1. The Beginning of WWII

2. Results of wwI: Divisions in Global society
Disillusionment following World War I, particularly in Germany.
The Treaty of Versailles was the formal agreement that ended WWI and changed the map of Europe. New nations were created (i.e. Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia)
Germany was required to pay $ 33 billion dollars in reparations for WWI’s destruction.
The Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empires dissolved.

3. OVERVIEW OF primary causes
Axis Dictatorships
Axis Militarism
Axis Nationalism
Axis Imperialism
Add notes from Mark’s Outline WWII

4. GERMANY ITALY Adolf Hitler began the Nazi Party in Germany in 1920.
Rise of Dictatorships
GERMANY
Adolf Hitler began the Nazi Party in Germany in 1920.
Hitler told Germans that they should be proud of their history and that the Jews and other ethnic groups were to blame for the nation’s dire economic problems.
Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, and set up a totalitarian government immediately.
Critics of this new government were imprisoned and Jews lost their rights as German citizens, on top of being horribly mistreated,
ITALY
Benito Mussolini started the political movement fascism in the early 1920s.
Mussolini rose to power by promising the Italian people that he would build a new Roman Empire.
Mussolini held power in Italy from
Both Mussolini and Hitler promised to expand territory and improve living standards to the Italian and German people respectively.
ITALY: Under fascism the government rules through terror and by appealing to racism and nationalism.
GERMANY: National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi) / Totalitarian: Gov‘t controls every aspect of life in the nation

5. The AXIS POWERS Japan Germany Italy
In 1936 Hitler and Mussolini signed an alliance known as the “Rome- Berlin Axis”.
Japan later joined the alliance making these three countries known as the Axis Powers.
September 1931: Japan invaded Manchuria, a coal rich province of China.
October 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia.
March 1936: Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
July1937: Japanese forces move into China.
March 1938: Germany annexes Austria.
September 1938: Munich Conference.
August 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact signed.
September 1939: German troops invade Poland.
Japan
Germany
Italy
9/1931: Japan invaded Manchuria, a coal rich province of China. and the League of Nations did little to assist.

6. The Secondary Causes of WWII
Appeasement
Appeasement means to consistently give in to demands based on the hope that the nation making the demands will be satisfied.
i.e. The results of the Munich Conference.
The Failure of Collective Security
The democracies did not act collectively together to protect each other and other nations from aggression .
i.e. German-Soviet Pact
U.S. Neutrality
Concerns were raised in the U.S. that it’s involvement in WWI was not in its best interest and should limit it’s involvement in European affairs.
APPEASEMENT: ie. i.e. Britain and France giving into Germany’s demands at the Munich Conference.
THE FAILURE OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY: The Germans and Soviets signed a non-aggression pact and divided up Poland rather than attempt to stop German expansion.

7. The holocaust

8. EARLY Timeline

9. Hitler’s early policies
Anti-Jewish boycott of 1933
Hitler learns that members of the population more likely to tolerate attacks against minorities when they stood to gain from it
Nuremberg Laws
Forbid intermarriage with Jews and create parameters for citizenship
Kristallnacht “the night of broken glass”
Burn synaagogues, loot stores, murder about 100 Jews
As more and more people identified w/ the Nazi party Hitler’s power grew. Aftre he became chancellor in Jan he embarked on a plan to remilitarize the nation and prepare for a war of conquest!
- As hitler forcibly took control of neighboring nations the Nazis began exterminating the Jews in those countries.

10. Atrocities
The Nazis built special prisons (concentration camps) throughout Europe.
Jews were forced to leave their jobs, homes, and businesses and were sent to places such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Dachau.
In these camps the Nazis built gas chambers to eliminate large numbers of people.
By the end of WWII 6 million out of 8.3 million European Jews had been killed by the Nazis.
Prior to the c. camps, Nazis used Einsatzgruppen or special death squads to eliminate Jews, Slavs and others.
In some camps priosoners were worked or starved to death. Many died from disease torture or medical experiments.
- Most people at the time were unaware of the atrocities the Nazis were commiting. But Allited gov’ts uncovered info that the Nazis were holding Jews, gypsies, Slavs, the mentally ill, homosexuals and any pther that they deemed inferior or under menschen. When the war ended allied troops saw the gruesome sights ath the camps first hand.

