Cold War (1945-1991)
We will be exploring the Cold War (1945-1991)
from an international socio-economic and
military perspective. In a few weeks, we will
learn about the same time period from a
domestic perspective, including Civil Rights,
Camelot & Watergate.
Cold War Overview
Former allies clash:
US: Capitalist
• Private economy
• Competition
• Leaders elected by the people
USSR: Communist
• State controlled economy
• No competition
• Totalitarian government
(no elections)
Cold War Overview
Potsdam Conference: US, USSR & UK met in 1945 to settle post-WWII
challenges.
• US wanted free elections in Poland, USSR refused
• USSR wanted reparations from Germany, US refused
• Agreed to Yalta Conference plan to separate Germany into 4 zones
USSR Goals:
• USSR lost 20 million people during WWII, needed PEOPLE
• Created “satellite” communist nations – Albania, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland
US Goals:
• “Containment” proposed by George F Kennan
• Prevent extension of communism to other countries
Iron Curtain
Europe was divided – Communism to the East, Capitalism to the West
• Iron Curtain introduced by Winston Churchill in a speech in
Missouri: “…from the Baltic to the Adriatic, an iron curtain has
descended across the continent.”
• Iron Curtain: The metaphor for the physical and political differences
between the east and the west in the years following WWII.
• Homework:
determine the Cold
War boundaries on a
the map (library)
The Cold War was a series of conflicts between the
USSR and USA, but no shots were fired directly at
each other on our own soil.
Cold War Geography
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, 1949): world alliance set up to help
keep the peace achieved by WWII
• Warsaw Pact (1955): mutual defense treaty between communist states of Eastern
Europe established
by the Soviet Union
Cold War Geography
US Containment Strategy: Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine:
• President Truman’s policy (1947): “It must be the policy of the US
to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation
by armed minorities or outside pressures.”
• US wanted to contain Soviet influence in Greece & Turkey (b/c of
proximity to US interests in the Middle East)
• US sent $400 million in aid to help keep Greece & Turkey from
turning to the USSR for help
US Containment Strategy: Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
• Western Europe was struggling to recover after the war (economic
depression, rebuilding, unseasonably cold winters)
• Secretary of State George Marshall (1947) proposed helping all
European nations needing aid
• US spent $13 billion in 4 years
• Communism was not appealing to European voters when their
economies recovered
What to do about Germany?
Should Germany remain 4 zones? Be reunified? And what about Berlin?
• Berlin Airlift
A Red Scare: An era of communist fears
• Federal Employee Loyalty Program (1947)
• Investigated potential federal employee communist activities
• 3.2 million “communist activities” investigated
• Individuals accused were NEVER shown the evidence against them
• House of Un-American Activities Committee (1947)
• Investigated Hollywood films for sneaking communist propaganda
and created a “blacklist” of actors, producers and writers
A Red Scare: An era of communist fears
• Spies
• Agler Hiss supposedly gave US government documents to the USSR
(prosecuted by Richard Nixon); files sealed until 2026
• Julius & Ethel Rosenberg accused of giving A-Bomb secrets to the
USSR; only 2 American civilians to be executed for espionage
activity during the Cold War (1953)
• Joseph McCarthy
• Publicly accused people of disloyalty without providing evidence
The Red Scare
• There are communists in our town!
• Communist’s Goal: remove members of the town and send them to the USSR for re-education.
• Towns People Goal: remove all communists from town
• How we play…
• At night, the communists will be asked to wake up and silently identify 1 person to send to the
USSR – especially the McCarthy’s
• At night, the McCarthy’s will be asked to wake up and silently identify 1 person that they believe is
a communist – I will either confirm or deny their accusation. If the person is a communist, the
McCarthy’s should accuse that person during the day without giving away their own identity.
• During the day, all towns people will have a chance to accuse fellow townspeople of communist
behaviors. You must have a reason to suspect someone and confront them in front of the entire
town. The town will vote and if agreed to, up to 2 people will be kicked out of town each day.
• End of Game: The game ends when either the communists have been completely removed from
the town or the communists have completely removed the town.
• Rules
• Be as quiet as humanly possible
• No peeking and NO CHEATING
Cold War – Let’s Review
• USSR strategy of “satellite” countries
• US strategy of “containment”
• Truman Doctrine
• Marshall Plan
• Germany tensions keep rising…
• Germany & Berlin divided
• Berlin airlift
• At home…
• The Red Scare - Federal Employee Loyalty Program, HUAC, spies &
McCarthy
• But the war is still cold… No shots have been fired.
Nuclear Weapons
• The nuclear arms race began…
• 1945 US has 1st atomic bomb
• 1949 USSR detonates their 1st atomic bomb
• 1954 US develops the hydrogen bomb (hydrogen bomb=500 atomic bombs)
• 1955 USSR creates the hydrogen bomb
• US & USSR competing to build the best, newest weapon
Korean War
• aka Truman’s War
• Post WWII, Korea split in
half at the 38th parallel:
• Soviet & China
support North Korea
• US and NATO support
South Korea
• DMZ: strip of land
dividing North and
South Korea at the
38th parallel; most
heavily militarized
border in the world
• After years of border
skirmishes, war broke out
1950-1953
Why does the US care so much
about Korea?
Korean War Results
• Many soldiers and civilians were injured:
• US – 36,000 soldiers killed
• South Korea – 1 million soldiers and civilians killed
• North Korea & China (combined) – 1.8 million soldiers and civilians
wounded or killed
• DMZ
• Most heavily militarized zone in the world
• US troops are still stationed in South Korea
• In 1953, 60% of the federal budget went to defense
Bay of Pigs
• Who? CIA trained Cuban exiles (yes, the US government trained them)
• What? Unsuccessful invasion of Cuba
• Where? Cuba
• When? April 17-19, 1961
• Why? Try to overthrow the Cuban government (Fidel Castro – new
communist Cuban dictator)
• So What?
• Approximately 100 exiles killed, remaining were held hostage
• After 20 months of negotiations, hostages were released in
exchange for $53 million in food and medicine
• Failed invasion a huge embarrassment to the new president - JFK