1. Beginnings of the Cold War 1945-1960

2. Aftermath of World War II Europe is in ruins. Nearly every major city has been damaged or destroyed Death tolls USA: 300,000 Great Britain: 330,000 France: 380,000 USSR: 21 million Germany: 6 million Japan: 2 million Total: 30 million Berlin, 1945

3. Aftermath of World War II Germany is divided between the four Allied Powers (USA, USSR, Britain, France) Japan occupied by the USA MacArthur heads the occupation forces Demilitarization, Democratization

5. Wartime Alliances Collapse Creation of the United Nations General Assembly: every member Security Council: 10 members, 5 permanent USA, USSR, Britain, France, China Allied Powers have differing views East (USSR) vs. West (USA)

6. USSR: The Iron Curtain Eastern Europe occupied after the war Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary The Soviets wanted a buffer zone between themselves and the West Will not give up their zone of Germany to reunite with the Western zones

8. USA: Contain Communism Truman Doctrine, 1947: help out any country to fight communism Marshall Plan, 1948: Aid to all nations in Europe to help rebuild. (Rejected by pro-soviet governments) Berlin Airlift, June 1948 – May 1949: Soviets try to blockade West Berlin US Air Force flies in supplies non-stop

9. The World Divided The Cold War: everything short of actual fighting Rival Alliances NATO: United States and “Western” democratic allies Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union and “Eastern” communist allies Fear of Nuclear War USSR tests an atomic bomb in 1949 Military arms race in the 1950s and 1960s MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 Closest we ever came to nuclear war