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CBSE – iCLASS-X- HISTORYTEACHERS’ MANUAL

UNIT-I THE WORLD AFTER THEWORLD WAR- II

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CONTENTS

BEGINNING OF COLD WAR - CAUSES

COURSE OF COLD WAR - FORMATION OF BLOCS AND MILITARY

ALLIANCES

CHALLENGE TO BIPOLARITY - NAM

EVENTS LEADING TO THE END OF THE COLD WAR

- UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

- FALL OF COMMUNIST REGIMES IN EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

- DISINTEGRATION OF USSR.

SUB TOPICS Introduction The Cold War The Beginning of the Cold War: Origins: The Berlin Wall crisis and the Division of Germany Two States in Germany The Warsaw Pact Invasion of Afghanistan The Korean war Impact of Korean war USA as the superpower Economic supremacy Arms Race The Cuban Missile crisis The Vietnam war The détente Invasion of Afghanistan Anti-Communist hysteria Foreign interventions Poverty in USA Fall of Communist regimes in east European countries: Disintegration of Soviet Union Emergence of Non-Alignment Movement-NAM Disintegration of Soviet Union End of the Cold War



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UNIT MATRIX

CONTENTS

Beginning ofCold War –Factorsresponsiblefor the rise ofcold war

KNOWLEDGE Concept of cold

war Concept of

bipolar order Concept of

containment Terms of Yalta

and Potsdamconference

TrumanDoctrine

Marshall Plan

UNDERSTANDING Factors behind

the emergence ofBi polar worldorder

Differentiatebetweencommunist andcapitalistideology

Examples ofideologicalconfrontations

Role of Trumandoctrine andMarshall Plan inlaying thefoundation ofcold war.

APPLICATION Develop perspective

over ideologicaldebate betweencapitalism andcommunism.

Become sensitive tothe agony of thepeople of Hiroshimaand Nagasaki

Recognize the roleof atom bomb inhuman destruction

Critically evaluatethe role of US andUSSR in variouscold warconfrontations.

Probe into variouscauses responsiblefor the rise of coldwar.

Course ofcold war –formation ofblocks andmilitaryalliances

Concept ofmilitary alliances

Objectives ofNATO andWARSAW pact

Formation ofSEATO andCENTO

Arenas of cold war– Berlin crisis,Korean Crisis,Vietnam Crisis,Cuban Missilecrisis

Emergence ofDétente

Time line of coldwar

Invasion ofAfghanistan

Armaments race

Comprehend thepurpose behind theformation ofNATO andWARSAW pacts.

Analyze the role ofmilitary alliances instimulating cold wartensions

Significance ofBerlin Blockade

Examine the natureof cold conflicts

Historicalbackground ofVietnam War

Reason behind USinvolvement inVietnam War

Threat of nuclearweapons

Mapping skills –identification as wellas location of themembers ofWARSAW andNATO pacts.

Implications ofCuban Missile Crisisand Berlin Blockade

Critically evaluateAmericaninvolvement inVietnam War

Establish acorrelation betweenVietnam War andInvasion ofAfghanistan

Consequences ofArms race on theWorld



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Concept of MAD-Mutually AssuredDestruction

Logic of deterrence Contribution ofUnited Nations inreducing cold wartensions

Interpret variouscartoons associatedwith the course ofcold war

Challenge toBi polarity -NAM

Eventsleading to theend of coldwar

Concept of NonAlignment

Objectives ofNAM

Timeline of fallcommunist regimesin East Europeancountries

Causes behind theemergence of NAM

Process of fall ofcommunist countriesin East Europe

Significance of fallof Berlin Wall

Contribution of NAM inreducing cold wartensions

Investigate reasonsresponsible for the fallof communist regimes inEast European countries

Implications of fall ofBerlin wall on Germanyand the world

Gather information onthe factors responsiblefor the disintegration ofUSSR

Impact of disintegrationof USSR on the World

Acknowledge the roleplayed by third worldcountries in reducingcold war tensions



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SCOPE

Humans have long dreamt of the whole world living in harmony and made constant efforts to

establish it. The world after the end of World War II laid the foundation of a changing world

order which was involved in a constant effort and struggle for gaining and balancing political,

economic and international power for the purpose of both establishing superiority over the

world and averting the outbreak of another World War.

This unit will introduce them to the array of interesting events which affected the broader

history of the second half of the twentieth century. This unit will help them to investigate the

scope and intensity of the cold war and the impact it had on the world at large. It will also

facilitate in developing a clear and stimulating interpretative overview of the cold war which

will further encourage deeper investigative skills in them.

The study of this unit will help them to acknowledge the fact that the origin of cold war can

be traced back to the mistakes made at the end of World War II. This will develop an

understanding that the basis of change in the nature of imperialism, colonisation,

International terrorism, Global poverty, violation of human rights , genocide, mad race for

armaments , global warming, US hegemony etc are a direct and indirect outcomes of the

process of the cold war.

This will sensitize the learners to the grievances of the developing nations combined with the

hardships of great economic divide, economic under development, the fear of getting dragged

into various cold war hostilities, and the evident hegemony of two super powers, clouds of

military blocs and never ending thoughts of suspicion, threat and above all the fear of the

outbreak of the third world war. The role of NAM in challenging bi-polar politics will

motivate the learners in fighting against the injustice. Through this Unit, I intend to instil a

driving force amongst the youngsters in the discharge of their responsibilities as global

citizens.



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WHY WE TEACH THIS UNIT:

As the Second World War drew to a close, the seed of new and most destructive conflict was

sown. Those who had fought together the World War II now got separated into two military

camps standing hostile to each other. The US and USSR did not fight each other directly but

fought with potent weapons of diplomacy, ideology, mad race for armaments, economic

confrontation, division of the world into two camps and so on. The birth of this new era is

described as the beginning of the Cold War.

The end of Second World War and the beginning of cold war marked the significant

transitional period to the emergence of the contemporary era in international politics. This

journey began with the most destructive discovery and use of atom bombs on humanity to the

war of words revolving around capitalism vs. communism, to formation of UN, to division of

world into two powerful camps capable of triggering and inflicting a nuclear warfare, to

Berlin blockade, to the rise of NAM as a third option, to the use of chemical and biological

weapons on innocent people, to détente and to disintegration of the USSR.

These events affected governments, organizations and people in a way that had not happened

before. This period also underwent major technological changes both helping and hindering

human development. As the mid twentieth century unfolded, the desire to dominate regional

politics expanded to establish hegemony around the globe.

This transformation from bipolar to uni-polar and then multi polar world is very significant in

understanding the dynamics of global politics.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Comprehend the concept of the Cold War, Bipolarity and Non Alignment Policy.

Interpret the key causes responsible for the rise of Cold War.

Familiarize themselves with the course of the Cold War and important events associated

with it.

Investigate a variety of reasons responsible for the end of the Cold War.

Establish a co-relation between the rise of Cold War and the emergence of NAM.

Acknowledge the significance of the fall of Berlin wall and its impact on the world.



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Gather information on the factors responsible for the disintegration of USSR and its

impact on the world politics.

Appreciate the emergence of New World Order by the end of Cold War.

•acknowledge the role played by Third World Countries in reducing the Cold War

tensions.



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TEACHERS NOTE

INTRODUCTION

Almost sixty years since the end of the Second World War, the world has changed

dramatically. The political shape of the world had been completely transformed. The period

witnessed the total disintegration of the imperialist domination and a near total collapse of

European hegemony of the world. In 1945, fifty nations had joined together in founding the

United Nations. After Namibia’s emergence as an independent nation in March 1990 and,

later, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of member-countries of the United

Nations has gone up to 192. Most of the new members are countries, mostly of Asia and

Africa, which have won their independence after the Second World War.

USA and the Soviet Union established themselves as the greatest powers of the world for

over four decades after the defeat of Germany, Japan and Italy, and the loss of the colonial

empires of Britain and France. These two countries exercised a dominant role in world affairs

and headed the two power blocs that came into being soon after the war. USA headed the

Western bloc, comprising countries of Western Europe, North America and the Pacific.

These countries chose to describe themselves as constituting the ‘Free World’. The Soviet

Union was the dominant power in the Socialist bloc which, came into being as a result of the

capture of power by Communist parties in countries of Eastern Europe and, later, in China

and North Korea. Many changes took place within and between these two blocs, or groups of

countries, but the position of USA and the Soviet Union as pre-eminent military powers in

the world remained unchanged till the end of the 1980s.

