The Cold War

In February, 1945, the "BIG THREE"Allied leaders met in the Soviet Union.

Postwar control of Germany was a difficult issue for these 3 to agree on.

The 3 leaders decided to split Germany into four zones. The Soviet Union would control the eastern part of Germany, while the USA, Britain, and France were to hold zones in the western part.

The capital of Germany, BERLIN, (which is located in the far eastern part of Germany) was to also be divided into 4 parts.

The 3 leaders also decided to free elections in countries released from Nazi rule.

In April of 1945, President Roosevelt died. Vice President Harry Truman became president. The next month, American, Soviet, and British leaders met in Potsdam, Germany. STALIN HAD MANY THINGS TO SAY...

With Stalin not 100% agreeing with the other allies, it made everyone a bit uneasy.

Winston Churchill was concerned about widespread Soviet control. In a speech in 1946 Churchill described events in the region as an IRON CURTAIN being raised.

IRON CURTAIN- meant that the Soviets had cut off Eastern Europe from the West. He warned that they might expand their control beyond Eastern Europe.

Like Winston Churchill, American leaders worried about the Soviet threat. For an answer, they turned to ideas of George F. Kennan, an American diplomat. Kennan claimed that war could be avoided and the Soviets would stop if the USA stood firm.

Kennan's policy was called containment- preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders.

The USA soon put containment into effect. In March 1947, President Truman presented a plan that was later named the Truman Doctrine.

The Truman Doctrine- granted aid to countries threatened by communist takeover.

The United States also feared a weak Europe would lead to a spread of communism. Secretary of State (at the time) George C. Marshal proposed that the USA give economic aid to war damaged Western European countries. This became known as the MARSHALL PLAN

Marshall Plan- US program that gave aid to European countries to help them rebuild after the war and to stop Soviet Expansion.

Meanwhile, the western Allies and the Soviet Union disagreed on Germany's future. President Truman believed that a reunited, thriving Germany was important for Europe. Stalin disagreed, he thought that a strong Germany would attack him.

In 1948, the USA, Britain, and France decided to unite their zones in Germany and form what was known as the West German Republic.

At the same time the 3 western Allies

decided to unite their zones in Berlin

as well.

How doe the SOVIETS respond?

In response, Soviet troops surrounded West Berlin and imposed a blockade that cut the city off from needed supplies for the Allies.

Germany and the city of Berlin were divided. By the end of 1949, West Germany was allied with the USA, GB, and France and East Germany was tied with Communist Soviet Union.

NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NATO was formed by the USA, Canada, and ten other Western European countries to contain the Soviets and police world situations. NATO still exists today. At the time, member nations agreed to aid any member that was attacked. In 1955, West Germany was allowed to build an army and join NATO.

In response to NATO, the Soviets formed a military alliance with the Communist governments of Eastern Europe. It was called the Warsaw Pact.

Cold War

May 14, 1955:

The Warsaw Pact is formed

The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states.

The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union. The introduction to the treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact indicated the reason for its existence. This revolved around "Western Germany, which is being remilitarized, and her inclusion in the North Atlantic bloc, which increases the danger of a new war and creates a threat to the national security of peace-loving states." This passage referred to the decision by the United States and the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 9, 1955 to make West Germany a member of NATO and allow that nation to remilitarize. The Soviets obviously saw this as a direct threat and responded with the Warsaw Pact.

The Warsaw Pact remained intact until 1991. Albania was expelled in 1962 because, believing that Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev was deviating too much from strict Marxist orthodoxy, the country turned to communist China for aid and trade. In 1990, East Germany left the Pact and reunited with West Germany; the reunified Germany then became a member of NATO. The rise of non-communist governments in other eastern bloc nations, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, throughout 1990 and 1991 marked an effective end of the power of the Warsaw Pact. In March 1991, the military alliance component of the pact was dissolved and in July 1991, the last meeting of the political consultative body took place.

After Joseph Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev led the Soviet Union. Khrushchev demanded in 1961 that the Western powers withdraw from Berlin. The USA president at the time JOHN F. KENNEDY rejected this demand.

SOVIET UNION responds to JFK rejection

In response to JFK refusing to vacate, the Soviets built a concrete wall that separated Communist East Berlin from the democratic West Berlin. This is known as the BERLIN WALL.

People could NOT travel freely in and out of East Berlin. Guards on the wall shot anyone who tried to escape the communist rule.

For 30 years, the BERLIN WALL

was an important symbol for division of the Cold War.

Video of the Berlin Wall

The Arms Race

Nuclear weapons also played an important role in the Cold War.

By the early 1950s, international tension rose as the USA and USSR competed in a nuclear arms race. This meant both sides built more missiles and bombers.

Communists

The most dangerous Cold War dispute took place in Cuba, a communist island just 90 miles south of Florida.

There, in 1959, a new communist government came to power under a leader named Fidel Castro.

The Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba and were seriously debating on firing at the USA! This is called the CUBAN MISSLE CRISIS

Democrats

In October of 1962, President JFK learned that the Soviets had long range and short range missiles located in the new communist country of Cuba, and delivered this speech.

The President immediately ordered a navy blockade on Cuba until the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba.

JFK also warned that the USA would launch a nuclear attack on the Soviets if they fired any missiles.

It was a stand off for 15 days, but eventually

the Soviets agreed to withdraw their missiles

from Cuba.

In response, JFK pledged not to invade Cuba, and NUCLEAR WAR HAD BEEN AVOIDED!

The Cold War in China

The Cold War also reached Asia. By the 1950s, communists ruled China and the northern parts of Korea and Vietnam. As a result, the USA applied its policy of containment to Asia.

The Korean War

At the end of WWII, the USA and the Soviet Union divided Korea.

The communists set up a government in the north and the Americans backed the government in the south.

On June 25, 1950, northern troops invaded the south.

There was no winner and

North and South Korea still

remain divided today

Conclusion

What was it like here in America you ask during and after the Cold War?

Sports get more competitive

Hollywood took to the screen

Next up; NATO

A Divided Germany

Warsaw Pact

Unity for the Western Allies

SO HOW DOES THE SOVIET UNION RESPOND TO THIS ONE...?

NATO IN THE BEGINNING

THE BERLIN WALL

What is Containment?

SO WHAT DID AMERICA DO?

PRESIDENT TRUMAN AT IT AGAIN

Truman and Friends...

Cold War Beginning

The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as superpowers. The two disagreed, however, about what the world was to be like after the war. As the war ended, the Soviet Union forced communist rule on Eastern Europe. The Americans and the Soviets competed for world leadership. Their rivalry lasted from 1945-1990 and was known as the Cold War.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH GERMANY NOW?

What to do with Germany continued...

A 10 minute video on after WWII and the start of the COLD WAR

"I demand that the Germans

pay reparations for this war"

and

"I will not hold free elections in

Soviet Union, we will be

Communist."

The Cold War

Based on Jim Harvey's speech structures