The Cold War

Relationship with SU after WWII

• Soviets disagreed with Amer and British wartime tactics and postwar plans

• US angered by Stalin signing a Nonaggression Pact with Hitler (Hitler broke it)

• Stalin angry that the US did not help them fight on the Eastern front

• Different political and economic systems

Differences between Democracy and Communism

Communism Democracy

EconomicSystem

How leaders come into

power

Rights given to people

Yalta Conference• Feb 1945 Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill meet

– Decide future of Germany and Poland

• Meeting Results:– Divide Germany into 4 zones

• Berlin split: SU got East and the rest got the West

– Stalin agreed on allowing free elections in E European within 3 months

– Stalin promised to enter war with Japanese– Agreed to create the United Nations (UN)

May 8, 1945 Germany

Surrenders = V-E Day

Effects of Yalta Conference

• Stalin did not honor his pledge of free elections

• Stalin wanted Germany to pay 20billion in war damages but Roosevelt refused

The Allies form the United Nations

A. United Nations (UN) has 2 parts1. General Assembly

• Purpose: Countries talk about the issues

• Each country has a representative

2. Security Council• Purpose: Responsible for military

• 15 countries serve • 10 serve a 2 year term –• 5 are permanent-US, SU, GB, France, and China

The Allies form the United NationsB. Value/Purpose of UN

1. Worked to keep peace between countries

2. Allowed countries to talk about issues

C. Problems with UN1. if permanent member vetoed an action =

no military action2. rivalry prevented action (ex: US & SU)3. newer, smaller countries joined together

D. Recreated homeland for Jews = Israel

UN holds Nuremberg Trials

1. Held in West Germany

2. Placed Nazi officials on trial for crimes during Holocaust

UN holds Nuremberg Trials

3. 13 separate trials with 200 defendants

4. Each Allied country involved (US, Fr, Br, SU)

UN holds Nuremberg Trials

5. Most found guilty >> imprisoned or put to death

6. Can be put on trial if caught even today

“From the Nuremberg trials, it was made clear that crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and crimes which will not be tolerated. It was made clear that every person reasonable for the involvement in these actions will pay. It was made clear nations will not turn around and do nothing because of borders or boundaries. It was made clear justice will be served in all scales.” - http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cghs.dadeschools.et/ib_holocaust2001/Nuremberg_Trials/nuremberg_contents.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cghs.dadeschools.net/ib_holocaust2001/Nuremberg_Trials/

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Roosevelt fails to see dream of UN fulfilled

• Died April 12, 1945• VP Harry Truman takes his place

– Truman has never been involved in major foreign policy talks

– Just heard about the information and is excited to use it to threaten the SU

Video on The Manhattan Projecthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEBY6iLnibk

Potsdam Conference

• July, 1945• Suburbs of Berlin

Attlee, Truman, Stalin

• The Big Three: Truman, Stalin and Clement Attlee who replaced Churchill– Stalin faced new leaders

• Purpose: To discuss postwar Europe and war against Japan

Truman intimidates??

• Truman hoped the Manhattan Project would intimidate Stalin

• Stalin already knew– HOW???

Hi. I’m Walter Lippman.

I coined the word “Cold War”

A Cold War is a conflict between two countries

in which they don’t fight each other directly.

Goals of the Soviet Union Wanted buffer states AND “satellite” nations

2 - Wanted a warm water port

WHY?

→ Enlarge Sphere of Influence

→ Cominterm = an agency intended to coordinate activities of communist parties around the world

Goals of the Soviet Union

Spread Communism

The speeches that set the tone of the Cold War

• Stalin gave speech in Feb 1946 that predicted an ultimate triumph of communism over capitalism

• Churchill responded with the speech, “The Iron Curtain”

HOW THE US TRIED TO STOP THE SOVIET UNION AND THE

SPREAD OF COMMUNISM

1. The Iron CurtainWinston Churchill:

“An iron curtain has descended across the continent”

• Recognized that E. Europe was already lost to communism

• The US would resist Soviet attempts to form Communist governments elsewhere in the world

2. CONTAINMENT

3. The Truman DoctrineNow has a chance to apply the

containment theory

Dardanelles Strait

Truman Doctrine signed

Feb 1947: Gave $400 million to help:

Help Turkey & Greece fight off the Communists

Marshall Plan

$12.5 billion to: any country who needed helping rebuilding after

WWII→ Economies

restored quickly!

SU thought the US was trying to

spread democracy

Why would the US aid Europe?

• To create a strong Democracy

• To open new markets for American good

Re-unite Western Germany

• March 1948: US, GB, and France merge their 3 occupational zones + West Berlin

Soviet Union RespondsSU takes over E. Europe

Were we too generous to

them at Yalta conference?

The Peoples’ Reaction

• Hundreds of thousands in E. Europe fled communist nations to E. Berlin– Crossed into Western Berlin– Booked passage to US, Canada, or W.

Europe

Berlin Blockade

• Closed escape route by forcing Western powers to abandon West Berlin

• How?– New currency was introduced in Western

Germany and West Berlin. • Since W. Berlin was in East Germany, Stalin saw

this as a threat.• Used dispute over currency as an excuse to

blockade allied access into West Berlin

The Berlin Blockade (by SU)Berlin Blockade June, 1948SU blockaded all ground traffic entering into

Western Berlin (Democratic side) for 327 days

Why did Stalin do this?

• His hopes:– To create shortages of food and other

supplies needed by the 2.5mill people in West Berlin

– West Germany would give up West Berlin

BERLIN AIRLIFT

• Avoid using military force• Don’t give up west Berlin• Moved supplies into W. Berlin by plane

– Over 200,000 flights delivered food, fuel, and other supplies

– 13,000 tons arrived daily

Impact of Berlin Airlift

• May 1949, Soviets gave up blockade

LED TO THE BERLIN WALL

Why is the UN unable to get involved?

UN was suppose to deal with postwar problems but…

”1. if permanent member vetoed an action then no military

action”

• Western Europe unable to rely on the UN for protection from Soviet aggression

NATO

• Canadian foreign minister, Louis St, Laurent proposed creating an association of democratic peace-loving states to defend W. Europe from SU

• Mixed view pts– Those for:keep communism out– Those against: Arms Race: arming half the

world against the other half

The creation of NATO

• April 1949: Canada and the US join Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

5th – Alliances are formed Alliances are Formed

US formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization

with Britain, Belgium, Canada, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Greece,

Turkey, West Germany

Purpose: → An armed attack against 1 = against all→ Collective Security

5th – SU allianceAlliances are Formed

SU formed the Warsaw Pact with Albania,

Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria,

East Germany

Warsaw Pact = a military alliance with its satellite nations in E. Europe

FROM STALIN TO KHRUSHCHEV• Stalin died in March 1953• Khrushchev became successor, head of

the communist party• serving as premier of USSR from 1958 to

1964.

KHRUSHCHEV IS MORE MODERATE

• Though he largely pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West

• inaugurated the space age in 1957 with the launch of the satellite Sputnik

• For de-stalinization

de-Stalinization

• process of “de-Stalinization” that made Soviet society less repressive.

• criticized Stalin for arresting and deporting opponents

• reduced the power of the Soviet Union’s feared secret police, released many political prisoners, relaxed artistic censorship, opened up more of the country to foreign visitors and

Khrushchev also Authoritarian

• Yet Khrushchev could be authoritarian in his own right, – crushing a revolt in Hungary– approving the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The Cold war lasted 50yrs, u

ntil the

collapse of th

e Soviet Union in

1991