There have been vast political, economic and social changes in every part of the world. The

direction and extent of changes vary from country to country but the United Nations

Universal Declaration of Human Rights with its stress on civil and political, and economic

and social rights may be regarded as a symbol of the main direction of change. Almost every

country in the world attained independence and the people, at least in principle, everywhere

have become masters of their own destiny. Though the main direction of change has been in

the growth of political freedom and establishment of universal franchise and representative

institutions, many countries are still ruled by military dictators, autocrats and oligarchies.



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For about 45 years since the end of the Second World War, until the dramatic changes which

began to take place around 1990, the two main political, economic and social systems in the

world were described as capitalist and socialist. Each of them underwent many important

changes. In countries with an advanced capitalist system, there was a general recognition of

economic and social rights. This came about, at least partly, as a result of the struggles by

workers’ unions and labour and socialist movements. Most of the advanced capitalist

countries have followed welfare policies which have mitigated the worst miseries associated

with capitalism before the Second World War. The kind of socialist system which was built

in the Soviet Union and, after the Second World War, in Eastern Europe was for some years

seen as an alternative to the capitalist system. This system, often referred to as ‘actual

existing socialism’, also underwent many changes until it collapsed. The newly independent

countries have been engaged in the task of building their social, economic and political

systems. The backwardness which they inherited from the colonial rule, however, continues

to characterize most of these countries. The world economic system continues to be

inequitable and is a major factor in the continuing backwardness of these counties which,

together, is referred to as the Third World, Some countries of the Third World witnessed very

high rate of economic growth. The most spectacular has been the rise of China as a great

economic power during the past 20 years. India is also beginning to emerge as a major

economic power.

There have been technological changes of a dramatic nature during the past fifty years. These

technological changes have particularly transformed the economies of the advanced capitalist

countries. Besides USA, Japan and Germany have emerged as major economic powers. The

advances in technology have tended to further widen the gap between the economically

developed countries and the countries of the Third World which are called developing

countries. The division of the world into developed and a developing country has become a

major feature of the post- Second World War world.

The period after the Second World War has been a period of tensions and conflicts. The

alliance which had come into being during the war to defeat fascism came to an end soon

after the war was over. Then followed a period of confrontation between what cause to be

known as the Western and the Soviet bloc. This confrontation which continued for fifty years



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after the end of the Second World War is known as the Cold War. It was accompanied by a

race for more and more, destructive weapons which threatened the very survival of the

human race. Many wars broke out in different parts of the world, and although in many of

these wars the countries of the two antagonistic blocs were directly or indirectly involved,

these wars remained localized. There were many occasions during this period when the world

was brought on the brink of disaster but a general war was averted.

The emergence of independent nations in Asia and Africa has been a distinctive feature of the

world after the Second World War. The independent countries of Asia and Africa along with

many countries of Latin America pushed for an independent role in world affairs. During the

period of the Cold War, their refusal to align with any of the military blocs helped in creating

an atmosphere of peace. The coming together of these countries led to the rise of the Non-

Aligned Movement which played an important role in lessening tensions around the world, in

ending colonialism, imperialism and racialism and in bringing to the fore the issue of

development as an international concern.

There were periods of thaw and the lessening of tensions since the 1960s, but now it can be

said with certainty that the world since the 1990s is a post-Cold War world. The end of the

Cold War marks the end of an era which began with the end of the Second World War.

Whether it also marks the beginning of a genuinely peaceful world cannot be said with

certainty. The post-Cold War world is not without tensions and conflicts. It should be

remembered that the hunt for more destructive armaments during and even after the Cold

War was a more puzzling question for world peace efforts. Only a genuine concern for

disarmament and international cooperation, and not merely the avoidance of war, can

guarantee world peace.

Since the end of the 1980s some of the changes that have taken place in the world are so far-

reaching that may be said so mark the beginning of a new phase in world history. The Soviet

Union as a state—as a Union of Soviet Socialist Republics --- collapsed. The 15 republics

which constituted USSR have become independent states. The rule of the communist parties

in these states, as well as in the countries of Eastern Europe, has ended. With the ending of



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the communist rule, the kind of socialist political and economic system which was built in

these countries has collapsed. The Soviet Union had been a major factor in world politics

since the Russian Revolution. After the Second World War, it headed a mighty military bloc

and, along with countries of Eastern Europe, was seen as representing a powerful challenge to

the military might and the political and economic system of USA and Western Europe. There

is hardly any major event in world history since the Second World War which can be fully

understood without reference to the direct or indirect role, or the sheer existence, of USSR.

The most obvious consequence of the collapse of USSR has been the end of the Cold War.

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THE COLD WAR

At the Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences, agreements had been reached by the leaders

of Britain, USA and the Soviet Union on many questions relating to the future of the liberated

countries of Europe. The council of foreign ministers set up at the Potsdam Conference

discussed the terms of the peace treaties with the Axis Powers and their allies. By 1947,

ACTIVITY–1: FIVE WHY’S

Begin the chapter in the class by posing five guiding questions based on their previous

knowledge of the Second World War period.

Write the following five questions on the board.

o Name the powerful countries of Europe during the First World War, Inter war

period and the Second World War.

o Why Britain and France turned against Russia during inter war period?

o Why Russia came closer to the Western powers during WW II?

o What was the last event of the World War II?

o What was the outcome of the Second World War?

Divide the class into 5 Groups.

Ask all the groups to brainstorm over all five questions for 10 minutes.

Allow each group to present their views one by one. On the basis of their response,

provide your valuable inputs to introduce the chapter in the class.



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agreements were reached and treaties were signed with Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

and Finland. The Allied occupation of Austria was ended in 1955 when a treaty was signed

with Austria. On the question of Germany and Japan, however, no agreement could be

arrived at. While the Western countries signed a treaty with Japan in spite of Soviet

objections, the differences over Germany became a major source of conflict between the

West bloc led by USA, and the Soviet Union. Soon after the war, the wartime alliances had

begun to wear out and a period of Cold War, or armed truce, had set in.

YALTA CONFERENCE- FEBRURAY, 1945

Division of Germany into fourZones .More than half of the Europe was captured by

Germany and the axis powers during Second World War. The allied powers met at Yalta in

Ukraine to plan the future of Europe after the calculated defeat of Germany. At Yalta the

‘BIG THREE’– Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed

on the following points:

Division of Germany and Berlin into four zones:

American, Soviet, French and British.

They agreed to join UN which would help in

establishment of international peace and security.

On Stalin’s demand, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed

that Eastern Europe should be seen as Soviet sphere of influence.

The Big three at Yalta Conference-STALIN, ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL

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THE BEGINNING OF THE COLD WAR

Origin:

Many historians trace the origins of the Cold War to the year 1917, when the Bolshevik

Revolution took place. As has been stated before, many Western countries had sent their

troops to Russia to destroy the new Soviet government that had been set up after the

revolution. The foreign interventions had, however, failed and had ended by 1920. After that

the Soviet Union was ostracized by most Western countries and it had taken them many years

to recognize the Soviet government and establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

After the triumph of fascism in Germany, the Western countries had hoped that Germany’s

aggression would be directed against the Soviet Union. They had, therefore, followed a

policy of appeasement of the Axis powers and had refused to have any alliance with the

Soviet Union to resist aggression.

During the war, and particularly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Soviet-

British-US alliance was formed which led to the defeat of Germany and other Axis Powers.

CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR

Ideological confrontations between US and USSR. Acquisition of atom bomb by America Dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki The Soviet expansion of Eastern Europe and aggressive policies

pursued by Stalin. Truman doctrine and policy of containment. Mutual fear and suspicion between both the super powers. US President Truman dislike of Stalin. Soviet fear of American attack and vice versa



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This alliance, however, even during the war, had not been free of tensions. The US and

Britain conducted their military operations jointly under a unified command and they took

their own independent decisions. This was particularly clear on the question of the opening of

the ‘Second Front’ which, the Soviet Union felt, was being deliberately delayed. Differenced

over the future of Europe, for example on Poland, had emerged early during the war. Though

most of these differences had emerged early during the war. Though most of these

differences had been sorted out at the conferences at Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam, the

Western suspicions of the Soviet Union had persisted. The Soviet victories against Germany

in Eastern Europe had created a feeling of unease among the Western countries. The British

were particularly alarmed at the Soviet army’s advance towards Berlin, although Berlin fell

within that part of Germany which, by common agreement, had been allocated to the Soviet

Union to liberate. Churchill tried hard to pressurize the US President to direct General

Eisenhower, Commander of the Allied troops, to march towards Berlin rather than Leipzig.

