Aim: What were the causes of the Cold War?

Objectives Student will be able to identify the events leading up to the Cold War. Student will be able to describe the steps taken by the United States to stop the spread of communism.

2. The Cold War in the West The Allied Powers of World War 2 helped to defeat the Nazis in Europe, but sadly, the same powers found cooperation to be difficult following the war. England, France and the United States feared the spread of Soviet communism in Europe-this fear helped to cause the Cold War.

A Cold War is a war without any fighting but in which side uses means short of military influence to expand its influence. The first area of the Cold War was Western Europe in the years following World War 2.

Map of the Cold War The Cold War began two years after World War 2 ended. A Cold War is a war where there is no fighting. The Cold War brought the US and its allies against the Soviet Union and their Allies.

Question 1 What is the definition of a cold war?

2.1 Promises and Problems Some of the problems between the Soviet Union and the West grew out of the failure of the Soviet Union to live up to its promises made during WW2. The Soviet Union promised both the US and England that as they freed Eastern Europe they would hold elections after liberation. Well…the Soviet Union, with their fingers crossed agreed with the West, then they established Communist governments in the area.

Division of Europe After WW2

Winston Churchill grew concerned that Eastern Europe was slowly becoming influenced by the Soviet Union. Churchill warned that an “iron curtain” was being putting up by the Soviet Union to keep their hold on Eastern Europe while preventing England and the United States from influencing the area.

Eastern Europe After 1945

Question 2 What led to the cold war?

In the late 1940s, Greece and Turkey became the first battleground during the Cold War. Following the war, two sides in Greece, Communists and Nationalists began fighting one another. The Nationalists turned to the United Nations in 1947 to stop Soviet influence.

Turkey was desired by the Soviets because of its access to the Mediterranean Sea. The Soviets wanted the Dardanelles, a small waterway that would connect the Soviet Union to the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey turned to the United States for help.

Greece/Civil War

Question 2 Where was the first battleground of the Cold War?

2.2 Spread of Communism One of the goals the Soviets had during the Cold War was to spread communism in all directions. To do this, the nations of Eastern Europe conquered by the Soviets became known as satellite nations. The Soviet Union controlled those nations every move. To stop the spread of communism, the United States adopted a policy of containment. Under it, the United States promised to contain and limit the spread of communism

The US policy of containment was written in the Truman Doctrine of 1947. President Truman stated that the United States would lend money to nations that were being threatened by Communist takeover. Congress allowed Truman to lend $400 million dollars to both Greece and Turkey.

To help restore the European economy, Secretary of State George Marshall drafted the Marshall Plan. Under the Marshall Plan, Europe would receive some $17,000,000,000 in American economic aid. The Marshall Plan went into effect in 1948. Every nation in Europe would be helped. However, the Soviet Union and their satellite nations would receive no aid because the Soviets refused any assistance from the US. The Soviet Union vowed to help their nations with economic aid. However, the Soviet Union economy was heavily damaged by the war, so money was tight.

Question 3 What was the Truman Doctrine?

Question 4 What was the Marshall Plan?

Question 5 What was the policy of containment?

2.3 Berlin Blockade (1948) The chief struggle between the Allies and the Soviet Union came in the nation of Germany. The Western nations of England, France and the US all felt that Germany should be a self-governing, economically strong nation. The Soviet Union did not favor this idea-they still wished to control their occupied area after World War 2. Things came to a head on June 7, 1948.

On June 7, 1948, the Western powers stated that they were going to create a government in West Germany. The Soviet Union stated that this was a violation of the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, so on June 24, 1948, they began a tight blockade of all land and water routes into the city of Berlin.

Question 6 Why did the Soviets blockade Berlin?

Question 7 How did the Western powers counteract the Berlin blockade?

Berlin was located in the Soviet occupied zone and was also divided into four zones of occupation. The Soviets also believed that through a blockade the western nations would leave the city of Berlin. To get around the blockade, the Western powers organized an airlift to get supplies into Berlin.

American and British pilots made over 272,000 flights into Berlin delivering 2,300,000 tons of supplies. In May of 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. Soon after, two separate governments were set up in Germany-West Germany and East Germany.

Question 8 What was the purpose of the Berlin Airlift?

2.4 NATO Alliance The Berlin blockade alarmed leaders of the west. Truman and many other leaders believed that the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan would be an adequate defense against the Soviets. In April 1949, the leaders of Western Europe and the United States formed an alliance called NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The original members of NATO include the United States, Canada, England, France, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Iceland, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Luxemborg and the Netherlands. West Germany would join in 1952. The members of NATO supported the United States and agreed to settle disputes through peaceful means. They also agreed that an attack on one nation is an attack on all the nations.

Question 9 What were the purposes of NATO?