Transcript Cold War & Recovery 1945-1968

Cold War & Recovery
1945-1968
Roots of Cold War
 Yalta Conference, 1945:
 Stalin pledged to allow democratic elections in E. Europe
(but later reneged)
 Germany would be divided into four zones controlled by
U.S., France, Britain and USSR
 Potsdam Conference, 1945:
 Truman demanded free elections in Eastern Europe but
Stalin refused
 Stalin wanted a "buffer zone" between Germany and
USSR for protection against future war
Roots of Cold War
 U.S. point of view:
 Stalin seemed intent on creating "spheres"
of influence in Eastern Europe
 Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech in
1946 alerted Americans to a future conflict
 U.S. wanted democracy spread
throughout the world with a strong
international organization to maintain
global peace
Roots of Cold War
 Soviet point of view:
 Democracies traditionally hostile towards communism
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and the USSR
US & Britain did not open western front in Europe early
enough; millions of Soviet soldiers were dying fighting
the brunt of Nazi armies alone until mid-1944.
The US and Britain froze Russia out of the atomic bomb
project.
US terminated lend-lease to Moscow in May 1945 but
gave Britain aid until 1946.
Wanted "buffer zone" for the Soviet western border esp.
in Poland
Partition of Germany
 USSR, U.S., Britain & France would each
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occupy a part of Germany but would allow for
German reunification once she was no longer a
threat.
Germany was to pay heavy reparations to USSR
in form of agricultural and industrial goods.
Soviets dominated their Eastern German zone
Did not want revitalized Germany that could
once again pose a threat.
Stripped E. Germany of much of its resources.
"Containment"
 By 1947, Truman
pledged to prevent
further spread of
communism
 Truman Doctrine,
1947: U.S. gave aid to
Greece and Turkey to
defeat communist
forces there.
President Harry Truman
Marshall Plan
 1947: Massive aid package to
help war-torn Europe recover
from the war
 Purpose: prevent
communism from spreading
into economically devastated
regions
 Result: Western and Central
Europe recovered
economically -- the
"economic miracle"
 Soviets refused to allow U.S.
aid to countries in eastern
Europe
http://www.historicaldocuments.com/MarshallPlanPhoto.jpg
Partition of Germany
 U.S. and W. Europeans felt German economy vital to
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recovery of Europe
1948, West Germany became an independent country
when US, France and Britain united their zones
West Germany had its own currency, which Western
powers thought would help trade.
Stalin responded by cutting off all rail and road links to
West Berlin -- known as the Berlin Blockade.
West saw this as an attempt to starve Berlin into
surrender, so they decided to support West Berlin by air.
The Berlin Blockade lasted 318 days. During this time,
275,000 planes transported 1.5 million tons of supplies
and a plane landed every three minutes at Berlin’s
airport.
Stalin abandoned the blockade in May 1949.
More Containment
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) formed in 1949
 Collective security organization consisting
of democracies in Europe, U.S. & Canada
to prevent against Soviet expansion in
Europe.
 Radio Free Europe & Voice of America
set up to send pro-democracy messages
to countries behind the "iron curtain"
Eastern Bloc
 Countries in Eastern Europe dominated by Soviet Union
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after WWII
Included Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Rumania, Bulgaria
Communist parties of eastern Europe established oneparty states by 1948, with help of Red Army and KGB
(Soviet secret police)
Only Yugoslavia, led by Marshal Tito, is not dominated
by Soviets
Postwar economic recovery in eastern Europe
proceeded along Soviet lines.
Changes went forward at slow & uneven pace; came to
almost a halt by the mid-1960s.
Five-year plans in USSR reintroduced to tackle massive
economic reconstruction
Korean War
Korean War 1950-1953
 After WWII, Korea divided at 38th
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parallel: North was communist,
South was not
Cause: 1950, North Korea
invaded South Korea (supported
by Soviet resources)
UN (led by US & Gen. Douglas
MacArthur) sent forces to push
back communists
China sent thousands of troops to
push back UN
Result: cease-fire and border at
38th parallel restored; still in
existence today
http://www.awm.gov.au/korea/maps/images/establishing.gif
USSR under Nikita
Khrushchev (1894-1971)
Khrushchev
 Power struggle emerged after
Stalin died in 1953;
Khrushchev emerged a few
years later
 Stalin’s heirs realized reforms
were needed.
 Fear and hatred of Stalin’s
political terror resulted in
reduction of power of
secret police and gradual
closure of forced labor
camps.
Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/165000/images/_168403_kruschev_150.jpg
Hungarian Uprising 1956
 Students and workers in Budapest installed a
Communist reformer as new chief in October
1956.
 Hungarian nationalists staged huge
demonstrations demanding non-communist
parties be legalized; turned into armed rebellion
and spread throughout the country.
 Hoped U.S. would come in and help achieve
Hungarian independence
Hungarian Uprising 1956
 Soviet tanks and troops
responded by invading Hungary
and crushing the national
democratic revolution.
 After Hungarian invasion, most
eastern Europeans hoped for
small domestic reforms while
obediently following USSR in
foreign affairs.