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THE BERLIN WALL CRISIS

The crisis over Berlin and the division of Germany

By early 1948, the Western Powers had started the process of the creation of a separate state

of West Germany by merging the occupation zones of Britain, France and United States.

These zones were also being brought under the European Recovery Programme under which

the United States was to provide massive aid for the building of the economies of Western

Europe devastated by the War. The city of Berlin which came within the Soviet Zone had

also been divided in to four zones, like the rest of Germany. The three Western powers

treated West Berlin as a part of West Germany which was being created as a separate state.

The Soviet Union was opposed to this development. In June 1948, she closed the road which

passed through the Soviet Zone connecting West Germany with West Berlin.

The Blockade of West Berlin was intended to force the Western Powers to accept the Soviet

position on Berlin. This created the danger of War because the Western countries were not

willing to budge from West Berlin but they could not hold West Berlin without continuing



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supplies from outside. The Western Allies responded to this situation by conducting a

massive airlift of supplies to West Berlin. The Blockade continued for about 11 months

during which period over 275000 plane-loads of supplies of food and fuel were sent to West

Berlin by the Western Allies. Thus the danger of hostilities was averted. The Soviet Union

ended the Blockade in May 1949.In the mean time, a new Western Military alliance had

come in to being. In April 1949,teh United States, most countries of Western Europe

Britain,France,Belgium,Luxemburg,Holland,Norway,Denmark,Portugaland Italy-and Iceland

and Canada formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO).Through this alliance the

Western countries launched a massive programme rearmaments to check what they called

“Russian Expansion” in Europe and to “Contain” Communism. During the next six years, the

United States gave massive military aid to the NATO countries of Europe. In 1952, Greece

and Turkey were also made members of NATO.

TWO STATES IN GERMANY

In May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was formed with her capital

at Bonn. The rearmament of West Germany also began although West Germany was made a

formal member of NAO only in 1955.The formation of a military alliance by Western

Countries within four years after the end of the Second World War was a major development

which further increased the confrontation of between the Western Bloc and the Soviet Union.

A few months after the formation of West Germany, the Soviet zone of Germany became an

independent state—the German Democratic Republic. Thus by the end of 19049, the division

of Germany had been formalised and two separate states emerged, each confronting the other.

This division of Germany continued for over forty years. It ended on 3 October 1990 when

Germany was reunited.

THE WARS AW PACT

In 1955, when West Germany was admitted as a member of NATO, the Soviet Union and the

East European countries ruled Communist parties formed their military alliance which is

known as the Warsaw Pact. It included all the Communist countries in East Europe except

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Yugoslavia. The members were--- Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland,

Romania, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. The Warsaw Pact countries, like the NATO

countries, had a joint military command. In the mean time, the Cold War which initially had

been confined to Europe had spread to other parts of the world and, besides NATO; other

US-sponsored military alliance had been set up in other parts of the world.

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THE KOREAN WAR

The Korean War was described as the first incident of open confrontation between

communist headed by USSR and the capitalist headed by US.

FACT FILE NATO PACT WARSAW PACT

TROOPS 2.6 million 4 million

TANKS 13000 42,500

ARTILLERY 10,750 31,5000



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The US strongly believed in domino theory, which stated that nations sharing borders with

communist countries are in the imminent danger of getting swayed by the communist rule.

North Korea had become communist country with its communist leader trained in USSR.

South Korea was anti communist in nature, on June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked South

Korea by crossing 38th parallel (the latitude line which divided the Korean peninsula).

President Truman immediately responded by supplying necessary army & warships around

Korea. In the meantime, US were able to convince UNSC to take action against North Korea.

The US took advantage of USSR’s absence from UNSC (USSR was boycotting the UN

because US had denied China its permanent seat in UNSC and had refused to recognise PRC

as a legal government of China).

As a result of this, a UN collective force was organised from 18 different countries who

contributed in one form or the other to the coalition. But the military coalition was

overwhelmingly American. It was also led forward by American Commander General Mac

Arthur. Within few weeks, the UN led coalition was able to drive back North Koreans to their

ACTIVITY- 2

EXTRACT/ ARTICLE BASED ACTIVITY

Divide the class into six groups.

Download the copy of NATO and WARSAW pact from the respective sources---

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nato.htmand

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1955warsawpact.html

Distribute one copy of WARSAW and NATO pact to each group.

Allot them 2 periods to go through the terms of the respective allocated pact.

Help in directing the students in their course of study.

Remind the students about US basis of the policy of containment.

Provide 10 minutes to each group for verbal presentation to express their views and

findings on the same.

The teacher would wind up the topic by providing necessary inputs on the topic and move

further with the chapter.



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original position i.e. 38th parallel. China wanted to secure North Korea as a buffer against

possible US invasion.

America was not just satisfied with South Korea. It wanted to wipe out communism

completely from North Korea. Therefore, US were successful in pressing UN further advance

in North Korea. In Oct 1950, Chinese troops joined the North Koreans. General Mac Arthur

underestimated China’s power. On the back, China was successfully supported by Soviet

Union. The Soviet Union supplied modern tanks, planes & other war related products to

China. The UN-US led forces were finally pushed back into South Korea. This entire episode

involved three years of brutal fighting. In 1953, an armistice was signed which re-established

the 38th parallel as the border between North Korea & South Korea.

IMPACT OF KOREAN WAR

There were several casualties on both the sides of the border. The Korean War increased the

rift between US & USSR on one hand and US & China on the other hand. This war

demonstrated the American will to contain communism anywhere and everywhere. The US

was greatly concerned over domino effect of communism. The Korean War also increased

the enmity between North Korea & South Korea. South Korea ever since became an

important military base of US.

USA AS THE SUPERPOWER

After the end of the Cold War USA became the sole ‘superpower’ become ‘uni-polar’.

However, recent developments in the world have eroded the belief in uni-polarity. Some

experts have already started describing the period up to about the 1990 as the First Cold War

and the possibility of another ‘cold war’ breaking out.

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The period after the end of the Second World War saw the emergence of the United States as

the pre-eminent military and economic power in the world. Every part of the world came

under the purview of US interests. The US also viewed herself as a great “moral force” in the

world. Many Americans liked to think that the period in which they were living could quite

legitimately be described as the “American Century”. With the collapse of the Soviet Union,

the US became the only super power in the world.

ACTIVITY- 3: PICK AND CHOOSE

Write the following terms/concepts on small piece of papers and fold them into chits –

capitalism, communist, USSR, Britain, France, USA, One party system, Bi party system,

freedom of speech granted, Freedom of speech denied, political and civil equality granted

, civil and political liberties denied, complete public ownership of all the means of

production and distribution, right to property curtailed, right to property granted, against

capitalist, against communist, in favour of workers and peasants, no election/irregular

elections, freedom is supreme, equality is supreme, East European countries, satellite

states, etc.

Divide the class into two halves. Reserve one part for the capitalist family and the other

for communist family.

Ask each individual child to pick the chits of his or her choice and on the basis of their

previous knowledge select the family.

Ensure that both the families have been correctly paired with each other and reflecting the

right ideology.

Instruct students to ponder upon their respective ideologies to present it in a coherent

form. Connect their ideas and opinions with the great ideological divide that existed

during the cold war period and the policy of containment and other important events

followed thereafter.

Build your explanation on the basis of the information provided in the teacher’s manual.

This activity is followed by a work sheet.



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ACTIVITY- 4: MAP BASED ACTIVITY

To reinforce and enhance their knowledge, organise a map based activity in the class.

Provide one Europe political map to each student.

Instruct them to locate the following on the given map:

o Any four NATO members

o Any four WARSAW pact members

o Only communist East European country that did not join WARSAW pact.

Answer Key

Source: www/cla.calpoly.edu.



