The Cold War 1945-The Cold War 1945-19911991

YALTA (in the USSR)YALTA (in the USSR)Date: Feb 1945Date: Feb 1945

Present: Churchill, Present: Churchill, Roosevelt and StalinRoosevelt and Stalin

• Preliminary decisions made for end of war.

United Nations Created

• April, 1945 – San Francisco, CA– 51 nations agreed

• Two bodies of UN– General Assembly – any member (nation) same

voting rights.– Security Council – 5 permanent members can

veto over general assembly• 10 rotating temporary members

POTSDAM (Germany)POTSDAM (Germany)Date: July 1945Date: July 1945

Present: Churchill, Present: Churchill, Truman and StalinTruman and Stalin

– Split Germany– Demilitarize

Germany– Nazi Party

outlawed– German

democracy– Trials for war

criminals

Iron CurtainIron Curtain – – A term used by A term used by Winston Winston

Churchill Churchill to describe the to describe the separating of separating of Those Those

communistcommunistlands of East lands of East Europe from Europe from

the the West. West.

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

Soviet & Eastern Bloc

Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.

METHODOLOGIES:

1. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

2. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”

3. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

Soviet Nations-nations under Soviet domination that would serve as buffer zones to an attack

• Poland• Albania• Bulgaria• Czechoslovakia• Hungary• Romania• Finland • East Germany

The Bipolarization of Europe

Origins of Cold War• Post WWII – US/Soviet relations

severed

• Soviet Nations created

• US intervenes– Truman Doctrine

• Spread of Communism is a threat to democracy

• Containment policy – contain communism, prevent from spreading.

• Ends “isolationist policy” of US.

• Issue of Greece and Turkey– Could not allow soviet control of

Dardanelles

– $400 million in aid to protect

Marshall Plan

• European Recovery Program aimed at providing economic assistance to European countries.– Sec. of State – George Marshall– East Germany benefits from Marshall Plan– Four years - $13 billion in grants and loans to

Europe.• Showed U.S. economic strength at end of war.

Berlin Airlift• Goal: Unify four sectors into Germany• June, 1948 – Soviets oppose unifying

Germany all together.– Federal Republic of Germany

– Three sectors unite - US, France and G. Britain.

• Problem: – East Berlin – Communist

– West Berlin – Capitalist

– Soviets blockade food, resources into West Berlin by land and water traffic.

– West Berlin facing starvation

West Germany

East Germany

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• The Russians took very high casualties to capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the early occupation trying to take over all zones of the city but were stopped by German democrats such as Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer. Reluctantly the Russians had to admit the Americans, French and British to their respective zones.

Berlin Airlift

• Thousands flee to West Berlin to escape communist rule

• 13,000 tons of goods arrived by air from the US to West Berlin

Communist Advances• Soviet atomic threat

– September 1949– Successful atomic test explosion in Soviet Union

– US fears effect of Hiroshima and Nagasaki– Truman forges ahead to maintain US arm superiority

• Hydrogen bomb (thermonuclear) 1952• Federal Civil Defense Administration created

– Planned for bomb shelters, instruction for aid raid drills in schools» HONESTLY – totally pointless

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• The nuclear bomb gave America a lead which was expected to last at least 5 years. The rapid Russian development of nuclear technology, helped by the work of the “atom spies” was a shock.

Significantly, Russia hurriedly declared war against Japan at the beginning of August 1945 and rushed to advance into Asia to stake out a position for the post-war settlement. This helped make both the Korean and Vietnamese conflicts more likely.

