The Cold War 1945???
YALTA (in the USSR)
Date: Feb 1945
Present: Churchill,
Roosevelt and Stalin
Allies agreed that all
liberated European
nations would be able to
create democratic
governments of their
own choosing. Defeated
Germany would pay for
war
reparations/damages,
Germany would also be
divided into sections.
USSR would help fight
against Japan.
POTSDAM (Germany)
Date: July 1945
Present: Churchill,
Truman and Stalin
Last time allied powers
meet. They divided up
Germany and Berlin.
Churchill worked his
magic to get a piece of
Germany for France to
lessen the amount that
the Soviets received.
Cold war will start
afterwards.
Improve your knowledge
• The Russians took very high casualties to
capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the
early occupation trying to take over all
zones of the city but were stopped by
German democrats such as Willy Brandt
and Konrad Adenauer. Reluctantly the
Russians had to admit the Americans,
French and British to their respective
zones.
Iron Curtain –
A term used by
Winston Churchill
to describe the
separating of
Those communist
lands of East
Europe from the
West.
Improve your knowledge
• The nuclear bomb gave America a lead
which was expected to last at least 5
years. The rapid Russian development of
nuclear technology, helped by the work of
the “atom spies” was a shock.
Significantly, Russia hurriedly declared
war against Japan at the beginning of
August 1945 and rushed to advance into
Asia to stake out a position for the postwar settlement. This helped make both the
Korean and Vietnamese conflicts more
likely.
The ‘Truman Doctrine’
• Truman had been horrified at the prewar Allied policy of appeasement and
was determined to stand up to any Soviet
intimidation.
The Truman Doctrine in March 1947
promised that the USA “would support
free peoples who are resisting
subjugation by armed minorities or
by outside pressures”.
• Triggered by British inability to hold the
line in Greece, it was followed by aid to
Greece and Turkey, and also money to
help capitalists to stop communists in
Italy and France.
It signalled the end of “isolationst”
policies.
The ‘Marshall Plan’
• Created by General of the Army George
Marshall who became Sec. of State in 1947
• The Marshall Plan offered huge sums to
enable the economies of Europe to rebuild
after World War II, and, by generating
prosperity, to reject the appeal of
Communism.
The Soviet Union (USSR) prevented Eastern
European countries from receiving American
money.
Berlin
• West Berlin, was an outpost of Western
democracy and economic success deep within
the communist zone – like a capitalist island
within communist East Germany
• The Berlin Blockade was an attempt to
starve West Berlin into submitting [giving up]
to the communists
• The Allied [western powers] airlift signalled the
West’s determination to use all resources to
defend Berlin.
It was feld by both sides that Berlin could act
as the trigger for general war between
capitalist and communist countries
McCarthyism and the Red
Scare
Senator Joseph McCarthy
• Wisconsin Republican
facing defeat in election
of 1950
• Turns to a platform of
anti-Communism
The List
• “I have here a list of 205 names that were
made known to the Secretary of State as
being members of the Communist Party and
who nevertheless are still working and
shaping policy in the State Department.”
Definition of McCarthyism
• The fear, suspicion, and scapegoating that
surrounded McCarthy, his accusations and
the general curtailment of civil rights during
the Cold War era. It was a witch-hunt style
campaign to silence critics of the Cold War.
• HUAC
• Questions asked
• 5th Amendment
House UnAmerican Activities
Committee (HUAC)
• Subcommittee of the House of
Representatives
• Purpose: To root out “subversion” of the
American system
• The Question: “Are you now or
have you ever been a member of
the Communist Party?”
The McCarran Act
• Formal name: The Internal Security Act
• Requires communist organizations to
register with the Subversive Activities
Control Board
• Authorizes the arrest of suspect persons
during national emergency
• Six concentration camps
built for this purpose
-June 1949What is the
Washington Post
cartoonist
portraying in his
drawing?
• -April 1949• "You read books, eh?"
• During the postwar anticommunist campaign hundreds
of elementary and high school
teachers were investigated and
lost their jobs, sometimes as a
result of being named by
proliferating "anti-subversive"
groups and individuals. Some
individuals compiled and
circulated their own blacklists,
which were accepted by
frightened employers and
casting directors who feared
being blacklisted themselves if
they sought facts and fair play.