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ECONOMIC SUPREMACY

The Second World War had done no damage to the United States economy. In fact, the

problems created by the Great Depression had been overcome during the war. The post-war

period was one of unprecedented economic prosperity. From 1940 to 1987, the GNP rose

from about $ 100 billion to about $5,200 billion while the population rose from about 132

million to about 240 million. The affluence of the American people was reflected in the

growth of what is usually described as “consumer culture” or “consumerism”. There was an

unprecedented growth in the production and consumption of a huge variety of consumption

goods. The motor car became a symbol of this consumer culture. Every technological

innovation, minor or major, made the existing product obsolete and worthless. The United

States was able to sustain this “consumerism” because of her own vast natural resources as

ACTIVITY – 5: CONSIDER ALL FACTORS (CAF)

After dealing with the significant events that marked the beginning of cold war, ask students

to identify the causes of cold war by using this strategy:

Divide the class in three groups: A, B, and C

Group-A would research upon the actions of the US that led to the emergence of cold

war.

Group-B would elaborate upon the role of USSR in triggering cold war tensions.

Group-C would try to identify the factors other than US and USSR which brought

cold war to the forefront.

Allot two periods to discuss the factors that led to the rise of cold war.

Now draw a blank graphic organizer on the board comprising of three figures.

Ask two students from each group to reflect their opinion and findings on the given

topic. Ask one representative from each group to simultaneously write the important

points on the board.

Have an interactive session once the verbal presentation has been made by each group

to attend to their queries.



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well as the control she exercised over a variety of natural resources of many other parts of the

world.

The growth of economy was, as in the earlier periods, accompanied by the growing

centralization of the economy. Most of the economy was controlled by a relatively small

number of companies and corporations. There was tremendous increase in the growth of

industries connected with armaments and a huge amount of government funds were spent for

procuring defence equipment which benefited a few big corporations. The growing

“interfusion” of the military and the industry in peace time alarmed many Americans and

Eisenhower, the United States President, while laying down office in January 1961, warned

the country against “ the acquisition of unwarrantable influence … by the military-industrial

complex”. In the United States, the relationship between political leaders and higher levels of

government bureaucracy and the military establishment, and the corporations and big

financial institutions has been closer than in most other democratic countries with capitalist

economics. Very often, the government, when faced with a deficit, resorted to cuts on

expenditure in medical care and other social welfare programmes, rather than increase taxes

on the corporations.

During recent years, there has been a decline in the economic supremacy of the United States.

From 1948 to 1952, the United States had provided about $ 12 billion to the countries of

Western Europe under the European Recovery Plan, popularly known as the Marshall Plan

after the name of the then US Secretary of State. This plan had helped the European

economics to recover to their pre-war levels within a very short period. In the following

years, the economics of West European countries developed at a very fast rate. Japan also

emerged as a major economic power in the world and Japanese goods began the United

States domestic market. The decline in United States pre-eminence would be clear from the

data on industrial production was more than 60 per cent; in 1980, it was about 45 per cent.

Western Europe and Japan have become the major economic rivals to the United States.

The United States faith in her world supremacy had been first shaken when in 1957 the

Soviet Union launched the Sputnik, its first satellite in space. This was followed three years

later by first satellite in space. This was followed three years later by the first Soviet manned

flight in space. These ‘shocks’ led to vigorous efforts in areas in which the United States



23

thought she had been surpassed by the Soviet Union. Vast resources were made available to

the space research programme. The US made a great achievement when two United States

astronauts landed and walked on the surface of the moon in 1969.

ARMS RACE-

The cold war period accentuated the mad race of armaments between the two super powers.

In an attempt to establish superiority, both the super powers engaged themselves in

accumulation of weapons of mass destruction. The formation of military alliances added fuel

to fire. Large amount of weapons were required to maintain the military alliances and the

satellite states of Soviet Union. One after the other, all the five permanent members of UN

Security Council acquired nuclear weapons. These weapons acted as a major threat to the

human survival.

Both the super powers spent huge amount of resources to enhance the quality and quantity of

their nuclear arsenals. In the decade of 1960s, the theory of MAD developed – Mutually

Assured Destruction.US and USSR developed a capability to launch a devastating attack on

the other side even after receiving a full scale assault from the counter side. This meant that if

US attacked Soviet Union, then the Soviet Union would still be left with enough nuclear

arsenals to suitably retaliate. Hence, there would be no winners.

The theory of MAD ensured that both the super powers and their alliances should refrain

themselves from waging a full scale attack against each other. It acted as a deterrent to a

possible nuclear attack in future. Therefore, all the nuclear states concentrated to use the

nuclear weapons for extracting concessions from the rival alliance and used it as a powerful

mechanism to establish their superiority over the other. Their struggle for armaments moved

beyond and entered into space as well. The space race officially started on October 4, 1957

when USSR launched its first artificial satellite, Sputnik into space.

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24

THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

The Cuban Missile crisis brought both the super powers US & USSR close to a nuclear

confrontation. It brought world on the brink of a nuclear warfare, but, at the last moment, a

compromise was reached between US & former USSR and the nuclear war was averted. The

crisis existed for 14 days in Oct: 1962.In Jan 1959, Cuba was taken over by FIDEL CASTRO

after the Cuban revolution. After coming to power, CASTRO pursued economic policies that

went against US interest. In retaliation to this, the American government staged an invasion

of Cuban territory through Bay of Pigs. Immediately after Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro

declared Cuba a communist country. This alarmed US as it became the only communist

country in the American continent.

“Soviet Union was technically behind US in arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful

enough to be launched against Europe, but US missiles were capable of striking the entire

Soviet Union”. Besides, Khrushchev also wanted to balance the US deployment of nuclear

warheads in Turkey which was meant against Soviet Union.

Ever since the unsuccessful invasion of Bay of Pigs, Castro could foresee the possible US

invasion against Cuba. Castro was in search of a powerful way to defend his island nation.

SPACE RACE

1957- The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificialsatellite

1958 – The US launched its first satellite, Explorer I 1959 – The Soviet Union launched Luna 2. This was the first

space probe to hit the moon 1961 – Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first

person to orbit the earth. Alan shepard, Jr became the first American Astronaut in

space…. and the race continued. Source http://www.eurocivcourse7.edublogs.org/page/2



25

Consequently he approved of Khrushchev’s idea of deployment of intermediate range

missiles in Cuba.

The US came under major pressure on Oct 15, 1962 when reconnaissance photographs

revealed Soviet’s installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The Soviet Union’s ambassador to

US kept denying the deployment of missiles in Cuba. President John Kennedy maintained the

secrecy of the fact so as to avoid any panic amongst US citizens. After 7 days of intense

debate with EXCOMM, Kennedy concluded to impose naval ‘quarantine’ around Cuba on

October 21 1962.The next day President publicly announced the discovery of installations.

He announced that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be considered as a nuclear

attack on US by Soviet Union and demanded the removal of offensive weapons from Cuba.

Khrushchev sent letters to Kennedy claiming the deterrent nature of missiles in Cuba. He

provided two options to the American government. – USSR is ready to dismantle the

installations on the condition that US would in future not attempt to attack Cuba and

secondly, the US government should provide an assurance to withdraw its missiles from

Turkey. The tension between US & USSR reached at an alarming stage when a U-2 spy plane

was shot down over Cuba. On one hand, the US govt began the quarantine on 24th Oct at

10:00AM at a line 500 metres from Cuba and on the other, Soviet ships reached near the

quarantine zone. The world came closest to a nuclear devastation. As it was rightly remarked

by Soviet General and army chief of operations, Anatoly Gibkov, “Nuclear catastrophe was

hanging by a thread….and we were not counting days or hours, but minutes.”

“I found myself in the difficult position of having to decide on a course of action which wouldanswer the American threat but which would also avoid war. Any fool can start a war, and oncehe’s done so, even the wisest of men are helpless to stop it….especially if it’s a nuclear war”Khrushchev on Cuban Missile CrisisSource: http://www.cubanmissilecrisis.org/page2asp

Soviet’s medium range ballistic missiles on Cuban soil, with a range of 2000 km couldthreaten Washington D.C. and nearly half of US’s strategic air command base (ofnuclear armed bombers) with a flying time of less than 20 minutes)



26

Both the super powers were in a state of dilemma. It was difficult for them to decide their

course of action which would not only answer the counter super powers’ threat and maintain

their superiority over others but which would also at the same time avoids a nuclear

confrontation between the two. One of the above mentioned quotes of Khrushchev clearly

signifies the mounting pressure on Soviet Union.

The quarantine had already begun and Soviet ships reached near the quarantine zone. At that

crucial juncture, Kennedy announced the acceptance of the first option provided by

Khrushchev, and sent Attorney General Robert Kennedy to Soviet Embassy to accept the

second in private. It was promised that the missile installations in Turkey would be removed

six months later.