China Falls to Communists• Mao Zedong – communist• Jiang Jieshi a.k.a. Chiang Kai-shek –

nationalist

• Jiang asked US for support to hold off communist takeover of China– US wanted to focus in Western Europe

• China Falls: 1949• People’s Republic of China created

– Leader: Mao Zedong– Jiang and followers withdrew to

Taiwan

SECTION 2: THE COLD WAR HEATS UP

• CHINA:For two decades, Chinese

communists had struggled against the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek

The U.S. supported Chiang and gave the Nationalist Party $3 billion in aid during WWII

However, Mao Zedong’s Communist Party in China was strong, especially among Chinese peasants

CHINESE CIVIL WAR: 1944-1947

• After Japan left China at the end of the War, Chinese Nationalists and Communists fought a bloody civil war

• Despite the U.S. sending $ billions to the Nationalists, the Communists under Mao won the war and ruled China

• Chiang and the Nationalists fled China to neighboring Taiwan (Formosa)

• Mao established the People’s Republic of China

MAO

Kai-Shek

Cold War at Home

• HUAC created (1938)– House Un-American Activities Committee– Focused on communist infiltration of the movie

industry• Ie. Hollywood Ten, blacklists etc.

NATO FORMED

• The Berlin blockade increased Western Europe’s fear of Soviet aggression

• As a result, ten West European nations joined the U.S and Canada on April 4, 1949 to form a defensive alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The NATO flag

Spy Cases

• Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

• Communist Party immigrants

• Accused of passing atomic secrets to Soviets.

• Convicted of treason and executed in 1953

Korea before the WarAfter World War II, Japanese-occupied Korea was temporarily divided into northern and southern parts.

The Soviet Union controlled Korea north of the 38th parallel. The United States would be in charge of Korea south of the 38th parallel.

The Soviet Union established a communist government in North Korea. North Korea called itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Its first leader was Kim Il Sung.

In South Korea, the United States promoted a democratic system. The Republic of Korea was led by president Syngman Rhee.

Korean War

[1950-1953]

Soviet Occupied North

American Occupied South

Divided at the 38th Parallel

The Start of the Korean War

• North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.

• United States was surprised by attack.

– American troops in South Korea since WW II had completed their withdrawal.

– The United States was not prepared to fight in Korea

– Truman US would take a stand against Communist in Korea.

• The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in favor of the use of force in Korea.

– Douglass MacArthur (leader of UN forces in Korea)

Korean War[1950-1953]

Syngman Rhee

Kim Il-Sung

The Shifting Map of Korea[1950-1953]

AN ARMISTICE IS SIGNED• Negotiators began

working on a settlement as early as the summer of 1951

• Finally, in July 1953, an agreement was signed that ended the war in a stalemate

(38th parallel) • America’s cost: 54,000

lives and $67 billion

Korean War Memorial, Washington D.C.

Effects of Korean War• First time African Americans

and whites served in the same military units.

• 54,000 killed with limited results.

• War concluded without nuclear weapons.

• Huge increase in military spending.– ½ of federal budget went to

military.• U.S./Chinese relations poisoned

by Korean War• Known as the “forgotten war”

Korean War Memorial

McCarthyism

THE BLACKLIST TEN

• Ten witnesses refused to cooperate because they believed the proceedings were unconstitutional – they were jailed

• Subsequently, the committee blacklisted 500 actors, directors, writers and producers whom they believed had communist connections

The “Blacklist Ten” (And two lawyers)

SPY CASES STUN THE NATION

• Two spy cases added to the fear gripping the nation

• Alger Hiss was accused of being a spy for the Soviets

• A young Republican congressman named Richard Nixon gained fame by tirelessly prosecuting Hiss

• Hiss was found guilty and jailed – less than four years later Nixon was VPNixon examines

microfilm in Hiss case

MCCARTHY LAUNCHES “WITCH HUNT”

• The most famous anti-Communist activist was Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin

• McCarthy took advantage of people’s concern about Communism by making unsupported claims that 205 state department members were Communists

MCCARTHY’S DOWNFALL

• Finally, in 1954 McCarthy went too far

• He accused high ranking Army officers of being Communists

• In the televised proceedings McCarthy’s bullying of witnesses alienated the national audience

• Three years later he died of alcoholism at age 49 McCarthy’s attacking style

and utter lack of evidence led to his downfall

McCarthy’s reckless claims:

•Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950)

•list of 205 State Department employees that were members of the Communist party.

· After thousands of Americans had their lives ruined after being accused of being communists, McCarthy’s popularity lessened as the nation learned that he had no proof behind his accusations.