The motives of some selfserving or vindictive accusers
were summed up by Herb Block
in a phrase: "If you can't crush
the commies, you can nail a
neighbor."
Space Race
October 1957: The Soviet Union succeeds
in putting the first man made object into
orbit around the Earth. This Satellite is
called Sputnik.
The Space Race has begun.
• April 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to orbit
the Earth.
• June 1963: Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman
in space.
• October 1964: Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry
more than one person into space, is launched.
• March 1965: Alexei Leonov carries out the first ever
spacewalk.
The USSR takes the lead.
“…communism has won the competition
between communist and capitalist countries.
The economy, science, culture and the
creative genius of people in all areas of life
develop better and faster under
communism.” Nikita Khrushchev.
• May 1961: Alan Shepherd becomes the first American in
space.
• February 1962: John Glenn becomes the first American to
orbit the Earth.
• June 1965: Ed White become the first American to walk in
space.
The USA gains momentum.
“We choose to go to the moon ... and do the
other things, not because they are easy, but
because they are hard, … because that
challenge is one that we are willing to
accept, one we are unwilling to postpone,
and one which we intend to win”.
John F. Kennedy.
• December 1968: Apollo 8 becomes the first manned capsule
to orbit the moon.
• July 1969: Apollo 11 carries out the first manned moon
landing.
• July 1971: Apollo 15 becomes the first mission to use the
Lunar Rover.
• December 1972: Apollo 17 becomes the final lunar landing
mission of the 20th century.
The USA sprints to the finish.
“As I take man's last step from the surface… I'd
like to just [say] what I believe history will record
- that America's challenge of today has forged
man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the
Moon...we leave as we came and, God willing, as
we shall return, with peace and hope for all
mankind”. Eugene Cernan.
Some images in this presentation have been used courtesy of NASA.
Many more pictures are available from their website at www.nasa.gov.
Original Footage of Moon Landing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4
Hoax Documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW4_5kAPzb0
Nuclear Threats
Tsar Bomba
• The nickname for the AN602 hydrogen bomb, the most powerful
nuclear weapon ever detonated. Its October 30, 1961 test remains the
most powerful artificial explosion in human history. Only one bomb of
this type was ever officially built and it was tested in the Novaya
Zemlya archipelago.
• Developed by the Soviet Union, the bomb had the yield of 50 to 58
megatons of TNT.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
• October 15th, 1962 America intelligence discovers
Soviet Missiles being constructed in Cuba…issue Soviet
couldn’t attack US over USSR but Cuba is close
enough for an attack.
• Fidel wants insurance that, after the Bay of Pigs,
America would not invade Cuba.
• October 26th received a letter from Khrushchev
claiming that he would remove Soviet missiles if the US
guaranteed not to invade Cuba.
• October 27th another letter from Khrushchev
demanded that US missiles in Turkey be removed.
Outcome of the Cuban Missile
Crisis
• US and Russia tolerate each other, more respect.
• Russia take missiles out of Cuba, US breaks down
missiles in Turkey, US also promises not to invade
Cuba.
• China considers Russia weak for giving in, to
them to soon.
• Hotline to Moscow is installed in White House.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
Easter
n Bloc
7 Satellite
Countries:
Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, East
Germany,
Hungary,
Poland,
Romania,
Slovakia
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
15 Republics: Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia,
Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan
Was the Collapse Due to Force? No
• The Cold War cost more than $11
trillion. But the collapse of the Soviet
Union and its satellites was not a
result of force.
– No NATO tank fired a shot.
– No bomb fell on the Kremlin.
The Gorbachev Revolution
• Mikhail Gorbachev, who came
to power in 1985 as the General
Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU), recognized that the
Soviet Union could not remain
politically and economically
isolated and that the Soviet
system had to be changed if it
was to survive.
Gorbachev's Five-Point Plan
• The key pieces to Gorbachev's plan for the survival of the
Soviet Union were a series of reforms:
1. Glasnost (openness) – greater freedom of expression
2. Perestroika (restructuring) – decentralization of the Soviet
economy with gradual market reforms
3. Renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine (armed intervention
where socialism was threatened) and the pursuit of arms
control agreements
4. Reform of the KGB (secret service)
5. Reform of the Communist Party
The Objective: Survival
• Gorbachev knew that the Soviet Union would have to change if
it was to survive.