Tensions finally began to ease. Soviet ships turned back and moved away from quarantine

zone. On October 28, Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle installations from

Cuba and return the missiles to Soviet Union. Once the missiles were completely dismantled

from Cuba, Kennedy ended the quarantine on November 20.

Aftermath: The compromise satisfied no one but severely affected the image of Khrushchev

and Soviet Union at large. Soviet Union dismantled the missiles from Cuba and the decision

of American withdrawal of missiles from Turkey was not made public. He was severely

criticised in Soviet Union for the way he handled the crisis. Ultimately it gave the USA an

upper hand to US. One of the scariest parts of the Cuban missile crisis was the

communication delays between Washington & Moscow. It took several hours to transmit a

message from one capital to another. In order to avoid any communication delays in future, a

hotline was established between the Kremlin & White House for direct communication.

For Cuba, it was a betrayal by the Soviets. Castro was furious for not being consulted by

Soviet Union while taking a decision over Cuba. He was not satisfied with the solution. He

wanted to incorporate other demands in the solution. He also yearned for an assurance from

American government that they would to end economic blockade and spy and espionage

activities against Cuba. He wanted the return of Guantanamo naval base to Cuba.



27

ACTIVITY -6: WALL MAGAZINE

As the photo story progresses, draw students’ attention to the Berlin crisis.

Remind the learners about the incident of Berlin blockade and encourage them to probe

into the possible causes for the re-emergence of Berlin crisis.

On the basis of their response, provide your valuable inputs on the given topic.

Divide the class in four groups and allocate one display board to each of them. Ask

every group to research upon the Berlin crisis in detail.

Allocate one individual task to each of the four groups

o Interesting facts about Berlin blockade

o Interesting facts about Berlin wall

o Pictures, cartoons, speeches and timeline on Berlin blockade

o Pictures, cartoons, speeches and timeline on construction of Berlin wall

o Allocate two periods for the decoration of display boards/corridor wall

THE VIETNAM WAR

The Vietnam War had roots in American Domino Theory which was perceived by John foster

Dulles, American Secretary of State. Vietnam was a French colony. During World War II,

Japan invaded Vietnam. Inspired by communist ideology, Ho Chi Minh formed Vietminh to

fight against Japan on one side and French colonisers on the other. Japan towards the end of

World War II withdrew from Vietnam leaving emperor Bao Dai to rule over Vietnam. Ho

Chi Minh forces rose up and were able to capture North Vietnam.

After the end of Second World War France once again came to the forefront to regain its

control over Vietnam. After eight years of war, the French forces were finally defeated in a

decisive battle at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954.

Unfortunately, in the peace negotiations at Geneva, Vietnamese were persuaded for a

temporary division of the country into North and South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh regained its

control over North Vietnam and established his communist rule and Bao Dai was established

USE-WORKSHEET-8



28

in South Vietnam. It was promised that election would be held for reunification of the

country in 1956.America was of the opinion that if Ho Chi Minh won the elections, then the

entire Vietnam would become communist. And then this will lead to a domino effect on the

other neighbouring countries as well.

But in 1955, Bao -Dai regime was soon overthrown by a coup led by Ngo Din Diem. Since

he was a strong critique of communism, America provided all possible support for the

establishment of Republic of South Vietnam. Diem initiated a series of repressive measures

against the people of South Vietnam. In 1960, Diem opponents in South Vietnam organised

themselves into a national liberation front. This movement was referred as Viet Cong.

In Nov 1963, the South Vietnamese army itself overthrew and killed Diem because of the

oppressive measures undertaken by his government. This political instability in South

Vietnam ultimately paved the way for the spread of communism from North to South

Vietnam.

This situation alarmed America who ultimately waged a full scale war to contain the spread

of communism. The Tong king incident gave a strong reason to wage a war against Vietnam.

“The American involvement in Vietnam was at its peak from 1965 to 1969 when a maximum

of 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam. A number of the front line troops were

conscripts and were not professional troops. They were young and usually from lower social

groups. They were trained in conventional warfare whereas; the Viet Cong used Guerrilla

tactics.”

America adopted two different strategies to fight against North & South Vietnam. North

Vietnam was hit by air attacks and in South Vietnam, American troops fought on ground.

Meanwhile, North Vietnam got economic and military aid from China & USSR to strengthen

its air defences. The US used most powerful bombers of that time – B52.

In order to bring war on a decisive victory, the US Government ordered the use of chemical

weapons against Vietnamese – Napalm, Agent Orange and phosphorus bombs. They killed

the civilians in large numbers and completely decimated jungles. The effects of chemical

bombs were utterly shocking and devastating for the Vietnamese.



29

The American public started questioning the legitimacy of the war. By now President

Johnson had understood that the war could not be won militarily. Because of mounting

pressure from domestic public opinion, he decided to reduce the number of American troops

in phases from Vietnam. By 1973, US withdrew all its troops from Vietnam. After sometime,

the North & South Vietnam also got united. Finally the whole Vietnam became communist.

The Vietnam War completely shattered the international image of the US. US not only failed

militarily but also failed politically. It could neither prevent South Vietnam from becoming

communist, nor the neighbouring countries of Laos & Cambodia.

Do you know?

The Vietnam War had taken a heavy toll on

America also. The war had cost her one

billion dollars a day at its peak.

She had dropped 7 million tons of bombs –

more than the entire total of all participants

in the World War II. The cost of the war in

1968 alone was $88,000 million.

Do you know?

As many as 48, 00,000 people were exposed to

American chemical attacks. Some 50,000

babies over three generations have been born

with horrific deformities after their parents

ingested Agent Orange in their food & water,

and many future babies will be born with

unspeakably grotesque disfigurements. Agent

orange continues to contaminate the

Vietnamese water and soil to this very day.”

Source: http://www.socialistalternative.org

ACTIVITY- 7:

SHOWCASING PHOTO STORY AND PLUS-MINUS-INTERESTING

Install the software- : “photo story 3 for windows” for developing a photo story on the

entire course of events taken place during cold war.

Prepare the room, if necessary, for viewing a photo story.

Play the photo story in parts and break up the course of cold war accordingly. Pause

in between to explain and reinforce important incidents ----Berlin, Korean, Cuban,

Vietnam etc. one by one with the help of class discussion.



30

Instruct students to transcribe important points related to the course of cold war.

Remind the students about the previous incidents and their connection to the outbreak

of various crises during cold war.

Give students five minutes time to think and recapitulate the events that studied up till

now in order to maintain the chronology of the events.

Invite their queries and comments on the given topic and complement it with your

explanation and analysis.

Draw a blank graphic organizer comprising of three figures on the board.

Identify the factors which increased the tensions during Berlin crisis and write them

under Minus Box. The factors that eased tensions should be written under PLUS Box

and the interesting outcome to be mentioned under Interesting Box.

Ask students to jot down the important points from time to time.

Provide your valuable inputs to wind up the topic.

USE-WORKSHEET-9

ACTIVITY-8

SHOWCASING THE PHOTO STORY

As the photo story proceeds, draw the attention of the students to the Korean crisis.

Ask students to focus on the article mentioned in the students’ manual on Korea.

Encourage them to critically analyse the role of UN & US in the Korean crisis.

On the basis of their response, build your explanation. Make sure that the information

provided in the teachers’ manual is covered in the discussion.

Provide your valuable input to wind up the topic.




31

THE DÉTENTE

One of the most significant outcomes of Vietnam War was the emergence of the period of

Détente. There were two important factors which promoted Détente in 1970s; the use of

chemical weapons on a large scale in Vietnam War brought the American Government under

lot of criticism both at home and abroad. The other was the fear of possible nuclear holocaust.

The arms race was going on not only between US & USSR but also involved other countries

of the world at large. All these countries possessed huge amount of nuclear weapons which

became a major threat for international peace and security.

Moreover, USSR was already spending huge amount of its national income on defence. The

realisation on the part of US to devise new ways to contain communism also motivated it to

follow the policy of Détente. The huge amount of cost factor attached to both containing and

spreading communism brought them closer to the period of Détente.

