By: Natalie Willis, Alyssa Perkins, and Erin Wittekind.

Chapter 17 Section 1Two Superpowers Face Off

By: Natalie Willis, Alyssa Perkins, and Erin Wittekind

Allies During the PostwarFORMER ALLIES DIVERGE Before WWII ended, the

alliance between the US and Soviet Union started to unravel

This was because Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler in 1939

Stalin also blamed the Allies for delaying their invasion of German-occupied Europe until 1944

A JOINT POSTWAR PLAN Leaders of the Allied nations (US,

Britain, and the Soviet Union) met in Soviet Black Sea resort city of Yalta

They agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation controlled by the Allied military forces

Stalin promised Eastern Europeans would have free elections. But he would only keep his pledge if Eastern Europeans followed a policy friendly to Russia. In return, Stalin joined the war against Japan.

Yalta Conference

When the leaders of the US, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain met at Yalta, their goals were;

-to promote world peace-to provide emergency relief-to help form interim governments based on the will of the people

Creation of the United Nations

In June 1945, the US and Soviet Union came together with 48 other countries to form the United Nations

This internal organization was intended to protect the members against aggression.

The members pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

The new peacekeeping organization established a large body called the General Assembly

An 11-member body called Security Council had the real power to investigate and settle disputes

The five permanent members of the Security Council were Britain, China, France, the US, and the Soviet Union. Each could veto and SC action

Differing US and Soviet Goals

The war affected the US and Soviet Union very differently… The US, the world’s richest and most

powerful country at that time, suffered 400,000 deaths. Its cities and factories remained intact, however.

The Soviet Union experienced at least 50 times as many fatalities. One in four Soviets was wounded or killed. In addition, many Soviet cities were demolished.

Superpower Aims in Europe

UNITED STATES

Encourage democracy in other countries to help prevent the rise of Communist governments

Gain access to raw materials and markets to fuel booming industries

Rebuild European governments to promote stability and create new markets for American goods

Reunite Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe

SOVIET UNION

Encourage communism in other countries as part of a worldwide workers’ revolution

Rebuild its war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe’s equipment and raw materials

Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet borders and balance the US influence in Western Europe

Keep Germany divided to prevent its waging war again

Soviets Build a Wall of Satellite Nations

As the war drew to a close, the Soviets pushed the Nazis back across Eastern Europe and by the end of the war, Soviet troops occupied a strip of countries along the Soviet Union’s own western border.

The Soviets used those countries as a buffer, or wall of protection

Stalin installed a Communist government in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Roland, and Yugoslavia

Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met at Potsdam and there, President Truman pressed Stalin to permit free elections in Eastern Europe

Stalin declared that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world and that war between the US and the Soviet Union was certain

The Iron Curtain Divides East and West

EAST

Soviets controlled the eastern part, including half of Germany’s capital, Berlin

Under a Communist government, East Germany was named the German Democratic Republic

WEST

The Western zones became the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949

Churchill's phrase “iron curtain” came to represent Europe’s division between a mostly democratic Western Europe and a Communist Eastern Europe

Quiz

Us, Soviet, and Great Britain met at the ____ Conference in 1945.

What are the 5 Permanent members of Security Council?

What was the Soviet Unions goal with Germany? The US’?

What part of Germany did the Soviets control?

What was the Truman Doctrine?

What was the Marshall Plan?

What is a Cold War? What is SEATO? Why was SEATO

established? What was Sputnik I?

The UN and the beginning of the Cold War

Despite the US and the Soviet’s mutual presence in the Security Council, both countries decided to split in their alliance after World War II because the war had affected the two superpowers very differently and this altered the gap of differences each country had in their postwar goals. Both countries had many disagreements such

as the Soviets wanting to retain from allowing free elections and the US for it which later caused tension between the two countries.

The Truman Doctrine

The US president Truman declared that they should stop “babying the Soviets”

Truman’s plan was to adopt the policy of containment which was directed at blocking Soviet influence and preventing the expansion of communism. Containment policies included

creating alliances to help weaken the Soviets.

Truman’s support for countries that rejected communism was called the Truman Doctrine.

The Marshall Plan

In June 1947, George Marshall, U.S Secretary of State, proposed that America should give aid to any European country that needed it.

This was called the Marshall Plan and it would provide food, machines, as well as other materials.

The Berlin Airlift

The United States, as well as their allies, wanted the unification of Germany while the Soviet Union wanted Germany to remain divided because it would allow the Soviet Union to hold more power over them.

As a result of this disagreement, the Soviet Union held West Berlin hostage. They cut off all supplies, and the city faced starvation.

It was Stalin’s goal to force the U.S to surrender West Berlin or give up on the idea of unification of Germany.

Rival Alliances

Much of the world allied itself with one side or the other.

The Berlin blockade increased Western Europe’s fears of aggression in the Soviet Union. As a result, an alliance was formed between 10 Western European nations called NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The Soviet Union then viewed NATO as a threat so they came up with an alliance of their own called Warsaw Pact.

Nuclear Threat

Both the United States and the Soviet Union held nuclear weapons which led to a race of who could obtain the most deadliest weapons.

Both nations were ready to fight and their willingness to go to the brink, or edge, of war became known as brinkmanship.

As the United States strengthened its air force, the Soviets began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

The Cold War in the Skies

The Soviet Union announced the development of a rocket that could travel great distances, and on October 4, they were able to launch Sputnik 1 into earth’s atmosphere.

The United States began to feel like they have fallen behind in technology, so they poured large investments in education. Soon enough, the U.S was able to launch their own satellite.

Works Cited

http://www.gcsehistory.org.uk/modernworld/coldwar/satellitestates.htm

http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/651

424/Yalta-Conference

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16380/Allied-Powers

http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/coldwar.html

http://www.funfront.net/hist/europe/coldwar.htm