World History II – March 2012
Dawn of the Cold War
Stalin is distrustful of the West U.S. and Great Britain had taken
so long to open the second front against Germany (Normandy landing)
U.S. possession and use of atomic bomb against Japan
Deep ideological differences between communism and capitalism
Stalin wants to maintain a “buffer zone” in Eastern Europe
Winston Churchill describes this communist expansion as an “iron curtain”
At the close of WWII
Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947) We must contain communism and keep it from spreading by
sending money and troops to support any country in danger of falling under Soviet control
U.S. Military Response
“This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed upon free
peoples, by direct or indirect aggression,
undermine the foundations of
international peace, and hence the security of the
United States.”
The Marshall Plan (1948)Based on the premise that communism thrives
only in economically backward countriesGiving large amounts of aid to European
countries willDeprive communist of poor countries to take overSave Western Europe from CommunismProvide the U.S. with stable trade partners and
marketsU. S. offered aid to any country (including
USSR)USSR and satellites in Eastern Europe refused aid
U.S. Economic Response
The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan establish an official anti-communist policy for the U.S. and can be seen as the beginning of the Cold War A period of hostility and competition between the U.S. and the
USSR that always stopped short of direct war between them
The Cold War
The Berlin Crisis (1948-49)
Western Allies introduced new Deutschmark to stabilize West Germany’s economy
Stalin feared that this would threaten his dominance in East Germany and throughout Eastern Europe
Stalin cut utilities in West Berlin and closed western routes into the city
Western Allies must decide:Abandon West Berlin and risk more communist aggression?Crash blockade and risk war with the Soviets?
Third option: air lift all supplies to West BerlinContinue round-the-clock flights only 30 seconds apart for
11 monthsStalin lifts the blockade, and the crisis ends
The Berlin Crisis
Resolution of the Berlin Crisis leads to the formation of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955)
New Alliances
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