DÉTENTE 1969 – First Round of Strategic Arms limitations talk began 1971 – Kissinger paid a visit to Peking(Beijing), via Pakistan !972 – President Nixon visited China 1972 – President Nixon visited Moscow and signed a treaty on Anti ballistic Missile

System. 1972 – Second round of strategic Arms limitation talks began and signed a treaty on

limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. 1974 – Nixon visited Soviet Union and agreed with Brezhnev to limit underground

testing for five years.USSR & China

In late 1960s, a border dispute emerged between US & USSR In late 1960s, China left USSR’s alliance

China & US In an attempt to improve its relation with US, Chinese sports team invited American

table tennis team in 1971. This was described as Ping-Pong diplomacy 1971, US supported China’s entry to UN Leaders of US in China visited each other’s country in 1971-72



32

INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan proved to be the last war of Soviet Union during the cold

war period. Before the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan War, the country was already in a

state of civil war. The Mujahidin waged a holy war against the Hazifulla Amin’s government

of Afghanistan. At this crucial juncture, Soviet Union intervened militarily in Afghanistan.

“The Soviet government claimed that they had been invited by the Amin’s government and

that they were not invading the country. They claimed that its task was to support a legitimate

government and the Mujahidin were not less than terrorists.”

But in December 1979, Amin himself was shot down by Soviet forces, as the Soviet

government became suspicious of him. The Soviet government installed Kamal as the leader.

This was strongly retaliated by most of the soldiers who went on the side of Mujahidin to

fight the war. As a result of this, Soviet army ended up killing most of the innocent civilians

whom they were suppose to protect. America did play an important role in Afghan crisis but

behind the scene.

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ANTI-COMMUNIST HYSTERIA

The Cold War had a vitiating influence on life in the US for many years. There emerged in

the US a “paranoiac obsession” with “godless communism”. The anti – communist and anti-

radical hysteria led to branding every opinion which did not conform to the US view of the

Cold War as ‘un-American’ and subversive.

During the presidency of Truman (1945-52), the loyalty of government officials was

investigated and thousands of people were thrown out of jobs. Thousands of school, college

and university teachers were dismissed from their jobs for teaching what were considered

“un-American” ideas. Many film writers and producers were jailed and many blacklisted and

debarred from employment in Hollywood for refusing to disclose their past communist

connections. The anti-radical hysteria continued for some years during the presidency of

Eisenhower who was elected president twice, in 1952 and 1956. In 1953, Julius and Ethel



33

Rosenberg were executed on charges of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, in spite

of protests and appeals from all over the world. J. Robert Oppenheimer, popularly known as

the father of the atom bomb (he had been the head of the US Atomic Bomb project), was

denied security clearance. He had opposed the Hydrogen Bomb project and was accused of

having concealed his past connections with communists. The leader of this crusade against

communism within the United States was Senator Joseph McCarthy. From 1950 to 1954, he

is described as having “terrorized American public life” by branding many innocent people as

traitors and levelling accusations even against the State Department and the military of

harbouring “traitors”. He himself was disgraced in 1954 and there was a gradual decline in

the hysteria even though most victims of the hysteria were not rehabilitated.

FOREIGN INTERVENTIONS

The ‘containment’ of communism remained the objective of US foreign policy for most of

the period after the Second World War. The US policy in Latin America continued more or

less as before and the US either sent her troops or actively aided rebels to overthrow regimes

in many Latin American countries which she suspected of being leftists and, therefore, anti-

American. John F. Kennedy, who was elected US President in 1960, inaugurated a period of

new dynamism in US domestic policy. However, it was during his presidency that the US

began to get directly involved in the war in Vietnam, the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs took place

and the confrontation on Soviet missiles in Cuba occurred.

A major peace initiative was taken in 1963 when the US President Kennedy and the Soviet

Union Premier Khrushchev signed a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in the

outer space and underwater. President Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963. The

man who was believed to be his lone assassin was killed soon after while in police custody

and millions of people saw this act of killing on their television screens as it took place.

Later, doubts were raised about the view upheld by a judicial commission that there was only

one person behind the killing of President Kennedy.



34

The war in Vietnam ended in the ignominious defeat of the US. The war had begun to

escalate during the period when Lyndon Johnson was the US President (1963-69). It was

further escalated during the presidency of Richard Nixon (1969-74). Cambodia was bombed

and the government of Cambodia was overthrown, and a pro-US government under a military

general was installed there. The US had also extended the war to Laos, the third country of

Indo-China.

President Nixon started the process of normalizing relations with China and China was

admitted to the United Nations in 1971. In 1972, Nixon went to China. The SALT talks

referred to earlier were started with the Soviet Union. In 1973, the US agreed to end the war

in Vietnam and to withdraw her troops. However, the war continued for another two years

and ended when the North Vietnamese troops and the troops of the National Liberation Front

of South Vietnam entered Saigon, the capital of the pro-US regime in South Vietnam, in

April 1975, soon after the last US planes and helicopters had left the city.

The war in Vietnam came to an end after Nixon had resigned as president after a major

scandal popularly known as the Watergate scandal. He had been re-elected president in 1972

but was soon after accused of serious charges of corruption, and of authorizing planting of

spying devices and stealing of files from the Democratic Party. Although he claimed that he

was not a crook, he was faced with the prospect of impeachment and resigned.

The US support too many unpopular regimes sometimes created problems for the US and led

to acts which were illegal under US law. The US had long supported and sustained the

regimes of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and Jean- Claude Duvalier, commonly

referred to as Papa Doc, in Haiti. But these regimes became to unpopular that the US had to

support the overthrow of these dictators. In the case of Iran, the US first took an adventurous

step which ended in a fiasco and later US officials had dealings with Iran which according to

her own laws were illegal. In 1979, the Shah of Iran who was one of the most important

supporters of the US in Asia fled the country following a revolution in Iran. The government

of Iran asked the US to hand over the Shah, who had come to the US for treatment. The

Iranian government wanted to put the Shah on trial. On the refusal of the US, the Iranians

held many Americans as hostages. In April 1980, Jimmy Carter who had become president in



35

1977 sent US commandos to rescue the hostages. The commando action ended in disaster.

The hostages were finally released in early 1981 when the US returned the Iranian assets in

US banks which had been frozen by the US government earlier. In the 1980s during the

presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-88), a major scandal broke out. High US officials had

entered into illegal deals to support the rebels against the government of Nicaragua. These

officials were believed to have entered into the illegal deals with the approval of the

president.

In 1989, when George Bush was the president (1989-92), US troops were sent to Panama.

General Noreiga who ruled Panama was overthrown and brought to the US to stand trial on

charges of drug trafficking. In 1991, supported by the troops of some other countries, the US

went to war against Iraq following the occupation of Kuwait by the latter. The war which was

authorized by the United Nations led to the ending of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Though

the US-led to the ending of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Though the US – led troops were

victorious, Iraq was not occupied. However, the war had serious consequences for the people

of Iraq. Many restrictions were imposed on Iraq, including restrictions on the sale of oil,

which was the only export commodity available there. In 2003, Iraq was again invaded, this

time on the pretext of developing weapons of mass destruction, by the US and its allies, and

has since been under US occupation.

POVERTY IN USA

An issue which succeeding administrations in the US have had to contend with is the

persistence of poverty. In the most prosperous country of the world, about 15 per cent of the

population (over 30 million people) were officially classified as poor in the 1980s. The

incidence of poverty in different ‘racial’ groups reflected the continuing ‘racial’ inequality in

US society. In the 1980s, about 33 per cent of African Americans, about 20 per cent

Hispanics (or Spanish-speaking inhabitants and immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc.)

and 12 per cent Whites in the US were poor. Homelessness in urban areas has been another

major issue.



36

FALL OF COMMUNIST REGIMES IN EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES:

In late 1980s the communist rule in East European countries came to a dramatic end

when people behind the Iron Curtain began to raise their voice against the established

communist rule. Under communist rule, they had witnessed decades of political and

economic repression.

The instances of mass protest against communist rule were reported earlier also. But this time

things were destined differently. This time, Mikhail Gorbachev, the President of Soviet

Union, was determined not to recourse to putting down the demonstration. Soviet Union

decided not to intervene in the internal affairs of East European countries. It unleashed

certain forces and events which reached to an uncontrollable level. All this finally led to the

collapse of communist regime in East European countries one after the other.

USE-WORKSHEET-11

EMERGENCE OF NON- ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT- NAMThe decade of 1960s also saw the emergence of Non Alignment movement. The Second

World War also witnessed the onset of wave of decolonisation amongst the Afro- Asian

countries. These newly independent countries immediately after gaining Independence were

expected to join either of the military alliances. They were promised with economic aid and

militarily assistance in lieu of that.