11. Chronology Historical Context
July 6, 1941: Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) shoot nearly 3,000 Jews at the Seventh Fort, one of the 19th-century fortifications surrounding Kovno
August 3, 1941: Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen of Muenster denounces the “euthanasia“ killing program in a public sermon
September 28-29, 1941: Einsatzgruppen shoot about 34,000 Jews at Babi Yar, outside Kiev
November 7, 1941: Einsatzgruppen round up 13,000 Jews from the Minsk ghetto and kill them in nearby Tuchinki (Tuchinka)
November 30, 1941: Einsatzgruppen shoot 10,000 Jews from the Riga ghetto in the Rumbula Forest
September 17, 1939: The Soviet Union occupies Poland from the east
October 8, 1939: Germans establish a ghetto in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland
April 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and Norway
May 10, 1940: Germany attacks western Europe (France and the Low Countries)
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain begins
April 6, 1941: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece
June 22, 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union

12. THE FINAL SOLUTION: AN OVERVIEW
They used the term “Final Solution” to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish people.
The genocide, or mass destruction, of the Jews was the culmination of a decade of increasingly severe discriminatory measures.
After 9/1939, anti-Jewish policy escalated to the imprisonment and eventual murder of European Jews.
The Nazis first established ghettos in the Generalgouvernement (a territory in central and eastern Poland overseen by a German civilian government) and the Warthegau (an area of western Poland annexed to Germany).
Polish and western European Jews were deported to these ghettos where they lived in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with inadequate food.
German SS and police murdered nearly 2,700,000 Jews in the killing centers either by asphyxiation with poison gas or by shooting. In its entirety, the "Final Solution" called for the murder of all European Jews by gassing, shooting, and other means.
---The Nazis frequently used euphemistic language to disguise the true nature of their crimes. They used the term “Final Solution” to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish people. It is not known when the leaders of Nazi Germany definitively decided to implement the "Final Solution." The genocide, or mass destruction, of the Jews was the culmination of a decade of increasingly severe discriminatory measures.
----The Nazis first established ghettos (enclosed areas designed to isolate and control the Jews) in the Generalgouvernement (a territory in central and eastern Poland overseen by a German civilian government) and the Warthegau (an area of western Poland annexed to Germany). Polish and western European Jews were deported to these ghettos where they lived in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with inadequate food.
Image 1: Jews from the Lodz ghetto are loaded onto freight trains for deportation to the Chelmno extermination camp. Lodz, Poland, between 1942 and 1944
Image 2: Polish babies, chosen for their "Aryan" features, to be adopted and raised as ethnic Germans. Poland, wartime.
Image 3: The synagogue in Oberramstadt (a town in southwestern Germany) burns during Kristallnacht. Oberramstadt, Germany, November 9-10, 1938.

13. Personal histories Sam Itzkowitz Born: 1925, Makow, Poland
Describes gas chambers in Auschwitz [Interview: 1991]
Ruth Webber Born: 1935, Ostrowiec, Poland
Describes the Auschwitz crematoria [Interview: 1992]
Story 1:
Sam Itzkowitz Born: 1925, Makow, Poland
Describes gas chambers in Auschwitz [Interview: 1991]
The Germans invaded Poland in September When Makow was occupied, Sam fled to Soviet territory. He returned to Makow for provisions, but was forced to remain in the ghetto. In 1942, he was deported to Auschwitz. As the Soviet army advanced in 1944, Sam and other prisoners were sent to camps in Germany. The inmates were put on a death march early in American forces liberated Sam after he escaped during a bombing raid.
STOry 2:
Ruth was four years old when the Germans invaded Poland and occupied Ostrowiec. Her family was forced into a ghetto. Germans took over her father's photography business, although he was allowed to continue working outside the ghetto. Before the ghetto was liquidated, Ruth's parents sent her sister into hiding, and managed to get work at a labor camp outside the ghetto. Ruth also went into hiding, either in nearby woods or within the camp itself. When the camp was liquidated, Ruth's parents were split up. Ruth was sent to several concentration camps before eventually being deported to Auschwitz. After the war, Ruth lived in an orphanage in Krakow until she was reunited with her mother.

