The Cold War in Europe

The Cold War in Europe

I. What was the Cold War? A. an intense rivalry between Communist Soviet Union and Democratic United States from the mid-1940s until the collapse of the USSR in 1991 B. no actual fighting, yet very close to nuclear war

II. Origins A. conflicting political and economic systems of the U.S. and Soviet Union 1. United States – democracy and capitalism 2. Soviet Union – communism and command economy B. Disagreements over WWII and the future of Europe

*Result The world became divided between U.S. dominateddemocracy and Soviet controlled communism.

III. “Iron Curtain” Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech came to represent this division…

III. “Iron Curtain” speech 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 what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. Winston Churchill, “Iron Curtain” speech, March 5, 1946 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNCEkn9_rjA Iron Curtain Speech- Visual

*Result BOTH the U.S. and SU used military, economic, andhumanitarian aid to extend their control and influence over othercountries (and tried to prevent the other from gaining influence).

IV. Containment adopted by President Truman, a policy designed to stop the spread of communism through a creation of alliances and financial support of weaker nations

Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

IV. Containment Truman Doctrine, 1947 U.S. provided $400 million in military and economic assistance to nations resisting communist takeovers The first nations were Greece and Turkey

IV. Containment B. Marshall Plan, 1947 U.S. gave economic aid to European countries to rebuild after WWII – help prevent Communism

V. Satellite Nations After WWII, Stalin did not want another invasion of the Soviet Union – he used countries on the western border of the SU as a buffer, or wall of protection SU did NOT allow for free elections (as promised at Yalta) and cut off contacts between Western Europe and the satellite nations (no travel, communication, or trade)

What nations were satellites of the Soviet Union?

VI. Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift, 1948 A. Berlin Blockade As western nations tried to unify West Germany, the Soviet Union closed off all access to the western occupation zones

VI. Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift, 1948 B. Berlin Airlift to undermine Soviet’s blockade of Berlin (yet avoid war) the U.S. sent two million tons of supplies to West Berlin on cargo planes; lasted for 10 months until the Soviets ended the blockade Berlin Airlift

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall

VII. Berlin Wall, 1961 As citizens continued to escape from the harsh laws of communist nations, the Soviet Union ordered the construction of a wall that sealed shut the entire border between East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall, 15 feet high, 26 miles long, and built of solid concrete masonry, stretched across the city. It was manned by armed East German soldiers in watchtowers with shoot-to-kill orders for anyone attempting to scale the wall and enter West Berlin.

VIII. NATO, 1948, Warsaw Pact, 1955, Nonaligned Nations A. NATO A military alliance between the United States and Western Europe; “an armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all.”

VIII. NATO, 1948, Warsaw Pact, 1955, Nonaligned Nations B. Warsaw Pact A military alliance between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Warsaw Pact member nations pledged to defend one another in the event of an attack on any of the member states

VIII. NATO, 1948, Warsaw Pact, 1955, Nonaligned Nations C. Nonaligned Nations Many countries, especially in Asia and Africa, refused to support either the Communist or non-Communist blocs in the Cold War. The most prominent example of a nonaligned nation was India.

IX. Arms Race, 1949, Space Race, 1957 A. Arms race a competition to see which nation could get both more powerful and more quantities of weapons over the enemy Soviet atomic bomb in 1949 U.S. H-bomb in 1952 Soviet H-bomb in 1953 Under President Eisenhower, the policy of brinkmanship (willingness to go to the brink, or edge, or war) only contributed to the continued stockpiling of nuclear weapons

Arms Race Cold War Arms Race

IX. Arms Race, 1949, Space Race, 1957 B. Space race Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik I United States responded by focusing more on science and math in schools; also established NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to improve space technology 1958, the United States launched its first satellite 1961, the Soviets sent the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin 1969, the United States was the first nation to put a man on the moon

U-2 Incident U-2 Incident

X. U-2 Incident, 1960 Fifteen days prior to a potential peacekeeping meeting between Eisenhower and Khrushchev, a U.S. spy plane was shot down by a Soviet pilot over the Soviet Union. Eisenhower owned up to the covert mission. Khrushchev denounced Eisenhower and called off the meeting. The U.S. pilot was tried for espionage and was sentenced to ten years in prison. As a result, renewed tensions emerged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Hungarian Revolt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXYiHChxUlw

XI. Resistance and Defeat in Eastern Europe A. Hungary, 1956 In October 1956, the Hungarian army joined with the protestors to oust Hungary’s Soviet-controlled government. In response, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest and within a few days, the uprising was brutally crushed and Hungary was returned to a Soviet-style communist nation. *NOTE: The United States did nothing to help Hungary break free of Soviet control.

XI. Resistance and Defeat in Eastern Europe B. Czechoslovakia, 1968 In 1968, Czechoslovakia attempted to loosen itself from strict Soviet control. Czechoslovakians freely expressed themselves and distributed and read previously banned literature. Soviet Union quickly sent in troops and tanks and, with little resistance, restored Czechoslovakia as a hard-line communist nation.

XI. Resistance and Defeat in Eastern Europe C. Poland, 1980 In 1956, discontented Poles demonstrated against harsh working conditions, food shortages, and plans to form collective farms. At first, Gomulka eased government control, but conditions worsened until protests broke out again in 1980. Led by workers at the shipyard in Gdansk, workers refused to work until the government recognized their union, called Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa. In 1981, urged by the Soviet government, the Polish government declared martial law, Walesa and Solidarity leaders were arrested, and the union was declared illegal.

XII. The CIA and KGB A. CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was established in 1947. The government of the United States believed that espionage was necessary to combat what it saw as the hostile aims of the Soviet Union. Most CIA activities did not become known to the public until years after they occurred. Such actions included aid in the overthrow of government leaders, the U-2 spy plane, and the Bay of Pigs incident in Cuba.

XII. The CIA and KGB B. KGB The KGB was a Soviet Union government agency that operated a secret-police force to maintain the Communist Party’s control of the country. It gathered political and military intelligence about other countries, conducted various secret operations to aid governments friendly to the Soviet Union, and aided opponents of governments that Soviet leaders disliked.

XIII. Propaganda Propaganda was a major tool of both the Soviet Union and of the United States purpose : to convince their populations that the opposing side was evil. the United States established "Radio Free Europe," which broadcasted 20 hours a day of anti-communist propaganda. They also flew planes that dropped hundreds of thousands of pamphlets into satellite nations such as Poland and Hungary.

The Cold War in Europe