1. 1 The Cold War Begins

2. 2 New Superpowers The United States and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Each nation was strong enough to greatly influence world events. Stalin – Premier of USSR Harry Truman President of the USA

3. 3 Satellite Nations… Stalin never allowed truly free elections. Instead, communist governments were installed in many Eastern European nations. Main Purpose? Protect USSR from invasion from the West Buffer Zone

4. 4 Containment Policy George Kennan, career Foreign Service Officer Formulated the policy of “containment”: US would not get rid of communism, but would not allow it to spread. US would “contain” communism where it already existed.

5. 5 The Iron Curtain Winston Churchill coined this term Famous speech on March 5, 1946 at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri Click for video

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7. 7 Churchill’s Warning… Churchill felt that behind the Iron Curtain, the USSR was planning to attack and conquer Western Europe The world is now polarized into democracy vs. communism

8. 8 Division of Germany The Allies decided to divide Germany into 4 zones after the war. Also, the capital of Berlin was divided into 4 sectors.

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11. 11 Problem with Berlin? Berlin was in the Soviet Sector. Stalin was not happy with a “small piece” of democracy in Eastern Europe.

12. 12 Berlin Blockade June 1948, Stalin attempts to starve West Berliners into submission. All rail and street access was blocked.

13. 13 Berlin Airlift American and British planes flew food and supplies into Berlin for 327 days Planes took off every 3 minutes for 10 months Stalin relents in May 1949 Official start of Cold War

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15. 15 The Marshall Plan J une 1947, U.S. plan to give direct aid to European nations Rationale: fewer poor nations = fewer communist nations Canada contributed $706 million out of $12.5 billion over 5 years Example of containmen t US Secretary of State George Marshall Labeling used on aid packages

16. 16 The Berlin Wall 1961 – skilled workers crossing in huge numbers to West Berlin East German economy about to collapse Berlin wall built – physical and symbolic barrier between East and West Wall came down in 1989 – signalled end of Cold War Berlin wall in 1986 – death strip Officer Conrad Schumann defecting to West Berlin during the wall's early days in 1961.