• The Cold War•As we learned, the USSR and other ALLIES made an uneasy

friendship during WWII

• USSR originally made secret treaty with Nazis

• Capitalism and Democracy vs Totalitarian Communism

• HUGE difference in goals

• USA – isolationism before Pearl Harbor

• European Allies – Appeasement (underprepared for war)

• USSR – protest themselves, continue revolution at home and, you know, foster the proletarian revolution around the world

• Not exactly the friend you want, but desperate times call for desperate measures

• And then, the war was over in Europe

• Stalin and USSR attempt to claim parts of Asia by declaring war on Japan

• Notice this was certainly a factor in the dropping of atomic weapons

• The Cold War

•What’s in a name?

• “Cold War” because neither the USA nor the USSR actually

confront each other directly

• “afraid” to use new nuclear technology in a total war

• However, there were several hot spots with war

• Distrust existed before WWII, during and certainly escalated in

the immediate aftermath

• Most of the 1950s – 1980s is a story of two SUPERPOWER

teams fighting to enlarge their alliance system and to weaken

the other

• NATO – capitalism and democracy

• WARSAR Pact – Communism and usually Authoritarianism

• The End…neither saw it ending in the fashion it did…

• Reviewing Data

•Answers in SHERER commentary

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on

a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of

it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people

don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in

Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the

country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to

drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist

dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no

voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.

That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,

and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the

country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

• Alliance Breaks Apart [video 1]

•1. after WWII, the US and

the USSR emerged as the

world’s only two superpowers

• a. possessing the military

and economic power to

dominate the world

•2. we became VERY tense rivals / enemies

•3. Winston Churchill’s speech calls the USSR and communism

an “Iron Curtain” that divides Europe into an “Eastern” and

“Western Bloc”

• a. obviously; democracy and capitalism in west and communism in east

• The Soviet Perspective

•1. Stalin’s 2 post-WWII goals:

• a. spread communism (worldwide revolution) via

COMINTERN

• b. create a buffer zone between USSR and western Europe

•2. USSR occupies “liberated” territories

• a. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,

Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and East

• Partition of Germany [video 2]

•1. Germany was divided among the

4 major Allied nations

• a. USSR, USA, Britain, and France

• b. becomes East and West Germany

• c. capital Berlin was also divided, but

was completely inside the Soviet zone

• d. USSR builds the Berlin Wall to

prevent East Germans from escaping to

free West Germany

• 2 Superpowers:

• 3. rival alliances form:

• a. NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• i. USA/European nations who supported democracy and

capitalism

• b. Warsaw Pact – USSR and other “communist” nations

• i. Stalin promised “liberated” territories free elections; didn't

happen

• ii. this division creates the “Iron Curtain”

• iii. many nations resisted Soviet

takeover; ex. Hungary

• Foreign Policy Shifts

• US abandons “Isolationist” policy post-WWII

• a. Truman Doctrine

• i. “I believe it must be the policy of the United States to

support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation

by armed minorities or by outside pressures” – Pres. Truman

• ii. began in March of 1947; guaranteed US would resist

Soviet/Communist expansion

• b. Domino Theory - if one nations falls to communism, so too

will the next, etc.

• c. Containment – limiting communism to the areas already

under Soviet control

• i. the idea was that, eventually, Communism would destroy itself from

within economically and politically

• Foreign Policy Shifts

•US abandons “Isolationist” policy post-WWII

• d. Marshall Plan – a massive aid package (billions of $)

offered by the US to any European nation whom:

• i. needs food and other economic support and

• ii. has free elections (is not a fascist/communist totalitarian

state)

• iii. USSR refuses help from capitalist West; instead USSR

promised similar aid to its “satellites”

• ex. China becomes communist in 1949 with USSR’s help

• Early point of contention

• Berlin Airlift

• a. ‘48, Stalin attempts to force

western powers out of Berlin,

Germany

• i. remember, Berlin is a “1/2 free”

city in Soviet East Germany

(communist satellite of USSR)

• b. USSR attempts to enforce a

blockade/ ultimately fails

• c. western allies defeat the

blockade by an around-the-clock

airlift

• War in the Nuclear Age [video 3]

• The Arms Race

• a. the USSR becomes a nuclear power in ‘49

• i. creates even larger, more destructive hydrogen bombs

• War in the Nuclear Age [video 4]

• The Arms Race

• b. USSR and USA compete to build better weapons

• i. quantity and quality race

• ii. fuels the space race

• NASA, German scientist Wernher von Braun [check out!]

• iii. quest for the ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)

• iv. America becomes paranoid over possible nuclear

attacks from USSR during late-’50s, 60s and 70s

• ex. Duck and Cover drills

• c. MAD – Mutually-Assured Destruction

LEARNING THROUGH DBQ

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tension between the United States and Soviet Union.

Let us brainstorm: What do we already know about the prompt?

What can we predict?

How will we contextualize this prompt?

What voices / sources do we expect to find?

LEARNING THROUGH DBQ

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

LEARNING THROUGH DBQ

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

Analyze developments from 1941 to 1949 that increased suspicion and tensionbetween the United States and Soviet Union.

What’s Next?

Analyze causes of growing tension between USA and USSR

Analyzing the “Hot Spots” of the COLD WAR and how it ended

LESSON CHECKLIST

Watch SLIDE SHOW

listen to optional SHERER Commentary

Watch VIDEO clips

Check out ADDITIONAL LINKS:

DBQ:Respond on the corresponding Blog Post Thread