Beginning of the Cold War Part 2 “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

I The Truman Doctrine March 12, 1947 US President Harry Truman asked congress (and got approval) to send 400 million to Greece and Turkey to prevent them from becoming communist due to Soviet influence. “…Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fateful hour, the effect will be far reaching to the West as well as to the East… I therefore ask the Congress to provide authority for assistance to Greece and Turkey in the amount of $400,000,000 for the period ending June 30, 1948... In addition to funds, I ask the Congress to authorize the detail of American civilian and military personnel to Greece and Turkey...”

II Containment and Domino Theory Containment: The US and its allies strategy to contain and stop the spread of communism. Domino Theory: The domino theory was a Cold War policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominos.

Secretary of State George Marshall III The Marshall Plan 1947 - 1951 A) The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, gave $13+ billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe. B) The USSR viewed the Marshall Plan as an "imperialist ploy", and prevented Poland and Czechoslovakia from taking part.  C) USSR founded the Communist Information Bureau (COMINFORM)  D) The US responded with the National Security Act of 1947, creating the National Security Council (NSC) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Secretary of State George Marshall

The Marshall Plan Continued… COMINFORM vs. CIA

IV The Berlin Blockade and Airlift 1948 - 1949 A) The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (both in 1945) met to determine how the Allied Powers would divide up Germany. The agreements split Germany into 4 “allied occupation zones”. The USSR got the east and Western Germany was given to the U.S. and UK.

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift 1948 – 1949 Continued… B) 1946 the Americans and British combined their zones. The Russians were concerned about a unified West Berlin, so they began a blockade of West Berlin to shut down transportation in and out of Berlin. C) June 15, 1948, the USSR announced that the Autobahn, the highway connecting western Germany to Berlin, would be closed indefinitely “for repairs.”  Allied cargo planes used open air corridors over the Soviet occupation zone to deliver food and aid to West Berlin. D) May 12, 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948 – 1949) Continued…

The first Soviet atomic test “RDS-1”, 1949 V The Arms Race The first Soviet atomic test “RDS-1”, 1949 The Cold War Arms Race: The Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949. Now there were two nuclear superpowers!

VI NATO and the Warsaw Pact The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): An alliance of the US and Western European allies against communism. The Warsaw Pact was created in direct response to NATO. An alliance of the USSR and eastern European nations: Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria.

Key Vocabulary Berlin Blockade Berlin Airlift CIA COMINFORM Containment Domino Theory Iron Curtain Marshall Pact National Security Act NATO NSA Truman Doctrine Warsaw Pact

Summary Questions What was the purpose of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan? What was the purpose of the CIA and COMINFORM? Why did the USSR begin the Berlin Blockade? Why did the Allies start the Berlin Airlift? What was the Arms Race? What was the purpose of NATO and the Warsaw Pact? What was the policy of containment? The Domino Theory? Do you agree with them? Could the Cold War have been ended at any point? Who do you side with more- the Allies or the USSR?