Postwar Europe
Emergence of Superpowers
U.S. and USSR emerged from WWII as
superpowers
 Ideological differences between the two
lead to a period of tension and hostility
known as the Cold War

– Capitalism v. communism
– Democracy v. totalitarianism
Origins of the Cold War

Although the Cold War took place after
WWII, the conflict began before the war
was over
– Yalta Conference (Feb, 1945)

Potsdam Conference (July, 1945)
– War over in Europe
– Soviet Union had installed communist
governments in many Eastern European
states
Winston Churchill
“…an iron curtain has
descended across the
continent…”

Truman Doctrine
Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April, 1946. His
V.P. Harry Truman took office
 1946: Truman issued the Truman Doctrine
 “I believe 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”

– First used to grant $400 million in aid to Greece and
Turkey to assist with their fight against a communist
takeover
Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Marshall Plan
The U.S. started to see itself as the
defender of democracy and capitalism
 Marshall Plan allowed the U.S. to offer
financial aid to help rebuild the war-torn
countries of Western Europe

– Motive: a strong economy is more resistant to
the spread of communism….plus, if we help
them, they will be on our side!
Cold War Alliances

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
– Formed in 1949
– U.S. and its allies

Warsaw Pact
– Formed in 1955
– Soviet Union and its allies
Cold War Alliances
Arms Race

The U.S. and USSR competed for military
superiority
–
–
–
–

1945:
1949:
1952:
1953:
U.S. successfully detonates an atomic weapon
USSR successfully detonates an atomic weapon
U.S. successfully tests a hydrogen bomb
USSR successfully tests a hydrogen bomb
The two superpowers also begin to develop
missile technologies that could be used to
deliver their bombs
– ICBM’s: intercontinental ballistic missiles
The United Nations
Atlantic Charter:
agreement between
Churchill and
Roosevelt that called
for the creation of an
international
peacekeeping
organization
 United Nations
created in 1945

The United Nations

Structure of the UN
– General Assembly: composed of all member
nations
– Security Council
 Composed of 15 nations (serve in the Security for
two years before being replaced by a different
nation)
 5 Permanent Members: Britain, China, France,
Russia (Soviet Union), and the U.S.
– Permanent members have veto power
Containment and Cold War conflict

Containment: U.S. policy during Cold War
to keep communism from spreading
– “Long Telegram” by George Kennan

Military conflicts result from this policy
– Korean War
– Vietnam War
Korean War
1950-1953
 North Korea became communist

– Was aided by China (People’s Republic of
China), which had become communist in 1949
South Korea aided by the U.S.
 War ended with the creation of a DMZ at
the 38th Parallel

Vietnam War


1954: Vietnam gains independence from France. Ho Chi
Minh installed a communist government in northern
Vietnam
The U.S. stepped in to aid the South
– Eisenhower offered aid to the South Vietnamese government
– JFK sent ground and air troops to aid the south in their fight
against the guerilla fighters from the north (known as the Viet
Cong)
– Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the war
– Richard Nixon vows to reduce U.S. involvement while
simultaneously ordering bombing raids into Cambodia


1973: U.S withdrew from the war
1975: Vietnam was reunited under a single communist
government

Ho Chi Minh
Cuban Missile Crisis
“Hot” point of the Cold War
 Cuba became communist when Fidel
Castro led a coup against Batista, the
previous ruler of Cuba

– Cuba allied itself with the USSR

1961: U.S. attempts to assassinate Castro
– Bay of Pigs invasion

1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
USSR (led by Nikita Khrushchev) and the
U.S. (led by JFK) face off over nuclear
missiles in Cuba and Turkey
 Came very close to war
 Ended with both sides making a
compromise

– U.S. agreed to remove missiles from Turkey
– USSR agreed to remove missiles from Cuba
The Space Race

1957: Soviets successfully launch the first
man-made satellite into space
– Sputnik

U.S. fears they are “losing” the Cold War
– Increase government spending on math and
science education
– NASA created to build our own space program
Eastern Europe during the Cold
War
After WWII, Soviet forces occupied
Eastern European states
 These states became known as “Satellite
States”

– Under Soviet influence
– Their governments and economies controlled
by the Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
Communist government led by Tito (Josip
Broz)
 During WWII, Tito had led an anti-Nazi
movement, which helped him gain
popularity in S.E. Europe
 Yugoslavia was created as a “hodgepodge”
of territories

– Very ethnically diverse

Tito led Yugoslavia until his death in 1980
Destalinization

Nikita Khrushchev became the Soviet
leader after the death of Stalin in 1953.
– He denounced many of the repressive policies
used by Stalin
– “Destalinization”
– Khrushchev’s speech to the Twentieth Party
Congress, 1956
Stirrings of revolt in Eastern Europe
1956: worker protests erupt in Poland
 1956: Hungary revolts and declares itself an
independent state
 1968: “Prague Spring”

– Leader of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek,
instituted reforms
 Free speech and press, relaxation of secret police, relaxation
of travel restrictions, etc.

In all three cases, the Soviet Union used its
military to put down the unrest and restore
order
Political and Economic
Recovery in Europe
Devastation of WWII

Widespread damage
– Bombings left cities in rubble
– homelessness

Shortages of basic necessities

The Marshall Plan was used to help rebuild
the war-torn areas of Western Europe.
– $9.4 Billion in loans and aid from 1947-1950
Recovery in Western Europe
1950’s and 1960’s was a time of growth
and prosperity in Western Europe
 Many nations transitioned into a
postindustrial economy.

– Service jobs grew: technology, health care,
business, finance, education, legal services,
etc.
– Manufacturing jobs and agricultural jobs
reduced
West Germany

1949: Federal Republic of Germany was
officially created (West Germany)
– Konrad Adenauer appointed as Chancellor
– Germany’s economy flourished in the 1960’s
 A recession in 1973 eventually curbed the growth
– Immigration into West Germany grew during
the 60’s
West Germany

1970’s: Willy Brandt assumed control of
West Germany
– Worked to improve relations with East
Germany and the Soviet Union
 Ostpolitik: Brandt’s policy of improving relations
between East and West Germany
France

During WWII, France was occupied by the
Germans and the French government
dissolved; a puppet government created
– Vichy government

In 1944, France was liberated from Nazi
control and the Fourth Republic created.
– Very weak government
France

Algerian Crisis
– Algeria launched a war for independence from
France