THE IRON CURTAIN FALLS ON EUROPE Ch 15 sec 1

I. The Roots of the Cold War Even before WW2, the United States viewed the Soviet Union as a threat, and communism was something to be feared. During the war, the two sides had to work together to defeat the Axis, but there was still tension between the countries.

I. The Roots of the Cold War Arguments over war strategy and bitterness over how long it took to open a second front made the Soviets and the Americans hate each other after the war. The U.S. had the advantage of the atomic bomb, until Soviet spies stole some plans and the Soviets created their own.

II. The Iron Curtain Descends After the war, Stalin kept control of the eastern European countries that the Soviets had occupied, as payment for the suffering and to protect itself from Western aggression. Stalin controlled elections in the Eastern European countries, and the governments all became Communist, and were supported by the Soviet Union.

II. The Iron Curtain Descends The Soviets also forced Germans living in Eastern Europe to move west, in a brutal march that killed many of them. The tension between the two countries increased, and when Winston Churchill declared that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen across Europe in a speech in Missouri, the Soviet Union used that as a reason to build up its military. =S2PUIQpAEAQ =S2PUIQpAEAQ

III. The United States Responds The United States took the position of containment with the Soviet Union. They can exist where they currently were, but the U.S. would not let them spread. It was more than just military prevention. The U.S. would provide economic aid to strengthen governments that were resisting communism.

III. The United States Responds This became known as the Truman Doctrine, to stop communism using economic and financial aid and if necessary military assistance. The Marshall Plan was designed to rebuild Europe after the war by providing millions of dollars and tons of goods, strengthening the democratic governments in the West.

III. The United States Responds The Soviet Union prevented eastern European countries from participating, because they were afraid the U.S. would turn the people against them. Soon after the war the money and goods started coming, and life began to improve for Western Europeans, which strengthened the relationship between them and the U.S.

IV. The Crisis in Berlin The Cold War gets its start in the city of Berlin. The city, like Germany, was divided into 4 parts, but it was deep in Soviet- controlled East Germany. The Soviets wanted to have complete control of the city, so they cut off West Berlin from getting supplies from the U.S. They closed the roads and railroads, and wanted to starve the inhabitants into surrender.

IV. The Crisis in Berlin The plan to help the people of Berlin was to airlift the supplies they needed to survive. There was a risk that the Soviets would shoot the planes down, but in the end the Allies went forward. The planes delivered their cargo everyday for almost a year, lifting 2.3 million tons of food and supplies. The Soviets finally lifted the blockade, but the Cold War was in full force.

IV. The Crisis in Berlin The threat from the Soviet Union caused the Western Allies concern, so they began to plan against Soviet aggression. They established NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that promised to protect each other if the Soviet Union attacked.

In your notebooks Half-page summary of the lecture.