Chapter 21“The Cold War Era, Decolonization, and

the Emergence of a New Europe”

AP EUROPEAN HISTORYMR. RICK PURRINGTON

MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOL

I. July 1945 - The End of World War II is Near

A. En route to G, USSR influences E. Eu countries

B. Potsdam Conference

1. E. Eu: Democratic or Communist?

a) Truman demands free elections in E. Eu

b) Stalin refuses – USSR needs security“A freely elected government in any of these Eastern European countries

would be anti-Soviet, and that we cannot allow.”

~ Joseph Stalin at the

Potsdam Conference

C. What to do with G?

1. G divided into 4 zones

a) US, Fr, Br, and USSR

2. Berlin divided same way

D. The Berlin Airlift

1. 1948 - USSR blocks traffic into W. Berlin

2. U.S. planes dropped 400,000 tons of supplies into W. Berlin

3. 1949 – USSR ends blockade

The Berlin Airlift

E. Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes lighted by the Allied victory.

Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its communists intend

to do in the future or what are the limits, if any to their explosive

tendencies. I believe an “iron curtain” has descended across Europe.”

~ Winston Churchill, 1946

http://www.photius.com/countries/soviet_union_former/index.html

II. The Truman Doctrine: Containment

A. Goal: Stop the spread of communism“I believe that it must be the policy of the U.S. to support freedom. I believe that our

help should be primarily through economic aid which can help bring stability and order.” ~ President Truman, 1947

1. Greece, Turkey $180 million“The United States contributed $341,000,000,000 toward winning World War II. This is an investment in world freedom and world peace. The assistance that I am recommending for Greece and Turkey amounts to little more than 1 tenth of 1 per cent of this investment. It is only common sense that we should safeguard this investment and make sure that it was not in vain.”

~ President Truman, 1947

2. The Marshall Plan

a) $13.4 billion to Eu to rebuild

3. NATO – anti-Soviet military alliance

4. Warsaw pact – anti-NATO military alliance

III. Decolonization (1945-1980)

A. The colonies desired:

1. Self Determination

2. Racial equality

3. Personal dignity

B. Eu desired, after WWII:

1. peace, concentration at home

2. a movement away from imperialism

IV. Continued Cold War Conflict

A. USSR After Stalin

1. 1953 – Stalin Dies, Nikita Khrushchev emerges

2. De-Stalinization begins in USSR

3. USSR concerned - Khru’s “loose grip”

4. Khru hardens his stance against the West

B. 1961 – Khru orders Berlin Wall be built around W. Berlin

C. 1961 -The Bay of Pigs

1. Pres. Kennedy’s and CIA’s failed plan

to assassinate Cuban communist

Fidel Castro

D. 1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis

1. USSR nuclear missiles in Cuba

2. JFK works a deal to avert nuclear war

3. Khru forced by USSR to step down

“Duck and Cover!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UVH8YRXsqo

V. End of the Cold War

A. Détente – 1970’s relaxing of Cold War tensions

B. 1984 – Pres. Reagan is re-elected

1) Largest landslide victory in U.S. history = mandate

C. Late 1980’s -- U.S. Winning the Cold War

1) USSR economy , U.S. economy

2) Pres. Reagan’s military spending

a) 1980 – $150 billion

b) 1988 – $300 billion

3) USSR couldn’t keep up (military spending, space race, etc = $$)

4) U.S. fell into debt

a)1980 – $80 billion in debt

b)1990 – $220 billion

D. Reagan and USSR Leader Mikhail Gorbachev

1) First positive relations b/t USSR, U.S. leaders

2) Gorbachev agrees to allow some freedom

a) glasnost – some political freedom

b) perestroika – some economic freedom

E. The Fall of the USSR

1) 1989 – E. Eu nations (Poland, Czech, Romania, Bulgaria etc) hold elections

2) E. Ger allows E. Berliners

to move to W. Berlin

3) Berlin Wall is torn down

4) 1990 – E and W Ger unify

5) Dec. 1991 – USSR Republics

hold elections, become

independent

6) USSR no longer exists –

Cold War Ends, Boris Yeltsin rules

7) 2000 – Vladimir Putin rules a

“managed democracy”

VI. Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans

A. The Break-up of Yugoslavia

1. 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare independence

2. Serbian Pres. Slobodan Milosevic

a) Goals - Unite all Serbs, create a “greater Serbia”

b) Plan – conquer Kosovo (ethnic Albanians), attack Slovenia and conquer 30% of Croatia

3. 1992 – Bosnia-Herzegovina declares independence

a) Serbs (30% of pop of B-H) refuse to live under Bosnian Muslim rule

b) Serbian genocide of Bosnian Muslims ensues

4. NATO intervenes

a) B-H = Bosnian and Croatian Muslim state

b) Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fight Serbs for independence for Kosovo

c) NATO bombs Serbians into submission

d) Kosovo gets “self-rule” not independence

e) Milosovic charged w/crimes against humanity