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Overview of the Cold War

Overview of the Cold War. The Cold War. “Cold War:” political tension and military rivalry between USA and USSR that stopped short of full-scale direct conflict 1945-1989 (End of WW2 to fall of Berlin Wall)

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Overview of the Cold War

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  1. Overview of the Cold War

  2. The Cold War • “Cold War:” political tension and military rivalry between USA and USSR that stopped short of full-scale direct conflict • 1945-1989 (End of WW2 to fall of Berlin Wall) • USA, USSR (and PRC) each controlled “sphere of influence” and tried to expand that sphere • With end of colonialism, post-colonial countries became ideological battlefields, and sometimes actual military battlefields • Both USSR and USA provided funds, weapons, training, and sometimes troops to post-colonial countries Major Wars: Greece, Turkey, Korea, Vietnam,Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Cambodia,Nicaragua, Cuba. Most other countries felt tension

  3. Truman Doctrine • First years: Truman vs. Stalin • Civil War in Greece immediately after WW2: Communists v. Nationalists • Truman: U.S. would give Greek and Turkish nationalists economic and military aid to stop them falling into the Soviet “sphere” • “Truman Doctrine:” US would support free peoples resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures • Nationalists in both Greece and Turkey defeated Communist opposition • US focused on “containment” of Soviet and Chinese threat

  4. Containment and Aid: Marshall Plan • Aid and cooperation: recognized interconnections between modern economies • 1947: to rebuild Europe, US’s Marshall Plan gave $13 Billion in aid • Offered to USSR and eastern bloc, but refused • After plan, all participating economies produced above pre-war levels • Cooperation became the basis for European Union, as it erased many tax barriers between countries

  5. Containment: Berlin Airlift • 1948-49 Berlin Airlift • USSR closed ground access to West Berlin • US/UK transport planes flew food and supplies June ’48 - May ‘49 • US stationed B29 bomber planes UK, suggesting atomic strike • USSR relented, opening land access • Lesson learned: • USSR would seize opportunities to take land • Berlin would be a symbol of east-west struggle • US would be involved in struggle in Europe (and probably elsewhere) • Age of atomic fears would continue

  6. Containment: NATO • Western European nations, USA, Canada agree to defensive pact: North Atlantic Treaty Organization • 4 April 1949: Brussels headquarters • ANZUS linked Australia, NZ to US • 1952: Greece, Turkey joined • 1954: USSR suggested it should join; rejected • 1955: West Germany joined; east responded with formation of Warsaw Pact

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