But they were required to follow the dictates of the respective Super Power in pursuing its

foreign policy objectives. In some places, these counties also acted as a surrogate nation to

meet the objective of the aligned Super Power. In this process of alignment with their military

blocs, these nations lost their Independence to take decisions on the basis of their national

interest. Hence the concept of non alignment came into being. It was first coined by the

Indian PM Nehru. The movement was founded by Indian PM Nehru, Ghana’s PM Nkrumah,

Egypt’s President Sukarno and Yugoslavia’s President Tito.



37

The foundation of this movement was laid in the Bandung conference of 1955. The NAM

tried to act as a balancing force between the two super powers. It played a vital role in

reducing the cold war tensions by providing an III option to the Afro- Asian countries.

The non alignment policy meant not joining the military blocs on one hand and following an

independent foreign policy on the other. Both the Super Powers equated it with the policy of

neutrality and isolationism. But non alignment is neither neutrality nor isolationism. In fact

the non alignment nations actively engaged themselves in mediating various cold war

conflicts with the help of United Nations.

This movement apart from providing relief from cold war tensions also acted as a platform

for the newly Independent Afro Asian countries to voice their concerns together at the

international level. They also demanded for the establishment of new international economic

order. Through this forum, the non aligned countries waged a united struggle against the

forces of imperialism and colonialism, racialism, armament race, nuclear weapons, global

economic inequality and all forms of foreign aggression.

USE-WORKSHEET-12

DISINTEGRATION OF SOVIET UNION

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of Soviet Union. By the time Gorbachev

came to power, in Soviet Union, it was undergoing serious financial crisis. In order to match

up with the West in arms race, Soviet Union diverted all its resources from economic and

social sector to the defence sector. Its economy began to stagnate in 1960s.No concrete

measures were taken by Soviet Government to overcome economic stagnation. This resulted

in severe economic crisis in Soviet Union. There was extreme shortage of consumer goods

and food crops in the country. Besides, the maintenance of satellite states was huge burden on

Soviet economy.

The Soviet Union could match up with US on military front but lagged behind in terms of

technology. Politically also the people of Soviet Union were tired of authoritarian rule of the



38

communist political party. The lack of freedom of speech and expression stifled people badly.

The communist political party that had ruled the people over 70 years could not cater to the

basic political and economic needs of the people. The ten years war with Afghanistan

completely crippled Soviet economy. It proved to be a major blunder to the ongoing

economic crisis in USSR.

In such state of affairs, Gorbachev introduced two important reforms in Soviet Union –

Glasnost and Perestroika to save the communist system. These two reforms, however,

ultimately paved the way for the disintegration of Soviet Union. The restrictions on freedom

of speech and expression and censorship on media was removed by the Soviet Government.

To do away with the rampant corruption and inefficiency, he introduced Perestroika. All

these were accompanied by a desire to gain sovereignty in various republics of USSR.The

TIMELINE – FROM 1985 TO 1991

1985- Gorbachev came to power. 1987- Reagan and Gorbachev signed the intermediate –range Nuclear forcestreaty. March 1989- Hungary decides to allow free elections and take down the fencebetween Hungary and Austria. June 1989 – Poland holds its first free elections. July 1989 – Thousands of East Germans “vacation” in Hungary and then flee tothe Austria and the West. October 1989- East Germans protested to put an end to communist regime.Russian troops stayed in their barracks and GDR soldiers and police backeddown. Communist leader Honaker was voted out of office by the Politburo. November 1989- Bulgaria’s communist party leader resigned free elections heldin June, 1990. December 1989- The Communist government in Czechoslovakia gave up withoutviolence and elections were held. December 1989- Romanian communist forces kill 73 in riots. Crowds storm thegovernment and elections were held. June 1991- Spilt of Yugoslavia December 1991Disintegration of Soviet Union



39

communist party hardliners held Gorbachev responsible for this and organised a military

coup against Gorbachev. But it was put down by Boris Yelstin. Suddenly the three major

republics of USSR-Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared independence from Soviet Union.

The fall of Soviet Union also marked the end of cold war and the long ideological debate

between the communist and the capitalist ideology. It marked the triumph of Capitalism over

communism. The end of cold war also brought an end to arms race between the two super

powers. It also laid the foundation of a uni-polar world order. The end of cold war also gave

rise to a new form of debate over the uni-polar and multi polar world order. This period also

saw the rise of new international actors on political scene and once again transformed the

map of Europe.

USE-WORKSHEET- 13

END OF THE COLD WAR

It has been mentioned earlier that the world had, from about the 1990, entered the post-Cold

War era. Many efforts had been made since the 1950s to promote relaxation of tensions and

on many occasions in the past it appeared that the two power blocs had entered the period of

détente. The Non-Aligned Movement played a crucial role in promoting a climate of peace.

However, many developments that seemed to mark the beginning of détente were followed

by new tensions and conflicts.

One of the factors that played an increasingly important role in changing the policy of

confrontation was the realization that unlike the past events in human history, the

practicability of an all-out war simply could not be the basis of conducting international

relations. The reports prepared by scientists on the effects of a nuclear war and the voices

raised by them against the armaments race and the doctrines of MAD and Nuclear

Deterrence, and the popular anti-war movements around the world, played an important role

in creating an atmosphere of détente. The Non-Aligned Movement, since its inception,

pressed for disarmament so that the vast resources released by it could be utilized for

development and for ending misery in the world.



40

Since the early 1960s, the rigid military alliances showed tendencies of breaking down. From

1956, the Soviet leaders began laying stress on peaceful coexistence. After the split in the

communist movement which began in the late 1950s, the theory of the danger of the

expansion of communism lost much of its relevance. The hostility between the Soviet Union

and China destroyed the fear of communism which had been earlier viewed as a monolithic

bloc. Albania went out of the Warsaw Pact in 1961 and Romania began to play an

independent role. US relations with China improved in the early 1970s and China was

admitted to the United Nations in 1971. There were changes in the US – sponsored military

alliances also. 1966 and NATO forces and bases were removed from French territory. In the

early, 1970s, SEATO also began to be phased out as a military alliance. Pakistan withdrew

from SEATO in 1973 and France in 1974.

The process of the end of the Cold War was not an easy one. At a number of occasions the

breakout of an all out nuclear war seemed imminent. In 1956, there was an uprising in

Hungary and in 1968 a change of government in Czechoslovakia. In both cases, it meant and

economic policies which deviated from the Soviet sponsored ‘socialism’. Both these

countries were invaded by Soviet troops. In Czechoslovakia they were joined by troops from

some other countries of the Warsaw Pact and a pro-Soviet government was installed there.

In 1961, East Germany built a wall between East and West Berlin to make it impossible for

East Germans to escape to West Berlin. This created wide spread resentment in the West. In

1979, the Soviet Union sent her troops to Afghanistan to help the Afghan Govt. crush the

rebels who had been helped and armed by the United States and were operating in

Afghanistan from and with the support of Pakistan. There were also many instances of US

overt or covert intervention in many countries, particularly in Latin America. In Africa also,

the US aided rebels against regimes which she considered pro-soviet and Pro-communist.

As it has been pointed out earlier that, the elimination of the means of destruction can alone

ensure peace. The existence of the weapons whose destructive power is beyond ordinary

human imagination is itself a source of tension. The end of confrontation, therefore, must

lead to disarmament, to begin with, nuclear disarmament. Though this armament remains a

far cry, some positive steps were taken in this direction. In 1963, a Test Ban Treaty was

signed by the US, the Soviet Union and Britain which prohibited the testing of nuclear



41

weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space and underwater. France and China, however, had

refused to sign the treaty and continued to carry out nuclear test in the atmosphere. In 1969,

Negotiation aimed at the reduction of arms began between the United States and the Soviet

Union and in 1972 an agreement was reached on limiting certain categories of missiles.

These Negotiations were known as Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT).

The negotiation for disarmament were hampered in the 1980s, when the US started working

on a new system of weaponry called the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), popularly known

as the “star wars” programme. This would mean taking the arms raise to a new terrible height

by extended it to outer space. However, some progress was made in eliminating some

categories of nuclear missiles and in cutting down others. A treaty on the non – proliferation

of nuclear weapons, popularly known as NPT, was also signed by many countries. It aims to

prevent the countries that don’t possess nuclear weapons from acquiring them but doesn’t

require that countries already in possession of nuclear weapons should eliminate them.

