- In 1948, the countries occupying Germany (minus the Soviets) decided to reunify Germany.
- Stalin was against this, and even saw an opportunity to take part of Berlin when the other countries left.
- He cut off the highways going into West Berlin, thus causing a shortage of food and fuel.
- Attempting to stop the blockade, the U.S. and Great Britain started the Berlin Airlift.
- The plan was to fly food and supplies into West Berlin.
- For 327 days, planes took off and landed every few minutes around the clock.
- Eventually, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade
Cold War Tensions
Creation of the UN
- Symbol of hope and peace for the world after WWII
- Became an arena for the US and Soviet Union to spread their influence and power
Yalta and Potsdam
- Yalta Conference - big 3 (US, Great Britain, Soviet Union) met to discuss the post WWII world
- To pacify Stalin, they agree to split Germany into occupied zones
- Potsdam Conference - big 3 agreed that reparations from Germany would only come from the zone they occupied
Soviets in Eastern Europe
- Since Soviet losses in WWII were so great, the USSR thought they could claim land taken in Eastern Europe
- They wanted to stop future invasions from the west
Satellite Nations
- Countries dominated by the Soviet Union
- Installed communist nations in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland
- Buffer zone between the USSR and Western Europe
US Responses
Brinkmanship
Warsaw Pact
- US issued a policy of containment, which is taking measures to prevent the spread of communism
- Truman Doctrine - Policy of sending aid to countries that are resisting foreign rule (Communism)
- First used to help Turkey and Greece.
- Willingness of the US to go to the edge of all-out war
- Caused both sides to build up their military
- Forced military tension between the two nations
- After WWII, millions of people were living in refugee camps in Western Europe due to the decimation of Europe.
- In June 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed that the U.S. give aid to European nations in need.
- The Marshall Plan gave $13 billion in aid to 16 countries--but not countries influenced by the Soviet Union
- When Western Germany was allowed to join NATO, the Soviets grew worried
- They created their own military alliance called the Warsaw Pact
- This linked the USSR with seven other European nations.
NATO
- Pledged military support to any member if attacked
- Ten Western European nations - Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal, with US and Canada.
- First time US entered a military alliance during peacetime