15. London blitzkrieg
- What does Blitzkrieg mean? (Means ligthning war in German)
-The London Blitzkrieg was a nightly airaid for 57 nights in a row.
-The city’s citizens would take refuge in underground bunkers as the bombs were falling
-The efforts of the Royal Air Force (RAF) against these German war planes became known as the Battle of Britain.
-By Oct Germany gave up hope of overtaking Britain

16. Pearl harbor -Context before PH
In July 1941 the Japanese occupied French Indochina. FDR responded by freezing all Japanese investments and property in the US
FDR cut off oil shipment to Japan as well. As Japan had no oil of its own, w/o imported oil Japan’s economy would collapse
In Oct. 1941, the leader of Japan, Hideki Tojo and his generals decided to plan an attack on the Dutch East Indies (a source of oil), British Malaya and the Phillipines Islands. At this time, the Philipines were still an Am. Possession. The Japanese then laid the plans for the PH attack.
REsultS: The attack on PH helped unite the US to approve declaration of war and join the Allied forces against Germany, Italy and Japan.
On Dec 11 Germany and italy declared war on the US.

17. Battle of midway

18. D-Day
June
On Dday 150,000Allied Troops landed in Normandy France.
American, British Canadian and French made up the Allied troops
Despite German resistance, the Allied troops succeeded and were able to move toward Germany after this.
During this time, the Soviets were moving in on German forces from the West

19. Battle of the bulge
The last offensive made by the Germans against Allied forces.
-German troops pushed the Allies back in Belgium, but they ere able to counterattack.

20. Iwo jima

21. Battle of berlin

22. Liberation of auschwitz

23. German surrender

24. hiroshima

25. Japanese surrender

28. The cold war
NOTES: The hostility, short of total war, that developed between the US and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies.

29. Chronology EARLY YEARS 1945: United Nations is officially formed.
1947: Truman Doctrine
1948: Berlin Airlift begins
1949: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is formed. Members included US, Canada and a number of European nations.
NOTES:
The Cold War is the conflict between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union and the democratic nations led by the United States. It is fought by all means - propaganda, economic war, diplomatic haggling and occasional military clashes. It is fought in all places - in neutral states, in newly independent nations in Africa, Asia and even in outer space. The historians have so far not reached any agreement on the time in which the Cold War began. It is, however, quite safe to say that since 1947 when President Truman of the United States declared an anti-communist policy, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union has begun.

30. Causes of the cold war Ideological Economic Political
Free Elections vs. Communist Party
Economic
Free Trade vs. totalitarian regime
Political
US vs. Soviet Union
Immediate Causes:
Incipient conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States began at the peace-time conferences.
Their conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine and launched the Marshall Plan in 1947.
NOTES:
Deep-rooted ideological, economic and political differences between the United States and the Soviet Union before the Second World War.
IDEOLOGICAL :
The United States and the Soviet Union represent two opposing systems of government. In the United States, the government is elected by free elections. The people can form political parties to voice their political opinions. They also possess the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. In the Soviet Union, the government is formed by the Communist Party. The people do not have the right to form their own political parties. They do not enjoy the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. Since these two systems of government are diametrically opposed to one another, there can be little compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union.
ECONOMIC
The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world. The Soviet Union wanted to shield off her own sphere from international commerce. Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the totalitarian regime. These differences led to much ill feeling between the United States and the Soviet Union.
POLITICAL
Power rivalry: Post WWII, with the decline of Europe, power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the US. As one wanted 'to dominate the other, conflicts were inevitable.

31. soviet Expansion
Post WWII the Soviet Union was the strongest power in Europe and was still ruled by Joseph Stalin.
By the fall of 1944, the Red Army had liberated and controlled a large part of eastern Europe.
By 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as her new boundary line with Poland and also the control of the eastern zone of Germany.
By May 1945, the Red Army began by influencing the post-war elections. They intimidated the voters and changed the voting lists as they desired.
Although the non-communists could still gain some votes, most of the votes went to the communists. Thus the coalition governments formed immediately after the war were largely dominated by the communists.
In late 1946, the French and Italian Communists were becoming the most powerful parties in France and Italy.
NOTES:
-Post WWII the Soviet Union was the strongest power in Europe.
-Ruled by Joseph Stalin.
-At the Yalta Conference in 1945 Stalin had agreed that there should be free elections in the Eastern European nations.
-But by the end of WWII, Stalin worried that these countries might elect anti-Soviet gov’ts. To avoid this risk the Soviets set up pro-Soviet communist gov’ts in E. Europe.
-Two conflicting views: 1 view is that Stalin wanted to protect the Soviet Union by using E. Europe as a buffer from future invasion.
2nd view is that Stailin wanted to spread communism throughout the world
- Extension of Russian influence in Europe:
Even before the end of the war, the Soviet Union had gradually extended her influence in Europe. By the fall of 1944, the Red Army had liberated and controlled a large part of eastern Europe. By 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as her new boundary line with Poland and also the control of the eastern zone of Germany.
As the war was drawing to a close in May 1945, the Soviet Union quickly consolidated her control of eastern Europe. The Red Army began by influencing the post-war elections. They intimidated the voters and changed the voting lists as they desired.
Although the non-communists could still gain some votes, most of the votes went to the communists. Thus the coalition governments formed immediately after the war were largely dominated by the communists. Two of the key ministries - Defence and Military (Police) - were always under communist control.
Stalin was not satisfied with communist control of eastern Europe. In the meantime, he encouraged the communists to take an active part in the immediate post-war elections in western Europe. In late 1946, the French and Italian Communists were becoming the most powerful parties in France and Italy.