Because it give the five nuclear powers—the countries that presently possess nuclear

weapons—the exclusive monopoly over nuclear weapons, this treaty is considered

discriminatory by some countries, including India. India has tested a nuclear device in 1974,

and more recently in 1998, both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests. Israel is believed

to be in possession of nuclear weapons; the number of nuclear weapons she is said to possess

is estimated to be 50.

Some very important events could be said to have brought the cold war to an end. In 1989,

the communist party’s monopoly of power in the countries of Eastern Europe came to an end.

This can be considered a major consequence of the policies pursued. By the new leadership

headed by Mikhail Gorbachev which came to power in 1985, the soviet control over the

Govt. of East European countries was loosened and new governments were formed after free

elections were held in these countries. In October, 1990, Germany was reunited. In 1991, the

Warsaw Pact, the military bloc headed by the Soviet Union, was formally dissolved. It may

be noted that NATO was not a dissolved; it has in fact, expended over the years with 26

countries being its members at present. In 1991, the communist party’s exclusive control over

the Soviet Union, which it had exercised soon after the revolution in 1917, came to an end.



42

By the end of the year, the Soviet Union broke up into 15 independent republics. With the

collapse of the Soviet Union the cold war finally came to an end.

The term, Cold War, is used to describe the confrontation and rivalry between the two

military blocs—one consisting of West European and North American countries headed by

USA, and the other consisting of the Soviet Union and European countries ruled by

communist parties. It had its impact on almost every conflict in every part of the world

because almost every major conflict in every part of the world was seen in terms of this

confrontation and rivalry or, as is often said, in terms of the Cold War. The Cold War was

also often seen as confrontation and rivalry for world domination by two opposing political,

economic and social systems—capitalist and communist. This ‘war’ remained ‘cold’ because

even though there were many conflicts and tensions and even wars in which the two military

blocs were, directly or indirectly, involved, there was no widespread general war and in none

of the wars the two superpowers—USA and Soviet Union – Directly fought against each

other. The end of the Cold War means the end of the confrontation and rivalry between the

two military blocs. It does not, however, mean that tensions, conflicts and wars have come to

an end.

USE-WORKSHEET- 14

ACTIVITY – 9: JIGSAW ACTIVITY

In order to acquaint the students with the events leading to the end of cold war, the

teacher will organise a jigsaw activity in the class.

With the help of a photo story, the teacher will build her explanation of the important

incidents that took place in late 1980s which had a profound impact on the future

course of international politics.

The teacher will divide the class into four groups with four to six students each. (This

depends on the strength of the class) The teacher will assign one specific topic to each

of the groups – Protests in East European countries and fall of communist

governments, fall of Berlin wall and the Soviet withdrawal of forces from

Afghanistan and the disintegration of USSR.



43

All the groups would be given one day time to research upon their topics.

Next day, the students will be allotted two periods to discuss the topics in their

respective groups.

Now one child from each parent group will go to other groups to share his/her

findings and observation.

The students will once again get back to their parent group and will discuss the entire

chapter in totality.


USE-WORKSHEET- 15,16&17



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GLOSSARY

IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS

Cold War:

This period emerged in the international relations after the end of Second World War. It was

marked by intense suspicion, rivalry, ideological confrontations, formation of military blocs

and the division of world between two super powers.

Deterrence:

A logic developed by both the super powers as a means to avoid the outbreak of Third World

War by increasing their capacity to retaliate against an attack and to cause so much

destruction that neither side could afford to initiate the war. This was achieved by possessing

destructive nuclear weapons and indulgence in armaments race.

Non Alignment Movement:

A movement led forward by the Third World Countries who were committed not to join

either of the power blocs and follow an independent foreign policy.

Bipolar World Order:

Presence of two super powers in the world order is referred as bipolar world order. The

period after the end of Second World War marked the beginning of a bipolar world. The two

super powers were US and USSR.

Uni-polar World Order:

Presence of only one super power in the international arena is described as uni-polar world

order. The period immediately after the disintegration of USSR in 1991 led to the emergence

of Uni-polar world order. In such a system, it is difficult to check and balance the actions of

the super power. Therefore the period after the disintegration of USSR witnessed the

beginning of US hegemony in the world order.

Neutrality:



45

It is a situation in which a state does not take any side in the war. It has relevance only in war

and is a condition of non involvement in war. This policy was often misunderstood with non

alignment.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO):

An organisation which was formed by western alliance in April 1949. It was an association

of twelve states which declared that an armed attack on any one of them shall be considered

as an attack on all of them. It was a military alliance formed by United States of America.

WARSAW Pact:

The alliance formed by USSR and the East European countries to counter NATO was

referred as WARSAW pact.

Allied forces:

One of the two warring camps during the Second World War by the US, Soviet Union,

Britain and France.

Axis Powers:

It was another warring front of the Second World War led by Germany, Italy and Japan.

New International Economic Order (NIEO):

A demand put forward by all the developing countries to make international economic order

more just and equitable in nature and frame international economic policies favourable to the

interests of the Developing countries.

Satellite States:

A satellite state is a country that is economically and politically dominated by another nation.

During cold war period, Soviet Union turned East European countries as its satellite states by

establishing puppet communist regimes in each of these countries.



46

ASSESSMENT RUBRICS

Criteria Excellent(A+,A) Satisfactory(B+,B) Needs Improvement(C,D)

Knowledge andunderstandingof the content

Demonstrates detail & depthin discussion of a chosentopic at a level of relativecomplexity. Content isrelevant to the chosen topicand displays relevantresearch

Content is relevantto the chosen topic.Reflects someresearch work done.

Content is sometimesrelevant to the chosentopic. Mostly copiedfrom outside source.

Language Employs complex structure& speech. Conveys thoughtsmeaningfully andsystematically.

Conveys thoughtsmeaningfully andsystematically.Sometimes usescomplex structureand speech.

Is ambiguous and vague.

Analytical skill Interprets accurately &appropriately in newcontexts. Draw wellsupported conclusion,integrates ideas or developsolutions that are clear &coherent.

Interprets accuratelyand in new contextssometimes.

Does not interpret,simply explains.

Participation inGroupDiscussion

Participates fully; fullygives relevant facts;Courteous and listens toothers; Attempts to getothers to participate; Doesnot monopolize theproceedings.

Participates fully.Listens to others;Gives relevant facts;Gets disturbed/withdraws whencriticized

Needs much persuasionfrom teachers toparticipate; Gets agitatedwhen stopped inbetween.

Logicalreasoning

Has strong reasoningability: is capable of solvingcomplex or abstractproblems has ability tomake inferences integratesknowledge and applies tonew situations.

Reasons out hisarguments well canmake inferencesneeds clues to applyknowledge to newsituations.

Finds it difficult toreason out. Needs strongteacher support to applyknowledge to a newconcept?

Team work Is sociable team orientedcollaborative, enjoysworking towards a sharedgoal.

Is sociablesometimes prefers towork independently

Collaborates occasionallyprefers to workindependently

Creativeexpression

Demonstrates a wide rangeof creativity, versatility andimagination, highlights theessence, puts ideas in propercontext.

Some hesitation inexpression meaningis clear always.

Some hesitation Meaningnot always clear.



47

REFERENCES:

http://library.advanced.org/11046 http://www.funfront.net/hist/europe/coldwar.htm http://www.guidetorussia.com/russia-afghanistan.asp http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/CubanMissile crisis http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects http://Icweb2.gov/frd/cs/soviet union/su appnc.html http://www.history.com/topics/formation-ofnato-and-warsaw-pact http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/nato http://www.historylearningsite http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/berlin.htm http://www.almc.army.army.mil/ALOG/issues/SepOct05/Berlinairlift.html http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon3/ps2.htmfor domino theory The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume3,pp.712 http://www.socialistalternative.org/literature/vietnam/app2.html http://morallowground.com http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1736.html http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/5599-3.cfm http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfk/jfk-in-history http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/coldwar/a/originscoldwar.htm http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/57.htm http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nato.htm http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/trudoc.htm http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1955warsawpact.html http:// tiorichy.glogster.com/cover-page http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/111/week_ten.html

Originality Uses his ideas, gives hisown view points and relatesit to contemporary time’sdepth in thinking.

With supportteachers uses hisview points andrelates it to newsituation.

Cannot relate to newsituation without supportfrom teachers.

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