THE COLD WAR (1945-1990)
began- the nuclear age. the
, \^,--,f, rA,^.
new and even more danllerous era
War' a. na
World
Second
the
of
Soviet Union' A
end
the
Wrth
between the United States and the
onli.n...
ilil"mentar
;;'il.
focuseo
now
superpowerssporight
foremost military
the former tttiut-no* the world's
new era of tense nu",ry o*w.en
and securrtv were'dashed bv
cooperation,
peace,
for
emerged. The hopes:ff""p-; ;irridifi*.rrd
This era has been nameo
and conflict between the superpowers'
the continuous threat of confrontation
the Cold War.
What is the Cold War?
rivarry, and hostirity between
given to an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust,
The term cord war has been
Union'
tne UniteO States and the Soviet
flashpoints that brought the
conflict rnvorvng third parties or in
The cord war often erupted into open
to the brink of confrontation'
United States anO tne ioviet Union
When did the Cold War Begin?
Arthough the cord
inin" J.ntu.y,
much earlier
its origins can be traced back to
war began afier the second worrd war,
perhaps even as early as 1917'
Steps Leading to the Cold War
l.CommunistRevo|ution:TheswiftandeffectivecommunisttakeoverinRussiainl9lT
.shockedtheWest.Theytriedtooverthrowthenewregimebybackinganti-Bo|sheMkforces
2.Po|itica||solationoftheSovietUnion:lnthelg20sand30s,theWestfearedthai
:_-communismwou|dspreadthroughEurope.Asaresult,theSovietUnionwaspo|itically
"'"i"'li,$fitrHi**lYi:ti:*,;Hi,""..",,il?i'illn#hrd:l"'
3.
pushed the soviet Union fon'vard in the 1930s
Russian Industrial Revolution: As stalin
looked on uneasily'
*nire Oepieison rocfeO the West' the West
differences
,/rLt,
"n
uneasy,
oncl"ti
has beensuggesfed tnat
disfrusf- tt "no
was;;;;;
to invade/open tni w"it-r^ Front
wesfward'
the Nazis and moved
4,
This alliance was overflowing with
been attacked' the Westem plan
lJnion
had
Soviet
ift untit the soviet lJnion began to make gains on
On"i'iitiin'i untit 1g45'
ancl
Atthe Yalta conference, Churchill, Roosevelt,
The Ya|ta Conference (February 1945):
Germany
defeated'
once
that'
agreed
the fate of post*arLurope. They
Stalin met to decide
*ttn etittiti, the U'S' and the U'S'S'R' eacn
at
would be temporarity divided into 3 zolres,
tiBerlin would also be divided' The key issue
coiiholing one zone. The German C"pittr
determined
was
stalin
Poland'
particularly
the conference was the future or ra;teiniu.p.,
governments' His position reflected the
pto-iovet
ntut
wouti
that Eastern European states
long Russian tradition of establishing a buffer zone along its western border. Churchill
strongly opposed the spread of SoMet influence. Roosevelt favoured a global approach to
World peace. He proposed a cooperative undertaking, with China, the Soviet Union, the
United States, and Britain acting as international enforces in their own spheres of influence.
Stalin saw this as the Okay to control Eastern Europe'
Conference was to be'renegotiated".
5.
The postdam conference (July 17- August 2, 1945): The Postdam conference began the
long process of cleaning up after the war. The conference was marked by arguments and
accusations, with new players on the scene for Brilain (Clement Atlee), and the United States
(Truman).
Agreed Postwar Clean
a)
b)
c)
uP:
Establishing of peace treaties with ltaly, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and
Finland.
To finalize boundaries, a council of Foreign Ministers was established.
Nazi Germany: all Nazi institutions were dismantled; Nazi war criminals
would be tried and punished; reparations to the Soviet Union and Britain.
Problems:
a)
b)
They could not agree on the future of Germany so the "temporary arrangement"
to divide Germany and Berlin remained in effect'
The question of Poland continued to be hotly debated. The Western powers
fina||ybackeddownandacceptedSovietcontroIofPo|and.
of Eastem Europe was temporary. The Soviel
of influence.
sphere
fts
perception was that Eastem Europe was now
The American perception was that Sovief control
The Atomic Bomb (August
6th and 9tn,
1945;: The United States dropped the two atomic
bombs on Japan wrthout telling its ally the SoMet Union of its existence, or usAge'
7.
Soviet Spy Network Publicized: On September 5'n 1945, lgor Gouzenko, a Sovet citizen
employed at its embassy in Ottawa, defected to Canada. He brought with him documents
thai pr-oved that the Soviet Union was spying on its allies. An investigation revealed a
widespread spy network operating in Canada. This incident gave credence to reports about
the SoMet threat.
After World War ll, the citizens of the Soviet Union were preoccupied with the enormous task of
restoring their country. The U.S. went back to their traditional isolationism. Washingion's attention,
howevei, was fixed on Moscow. Every Soviet move was viewed with suspicion, every utterance from
the Kremlin analyzed for hidden meaning.
Although the Soviet Sphere of lnfluence seemed likely wilh the occupied states becoming
States
increaJingly entrenched in communism, many American polilicians considered the United
monopolyofatomicweaponsausefuldeterrenttoSbvietexpansion. Between1945and1949'there
Army.
is litile doubt that Truman used American atomic power as a threat against the mighty SoMet
equalled
Union
SoMet
1949,
the
By
This hastened Soviet development of their own Atomic weapons.
the playing field by exploding its own bomb, and the Arms Race begins.