32. The Truman doctrine
President Truman supported a policy of containment.
The US would work in military and non-military ways to prevent communism from spreading throughout the world.
Truman believed that without American action Turkey and Greece might fall under Soviet control. Truman asked Congress for $400 million to assist these countries.
“I believe it must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” – Truman Doctrine
Became the foundation of American foreign policy til the 1990s.
Containment was first announced in 1947.
Soviet gov’t was trying to force Turkey to let it establish a naval base in turkish territory. In addition Truman believed that the Soviets were arming Greek communists in a fierce civil war.
Truman thought that w/o American action turkey and Greece would fall under Soviet control.
The deteriorating relations between the Soviet Union and the United States were reflected in two minor incidents in the year. Land-Lease was abruptly terminated by the United States and the Russian request for American economic aid for the purposes of post-war reconstruction was ignored by the government of the United States. (During the Second World War, the U.S. supplied much war material to the Allied nations through a Lend and Lease programme. As the Lend and Lease programme was suddenly stopped, the war-ravaged Soviet Union could not obtain American material support to help her post-war economic reconstruction.)
The poor relations between the East and West were also reflected in a speech by Churchill. In March 1946, Churchill made a speech at Fulton, Missouri in which he said, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent .... Behind that line lie all the capitals of the central and eastern Europe - all are subject in one form or another not only to Soviet influence but also to a very high and increasing control from Moscow." The Fulton speech increased the American suspicion of Soviet aggressive designs in Europe.

33. CONTAINMENT Vs. ROLLBACK
Containment means preventing the expansion of a state.
In political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state. Most of the discussions of rollback in the scholarly literature deal with United States foreign policy toward Communist countries during the Cold War. The rollback strategy was tried, and failed, in Korea in 1950, and in Cuba in 1961.
The political leadership of the United States discussed the use of rollback during the uprising of 1953 in East Germany and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, but decided against it to avoid the risk of Soviet intervention and a major war.[1] When Republican Senator Barry Goldwater demanded Why Not Victory?, the title of his 1962 book, he was defeated in a landslide in 1964 because of the risk of nuclear war with the Soviets.[2]
The rollback strategy succeeded in Grenada in Ronald Reagan promoted a rollback strategy against what he called the "evil empire" (the Soviet Union) in the 1980s. NATO has deployed a rollback strategy in Afghanistan since 2001 to end the power of the Taliban.[3] Rollback of governments hostile to the U.S. took place in the American Civil War (1861–65), World War I (against Germany 1918), World War II (against Italy 1943, Germany 1945 and Japan 1945), 1953 Iranian coup d'état, (against Mohammad Mosaddegh), Chile (against Salvador Allende in 1973), Panama (against Noriega, 1989), and Iraq (against Saddam Hussein 2003). Today rollback is sometimes called "regime change".
Critical Thinking: What areas of the world have seen Rollback or “regime change” strategies in recent years?

