in half • Communists controlled North, anti-Communist regime ruled South • U.S. supported South Vietnam, when revolution broke out sent military troops • Eventually North Vietnamese fought alongside rebels • War dragged on until mid–1970s Cold War Around the World The Korean War showed that Cold War rivalry could lead to conflict far from the United States or the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, this rivalry led to struggles for influence in countries around the world.
Another Crisis in Berlin • Crossing Over • After Communist East Germany, democratic West Germany formed in 1949, tens of thousands of East Germans crossed from East to West Berlin • Some wanted to live in free nation, other simply wanted to find work • Berlin Wall • By 1961, up to 1,000 per day made daily trip between homes in East Germany, jobs in West Berlin • To stop exodus, East Germany erected barrier between two halves of city • Communist Brutality • Barrier, Berlin Wall, heavily guarded • Anyone attempting to cross risked being shot by East German guards • Succeeded in slowing flight of East Germans, became symbol of Communist system brutality
Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile Crisis • U.S. government secretly trained invasion force to overthrow Castro • April 1961, force came ashore at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs • American officials believed invasion would start uprising against Castro • Instead invaders quickly defeated • 1962, Cuban missile crisis, two week confrontation between U.S., Soviet Union over installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba • After standoff missiles removed; U.S. agreed to remove missiles from Turkey, not attack Cuba Communism in Cuba • 1959, rebels led by Fidel Castro overthrew Cuba’s dictator • Installed Communist government • Centrally planned economy, close ties with Soviets • Actions worried United States; Cuba near Florida coast • Cuba’s alliance with Soviet Union brought Cold War close to American territory
Other Cold War Conflicts • Suez Canal • 1956, Egypt angered West by taking over Suez Canal • Britain, France, Israel attacked Egypt; Soviet Union would take Egypt’s side • U.S. demanded Western allies halt attack; conflict came to end • The Congo • Ending of European colonial rule in Africa brought superpower involvement • 1960 Belgium ended control of Congo; U.S., other western countries supported military dictator Joseph Mobutu as good ally against Soviet Union • Angola • 1975, Angola won independence from Portugal • U.S., Soviet Union supported opposing sides in ensuing civil war which lasted until 1991
Early Arms Control Test Ban Treaty • Eisenhower proposed open skies treaty with Soviet Union • Each side could fly over other’s territory, gather accurate weapons information • With accurate information, neither side would have to imagine worst about enemy • Soviets rejected proposal • Soviet leaders proposed total nuclear disarmament • United States rejected idea • President Kennedy favored limited nuclear weapons tests • Cuban missile crisis convinced both sides important to make arms control progress • 1963 U.S., Soviets agreed on Test Ban Treaty Attempts at Arms Control While relations between East and West were largely hostile throughout the Cold War, some attempts at cooperation were made.
SALT I and SALT II • SALT I • U.S. President Richard Nixon sought détente, reduced tension between superpowers; started negotiations called Strategic Arms Limitations Talks • SALT I talks led to agreements limiting nuclear weapons held by each side • ABM Treaty • Also led to Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, preventing development of weapons designed to shoot down nuclear missiles • Meant to ensure each side remained vulnerable to other’s nuclear weapons • SALT II • Vulnerability important element of principle of deterrence • Two sides began new round of talks called SALT II • Talks resulted in arms control treaty in 1979: never ratified by U.S. Senate
The 1980s • Reagan Presidency • Reagan took aggressive position against Soviet Union • Wanted to develop missile defense system • Arms Reduction Talks • Idea of system seemed to violate spirit of ABM Treaty • Began arms reduction talks with Soviet leader Gorbachev • INF Treaty • 1988, two countries ratified Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty • Called for elimination of certain types of missiles • Improving Relations • After many years of conflict, relationship between U.S., Soviet Union began to improve
Economic Growth Influx of Immigrants • With American aid, Western Europe’s factories produced more in 1950s than before war • West Germany became major economic power • Growth strong in other countries • Availability of jobs attracted immigrants from former colonies • Created strain as Europeans struggled to adapt to newcomers, their cultures Western Europe • Western Europe faced challenging future after World War II • At end of war, much of Western Europe lay in ruins • Property, farmland destroyed; national economies collapsed; millions displaced from homes; seemed on brink of chaos • Chaos did not come, thanks in large part to Marshall Plan
Alliances Economic Unity Markets • European nations began to end longstanding rivalries, work for common good • NATO unified many nations in strong military alliance with U.S., Canada • Many Western European nations moved toward economic unity • Cooperation begun in coal, steel industries, and development of atomic energy • Broader efforts to develop single regional market, free of trade barriers • Goal to create single market to rival United States Alliances and Economic Unity World War II had changed Europe’s place in the world. The continent was no longer the center of world power; instead, the United States and the Soviet Union were centers of power.
