 Relationship b/w U.S. & Soviet Union was shaky
before WWII even ended
 U.S. was upset Stalin signed non-aggression pact
 Stalin blamed Allies for not invading sooner
 Yalta Conference-February 1945
 Churchill, FDR, Stalin agree to:
 decide to divide Germany into zones of occupation
controlled by military forces (American, Soviet,
British, French)
 Germany to pay war reparations to Soviet Union
 Soviet Union to join war against Japan
 Stalin promises Eastern Europeans would have free
elections
 1946 United Nations is created,
headquarters NYC
 50 countries join international
organization to protect members from
war
 Security Council: 11 rotating members,
5 permanent (U.S., Britain, France,
Soviet Union, China) have veto power
 WWII-U.S. lost 400,000, cities were not
damaged, richest & most powerful
 Encourage democracy
 Rebuild European gov’ts to bring stability
& new markets for American goods $$$
 Reunite & stabilize Germany, make Europe
more secure
 Gain raw materials
 WWII-Soviet Union lost 20 million (1 in 4
Soviets were killed/wounded), cities destroyed
 Encourage communism (promote worldwide
workers’ revolution)
 Rebuild the economy destroyed by war using
Eastern European industry & raw materials
 Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet
borders & balance out the U.S. influence in
Western Europe
 Keep Germany divided to prevent it from ever
starting another war
 Represents Europe’s division into Democratic Western
Europe & Communist Eastern Europe
 Russians were tired of being invaded (centuries of
invasion-Poles, Swedes, Napoleon, Germany twice)
 Create buffer (wall of protection) along Russia’s
western border
 turns those countries communist (Poland,
Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria, Albania)
 Potsdam Conference- 1945 Truman, Stalin, Churchill
 Stalin refuses to allow free elections, says communism
& capitalism cannot exist in same world
 Germany is divided in half-east & west at Berlin
A peep under
the iron
curtain
 Containment
 U.S. policy to stop Soviet influence & communism from
expanding
 Form alliances and help weak countries resist
communism
 Truman Doctrine
 Truman announces the U.S. will give economic &
military aid for countries to resist communism
 Controversial…should U.S. interfere in the affairs of
other countries?
 $400 million to Greece & Turkey
 Western Europe in
ruins after WWII
 Not enough jobs or
food
 U.S. Secretary of State
George Marshall
proposed an assistance
program
 Provide food,
machines, materials to
rebuild Western
Europe
 Huge success
 After World War II,
Germany was divided
into four zones,
occupied by French,
British, American, and
Soviet troops.
Occupation zones after
1945. Berlin is the
multinational area
within the Soviet zone.
Soviet blockade:
East Berlin
West
Germany
East
Germany
West Berlin
· In June of 1948, the
French, British and
American zones were
joined into the nation of
West Germany after the
Soviets refused to end
their occupation of
Germany.
 Berlin Airlift
 1948 U.S., Britain, France decide to withdraw
troops from Germany
 Soviet Union wanted Germany kept weak &
divided
 responded by taking West Berlin hostage
 city faced starvation
 Allies flew food & supplies into West Berlin for
11 months
Germany remains divided:
· In May of 1949, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union ended the
blockade.
· The Soviet
zone of
Germany,
including
East Berlin,
became
known as the
nation of East
Germany.
October, 1949
 Cold War
 Struggle over political differences carried on
without using war
 Lasted over 40 yrs b/w U.S. & Soviet Union
 NATO=North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949
 10 Western European countries joined U.S. &
Canada to form military alliance
 Attack on any NATO member is an attack on all
 Warsaw Pact 1955
 Formed as response to NATO
 Alliance of Soviet Union, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Albania
 Built Berlin Wall to separate East & West
Berlin
 Symbol of the world divided
The Korean War 1950-1953
 At end of WWII, Japanese
troops surrendered
 38th parallel line Korea is
split into 2 nations
 North Korea communist,
supported by Soviets
 South Korea democratic,
supported by West
 Soviets supply NKorea w/
tanks, airplanes, $$$ to take
over entire peninsula
 Truman’s policy of
containment is put to the test
 June 25, 1950 North
Invasion
Korea invades South
Korea
 Takes over entire
peninsula except
Pusan (p543)
 UN sends in
international
peacekeeping forces to
help South Korea
(soldiers from 15
nations, 80% U.S.)
 Leader: General
Douglas MacArthur
Here comes China
 Sept. 1950 MacArthur leads UN invasion of Korea
 Pushes NKoreans back to Chinese border
 Chinese feel threatened & sends in 300,000 troops
 Push UN & SKorean troops out of NKorea &
capture Seoul (capital South Korea)
 MacArthur calls for nuclear attack against China
 Truman sees this as reckless
 “We are trying to prevent a world war, not start
one.”
 MacArthur won’t let up & is removed
 1953 UN regains control of SKorea
Aftermath of Korean War
 July 1953 UN & NKorean forces sign ceasefire,
agree to border at 38th parallel (same as before
war)
 4 million soldiers & civilians dead
 N&S Korea still divided today
 Communist NKorea established collective farms,
build up military
 Kim Jong Il built up nuclear weapons, serious
economic problems
 South Korea prospered (w/ U.S. help)
 Huge foreign trade & economic growth
The Nuclear Threat
 U.S. had atomic bombs
 1949 Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon
 1950 Truman responded by working on Hydrogen
Bomb (thousands xs stronger than a-bomb)
 1952 U.S. tests H-Bomb
 1953 Soviets test H-Bomb
 “brinkmanship-”willingness to go to the brink
(edge) of war (retaliate for any attack)
 Need nuclear weapons & planes to carry out
 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS=brinkmanship
The World is Divided
 1st world=United States & allies
 2nd world=Soviet Union & allies
 3rd world=developing nations, not
aligned with either
 Located in Latin America, Africa, Asia
 Poor, politically unstable (colonialism)
Fidel Castro’s Cuba
 1950s Cuba backed by U.S., unpopular dictator
 Fidel Castro leads revolution & becomes dictator
 Suspends elections, jails & executes opponents,
controls media, took over economy
 Turns to Soviet Union more economic & military
aid
 U.S. tries to invade Cuba (Bay of Pigs)…disaster
 Soviets respond by placing nuclear missiles in
Cuba (90 miles from U.S.)
 Read The Cuban Missile Crisis & answer
questions
Major Strategies
 Foreign Aid
 Both superpowers gave $ to countries to influence &





win allies
Propaganda
 Both used to win support
Espionage
 Spies were sent into both sides, U-2 spy planes, etc.
Brinkmanship
 Going to the brink of war to get the other to back
down
 Ex: Cuban Missile Crisis
Alliances
 NATO, Warsaw Pact
Surrogate (substitute) Wars
 Korea, Vietnam
Uprisings in Poland, Hungary, &
Czechoslovakia
 Hungary
 1956 anti-communist revolt, new
gov’t & leader
 Soviet troops crush uprising &
execute leader (Nagy)
 Czechoslovakia
 1968 communist leader Dubcek
begins reforms during “Prague
Spring”
 End censorship, allow criticism of
gov’t
 Soviets invade country, reverse
reforms, kick him out of party
Détente & SALT
 Détente: lessening of Cold War tensions
 After Vietnam War, U.S. backed away from
direct confrontation w/ Soviet Union
 President visits China & Soviet Union
 SALT=Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
 Nixon & Soviet leader Brezhnev sign treaty
limiting the number of missiles in both
countries
 Falls apart during late 1970s-1980s under Carter
& Reagan