34. The marshall plan
The goal of the Marshall Plan was to rebuild the cities, farms, and industries of Europe in the post WWII years.
American leaders hoped that if people’s basic needs for food and housing were met that Europeans would be able to prosper.
The unstated reality was that US leaders hoped that through healthy economies, people would resist communism.
By 1951, Western European economies were booming and democracy had been saved.
NOTes:
In 1947 Sec. of State, George Marshall announced another program of aid to Europe.
The Soviet Union and much of Soviet controlled Eastern Europe was also offered the Marshall Plan. Stalin turned it down however, belieivng that it would threaten Communist rule.
-The first reason was that the state which applied for Marshall Aid was required to disclose her economic records to the American government - this was regarded by the Soviet Union as an American interference in the internal affairs of another state. The second reason was that receiving American aid would involve the risk of opening the Soviet Union to western influences which would weaken the totalitarian system of government. (In the eyes of the Soviet Union, the United States was giving economic aid to all European countries to make them anti-communist. Shortly after the proclamation of the Marshall Plan, Andrei Zhdanov, one of Stalin's lieutenants, said, "The United States proclaimed a new, frankly predatory and expansionist course. The purpose of this new frankly expansionist course is to establish the world supremacy of American imperialism.") Because of these two reasons, the Soviet Union also forbade her satellite countries (the eastern European countries) to accept Marshall Aid. In 1949, Russia tried to counter the Marshal Plan -by offering financial aid to her satellites under the Molotov Plan.
With the proclamation of the Truman Doctrine of March 1947 and the launching of the Marshall Plan, the United States was clearly leading the western nations to resist Russian Communist expansionist activities in Europe. Cold War had begun
IMAGE: "Secretary of State George C. Marshall enters Harvard University on June 5, 1947, to address the graduating class." From the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

35. TOP LEFT: "London after the war". n.d. Photograph
                                               
                                                           
                                                           
TOP LEFT: "London after the war". n.d. Photograph
LOWER LEFT: "British residential neighborhood after the Blitz." n.d. Photograph. From Indiana University.
TOP RT: "Marshall Plan Dons Uniform." Photograph. From Library of Congress: New York World Telegram and Sun Collection.
LOWER RT:    "Ruins of Warsaw after World War II." n.d. Photograph. (source unknown)

36. Airlift to berlin In 1945 Germany had been divided into zones.
                                                                                                                              )
Airlift to berlin
In 1945 Germany had been divided into zones.
West Germany was occupied by troops from the US, France, and Britain.
East Germany was occupied by Soviet troops.
Berlin was also separated into halves.
In 1948, Soviet troops closed all entrances to Berlin so the US and Britain began the airlift to Berlin.
For about 1 year, American and British cargo planes carried tons of food to W. Berlin.
Berliners watching a C-54 land at Tempelhof Airport (1948)
NOTES:
-The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies‘ railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city.
-In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and the recently independent United States Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 4700 tons of daily necessities such as fuel and food to the Berliners.Alongside British and US personnel the airlift involved aircrews from the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force andSouth African Air Force.
-By the spring of 1949, the effort was clearly succeeding and, by April, the airlift was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The success of the Berlin Airlift brought humiliation to the Soviets who had refused to believe it could make a difference. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two separate German states. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) split up Berlin. In remembrance of the airlift, three airports in the former western zones of the city served as the primary gateways to Germany for another fifty years.

37. Significance of the berlin blockade
Though Stalin lifted the blockade, the -western -powers failed to obtain Russian recognition of their rights of a land route to West Berlin.
This meant that even in moments of defeat Russia was determined to show strength and determination.
The following September saw the setting up of a West German Federal Republic through free elections.
NOTES: IMAGE Berlin Blockade Ends, On May 12, 1949, at the Rhein-Main Air Base
--- (vi) Significance of the blockade:
(a) It was clear that the western powers would resist with great determination any Russian attempt to dominate Central Europe. They had upheld the Western sectors of Berlin by a vast and costly airlift.
(b) Though Stalin lifted the blockade, the -western -powers failed to obtain Russian recognition of their rights of a land route to West Berlin. This meant that even in moments of defeat Russia was determined to show strength and determination. A repetition of the Berlin crisis was to be expected in the future.
(c) Though both sides showed great determination to control their own zones, they would only go to war as a final resort. Both America and Russia possessed atomic bombs. (Russia had developed her atomic bomb in 1949.) A Third World War would be disastrous to both sides.
(d) Soon after the crisis, it was understood that Germany would not be unified. The following September saw the setting up of a West German Federal Republic through free elections. The Christian Democratic Party won most of the votes in the elections and Adenauer became the Chancellor. The capital of the Republic was at Bonn. In the following month (October), the Democratic People's Republic was set up under Russian auspices in East Germany. Ulbricht was the Prime Minister. (East and West Germany were separated by strong fortifications on both sides. Since 1961, in order to stop the East Germans crossing into West Berlin, East Germany built a high wall across Berlin.)
(e) The Berlin Crisis was over but Russian influence over eastern and central Europe was not shaken. The suspicion of the western nations about Russian aggressions remained.
Though Stalin lifted the blockade, the -western -powers failed to obtain Russian recognition of their rights of a land route to West Berlin.
This meant that even in moments of defeat Russia was determined to show strength and determination.
Soon after the crisis, it was understood that Germany would not be unified. The following September saw the setting up of a West German Federal Republic through free elections.
The Berlin Crisis was over but Russian influence over eastern and central Europe was not shaken.
The suspicion of the western nations about Russian aggressions remained.
--The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was an essential defensive organization against Communist aggression and a successful step towards European and trans-Atlantic co-operation. Soon after the formation of the NATO, the Berlin Blockade was lifted by the Soviet Union and there was no further advance of Communism in Europe (but not in Asia). Many other efforts at co-operation among the western European countries were made after the formation of the NATO.