Hydrogen Bomb
 Developed by US in 1952 & USSR in 1953:
world now has two superpowers
Space Race
 (Part of Cold War competition to achieve
technological superiority)
 1957, USSR launched Sputnik, an
orbiting satellite using long-range rockets
 US fearful Soviets could now launch a
nuclear missile into space and then down
to U.S.
 Resulted in development of ICBMs
(Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)
Space Race
 U.S. countered with creation of NASA and vastly
increased educational funding for science.
 1961, Soviets sent world’s first cosmonaut, Yuri
Gagarin, into orbit.
 President John F. Kennedy responded by increasing
funds for space.
 1969, Apollo Program put first man on the moon; 4
more moon landings followed by 1972.
U-2 Incident
 U.S. spy plane shot
down over USSR
 Khrushchev
demanded an
apology from
Eisenhower;
Eisenhower refused
Cold War in 1960’s
Berlin Wall: Built in 1961
 2 million East Germans escaped to West Berlin
between 1949-1961; Soviets frustrated
 Khrushchev threatened President Kennedy:
USSR would sign peace treaty with East
Germany who would then control access to
Berlin; Soviets would protect East Germany’s
right to control flow into Berlin.
 Berlin Wall built instead of enforcing ultimatum to
U.S.; ended future crises over Berlin
Berlin Wall
Cuba
 Became a communist country in 1959
under leadership of Fidel Castro
 Cuba became an ally of the Soviet Union
 Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961: U.S.-trained
Cuban exiles tried unsuccessfully to
invade Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
 1962: U.S. demanded Soviets remove their
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newly installed nuclear missiles from Cuba.
Crisis became the closest USSR and US came
to nuclear war
U.S. placed blockade (naval quarantine) on any
further missiles into Cuba
Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles in return
for U.S. removing its missiles from Turkey and
vowing not to invade Cuba in the future.
Crisis weakened Khrushchev and contributed to
his downfall in 1964
Cuban Missile Crisis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/whowonthecubanmissilecrisisrev3.shtml
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/causesofthecubacrisisrev2.shtml
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963
 Khrushchev, Kennedy & Britain signed historic
treaty banning atmospheric testing in an attempt
to reduce Cold War tensions
 France refused to sign (was in the process of
developing own nuclear weapons program)
 China became a nuclear power in 1964 leading
to its estrangement with Soviet Union
Leonid Brezhnev
 Became new General Secretary (1964-1982)
 Beginning in 1964, USSR began a period of
stagnation and limited re-Stalinization
 Massive arms buildup started in response to
humiliation of Cuban Missile Crisis.
 USSR avoided direct
confrontation with the U.S.
and seemed more
committed to peaceful
coexistence than
Khrushchev had been.
Vietnam War (1964-1973)
 U.S. fought
unsuccessful war in
Southeast Asia to
prevent communism
from spreading into
South Vietnam.
 “Domino Theory”:
U.S. believed if Vietnam
fell to communism,
Laos, Cambodia and
Thailand would also fall
(perhaps even India)
(1964-1973)
http://www.vietnamwar.com/vnmap.jpg
Czechoslovakia
 Due to Khrushchev’s reforms in USSR, 1960s brought
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modest liberalization and more consumer goods to eastern
Europe
1968, reform elements in Czechoslovak Communist party
gained a majority and voted out long-time Stalinist leader.
“Prague Spring” of 1968 -- Czech reformers building
“socialism with a human face” frightened hard-line
communists.
Soviet troops brutally invaded Czechoslovakia in August
1968.
Czechoslovakia became one of most hard-line communist
regimes well into 1980s.
Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Union and its allies had right to
intervene in any socialist country whenever they saw the
need
Prague Spring
Mikhail Gorbachev
 Soviet leader credited with
helping end the Cold War.
 Strove for significant reforms so
that system would be more
efficient and democratic.
 Two key phrases: "glasnost"
(openness) and "perestroika"
(reform).
 Hoping to shift resources to
consumer goods, Gorbachev
argued in favor of ending the
arms race with the West.
http://lasalle-academy.org/gorbachev1.jpg
Gorbachev
Reforms moved too slowly for
radicals and too quickly for
conservative party members.
 Faced increasing pressure
from West. President Reagan in
Berlin (1987): “Mr. Gorbachev:
Tear down this wall!”
August 1991 hard-liners had
enough. Gorbachev could not
maintain political initiatives and
lost power to the president of
Russia, Boris Yeltsin.
http://www.state.gov/cms_images/5gorbachev_reagan1_600.jpg
Fall of Berlin Wall
http://www.freedomagenda.com/images/1989-11-09_People_freed_from_communist_East_Germany_for_first_time_in_40_years_as_the_Berlin_Wall_is_torn_down_November_11_1989.jpg
The Berlin Wall was torn down in November 1989, a signal of
the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
Acknowledgements
This PowerPoint presentation was adapted from the free download of
“Cold War and Recovery” presentation found at this link:
http://worldhistory.pppst.com/coldwar.html.