The Cold War

1. The Cold War

2. The Cold War • The United States and the Soviet Union were the world’s two major powers after the war • The US had vast economic power and the atomic bomb • The Soviet Union had the massive Red Army • They became known as Superpowers and although allies during WWII, they were quite different and began to see each other as threats

3. The Cold War • The Cold War was only cold in the sense that the two Superpowers never confronted each other directly in open warfare • But their global competition led to crises and conflicts on every continent, dominating world events for the next 45 years

4. Roots of the Cold War • Competing Ideologies • US wanted to spread democracy and Free Enterprise while the Soviets wanted to spread communism

5. Comparing the Ideologies

6. The Cold War Begins in Europe • The Yalta Conference in 1945 (before end of WWII) included Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin making plans for the post-war world • Divided Germany • Free Elections in Eastern Europe

7. An Iron Curtain Falls • Stalin didn’t keep his promise of free elections • The Soviet army occupied Eastern Europe and placed Communists in power • In 1946, Churchill announced that an “Iron Curtain” had descended on Eastern Europe • The nations of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Rumania and (later) East Germany became Soviet satellites

8. An Iron Curtain Falls • Trade and communication between Eastern and Western Europe were cut off • Eastern European governments were forced to create Communist economies and follow the policies dictated by the Soviet Union

9. Growing American Involvement • Western leaders feared Stalin was another Hitler • The US was the only nation strong enough to resist the Soviet Union and spread of Communism

10. Growing American Involvement • President Truman vowed to give support to all free peoples resisting Communism • This became known as the Truman Doctrine • But this also marked the beginning of Containment • The US would not overturn Communism where it already existed but would fight to prevent it from spreading

11. Growing American Involvement • The Marshall Plan gave billions of dollars in financial aid to Western European nations to help them rebuild their war-torn countries

12. Apply it! • Why were the US and Soviets so different? • Why did Truman want containment? • Why would Marshall have wanted to help rebuild Europe?

13. The Berlin Airlift • In 1948, the allies wanted to merge Germany • Stalin reacted by cutting off all highway and railroad links to Berlin (remember it was divided too) • The Western allies began a massive airlift to feed and supply the city • Within a year, Stalin admitted defeat and lifted the blockade

14. The Berlin Airlift • In 1949, the three Western zones were merged into a new independent state • Federal Republic of Germany (West) • Stalin responded by turning the Soviet zone into its own nation • German Democratic Republic (East)

15. Apply it! • Why did the Western Allies want to help Germany? • Did it work?

16. Formation of NATO and Warsaw Pact • NATO • North Atlantic Treaty Organization • United States, Canada and 10 Western European countries • Made to protect Western Europe from Communist Aggression • Pledged to defend Western Europe with nuclear weapons • Warsaw Pact • Soviets and Eastern European allies • Force was used to crush any rebellions or uprisings

17. Apply it! • What did NATO and the Warsaw Pact set the stage for?

18. How the End of World War II Helped Start the Cold War • Emergence of Two Superpowers • Ideological Differences • Soviet Security Fears • U.S. Rejection of Appeasement or Isolationism • New Weapons (atomic bomb) • Rise of Communism in Asia

19. The Cold War Reaches Asia The Communist Revolution in China • Chiang Kai-Shek had defeated local warlords and united China in 1928 • Later, he was engaged in a long struggle against both Chinese Communists and Japanese Invaders • Mao Zedong, leader of the Communists, retreated with his forces to northwestern China in what became known as the Long March

20. The Communist Revolution in China • In 1937, Japan invaded China • Nationalist and Communist forces cooperated to defeat the Chinese • After Japan was defeated in 1945, fighting between the Nationalists and Communists resumed • The Soviets helped the Communists • Peasants and farmers supported the Communists • In 1949, Mao Zedong and the Communists drove out Chiang and the Nationalists • Chiang retreated to Taiwan

21. Red Star Over China • Mao Zedong’s control of China infiltrated all aspects of life • Soviet Communism had emphasized the role of urban workers but Mao emphasized the role of the peasantry • He felt this created a new, more suitable, form of Communism