38. The creation of NATO
In 1949, western leaders decided to form an organization to defend against Soviet attack.
This organization, formed by the U.S., Canada and 10 other European nations is called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The formation of NATO had a huge impact on world politics and defense. NATO has brought more peace and security to the world, dramatically improved European unity, and helped Europe emerge as a collective power
Congress' decision to join NATO significantly changed U.S. foreign policy.
NOTES: In 1949 during the Berlin Blockade people were concerned that war might break out.
Historically, relations among Western European nations had been strained. The destruction of both World Wars clearly illustrated the need for defense and security. The aftermath of these wars and the rapidly increasing Soviet threat helped bring The Western Europeans together. Several nations began discussing the idea of a mutual defense organization, and some European leaders met in a series of meetings. Ideas soon began to take shape. Representatives from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium eventually met in Brussels, Belgium and signed a mutual defense pact in This was an historic agreement as it was the first large-scale defense pact among Western European nations.
- The alliance invited the United States to join the pact. The invitation raised a number of questions in America. The U.S. had traditionally viewed peacetime alliances as costly, ineffective, and cumbersome. Many Americans pointed out that while the other member nations gained benefits due to their close geographic proximity, America's location excluded it from enjoying these benefits.
Supporters of the pact claimed that America's involvement in the alliance would bring a number of significant benefits. Signing the pact would help strengthen defenses against the Soviet Union in Europe and North America, and extend the U.S. policy of containment. Some Americans also felt that joining the alliance would eventually help bring West Germany into the U.S. camp, as well as reassure Europe that the U.S. would not resume its isolationism.
The formation of NATO had a huge impact on world politics and defense. NATO has brought more peace and security to the world, dramatically improved European unity, and helped Europe emerge as a collective power. NATO has helped grow internationalism and has encouraged many countries to think outside their borders. Additionally, the organization has intervened diplomatically and militarily a number of times and prevented or minimized a number of conflicts throughout the world
The United States became a part of the world community, and it could not revert to the isolationist attitude it had prior to WWII. The U.S. emerged as a leader of NATO and was sometimes required to intervene in international disputes. Similarly, NATO helped strengthen U.S. security, especially during the long Cold War era. As part of NATO, the U.S. and other members now spoke with a collective voice that required the Soviets and rogue nations to take notice.

39. The Warsaw Pact In 1955, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact.
It was a military alliance of the communist nations of Eastern Europe.
By 1948 the Cominform had been formed and Russia had concluded mutual assistance treaties with Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
The confrontation over Berlin ( ) and the formation of NATO meant that the Cold War would continue.
NOTES:
The confrontation over Berlin ( ) and the formation of NATO meant that the Cold War would continue. Soon after the Communist victory in Indo-China, the anticommunist nations in Asia formed the South-East Asia Treaty Organization. In Europe, West Germany was admitted to the NATO in 1955 and allowed to re-arm. (West Germany was essential to an overall defence system in Europe. As her economy advanced rapidly after 1950, her rearmament was of great help to the defence of western Europe. Because of Britain's promise not to withdraw her NATO forces from Europe (in order to counterbalance the German forces), France did not object to the admittance of West Germany into the NATO and West Germany's rearmament in the 9 Power Conference of 1954.)
The Soviet Union looked at these anti-communist moves with fear. She concluded the Warsaw Pact with her satellites in May It included all communist states in Europe except Yugoslavia - Soviet Russia, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. The Pact spoke of peaceful intentions and defence. It precluded its members to participate in any other coalition or alliance but it assured members of immediate assistance, including the use of armed force, in the event of armed aggression. To provide for military assistance, a Russian Supreme Commander was appointed to lead the combined armed forces of its members. A Consultative Committee was established to foster political understanding of its members.

