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The Cold War. What is Cold War. The Cold War was a five-decade long period of political and military tension, beginning after the end of World War II and ending in the early 1990s. The phrase ‘ cold war ’ was coined by writer George
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What is Cold War The Cold War was a five-decade long period of political and military tension, beginning after the end of World War II and ending in the early 1990s. The phrase ‘cold war’ was coined by writer George Orwell in late 1945 to describe a geopolitical situation of “horrible stability”, where two powerful nations or alliance blocs – each capable of destroying the other – might refuse to communicate, consult or negotiate.
Features of the Conflict The unfolding Cold War also gave rise to an unprecedented level of suspicion, mistrust, paranoia and secrecy. The American and Soviet intelligence agencies, the CIA and KGB, increased their covert activities around the world, gathering information about enemy states and regimes. They also sponsored, supported and supplied underground movements, uprisings and conflicts, encouraging so-called ‘proxy wars’
Propaganda The Cold War fuelled some of the most virulent propaganda campaigns in human history. In the West, people were schooled to think the worst of those on the other side of the Iron Curtain; civilians were warned of the possibility of spies, and surprise nuclear strikes; school children learned about air-raid drills, bomb shelters and nuclear fallout.
Paranoïa It was government agencies that conducted this symphony of nuclear paranoia – but they had willing accomplices among writers, film makers and television studios. The post-war generation, which should have been one of the most prosperous and content of modern times, grew up thinking that the nuclear clock was ticking and that its own destruction may be imminent.
Origins of the Cold War The cold war began with mistrust between the Soviet Union (red) and the western democracies (blue).
Soviet Distrust of the West The Soviet Union felt it had good cause to distrust the west.
1. Western Opposition to Bolsheviks In 1919, Russia’s former World War I allies (Britain, France and the United States) joined the "Whites" to fight off the Bolsheviks following the revolution.
2. The Result: USSR Suspicious of West This intervention failed and the Red Army of the Bolsheviks secured the power of the new Soviet state. The young USSR government never quite trusted the western democracies after that.
3. Disregard for Soviet Diplomatic Goals The western democracies did not invite the Soviet Union to participate in the World War I peace talks or the League of Nations.
4. West Did Not Aid in Spanish Civil War The west did not aid the Republicans fighting the fascists in the Spanish Civil War.
5. USSR Not Invited to Munich Conference The west did not invite the Soviets to the Munich Conference which decided the fate of Czechoslovakia in the years leading up to World War II, even though the Soviet Union had a security pact with Czechoslovakia.
Western Distrust of the Soviets The west, for its part, never trusted the Soviet Union.
1. Fear of Socialism The avowed purpose of the International Communist Party was to secure world wide communist revolution. There was a great fear of socialism in Europe and America.
A DEMOCRACY
B EQUALITY
C CAPITALISM
D INDIVIDUALISM
E COLLECTIVISM
F SOCIALISM
G TOTALITARIANISM
H FREEDOM
2. Soviet Annexation of Eastern Poland The Soviets negotiated an agreement with Hitler and annexed eastern Poland.
As a result, Eastern European nations turned communist & became Soviet satellites: nations that were influenced by the USSR dictator who wanted to take over the world In the years after World War II, the USA began to view Stalin as a new Hitler—a dangerous
3. Soviet Designs on Eastern Europe By the end of the war Britain and the United States distrusted the Soviet motives in eastern Europe.
The end of World War II led to important changes in the world:
U.N. Peacekeeping Interventions, 1945-2009 The United Nations was created which replaced the League of Nations United Nations Headquarters is in New York City Council Executive General Assembly Member Nations
The UN created a Jewish nation called Israel which set off a series of wars with Arabs in the Middle East
The end of the war inspired independence throughout Africa & Asia, called decolonization
…World War II increased tensions between the USA and USSR Stalin never trusted the Britain or the USA during World War II The Manhattan Project gave the USA a monopoly on nuclear weapon technology
Uneasy Alliance During World War II This mutual distrust was suppressed during World War II when for practical reasons (the common enemy of Hitler's Germany) the western allies and the Soviet Union became uneasy allies.
Western Delay in Opening 2ndFront Stalin believed that the western allies were dragging their feet in opening up the "second front" in Europe, so necessary to take the pressure off the struggling Soviet forces in the east.
Soviet Desire for Friendly Gov’ts Stalin was open about wanting "friendly governments" in Eastern Europe to protect his country's western frontier from another invasion like the invasion so recently experienced by Germany. All of this was in the air when Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met at the end of World War II.
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin agreed to allow self-determination in Eastern Europe But, Stalin wanted a “buffer zone” between the USSR & the democratic nations in Western Europe Stalin used his military to install communist gov’ts in Eastern European nations
Decisions at Yalta The physical structure of the cold war was put into place at the end of World War II. Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin agreed in February of 1945 at Yalta to divide Germany into four occupation zones.
Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe It was agreed that the Soviet Union would have the greatest influence in eastern Europe, where Soviet troops were concentrated. They already occupied Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and parts of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and it would have been difficult to come to an agreement which involved removing these troops. Roosevelt agreed because he had little choice.
Governments Friendly to Soviets Finally, it was agreed that independent governments would be established in these lands, and that elections would be free, but the governments would be "friendly to the Soviet Union." This is the beginning of what Winston Churchill would later call the "Iron Curtain" which divided Europe for 45 years.
Strained Relations at Potsdam When the allies met again at Potsdam in July of 1945, relations were more strained. Roosevelt had been replaced by Truman, who was not inclined to humor Stalin once he found out that there had been a successful test of the atomic bomb. America no longer desperately needed Soviet help in the war against Japan. America had halted aid to the Soviet Union because of concerns over Russian behavior in the East.
Soviet Consolidation of Power Between 1945-1948 the Soviets under Stalin consolidated their power in Eastern Europe. Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary became part of the "Soviet Bloc" – or "satellite system." Within the communist parties of these countries there were purges to remove national communists - one in four were removed.
The Iron Curtain As early as 1946, Winston Churchill saw what was happening. “An Iron Curtain has descended upon Europe”
By 1946, Europe was divided by an “iron curtain” that separated democratic/capitalist Western Europe from communist/totalitarian Eastern Europe Communism & Totalitarianism Capitalism & Democracy
The U.S. created a foreign policy called containment to stop Soviet influence & the spread of communism When the USSR began to pressure Greece & Turkey to turn communist, the U.S. created the Truman Doctrine, promising economic & military help to any nation threatened by communism T= The Truman Doctrine worked & neither Greece nor Turkey fell to communism
European nations had difficulty recovering after WWII which led to fears of communism in Europe The U.S. created the Marshall Plan which offered $13 billion to help rebuild post-war Europe M= By 1952, Western Europe recovered & Communism never took root
Origins of the Truman Doctrine In 1947 The United States responded to what appeared to be a clear Soviet attempt to spread communism into Eastern Europe. It declared the Truman Doctrine aimed at stopping the further spread of communism.
Provisions of the Truman Doctrine "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes."