– Central planning in a modern industrial economy brought
many inefficiencies.
– The factory management system provided little incentive to
make technological improvements and every incentive to
hide factory capacities to ensure low quotas
– The socialist farm system was inefficient – there were poor
worker incentives and storage and transportation problems.
– The Soviet State could no longer afford the high defense
spending that accompanied the Cold War.
Party Reforms a Failure
• His attempts to reform the
Communist Party were a failure.
Change was too slow to keep
pace with events and he was
continually hampered by his
need to give in to the hard-liners
in order to retain power. As
communism collapsed in Eastern
Europe, reform of communism
in the Soviet Union became
unlikely.
President Reagan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall,
Brandenburg Gate, Federal Republic of Germany. June 12, 1987
Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate Speech
• President Ronald Reagan called upon Gorbachev to tear
down the Berlin Wall:
"In the Communist world, we see failure, technological
backwardness, declining standards... Even today, the
Soviet Union cannot feed itself. The inescapable
conclusion is that freedom is the victor. General
Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace,
if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union,
if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr.
Gorbachev, open this gate!
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjWDrTXMgF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Wbom5i6ks
The Wall Came Down
• Finally, on the night of
November 9, 1989, ordinary
Germans poured through the
Berlin Wall. The GDR
quickly disintegrated, and by
the end of 1990, all of East
Germany had been
incorporated into the wealthy,
powerful Federal Republic of
Germany.
The Rise of Nationalism
• With the iron grip of the
centralized Soviet state relaxed
and the growing failure of the
state to adequately feed and
clothe its people, nationalism in
the republics surged and
separatist movements threatened
the very existence of the Soviet
Union.
Super Cute Protesters:
Moldova: The hot, angry face of
nationalism - Apr 13, 2009
Events in Eastern Europe
• Communist governments in
Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
and Bulgaria either tumbled
or underwent reform.
• The Communist dictatorship
in Romania fell after a week
of bloody street battles
between ordinary citizens and
police, who defended the old
order to the bitter end.
Radical Change
• Radical change finally
reached the Soviet
heartland in August 1991,
when thousands of
Russian citizens poured
into the streets to defeat a
reactionary coup d'état.
Independent Republics
• The Communist party quickly
collapsed, and the Soviet
Union began the painful and
uncertain process of
reorganizing itself as a loose
confederation of independent
republics.
Boris Yeltsin
• Boris Yeltsin, who headed the
Russian Republic, replaced
Gorbachev as president of a
much- diminished state.
Gorbachev found that there
was no Soviet Union to lead
and retired into private life.
Time magazine's July 15, 1996, issue, featured a
10-page spread about a squad of U.S. political pros
who "clandestinely participated in guiding Yeltsin's
campaign.“
Nobel Peace Prize
• Gorbachev won the 1989 Nobel
Peace Prize. He brought a
peaceful end to the cold war, and
dramatic change to his country's
economy, though not in the way
he intended.
The End of the Cold War
• The Cold War was over,
brought to a close not by the
missiles and tanks of the
principal participants, but by
the collective courage and
willpower of ordinary men and
women.
Ronald Reagan’s Role
• In the United States, partisans of Ronald
Reagan claimed much of the credit for
ending the Cold War. Reagan's frank
denunciation of the Soviet Union as an “evil
empire," along with his administration's
military buildup, were said to have inspired
eastern bloc dissidents at the same time the
arms race exhausted the productive capacity
of the Soviet Union and other inefficient
Communist regimes.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
and the End of the Cold War
John Paul II’s
CATHOLIC
CHURCH
East German
NATIONALISM
Lech Walesa's
SOLIDARITY
Gorbachev’s
REFORMS
Eastern
Bloc
Ronald Reagan’s
FOREIGN POLICY
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
Glasnost
Perestroika
EVIL EMPIRE
Speech
MILITARY
BUILDUP
No Brezhnev
Doctrine
Ordinary
MEN & WOMEN
ARMS RACE
COURAGE
WILL POWER
Reform
KGB
Reform
Comm Party
Remaining Communist Countries
• At its peak, communism was practiced in dozens of countries:
• Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
• Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Yemen
• Soviet Controlled Eastern bloc countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East
Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia.
• The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
• Africa: Angola, Benin, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and Mozambique.
• Currently only a handful of countries identified as
communist remain: Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, China,
and Cuba.