40. Significance of the Warsaw pact
The Pact allowed Russia to station her troops in eastern European countries. This meant that Russia could attack western Europe at any moment and could suppress any sign of rebellion in her satellite countries.
By 1955 when the most critical phase of the Cold War was over both Russia and the United States had organized their satellites into opposing alliances. Political tension between the East and the West will continue.

41. Tensions begin to ease (early 1950s)
The first reason was that since 1953, both the United States and the Soviet Union possessed hydrogen bombs.
Both sides realized that the use of these destructive weapons in war would destroy each other. Thus they were determined to improve their relations in order to avoid direct military clash.
The second reason was that since 1954, the bonds between the 'Super Powers' and their 'satellites' began to slacken.
As their 'satellites' did not fully support their leader - the United States and the Soviet Union, it made political sense for the two Super-Powers to improve their relations.
NOTES:
--In the Soviet bloc, the members were able. to enjoy greater freedom of action as a result of a change in Russian policy after the death of Stalin in Stalin's successors were more willing to give greater freedom to the Russian satellite states. Khrushchev admitted in his speech to the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party (1956) that there were different "forms of transition of various countries to socialism." Signs of rebellion quickly appeared in the Soviet bloc. Very soon Poland and Czechoslovakia gained greater independence in their own economic affairs. The Hungarians were greatly encouraged. They demanded not only economic but political autonomy as well. They made an uprising against Russian domination in Although the uprising was unsuccessful, the Soviet Union wanted to avoid similar rebellions and relaxed her control over the eastern European countries. (On October 23, 1956 before the Polish embassy in Hungary, 50,000 people participated in an anti-Russian demonstration. The Russian-dominated government appealed to the Russians for help. On November 4, Russian troops entered Budapest to put an end to the uprising.) They were treated more as allies than as satellites. In other words, the Soviet Union could not command eastern Europe to fight against western nations as she might wish. (The eastern European countries were afraid of a costly war with the United States).

42. The Hungarian revolution
Hungary 1956
After Stalin died in 1953, Soviet bloc members were able to enjoy greater freedom of action as a result of a change in Russian policy.
Stalin's successors were more willing to give greater freedom to the Russian satellite states. The Hungarians were greatly encouraged. They demanded not only economic and political autonomy.
They made an uprising against Russian domination in 1956.
On October 23, 1956 before the Polish embassy in Hungary, 50,000 people participated in an anti-Russian demonstration. The Russian-dominated government appealed to the Russians for help. On November 4, Russian troops entered Budapest to put an end to the uprising
Hungarian rev:
top img: The Hungarian Revolution began with a first mass-rally in Budapest on October 23,1956.It was crushed by Soviet troops after days of streetfighting.In front of the Budapest Headquarters of the Communist "Hungarian Workers' Party" insurgents burn Soviet flags. Budapest,1956
Lower img: The Hungarian Revolution began with a first mass-rally in Budapest on October 23,1956.It was crushed by Soviet troops.In front of the just-conquered Headquarters of AVO,the feared Secret Police,triumphamt insurgents burn posters and leaflets.
NOTES: Stalin's successors were more willing to give greater freedom to the Russian satellite states. The Hungarians were greatly encouraged. They demanded not only economic but political autonomy as well. They made an uprising against Russian domination in Although the uprising was unsuccessful, the Soviet Union wanted to avoid similar rebellions and relaxed her control over the eastern European countries. (On October 23, 1956 before the Polish embassy in Hungary, 50,000 people participated in an anti-Russian demonstration. The Russian-dominated government appealed to the Russians for help. On November 4, Russian troops entered Budapest to put an end to the uprising.) They were treated more as allies than as satellites. In other words, the Soviet Union could not command eastern Europe to fight against western nations as she might wish. (The eastern European countries were afraid of a costly war with the United States).
(On October 23, 1956 before the Polish embassy in Hungary, 50,000 people participated in an anti-Russian demonstration. The Russian-dominated government appealed to the Russians for help. On November 4, Russian troops entered Budapest to put an end to the uprising.) They were treated more as allies than as satellites. In other words, the Soviet Union could not command eastern Europe to fight against western nations as she might wish. (The eastern European countries were afraid of a costly war with the United States).
The revolt spread quickly across Hungary, and the government fell. Thousands organized into militias, battling the State Security Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned, as former prisoners were released and armed. Impromptu councils wrested municipal control from the ruling Hungarian Working People's Party and demanded political changes. The new government formally disbanded the ÁVH, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.
After announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Politburo changed its mind and moved to crush the revolution. On 4 November, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition. These Soviet actions alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened Soviet control over Central Europe