22. Changes to China under Mao • Elimination of the Capitalist Class • Landowners, factory-owners, village leaders and better-off peasants were looked down upon, accused of exploitation and many were killed • Reeducation • Communist beliefs were required learning • Newspapers, art, music promoted Communism • The Family • Authority of the Communist Party replaced familial authority • Children were taught to obey the state and ancestor worship was forbidden

23. The “Great Leap Forward” • Mao forced peasants onto cooperative farms called communes • Mao introduced the Five-Year Plan aimed at turning China into an industrial power • China’s vast population was used to build dams, roads, and factories • But poor planning and costly foreign equipment meant the plan was an economic disaster • As a result, China faced starvation and an economic crisis where 30-50 million died

24. Apply it! • Did the Great Leap Forward work? • Why not?

25. The Korean War 1950-1953 • In 1945, Korea had been divided into a Communist and Non-Communist state • In 1950, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea • Truman and other Western leaders believed it was necessary to take a stand • United Nations and other countries intervened and forced Communists back to North Korea • UN Forces, led by General Douglas MacArthur, invaded North Korea but the Chinese intervened • MacArthur wanted to use Nukes, but Truman disagreed • In the end, the borders between North and South Korea went back to the way they were before the war began

26. The Cultural Revolution • Mao openly disagreed with many Soviet policies • Mao was concerned about a loss of Communist enthusiasm in China • Mao made a new attempt to push China to the ideal Communist society by announcing the Cultural Revolution • Used his “little red book” as a blueprint

27. The Cultural Revolution • In 1966, Mao closed China’s universities and schools and invited eleven million students to gather in Beijing as Red Guards • Wanted to use the young to revitalize society • Red Guards traveled throughout China attacking writers, scientists, doctors, professors for looking down on common people and abandoning Communist ideals • Art was destroyed, scholars and professionals were sent to work in the fields

28. The Cultural Revolution • Mao had many opponents removed and punished • Many people were imprisoned, tortured and killed • Chinese society became disrupted by excess Red Guards and Mao had to use the army to control them • Cultural Revolution led to shortages of food and goods • In 1969, Mao sent Red Guards • back to the countryside to farm

29. Apply it! • How were Stalin and Mao similar? • Why did Mao have so many issues?

30. The Cold War at its Height The Nuclear Arms Race • Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949 • Both the US and Soviets soon developed far more destructive hydrogen bombs and the missiles to deliver them • Neither really wanted to use them because of their immense destructiveness • So regional conflicts become the norm

31. Khrushchev and Eastern Europe • In 1953, Stalin died • Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the next leader of the Soviet Union • Khrushchev condemned Stalin’s atrocities, freed many political prisoners and attempted to introduce changes to the Soviet Union

32. Problems and Protests in Eastern Europe • Poland • Workers went on strike • Khrushchev let Poland handle their own affair as long as they remained Communist and part of the Warsaw Pact • East Berlin • Germans were fleeing to the West through Berlin • 1961, Khrushchev had the Berlin Wall built around West Berlin and a barrier between the two sides of Germany

33. Problems and Protests in Eastern Europe • Hungary • Students launched protests for reform • Hungarian leaders wanted to leave the Warsaw Pact • Soviet troops intervened and brutally crushed the reform leaders • Czechoslovakia • Czech leaders proclaimed “Communism with a Human Face” • Soviets sent troops and tanks and replaced leaders with hard-line Communists

34. Apply it! • What do those rebellions show? • Why were they put down so harshly?

35. Communism Comes to Latin America • Poverty in Latin America allowed for the spread of Communism • Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959 • Promised democracy but instead nationalized businesses and executed opponents • The United States cut off trade • Castro turned to the Soviets for support and transformed Cuba into a Communist state

36. Communism Comes to Latin America • Bay of Pigs • Cuban exiles, trained by CIA, invaded Cuba • Kennedy refused to supply rebels with air support and the invasion failed • Cuban Missile Crisis • American leaders discovered in 1962 that Cuba was building bases to install Soviet missiles with nuclear warheads • The world was on the brink of nuclear war • US Blockaded and Khrushchev finally agreed to withdraw missies in exchange for a promise not to invade Cuba

37. Apply it! • Why was the United States so scared of nuclear missiles in Cuba? • Why might have Kennedy not wanted to provide air support for the Bay of Pigs?

