Transcript THE COLD WAR HUMANITIES

THE COLD WAR
HUMANITIES
CONTENT:
• What is the Cold War?
• Communism v Capitalism
• USSR v USA
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Vietnam War
WHAT IS THE COLD WAR?
WHAT IS THE COLD WAR?
How can a war be ‘cold’?
What were the Hotspots of the Cold War?
After World War 2 the Cold War began
and caused tension throughout the world
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The USA and the USSR were the two world Superpowers.
The USA was a capitalist society with a democracy.
The USSR was a communist country with a dictatorship.
Both wanted to be the most powerful nation in the world.
YALTA (in the USSR)
Date: Feb 1945
Present: Churchill,
Roosevelt and Stalin
POTSDAM (Germany)
Date: July 1945
Present: Atlee,
Truman and Stalin
Nuclear tensions
• The USA had shown its atomic power
when it exploded the A-bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of
World War 2.
• The USSR was also developing atomic
weapons/bombs.
• The USA and the USSR were in
competition with each other to have the
best, most powerful weapons in the world
– this was called the Arms Race.
Improve your knowledge
• The nuclear bomb gave America a lead
which was expected to last at least 5
years. The rapid Russian development of
nuclear technology, helped by the work of
the “atom spies” was a shock.
Significantly, Russia hurriedly declared
war against Japan at the beginning of
August 1945 and rushed to advance into
Asia to stake out a position for the postwar settlement. This helped make both the
Korean and Vietnamese conflicts more
likely.
After World War 2, the world
changed!
• Many countries became communist after
World War 2 including:
- Czechoslovakia (1948)
- Poland (1947)
- Hungary (1947)
- China (1949)
- Cuba (1959)
- North Korea (1945)
USA BEGAN TO WORRY THAT OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD
FOLLOW. THIS WAS CALLED THE ‘DOMINO EFFECT’
USA POLICIES
The ‘Truman Doctrine’
• Truman had been horrified at the pre-war
Allied policy of appeasement and was
determined to stand up to any Soviet
intimidation.
The Truman Doctrine in March 1947 promised
that the USA “would support free peoples
who are resisting subjugation by armed
minorities or by outside pressures”.
• In other words the USA was promising to help
Capitalist countries against the threat of a
Communist take over!
•
It signalled the end of “isolationst” policies.
The ‘Marshall Plan’
• The Marshall Plan offered huge sums to
enable the economies of Europe to rebuild
after World War II, and, by generating
prosperity, to reject the appeal of
Communism.
• The Soviet Union (USSR) prevented
Eastern European countries from receiving
American money.
Cold War?
• The tension and rivalry between the
USA and the USSR was described as
the Cold War (1945-1990).
• There was never a real war between the
two sides between 1945 and 1990, but
they were often very close to war
(Hotspots). Both sides got involved in
other conflicts in the world to either
stop the spread of communism (USA) or
help the spread (USSR).
THE COLD WAR IN EUROPE
Although no shots were fired, Eastern Europe was the first
battlefield upon which the Cold War was fought. Between 1945 and
1948 Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were all
persuaded by Stalin to become Communist countries. This led to a
divide in Europe (East – Communist and West - Capitalist) nicknamed
the ‘Iron Curtain’ by Churchill.
Germany was also divided into the Capitalist West (controlled by the
Allies) and the Communist East (controlled by the USSR). Even Berlin
its capital that was in Eastern Germany was divided into West
Germany controlled by the Allies and East Germany controlled by the
USSR
COLD WAR ‘HOTSPOT’
BERLIN:
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt to starve West Berlin into submitting [giving
up] to the communists
The Allied [western powers] airlift signalled the West’s determination to use all
resources to defend Berlin.
It was felt by both sides that Berlin could act as the trigger for general war
between capitalist and communist countries
Iron Curtain –
A term used by
Winston Churchill
to describe the
separating of
Those communist
lands of East
Europe from the
West.
Improve your knowledge
• The Russians took very high casualties to
capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the
early occupation trying to take over all zones
of the city but were stopped by German
democrats such as Willy Brandt and Konrad
Adenauer. Reluctantly the Russians had to
admit the Americans, French and British to
their respective zones.
The Berlin Wall 1961
THE COLD WAR IN ASIA
In 1949 China became a Communist Country under Chairman Mao. This
created real concern in the USA about Communism spreading
throughout the World.
In America an atmosphere of hysteria meant that Presidents followed
even tougher anti-communist policies and promised to ‘contain’
Communism and help protect capitalist countries against communist
aggressors.
HOTSPOTS
South In Asia there were two ‘hotspots’:
• Korea 1950:
North Korea became Communist. The US sent forces to help South Korea
against the Communist troops from North Korea and China.
•Vietnam 1950-1975:
In 1956 Vietnam was divided into Communist North and Capitalist
South. The US sent troops from c. 1960 to support the South. It was a
very difficult War to fight and involved 5 US Presidents!
The Korean War
1950-1953
The Vietnam War
c.1963-1975
THE COLD WAR IN THE REST OF THE
WORLD
Perhaps the most worrying of ‘Hotspots’ was:
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1961.
Latin America was considered by the US as their ‘own backyard’. In
1959 a revolution in Cuba led to Fidel Castro, a suspected Communist
sympathiser, coming to power.
When America found out the USSR was stationing Nuclear Weapons in
Cuba the situation became extremely hostile. When USSR ships
carrying nuclear weapons steamed towards Cuba, America surrounded
the island with their Navy.
For a while the ‘Cold War’ became extremely HOT!
The World waited to see if the two sides would finally be at war, or to
see if either side would back down.
Fortunately the USSR did back down and the World breathed a sigh of
relief!
The Cuban Missile Crisis
1962
THE COLD WAR - SUMMARY
• The Cold War began during World War II as America and Russia
didn’t like or trust each other.
• Both sides never directly fought one another, but often sent
troops to help other countries fight their enemy.
• US Policy was to ‘Contain Communism’ in opposition to the
‘Domino Effect’. This included the Truman Doctrine and the
Marshall Plan.
• The first place to be affected by the Cold War was Europe as it
seemed divided (Iron Curtain) by Capitalist West and Communist
East.
• The second place to be affected was Asia after China became
Communist and America got involve in both the Korean and
Vietnam Wars.
• Cuba was the scariest event of the Cold War as the two sides
faced each other for the first time.
• You will next study two of these ‘Hotspots’ in more detail: CUBA
and VIETNAM