The Cold War and the balance of power

Background

WWII ends with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Two superpowers emerge. The United States and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R/Russia)

The U.S. Promotes democracy, the Soviet Union promotes communism (based on the ideals of Karl Marx)

Germany and Japan after the war

West Germany is divided into three zones controlled by the U.S., Britain, and France.

West Germany is a democracy Japan is controlled solely by the United States.

Democracy in West Germany

With the help of the allies (Britain, France, U.S. And the Soviet Union political parties are set up and a constitution is written.

The Nazi party is outlawed and those responsible are put on trial. These are known are the Nuremberg trials.

Democracy in Japan

Japan no longer was allowed a military A constitutional monarchy was created to limit the

power of the emperor Basic rights such as freedom of the press and of

assembly were guaranteed

The Cold War begins...

The United States feared the spread of communism The USSR put pressure on countries to become

communist

To Contain the spread of communism the U.S.....

Truman Doctrine: The US send military and economic aid to countries resisting communism.

Containment: Containing communism/stopping the spread of it.

The Iron Curtain: The imaginary line dividing communist countries and democratic/capitalist countries in Europe

The Marshall Plan

The U.S. Government to sends economic aid to countries to persuade them to resist communism.

Berlin

The capital city of Berlin was located in East Germany

The city was split in two. The west was free and the east was controlled by the USSR

The Berlin Airlift: for one year food and supplies were airlifted to East Berlin after Stalin closed land access to the city. He eventually gave up.

The Berlin Wall

Western Germany becomes a Republic. In 1961 a wall is built dividing East and West

Germany Anyone trying to cross from East Germany

(communist) to West Germany (Democracy) is killed!

NATO, 1950's

NATO=North Atlantic Treaty Organization Any nation attacked by a communist country vows

to protect one another

The Warsaw Pact, 1955

The Soviet Union pledges to support any country that is threatened by democratic countries.

The Soviets will use force...

The Soviets intervene and stop Czechoslovakia from creating a democracy

They send in military forces to overturn the government and set up a communist dictatorship

The Arms Race begins...

Seeing that the Soviets will use their military to enforce their political agenda the U.S. Reacts

The Soviet Union and the U.S. Spend huge amounts of money to build more and more powerful weapons.

Space Race

To exemplify that one form of government was better than the other the two superpowers engage in what becomes known as the space race.

Sputnik is the first satellite to orbit the earth President John Kennedy vows that the United States

will be the first to put a man on the moon.

How does vision shape the world?How does our vision shape us?