38. The War in Vietnam (Indochina) • Nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh created a Communist state in North Vietnam while South Vietnam established ties with the West • Vietnamese Communists known as the Viet Cong, launched a guerilla war against South Vietnamese government

39. The Vietnam War • The United States stepped in to resist Communism • American leaders feared Southeast Asian countries might otherwise fall like a row of dominoes • American troops were never able to turn the tide against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese • The Tet Offensive demonstrated the strength of the Viet Cong • In 1973, American troops withdrew from Vietnam • Vietnam was reunited under Communist rule

40. Cambodia • The withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam also led to the collapse of the government in neighboring Cambodia • In 1975, Cambodian communists, known as the Khmer Rouge seized control • Khmer Rouge committed genocide against city-dwellers and opponents

41. Apply it! • Why did American leaders fear losing Vietnam? • Were there fears well-founded?

42. The Cold War Ends Soviet Stagnation (1964-1982) • After Khrushchev's fall in 1964, the Soviet Union fell into a long period of stagnation • Government planners couldn’t predict people’s needs • People had little incentive to work hard so farms failed to produce enough food, consumer goods were poor quality, living standards fell, alcoholism and corruption grew • The Command Economy failed to compete with the free-market economies of the West

43. Soviet Stagnation • Dissidents like NatanSharanksy, founder of the Refusenik Movement, were imprisoned for demanding human rights or permission to emigrate • Sharanksy was released in 1986 after nine years in a Soviet concentration camp • In Afghanistan, Soviet Troops became engaged in a long, drawn-out war against local nationalists • Tied up troops, led to many Soviet troop deaths

44. The Gorbachev Years(1985-1991) • Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union • He wanted to preserve but reform Communism with new policies

45. The Gorbachev Years • Glasnost • Greater openness of Soviet society with restrictions on speech and press lifted, dissidents released from prison, emigration restrictions were lifted, Soviet citizens were allowed to elect their own representatives • Perestroika • Economic reform or restructuring to promote more individual initiative and foreign investments • New Foreign Policy • Gorbachev withdrew troops from Afghanistan in 1988 • US President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “evil empire” and challenged Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” • Gorbachev allowed changes in Eastern Europe and eventually permitted democratic, non-Communist governments to be created there

46. The Iron Curtain Falls in Eastern Europe • Poland led the way for change • Polish Cardinal was elected Pope John Paul II • First non-Italian in 400 years • Wanted religions to work together • Talked against Communism • Lech Walesa organized an independent trade union named Solidarity • Walesa led a strike of workers • Poland became the first Eastern European nation to elect a non-Communist government

47. The Iron Curtain Falls in Eastern Europe • These changes promoted a lifting of the “Iron Curtain” elsewhere • People in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and across Eastern Europe staged demonstrations • The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 • Free elections were held

48. Gorbachev’s Problems Grow • Gorbachev’s policies had failed to solve the economic problems within the Soviet Union • The new openness of Glasnost unleashed economic nationalism and social discontent • Other countries started to break away and elect new leaders • Boris Yeltsin was elected as President of the Russian Republic • Gorbachev couldn’t stop these nationalist uprisings

49. The Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) • A coup (hard lined communists) tried to overthrow Gorbachev but failed • Gorbachev began recognizing independence of Lithuania and other Baltic Statesand in December 1991, Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine declared their independence from the Soviet Union • They formed the Commonwealth of the Independent States • Gorbachev resigned at the end of 1991

50. The Reunification of Germany • West Germany’s leader, Helmut Kohl, helped negotiate reunification which became official in 1990 • Soviet troops withdrew from East Germany • Currencies were merged • German legislature moved back to Berlin