CH 15 SEC 1 THE COLD WAR UNFOLDS

I. TWO SIDES FACE OFF IN EUROPE The Cold War starts in Europe. The stand-off between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. begins with Germany, and specifically Berlin. The Soviet Union took control of Eastern Europe and wanted to control Germany as well. In Berlin, East Germans migrated to West Berlin for jobs and freedom.

I. TWO SIDES FACE OFF IN EUROPE To keep people from leaving, the East Germans built a wall separating East and West Berlin. They no longer allowed people to cross into the other half of the city. Many countries tried to fight against Communist control. Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary all revolted, but were put down by the Soviet army.

I. TWO SIDES FACE OFF IN EUROPE The leader of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek, began to give freedoms to the country called the “Prague Spring”. The Soviets were afraid too much freedom would weaken their power, so they sent in the army to end Dubcek’s leadership and take away the freedoms.

II. NUCLEAR WEAPONS THREATEN THE WORLD For the first 3 years of the Cold War the U.S. was the only country with nuclear weapons. But spies gave the Soviet Union the information they needed to build their own nuclear weapons. Each side felt they had to match the other for the number and size of their nuclear weapons. They had so many that they could destroy each other if they ever actually attacked.

II. NUCLEAR WEAPONS THREATEN THE WORLD Eventually both sides would agree that limitations on nuclear weapons needed to be put in place. A limitation was put on anti-missiles as well. The tensions of the 1960s gave way to détente, the relaxing of tensions, in the 1970s, until the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

II. NUCLEAR WEAPONS THREATEN THE WORLD As more nations began creating nuclear weapons, people saw a need to control the spread of the technology. The leading nuclear nations agreed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons by limiting who could access the plans and materials needed to create them.

III. THE COLD WAR GOES GLOBAL Communism spread after World War 2, and the U.S. was determined to stop them from taking over areas weakened by the war. The U.S. formed alliances like NATO and SEATO, and built military bases in the countries that were friendly to it.

III. THE COLD WAR GOES GLOBAL The Soviet Union was surrounded on all sides by this tactic, and they formed alliances of their own, usually under threat of force. Even though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R never fought each other, they did support conflicts in other countries. Korea and Vietnam were the two largest conflicts that both sides got involved with.

III. THE COLD WAR GOES GLOBAL The biggest problem for the U.S. was when Cuba became Communist after Fidel Castro took power. In 1961 the U.S. supported an invasion of Cuban nationals into Cuba to remove Castro. It was a complete failure, and the U.S. blocked trade with Cuba which lasts today.

III. THE COLD WAR GOES GLOBAL 1962 was the closest the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. came to nuclear war. The Soviets put nuclear missiles on Cuba to defend it from the U.S. The United States threatened to go to war if the missiles were not removed, and the U.S. was about 3 hours away from launching an attack when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles.

IV. THE SOVIET UNION IN THE COLD WAR After Stalin dies in 1953, his successors pulled away from the complete control he practiced. Nikita Khrushchev closed prison camps and was less antagonistic to the West. Leonid Brezhnev still used some threats, jailing critics of the government and keeping power for himself.

IV. THE SOVIET UNION IN THE COLD WAR The government controlled every aspect of life for the people. They assigned your job, your pay, and where you lived. There was no freedom of choice for the average citizen. Some people fought against the system. They criticized the government, some were exiled for their beliefs, other put in jail. Yet people still kept questioning the validity of Communism.

V. THE UNITED STATES DURING THE COLD WAR The economy was called a mixed market economy. There was some government control of business, but you still had freedom to make money how you want. The U.S. wanted to contain Communism where it existed and not let it spread to other parts of the world. They supported governments who were opposed to the Communists, even if they were bad.

V. THE UNITED STATES DURING THE COLD WAR The population was in constant fear of nuclear war, sometimes more than others. People built bomb shelters in their backyards, and had stockpiles of supplies to survive a nuclear attack. Schools had air raid drills and nuclear bomb drills, and Communist spies were feared to be everywhere. Congress set up a committee to find communists in the country and people were encouraged to rat out their friends and co-workers.

IN YOUR NOTEBOOKS Half-page summary of the lecture today.