1. Chapter 5 Day Two

2. After World War II, much of Europe was in ruin. The total defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan left a power gap that would be filled by two rivals- the United States and the Soviet Union.

3. The global competition between the United States and its allies and the communist Soviet Union and its supporters came to be called “The Cold War”. This was a dangerous time because by 1950 both sides had “Nuclear Weapons”. It was called a “cold” war because countries never mobilized armies in an “official war”.

4. The Cold War began in Europe In 1948 the US started a loan program called the “Marshall Plan”. The goals: the help rebuild Europe and stop the spread of communism.

5. In 1948 under the “Truman Doctrine” the US offered military aid to any country fighting communism inside their boarders. For example: Aid was given to the nations of Greece and Turkey. In 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed to respond to possible attacks from the Soviet Union. Each country in NATO agreed to treat an attack on any other member as an attack on itself. Europe believed that the Soviet Union would not attack Western Europe if Soviet leaders thought such an attack would trigger nuclear war with the US. “DETERRENCE”

6. Eventually, Western European countries began to cooperate economically with one another. The small countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg joined together in 1948 to form the Benelux trade union. West Germany, France and Italy joined with the Benelux countries to form the European Coal and Steel Community also known as the “Common Market”. This will eventually be called the “European Union”

7. In Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union made “satellite nations” of those countries bordering it. Satellite Nations are dependent upon a stronger power. Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and East Germany became “communist.” These nations were strictly controlled by the Soviet Union. To counter NATO, the Soviet Union formed it satellite nations into an anti-western military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact.

8. During the Cold War there were many “hot spots” or areas of tension and conflict. Some of these places were China, Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam. The earliest clash took place in Berlin, Germany.

9. At the end of WWII, the allies (the US, USSR, Great Britain, and France) occupied Germany. Germany was divided into four major zones. TURN TO PAGE 171. The Soviet Union controlled the Eastern part of the country while the other three allies divided and controlled the western part. The German capital of Berlin located deep in the Soviet controlled Eastern portion was also divided among the four nations.

10. In 1948 to promote peace and German recovery the US, Great Britain and France united their occupation zones. The USSR was against this plan and anything else for that matter that could strengthen Germany. In 1948 the Soviets blockaded, or closed off, all land and water traffic into the Western part of Berlin. They hoped that this would force the other powers to leave the city. It did not prove successful.

11. Many people living in East Berlin were unhappy under Soviet Communist rule. About 3 million people fled East Berlin to receive better treatment and more freedoms in the allied controlled West Berlin. The East German government was not happy about the movement between East and West Berlin so to stop this movement they built an 103 mile long wall between East and West Berlin.

12. Citizens of East Berlin were not allowed to cross the wall into West Berlin for any reason. Those who tried desperately to cross into West Berlin risked their lives. West Berlin citizens used the wall as an artistic form of political expression. East Berlin citizens were not allowed near the wall at all. The East Berlin side was guarded with Soviet soldiers at all times.

13. Eventually, in East Germany massive protests caused the country’s communist government to fall. The Berlin wall came down and East and West Berlin were reunited in October of 1990. By 1991 all Soviet controlled nations in Eastern Europe threw away communism in favor of democracy.