43. Czechoslovakia 1967 Prague, 1968 Alexander Dubcek
In the 1960s, changes in the leadership in Prague led to a series of reforms to soften or humanize the application of communist doctrines within Czech borders.
The Czech economy had been slowing since the early 1960s, and cracks were emerging in the communist consensus as workers struggled against new challenges.
On August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague.
Although the Soviet Union’s action successfully halted the pace of reform in Czechoslovakia, it had unintended consequences for the unity of the communist bloc.
Prague, 1968
NOTES: Before the Second World War, the nation of Czechoslovakia had been a strong democracy in Central Europe, but beginning in the mid 1930s it faced challenges from both the West and the East. In 1938, the leadership in Great Britain and France conceded the German right to takeover the Sudetenland in the Munich Agreement, but the Czech government condemned this German occupation of its western-most territory as a betrayal. In 1948, Czech attempts to join the U.S.-sponsored Marshall Plan to aid postwar rebuilding were thwarted by Soviet takeover and the installation of a new communist government in Prague. For the next twenty years, Czechoslovakia remained a stable state within the Soviet sphere of influence; unlike in Hungary or Poland, even the rise of de-Stalinization after 1953 did not lead to liberalization by the fundamentally conservative Czech government. . The government responded with reforms designed to improve the economy. In early 1968, conservative leader Antonin Novotny was ousted as the head of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and he was replaced by Alexander Dubcek. The Dubcek government ended censorship in early 1968, and the acquisition of this freedom resulted in a public expression of broad-based support for reform and a public sphere in which government and party policies could be debated openly. In April, the Czech Government issued a formal plan for further reforms, although it tried to liberalize within the existing framework of the Marxist-Leninist State and did not propose a revolutionary overhaul of the political and economic systems. As conflicts emerged between those calling for further reforms and conservatives alarmed by how far the liberalization process had gone, Dubcek struggled to maintain control.
Soviet leaders were concerned over these recent developments in Czechoslovakia. Recalling the 1956 uprising in Hungary, leaders in Moscow worried that if Czechoslovakia carried reforms too far, other satellite states in Eastern Europe might follow, leading to a widespread rebellion against Moscow’s leadership of the Eastern Bloc. There was also a danger that the Soviet Republics in the East, such as the Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia might make their own demands for more liberal policies. After much debate, the Communist Party leadership in Moscow decided to intervene to establish a more conservative and pro-Soviet government in Prague.
Alexander Dubcek

44. Czech Notes
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia was significant in the sense that it delayed the splintering of Eastern European Communism and was concluded without provoking any direct intervention from the West. Repeated efforts in the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning the attacks met with opposition from the Soviet Union, and the effort finally died away. The invasion did, however, temporarily derail progress toward détente between the Soviet Union and the United States. The NATO allies valued the idea of a lessening of tensions, and as a result they were determined not to intervene. Still, the invasion forced U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to cancel a summit meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Although Brezhnev knew this was the most likely outcome of the invasion, he considered maintaining Soviet control in the East Bloc a higher priority in the short-term than pursuing détente with the West. As it turned out, the progress on arms control agreements were only delayed by a few years in the aftermath of the Prague Spring.
There were also long-term consequences. After the invasion, the Soviet leadership justified the use of force in Prague under what would become known as the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated that Moscow had the right to intervene in any country where a communist government had been threatened. This doctrine, established to justify Soviet action in Czechoslovakia, also became the primary justification for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and even before that it helped to finalize the Sino-Soviet split, as Beijing feared that the Soviet Union would use the doctrine as a justification to invade or interfere with Chinese communism. Because the United States interpreted the Brezhnev Doctrine and the history of Soviet interventions in Europe as defending established territory, not expanding Soviet power, the aftermath of the Czech crisis also lent support to voices in the U.S. Congress calling for a reduction in U.S. military forces in Europe.