The Cold War: 1946 - 1989 East v. West Communists v. Capitalists Soviets v. America
Dec 15, 2015
The Cold War: 1946 - 1989The Cold War: 1946 - 1989
East v. WestCommunists v. Capitalists
Soviets v. America
What is a Cold War?What is a Cold War? Competition between the
US and the Soviet Union for power and influence in the world.
Political tensionEconomic conflictMilitary tension
– HOT WAR – direct military action.
What caused the Cold War?What caused the Cold War? Churchill and Stalin hated one another. Stalin betrayed the Yalta agreement and forced
his totalitarianism on other countries.The Iron Curtain
Containment Policy / Domino Theory Peenemunde / The Bomb
Weapons RaceSpace Race
Personality ClashesPersonality Clashes Churchill and Stalin only
pretended friendship in front of the cameras in WWII.
Both respected Roosevelt.Everyone behaved.
Truman didn’t trust StalinAllies became 2 against 1FOR GOOD REASONS!
Yalta: Stalin’s Betrayal of the AlliesYalta: Stalin’s Betrayal of the Allies Remember the
MARSHALL PLAN for rebuilding Germany?
Russia punished instead of rebuilding.
The Soviet Union made Eastern Europe into Satellite Countries.
Puppet Regimes
The Iron Curtain – Winston ChurchillThe Iron Curtain – Winston Churchill
Enclosing the satellite nations.
What was Stalin doing that was so bad in Eastern Europe?
What was Stalin doing that was so bad in Eastern Europe?
Show Trials Purges Concentration camps Stripping other countries
economies to support the Soviet Union.
Slave labor made of Nazis and political prisoners.Ethnic Cleansing
What was Stalin doing in Eastern Europe?What was Stalin doing in Eastern Europe?
Lack of freedom Lack of choices No freedom of
movement. Only one source for
informationStalin and the SovietsCommunism spreads
The Berlin Blockade: 1948The Berlin Blockade: 1948 Clear Stalin wasn’t going to
reunify Germany.West Germany – Democracy and CapitalistEast Germany - Totalitarian
Berlin was in the Russian zone – but Berlin had been divided like Germany.
American, French, British zone that joined to be West Berlin.
The Berlin Blockade: 1948The Berlin Blockade: 1948 Most people escaping
Stalin went to East Berlin, passed to West Berlin and into freedom.
Stalin closed the escape route in 1948.
Blocked roads so food and aid couldn’t get to 2.5 million West Berliners.
The Berlin AirliftThe Berlin Airlift 15 months British and
American military aircraft flew in aid to West Berlin.
1949 – Russia abandoned the blockade
BUT Berlin remained a focal point for the Cold War.
What did Truman do about the Iron Curtain?What did Truman do about the Iron Curtain? The Marshall Plan The Berlin Airlift The Truman Doctrine NATO
The Marshall PlanThe Marshall Plan Created by General George
Marshall To stop future Hitlers, to stop
Stalin – rebuild the war-ruined countries of Europe.
13 Billion dollarsGet people jobsRestore electricity, water, medical, roads, police / fireSchools, homes
The Marshall PlanThe Marshall Plan Austria, Belgium,
Denmark,France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, England, Western Germany
Stalin and the the Marshall PlanStalin and the the Marshall Plan Stalin would not let the
Marshall Plan into any area he controlled.
Thought it only spread capitalistic propaganda.
Wanted to keep punishing people.
The Berlin WallThe Berlin Wall Too many Berliners in
the Soviet section wanted to live in freedom.
The Soviets built a wall, manned it with machine guns to keep the people in.
1960
Truman Doctrine: 1947Truman Doctrine: 1947 Communism had to be
“contained”. Any time there is a threat
of Communism, the US had to stand up to it.
The US was the best country to lead the world.
Not as damaged by WWII
The Domino Theory and ContainmentThe Domino Theory and Containment Like dominos, one falls,
the others in the region will fall too.
Used to justify US involvement in Vietnam in 1960s.Used to justify US involvement in Central America / South America 1960-1970s.Europe and Africa
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationNATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949: US joined
European countries to create an alliance.
Armed attack on one – considered an attack on all.
Meant to keep Soviet Union “contained”
Stalin’s Response?Stalin’s Response? Warsaw Pact: Protect
against a NATO invasion.
Eastern Europe was militarized – so they’d be a buffer to protect Russian soil.No choice for Eastern Europe countries on joining.
– EXCEPT: Yugoslavia
Don’t Forget the role of technology in creating the Cold War
Don’t Forget the role of technology in creating the Cold War
Did Stalin know about the A-bomb?
Was he or wasn’t he scared that NATO might drop the bomb on Russia?
Russia felt they needed an A-bomb to counter the Americans.
Peenemunde: Also a cause of the Cold WarPeenemunde: Also a cause of the Cold War Peenemunde: Germany’s
secret island developing weapons. Their version of Los Alamos.
Jet enginesA-bombV1 and V2 guided missilesGuided RocketsPlasma weapons
Dividing up the scientists after WWIIDividing up the scientists after WWII The US took half and the
Soviets took the other half.
Developed weapons for their new countries.
Russia had bomb by 1948.Russian Sputnik program – 1957.
Werner Von Braun: Our German ScientistWerner Von Braun: Our German Scientist Created our NASA
program. We launched the
astronauts in Gemini and the Apollo programs because of his Nazi technology.