· McCarthy’s claim was never proven, but he helped to increase a fear of communism in America known as the “Red Scare”.

McCarthyism

• According to the cartoon, what does McCarthy really have, instead of proof?

• What is the message of the cartoon?

Nuclear Arms Race

U.S.

vs.

Soviets

What Have We Done?Only country in the world to carry out a nuclear attack?

•United States, on Japan, WWII

•Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)

Fat Man and Little Boy

MACARTHUR VS. TRUMAN• MacArthur continued to urge President Truman to attack

China and tried to go behind Truman’s back – Truman was furious with his general

• On April 1, 1951, Truman made the shocking announcement that he had fired MacArthur

• Americans were surprised and many still supported their fallen general

Macarthur was

given a ticker-tape

parade

AN ARMISTICE IS SIGNED• Negotiators began

working on a settlement as early as the summer of 1951

• Finally, in July 1953, an agreement was signed that ended the war in a stalemate

(38th parallel) • America’s cost: 54,000

lives and $67 billion

Korean War Memorial, Washington D.C.

BRINKMANSHIP

• By the time both countries had the H-bomb (1953), President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles made it clear they were willing to use all military force (including nuclear weapons) to stop aggression

• The Soviets followed suit • This willingness to go to the

edge of all-out war became known as brinkmanship

Some Americans created shelters in their backyards in

case of nuclear attack

THE COLD WAR SPREADS

• As the Cold War heated up, the U.S. depended more and more on information compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

• The CIA began attempts to weaken or overthrow governments unfriendly to the U.S.

THE WARSAW PACT

• To counter the U.S. defense alliance (NATO), in 1955 the Soviets formed their own mutual defense alliance known as the Warsaw Pact

NATO

WARSAW

NEUTRAL

THE HUNGARIAN

UPRISING

• Dominated by the Soviet Union since the end of WWII, the Hungarian people rose up in revolt in 1956

• Led by Imre Nagy, the liberal Communist leader of Hungary, the people demanded free elections and the end of Soviet domination

The Soviets responded to the Hungarian revolt with tanks

The Soviets’ response was swift and brutal – 30,000 Hungarians were killed (including Nagy) as the Soviets reasserted control

The Arms Race: Why?•Territorial integrity and national sovereignty

•Ideological struggle

•Capitalism vs. communism

•Democracy vs. authoritarian rule

•Military prowess: nukes as visible symbol of power

•USSR could not keep up economically

•MAD = Mutually Assured Destruction

•Deterrence from picking fights

US and Soviet Nuclear Strategic Forces, 1950-2000

Source: Arms Control Association, Fact Sheets (2005) *=1956 totals

US USSR/Russia

Year Launchers Warheads Launchers Warheads

1950 462 400 22* 84*

1960 1,559 3,127 144 354

1970 2,100 5,239 1,985 2,216

1980 2,022 10,608 2,545 7,480

1990 1,903 12,477 2,500 10,271

2000 1,407 7,519 1,266 6,094

2005 1,225 5,966 981 4,732

Characteristics of US and Soviet Nuclear Strategic Forces

• Both US and USSR created “nuclear triad” forces:• Ground (ICBM)

• Intercontinental ballistic missiles

• Sea (SLBM)• Submarine launched ballistic missiles

• Air (Bombers)

Sputnik• October 4, 1957

– Soviets launched Sputnik• First artificial satellite, to orbit

around the earth.

• 184 pounds

• 23 inches

• Less than a month later...– Battery ran out and burned up

re-entering earth

• Series of Sputniks attempts

Sputnik• November 3, 1957

– Sputnik II launched– carried a dog named Laika– Laika was the first living organism in space.– Survived for only a few hours instead of the planned

ten days because of overheating and stress.

U-2 Incident• American Spy plane

– Shot down over the Soviet Union– Plane flew 15 miles high– Gary Powers taken capture and imprisoned

• Traded to U.S. for a Soviet spy in exchange

– U.S. determined to spend considerable money and resources to catch up and surpass the Soviets in the arms race.

– Mistrust after this event will lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s

The Cold War: 1945-1960

The Cold War: 1960-1991