The Cold War

TO INCREASE MILITARY DEFENSE

NATO & THE WARSAW PACT=

Berlin–West Berlin was occupied by France, Britain and the U.S. It was capitalistic and prospered.

–East Berlin was occupied by the Soviet Union and was communist and a command economy.

Berlin• People from East Berlin fled

to West Berlin for jobs

• The Soviet Union built a wall in 1961 to prevent this from happening.

Berlin

•The wall was meant to keep people in not keep them out

Eastern Europe• Many Eastern European

countries revolted against the Soviet Union’s influence in their countries

–50,000 people in East Berlin revolted in 1953

–Poland and Hungary revolted in 1956

–Czechoslovakia revolted in 1968

Eastern Europe

•All of these revolts were crushed by the Soviet

Army

Nuclear Weapons• The U.S. and Soviet Union

engaged in an arms race after WWII

• U.S. developed and used an atomic bomb during the war

•Soviet Union tested atomic bomb in 1949

•Both sides had hydrogen bombs by 1953

Nuclear Weapons• Each side wanted to deter or

prevent the other from launching a nuclear attack first

• Both sides became aware that the use of nuclear weapons would devastate their countries and the world

• .

“We may anticipate a state of affairs in

which two Great Powers will each be in a

position to put an end to the civilization and

life of the other, though not without risking its

own. We may be likened to two scorpions in a

bottle, each capable of killing the other, but

only at the risk of his own life.”. . .• — J. Robert Oppenheimer, July 1953

Global Cold War

• The U.S. viewed the spread of communism beyond Europe as a world problem

• The US feared the “domino theory.”

• The idea that if one country fell to communism, surrounding countries would also fall to communism.

The US developed a foreign policy

•Called “containment” to contain the spread of communism.

Global Cold War• Local conflicts often became

world conflicts between the U.S. and Soviet Union

• Each side supported opposing sides in a local conflict

Global Cold War

• This led to proxy wars or indirect fighting between the U.S. and Soviet Union

–Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, Latin America

The U.S. in the Cold War

• People in the U.S. feared a nuclear strike by the Soviet Union could occur at any time

• Many built bomb shelters in their backyards and basements

•Public bomb shelters were also built

•Air raid drills were held in schools

1949 – Fall of China

• In June, Jiang Jieshi defeated by Mao– Flee to island of Taiwan

• Oct 1, Mao proclaims People’s Republic of China (PRC)

• Two months later, Mao travels to Moscow,– negotiates the Sino-

Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance.

Korean War, 1950-1953• On June 25, North Korean

communist forces cross the 38th parallel and invade South Korea.

• On June 27, Truman orders U.S. forces to assist the South Koreans

• The U.N. Security Council condemns the invasion and est’d a 15-nation fighting force.

• Chinese troops enter the conflict by year's end.

• Cease fire eventually brings war to close by 1953

Sputnik• On October 4, the

Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth.

• In 1958, the U.S. creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the space race is in full gear.

1959 - Castro takes power• January 1, 1959

leftist forces under Fidel Castro overthrow Fulgencio Batista

• Castro nationalizes the sugar industry and signs trade agreements with the Soviet Union.

• The next year, Castro seizes U.S. assets on the island.

1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis

• After Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviet Union installed nuclear missiles in Cuba.

• After U-2 flights Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba on October 22 until the Soviet Union removed its missiles.

• On October 28, the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles, defusing one of the most dangerous confrontations of the Cold War.

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1973 - Vietnam War agreement (Paris Accords)• January 27, 1973, the United States,

South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong sign the Paris Peace Treaty, establishing a cease-fire.

• The United States is allowed to continue providing aid to South Vietnam.

• Saigon falls in April 1975.

1975 - Cambodia

• Communist Khmer Rouge take power in Cambodia, April 16 1975.

• Cambodia's educated and urban population forced into the countryside as part of a state experiment in agrarian communism.

• Under the regime of Pol Pot, as many as 3 million Cambodians died from 1975 to 1979.

“The Killing Fields”

1979 - Afghanistan

• December 25, 100,000 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan as communist Babrak Karmal seized control of the government.

• U.S.-backed Muslim guerrilla fighters waged a costly war against the Soviets for nearly a decade before Soviet troops withdraw in 1988.

• Afghanistan—the Soviet “Vietnam”

1980 - Solidarity

• On August 14, Lech Walesa led massive strikes at the Lenin shipyards in Gdansk, Poland.

• The strikes soon spread to other cities and formed the nucleus of the Solidarity movement.

• The communist government conceded to worker demands on August 31, and recognized their right to form unions and strike.

1989 - Berlin Wall falls

• Gorbachev renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine, which pledged to use Soviet force to protect its interests in Eastern Europe.

• On September 10, Hungary opened its border with Austria, allowing East Germans to flee to the West.

• After massive public demonstrations in East Germany and Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall fell on November 9.

Fall of Berlin Wall

1990 – German unification

• At a September 12 meeting in Moscow, the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and the two Germanys agreed to end Allied occupation rights in Germany.

• On October 3, East and West Germany united as the Federal Republic of Germany.

1991- Collapse of the Soviet Union

• Much like the Fall of the Roman Empire, the fall of the “Soviet Empire” shows that powerful empires can be weakened by both internal and external pressures.