Post World War II...The Cold War

Thesis Statement

The Post WWII era has been dominated by the Cold War and

events today are reflective of Cold War dynamics

(propaganda, us vs. them, good vs. evil, UN Security

Council votes on Iran, Syria, North Korea .)

Information - What

• What is “The Cold War”?

• State of tension and hostility with nations aligned

with the United States and Soviet Union

• Cold War battles – no military fighting

• Hot war during the cold war

• Korean War

• Vietnam War

Information - What

• Soviet Union and the nations of the West

had cooperated to defeat Nazi Germany.

• Allies set-up councils made up of foreign

ministers from Britain, France, China, the

United States and the Soviet Union to

make the peace agreements.

Information - What

Governments of Eastern Europe caused

divisions.

Conflicting ideologies and distrust equals.

Information - What

What is the Berlin Wall?

A wall built to separate the communist section of

Berlin.

There are many walls built even today to separate

people.

Information What

What Organization was re-created after

WWII?

Delegates from 50 nations convened in San

Francisco to draft a charter for the United

Nations (UN).

The UN would play a greater role in world

affairs than did its predecessor, the League

of Nations.

Information - What

The great powers would have authority to

ensure the peace.

The Security Council has the power to apply

economic sanctions or send a peace-keeping

military force to try to resolve disputes.

Information - Who

Who is in the NATO and Warsaw Pact treaty

organizations?

North Atlantic Countries

Eastern Eropean countries

The two alliances in Europe faced each other along the

Iron Curtain, the tense line between the democratic West

and the communist East.

Knowledge - How

How was the nuclear arms race fought?

By 1949 the Soviet Union had developed

nuclear weapons.

By 1953 both side had developed a more

powerful bomb made from hydrogen.

Both sides raced each other to build

something more powerful.

Knowledge How

How did arms control agreements impact

the cold war period?

The American strategy under détente was to

restrain the Soviet Union through diplomatic

agreements rather than by military means.

Knowledge - Why

Why was the Berlin Wall Built? (How did it fall?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZCwlKiiZrs

Knowledge – Why

Why is the Korean War called the “Forgotten

War”?

This invasion was the first military action of the Cold

War.

July 1953, the Korean War came to an end.

5 million soldiers and civilians lost their live during the

war.

The Korean peninsula is still divided today.

Knowledge - Why

Why did the United States get involved in the

Vietnam war?

Western and communist powers agreed to a temporary division of

Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh communists controlled North Vietnam.

A non communist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem supported by

the United States, ruled South Vietnam.

Knowledge - Why

American foreign policy planners saw the

situation in Vietnam as part of the global

Cold War.

Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin

Resolution on August 7, 1964.

Knowledge - Why

United States began bombing targets in North

Vietnam. Eventually, more than 500,000

American troops were committed to the war.

The US pulled troops out in 1973 and by 1975 all

of Vietnam was under communist control.

Knowledge - Why

• Why would America be involved in the conflicts going

on in other places.

• Southeast Asian and African wars were, for many

local participants, nationalist struggles against

foreign domination...eventually they all played a part

in the global Cold War.

Knowledge - Why

• The Superpowers provided weapons, training, or

other aid to opposing forces in Asia, Africa, or

Latin America.

• The CIA overthrew other governments suspected

of turning pro communist.

Knowledge - Why

Argentina, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua,

Honduras,Guatemala,Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia,

Colombia, México are examples of countries in

Latin America in which the United States has

intervened.

Wisdom - Results

The UN’s work would go far beyond

peacekeeping.

Wisdom - Results

1962 Tensions were at a high point with the Cuban

Missile Crisis.

Wisdom - Results

The Space Race

Between 1957 and 1975, the Cold War rivalry between

the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space

exploration.

Wisdom - Results

Athletic Competition

The US had never beaten the Soviets in Olympic

hockey.

The US victory was seen as a Cold War victory for

the US.

Wisdom - Results

• I remember seeing the world in black and white, us

vs them, the good guys and the bad guys.

• Any and all things Communist was bad and any and

all things American was good.

• TV shows and cartoons depicted the villains as

"Communists"

• allies).

• We use to have Nuclear attack drills in school like

you have earthquake drills

Wisdom - Future

Labeling and identifying entire populations of

people as "bad" because of the political and social

system they live under, leads to misunderstandings

and false impressions. (Think of the War on Terror

today)

• Knowledge, awareness, and communication are

essential for humans to create a more peaceful

world.