1. COLD WAR CONFLICTS
U.S
vs.
U.S.S.R.

2. ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
After being Allies during WWII, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. soon viewed each other with increasing suspicion
Their political differences created a climate of icy tension that plunged the two countries into an era of bitter rivalry known as the Cold War
The Cold War would dominate global affairs from 1945 until the breakup of the USSR in 1991

3. POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
At the heart of the tension was a fundamental difference in political systems
America is a democracy that has a capitalist economic system, free elections and competing political parties
In the U.S.S.R., the sole political party – the Communists – established a totalitarian regime with little or no rights for the citizens
Soviets viewed Marx, Engels and Lenin as founders of Communism

4. Background - Why a Cold War?
Differing aims in Europe
WWII had affected the U.S. and USSR differently
The U.S. emerged as the world’s richest and most powerful country: only 400,000 Americans died during the war, and industry and cities remained intact

5. Background - Why a Cold War?
The USSR was devastated after the war: 20 million deaths (1 in 4 Soviets dead or injured), many cities and factories demolished, farmlands destroyed
These differences meant that the U.S. and the USSR envisioned postwar Europe very differently

6. Superpower Aims in Europe
United States
Soviet Union
Encourage democracy to prevent communism from spreading
Encourage communism and worldwide workers’ revolution
Gain access to raw materials and markets to fuel industry
Rebuild economy using E. Europe’s industrial equipment and raw materials
Rebuild European governments to promote stability and create new markets for U.S. goods
Control E. Europe to protect Soviet borders and balance U.S. influence in the west
Reunite Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe
Keep Germany divided so that it couldn’t wage war again

7. Background - Why a Cold War?
These differing aims brought the two Superpowers into conflict
the U.S. was afraid of a global communist conspiracy led by the USSR, and the USSR feared that the U.S.
was calling for a worldwide capitalist expansion

8. Background - Why a Cold War?
During the war, Soviet troops had remained behind in each of the Eastern European countries “liberated” from the Nazis

9. Background - Why a Cold War?
After the war, Stalin used these troops to help install communist governments, creating buffer states.
Stalin believed that capitalism and communism could not coexist and that war was certain. By creating buffer states, he was hoping to protect the USSR from invasion by the west.

10. Winston Churchill called the result an “Iron Curtain” that had descended on Europe and was separating East from West.
The Iron Curtain was a metaphor: on one side were the free nations of Western Europe, on the other side were the communist nations controlled by the USSR.

11. CHURCHILL: “IRON CURTAIN” ACROSS EUROPE
Europe was now divided into two political regions; a mostly democratic Western Europe and a communist Eastern Europe
Churchill, right, in Fulton, Missouri delivering his “iron curtain” speech, 1946

12. Iron Curtain cartoon, 1946

13. The U.S. Response
Three policies show how the U.S. was determined to challenge Soviet domination and protect its interests in Europe

15. The U.S. Response Containment: the U.S. said it wouldn’t interfere
where communism already
existed, but it would
prevent any expansion
by creating alliances and
helping countries resist
Soviet advances

16. The U.S. Response
The Truman Doctrine: the U.S. would help countries resisting communism by giving them monetary aid

17. The U.S. Response Three policies (con’t)
The Marshall Plan: the U.S. authorized a total of $13 billion in aid to any European country that requested it
According to the cartoon, what is the relationship between the U.S. and Europe?

18. SOVIETS DOMINATE EASTERN EUROPE
The Soviet Union suffered an estimated 20 million WWII deaths, half of whom were civilian
As a result they felt justified in their claim to Eastern Europe
Furthermore, they felt they needed Eastern Europe as a buffer against future German aggression

19. STALIN INSTALLS PUPPET GOVERNMENTS
Stalin installed “satellite” communist governments in the Eastern European countries of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and East Germany
This after promising “free elections” for Eastern Europe at the Yalta Conference
In a 1946 speech, Stalin said communism and capitalism were incompatible – and another war was inevitable

21. The “Iron Curtain”
From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

22. THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE The “Truman Doctrine”
was first used in Greece and Turkey in the late 1940s, vowed to provide aid (money & military supplies) to support “free peoples who are resisting outside pressures”
By 1950, the U.S. had given $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey

23. The Marshall Plan helped Western Europe recover economically
Post-war Europe was devastated economically
In June 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a U.S. aid package to European nations
Western Europe accepted the help, while Eastern Europe rejected the aid
Over the next four years 16 European countries received $13 billion in U.S. aid
By 1952 Western Europe’s economy was flourishing
The Marshall Plan helped Western Europe recover economically

24. Marshall Plan aid sent to European countries

25. Marshall Aid cartoon, 1947