The Cold War The Big 3 (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin) met to determine the make-up of post-WWII Europe at the Yalta Conference in USSR in 1945 USSR was given control of E. Europe until free elections could be held—ha! Germany was divided into U.S., Fr, Eng & USSR zones
Results of the Yalta Conference E. Europe never had free elections E. European nations became satellite states of USSR Germany was split into East (communist) and West (democracy)
East and West Germany
East and West Berlin Berlin was divided into East (Commie) and West (Democracy)
“Checkpoint Charlie”
Stalin and Eastern Europe Stalin justified his domination of E. Europe saying that if those countries were not communist, they would be his enemies He created “buffer states” between USSR and the West
Check-Up Explain the political situation in Central and Eastern Europe after WWII E Europe was becoming Communist What effect did Stalin have on this situation? Stalin forced communist governments on the Central and Eastern European countries
Cold War Policy of US and the West Tensions developed: Soviets (totalitarianism and communism) Vs US and West (democracy and capitalism) US saw Soviets as a threat to spread communism throughout Europe
Containment Policy of US and West was to “contain” (stop) the spread of Communism: Truman Doctrine
Domino Theory If one country “falls” to communism, soon after its neighbor will also become communist Then the next neighbor will “fall” … and so on
Reaction from the West: Churchill - Iron Curtain "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe -- Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia. All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere." Churchill, 1946
US Policy The Truman Doctrine 1947 – Pres. Truman’s economic and military aid program to help people resist communist aggression Aimed originally at Greece and Turkey (where it was successful) it was used world wide
The Marshall Plan Enacted in 1948 Devised by Gen George Marshall (Sec of State) US feared poor countries of Europe would come under Soviet control MP offered eco aid to all European countries to lessen appeal of communism
Check-up Explain how the following expected to stop the spread of Communism Truman Doctrine Truman Doctrine – US would support non- Communists in countries around the world to stop the spread of Communism Marshall Plan Marshall Plan – give countries $$$ so Communism is not attractive
Berlin Blockade Berlin was inside Soviet zone (but ¾ in Western hands) USSR cut-off all land access to Berlin Allies (to maintain control of the city) airlifted materials into W. Berlin for 1 year Soviets gave in and eventually opened access routes
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 1949 Collective Security agreement which protects Western Allies against Soviet aggression---Containment Includes US, Canada and most of W Europe Warsaw Pact – Defensive alliance between the Soviet Union and its satellites Formed in response to NATO
NATO (Green) and Warsaw Pact (Red)
Berlin – The Wall After the split of Germany and Berlin, thousands of Germans fled to W Berlin to escape communist E Germany 1961 – E Germany built a wall to stop the flow The wall symbolized the Cold War
Brinkmanship US Pres. Eisenhower threatened to “retaliate instantly” to any Soviet aggression This led to an arms race MAD – Mutually Assured Destruction Both sides threatened to use all-out nuclear war
Other Incidents 1957 Sputnik (Russian) first satellite 1960 US U2 spy plane shot down over Russia 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
Check-up What symbol of the Cold War was built in Berlin in 1961? Why was it a symbol of the Cold War? What was the strategy the Cold War Powers used to avoid war? The Berlin Wall It signified the separation between Easter (Communist) and Western (democratic – capitalist) Europe Brinkmanship and MAD – avoid war or we are all dead!
Assignment – Cold War Create a political cartoon 1.using Cold War symbolism 2.Representing one of the important policies/events of the early Cold War years What are SYMBOLS of the Cold war?