The Common Market European Economic Community • 1957, six European nations founded European Economic Community; also known as Common Market • 1960, seven other European countries formed rival European Free Trade Association • True economic unity in Europe still years in future
The Postwar Soviet Union Command Economy • Tens of millions killed in war • Heavy damage to cities and farms • Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin determined to rebuild quickly • Soviet Union had command economy • Government controls all economic decisions • Goods at prewar levels by 1953 • Nikita Krushchev became leader of Soviet Union, undertook effort to “de-Stalinize” Soviet Union Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union The challenges facing the Soviet Union and the Eastern European nations under its control were even more overwhelming than those facing Western Europe. Like Western Europe, however, the region soon began to recover. Stalin-era economic and political restrictions loosened, but country remained Communist. Individual freedoms limited, still hostile stance against the West.
Solidarity Many Changes • Soviet crackdowns did not end protests in Eastern Europe • 1980, Polish electrician Lech Walesa led hundreds of thousands of workers in anti-government protest movement, called Solidarity • Poland’s Communist government used martial law to suppress movement, could not destroy it • Changes after Stalin’s death led Eastern Europeans to hope for end of Soviet domination • Soviet leaders made it clear reforms were limited • Used or threatened force to crush public protests in many countries, assert control • Troops put down revolts in East Germany (1953), Poland (1956), Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968) Revolts in Eastern Europe
Glasnost and Perestroika • Soviet Economy Faltered • Soviet economy performed well after war, began to falter in 1960s • By 1980s, Soviet Union faced crisis; command economy system inefficient • Production goals with little regard for wants, needs of marketplace • Gorbachev • Goals stressed heavy industry, neglecting needed consumer goods • As result most sectors of Soviet economy ceased to grow • 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, saw need for change • New Concepts • Proposed two radical concepts—glasnost, perestroika • Glasnost, “openness,” willingness to discuss Soviet problems openly • Perestroika, “restructuring,” reform of Soviet economic, political system
Reforms • Gorbachev pushed through number of major reforms • Aggressively pursued arms control agreements with U.S. • Also reduced central planning of Soviet economy, introduced some free market mechanisms • Policy Reversal • Gorbachev knew Soviet Union could not afford to prop up Communist governments of Eastern Europe • Began to pull Soviet troops out of region, urged local leaders to adopt reforms • Reversed decades of Soviet policy in Eastern Europe
Czechoslovakia, Romania East Germany • Czechoslovakia had Velvet Revolution—so called because it was peaceful • Pushed communists out of power • Only bloodshed in Romania, where some military forces remained loyal to Communist dictator • Most dramatic changes took place in East Germany • Berlin Wall opened November 1989 • Strongest symbol of Soviet repression, Cold War, finally fell • Less than year later, East, West Germany reunified as single nation Revolutions in Eastern Europe • Eastern Europeans longed for freedom, did not wait for reform • 1989, revolution spread; citizens overthrew Soviet-backed leaders • Gorbachev, no longer wanting to control Eastern Europe, did not interfere • Most revolutions were peaceful • Solidarity forced elections in Poland; Lech Walesa elected president
Soviet Union Collapses Government in Crisis • Soviet Union consisted of 15 separate republics • Some had been independent nations before World War II and long wanted freedom • 1990, Lithuania declared independence; appeared other republics planned same • Not clear if Soviets had will, power to stop movement • August 1991, hard-line Communists tried to end Gorbachev’s reforms in coup • Effort failed due to opposition of Boris Yeltsin, leader of republic of Russia • Yeltsin favored more radical changes than Gorbachev • Did not want to see hard-liners take over Soviet Union The Breakup of the Soviet Union The fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet-backed regimes in Eastern Europe showed the dramatic crumbling of Soviet power.
End of Soviet Union Gorbachev’s Power Gone • Twelve republics united in loose confederation, Commonwealth of Independent States • Mighty Soviet Union, once one to two most powerful countries in world, no longer existed • Cold War finally over after more than 40 years of tension, conflict • Although coup failed, Gorbachev’s power largely gone • Republic after republic declared independence • By end of 1991, Soviet government had ceased to function Failed Coup
Economic Change • Soviet Union fell; communism ended in former Soviet republics • In largest republic, Russia, Boris Yeltsin began campaign to alter economy’s basic structure • Goal to make economy function like capitalist system • More Freedom • Yeltsin began to allow private ownership of businesses, land • Business owners, workers able to take advantage of economic opportunities • However, lost guarantee of government-backed job, other government supports
Mixed Results Early results of Russia’s reforms mixed • Some entrepreneurs prospered, most ordinary Russians did not • Prices rose sharply • Many Russians could not afford to buys goods in stores • Some questioned benefits of market reform • Early 2000s, Russia rebounded somewhat from economic crises; still, path from communism to capitalism not easy