1949 China Turns Communist

1962 Cuba Turns Communist

The end of the world as we know it?

1962Cuban Missile Crisis

1950-1953 Korean War

1955-1975Vietnam War

1989 COLD WAR ENDSDISSOLUTION (or breaking apart)of the Soviet Union

The Cold War [1945-1991]: An Ideological Struggle

USSR & Eastern Bloc

Nations

U.S. & other Western

DemocraciesGOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism and spread of Capitalism worldwide

How the war was fought:

1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples

4. Proxy Wars

Who started the Cold War?

Fragile Alliance During WWII

• U.S. upset Stalin had signed the nonaggression pact with Germany in 1939.

• Stalin blamed the Allies for not invading Nazi occupied Europe earlier than 1944.

Yalta Conference (Feb 1945):

The Beginning of the Cold War? • Leaders of U.S., Britain and Soviet Union met in

Yalta to discuss post WWII plans.

• They agreed

– to divide Germany into occupation zones controlled by Allied military forces.

– to make Germany pay the Soviet Union for the loss of life and property.

– the Soviet Union would join the war against Japan.

– Eastern European countries would have free elections. (U.S. is skeptical of Stalin’s promise)

Soviets Build a Buffer, 1945

• Soviet Union wanted to shield itself from another invasion from the West (Poles 17th c, Swedes 18c, French 19c, Germans 20c)

• Stalin ignored the agreement made during the Yalta Conference and installed communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland and Yugoslavia.

• Europe was divided between the Democratic Capitalist West and the Totalitarian Communist East.

Prime Minister of Great BritainWinston Churchill

““From Stettin in the From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, the Adriatic, an an iron curtainiron curtain has has descended across descended across the continent.the continent.”” -Winston Churchill, Winston Churchill, 19461946

In his speech, Churchill stated thatEurope was divided into two hostilecamps. Stalin viewed Churchill’s speech as “a call to war with the Soviet Union.”

“Iron Curtain Speech” - 1946

Truman Doctrine, 1947•The U.S. would give money and aid to countries threatenedby communist expansion. •Led to a U.S. policy of containment, trying to keep communism within its existing borders.•U.S. gave $400,000,000 of aid to Greece and Turkey.

The Marshall Plan, 1947

•To help Europe recover from WWII, the U.S. Secretary of State, George Marshall, came up with a plan to provide economic aid to countries who needed it. •The hope was that giving food, machinery, and other materials to countries would prevent the spread of communism. •The Soviets saw this as a trick on the part of the United States to BUY support, and declined aid.

Germany is Divided

• After WWII Germany (and the city of Berlin) were divided into four sections

• Each of the Allies controlled a section– Eventually West Germany

unified as one country– East Germany remained

under the control of the USSR

Berlin Blockade and Airlift• The Soviets protested the

unification of France, Great Britain, and the U.S.’s occupied areas. They set up a blockade of West Berlin.– Not allowing any trucks, ships or

trains in to bring supplies to the 2 million residents.

• The Western powers decided to start the Berlin Airlift – for 10 months supplies and food were flown by U.S. & British planes from West Germany into West Berlin.

• USSR eventually lifted blockade.

NATO, 1949Warsaw, 1955

-Both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. wanted security so they created new alliances.-U.S. and western European countries joined together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or (NATO).-U.S.S.R joined with eastern European countries in an alliance called The Warsaw Pact.

Military Alliances

Who started the Cold War?