POST WORLD WAR II
THE COLD WAR
INTERESTING WWII TIDBITS:
• THE YALTA CONFERENCE
– Roosevelt and Churchill got a promise from Stalin
that free elections would be held in the countries in
Eastern Europe that were occupied by the Soviet
army
• THE NUREMBERG TRIALS
– Important Nazi leaders were tried and convicted by
an international tribunal for “crimes against
humanity”
– Revealed German atrocities to the world
– Reaffirmed that not just a country, but individuals
were accountable for violations of international law
Continued…
• Hideki Tojo
– was the prime minister of Japan who convinced
Emperor Hirohito to attack the U.S. at Pearl Harbor
– After being found guilty at his trial for war crimes,
he was executed after the war
• Albert Einstein
– Played a key role in developing the atomic bomb
– He had fled Germany after Hitler came to power
and came to the U.S.
– During the war, he feared Germany was
developing atomic weapons
Continued…
• The destruction of WWII was unparalleled
– As many as 70 million people died
– Much of Europe and Asia was in ruins
– Germany, Italy, and Japan were occupied and
turned into democratic nations
– Brought about the end of imperialism in Africa
and Asia
– Cost more than two trillion dollars
UNITED NATIONS
• Replaced the League of Nations
• Guaranteed the security of member
nations
• Fostered good will through equal rights
• Encouraged economic, cultural, and
humanitarian cooperation
NATO
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
was a military alliance
– Formed in April 1949
– Original members: Belgium, Luxembourg,
France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy,
Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, the
United States, and Canada
– Sought security during the Cold War
OTHER ALLIANCES
• The Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union, Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland, and Romania
• SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization): U.S., Great Britain, France,
Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines,
Australia, and New Zealand
• CENTO (Central Treaty Organization):
Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Great Britain,
and U.S.
U.S. ACTIONS
THE MARSHALL PLAN
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
• Designed to rebuild the
• Stated that the U.S.
prosperity and stability of
would provide money
war-torn Europe
to countries
• Included economic
threatened by
recovery
Communist
expansion
NATIONAL POLICIES
• Western allies wanted to achieve security
by strengthening democracy
• Soviets wanted to establish pro-soviet
governments in Eastern Europe
• The “iron curtain”, a soviet-made barrier
that split Europe into communist and noncommunist countries, developed
• The U.S. implemented a policy of
“containment” or keeping communism
within its existing boundaries and prevent
further Soviet aggression.
KEY EVENTS OF THE COLD
WAR
The Berlin Blockade
• The soviets blocked allied
supplies from entering
Berlin (West Germany)
from June 1948-May 1949
• In 1949, the 3 western
zones merged into a new
independent state –
Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
• Stalin turned the Soviet zone into the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany)
THE BERLIN WALL
• In 1955, The
Berlin Wall was
built to prevent
East Germans
from escaping
through West
Berlin
Communist Revolution in China
• Chinese leader, Chiang Kai-Shek, had
united China in 1928
• After WWII, Mao Zedong led communist
forces against the nationalist government
• He was helped by the Soviets
• Mao won the support of the peasants
through land reform programs and finally
drove out Chiang
• Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan
and vowed to return to mainland China
CHINA UNDER MAO
• The Great Leap Forward – 1956, he
introduced a Five-Year Plan to turn China into
an industrial power. Used large population to
build dams, roads, and factories. Poor
planning and high costs caused economic
disaster (30-50 million died)
• Cultural Revolution – laid out his blueprint in
his “Little Red Book” to create the ideal
Communist society. Created Red Guards to
revitalize society, but they created a lot of
violence, instead (as many as 1 million died)
Korean War
• A fight to halt the spread of communism in
Korea
• A civil war attempting to reunite Korea,
fought by opposing regimes (the North
backed by Soviet forces and the South
backed by U.S. forces)
• June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953
Bay of Pigs
• Unsuccessful attempt by
American-backed Cuban
exiles to overthrow Fidel
Castro
• April 1961 (three months
after John F. Kennedy took
office as president)
• Further strained U.S. –
Cuban relations
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Soviets placed nuclear missiles in
Cuba as a threat to the U.S. and to offset
U.S. missiles placed in Turkey.
• 1962
Vietnam War
• A fight to halt the spread of communism in Viet Nam
by nationalist leader, Ho Chi Minh
• North Vietnam (Viet Cong) backed by communist
allies were opposed by the South Vietnamese rebels
backed by U.S. forces
• U.S. military advisors first arrived in 1950
• U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s and
combat units were deployed beginning in 1965
• The Tet Offensive in 1968 demonstrated the
strength of the Viet Cong
• A peace treaty was signed in 1973 by all parties and
the U.S. withdrew its troops
• 1975 Saigon fell to North Vietnam
Cambodia
• American withdrawal from Vietnam led to
the collapse of the government in
Cambodia
• Khmer Rouge (Cambodian Communists)
seized control
• Pol Pot (leader of Khmer Rouge) carried
out the genocide of city dwellers and other
opponents
• As many as four million died between
1975 and 1978
CHANGE IN THE SOVIET UNION
• Stalin died March 5, 1953 leaving power to a group
of leaders
• Nikita Krushchev emerged as the chief Soviet
policy maker and began a process of deStalinization. He implemented economic reforms
and loosened government controls on literary works.
• When Krushchev was removed from office in 1964,
Leonid Brezhnev emerged as the dominant leader
in the 1970s. He allowed soviets more access to
Western culture.
• A long period of stagnation (failure to advance)
began: there was little incentive to work, farms failed
to produce enough food, poor quality goods, and low
living standards – alcoholism, corruption
Problems for the Soviets
• Natan Sharansky
– Founded the Refusenik Movement
– Imprisoned for demanding human rights and
permission to emigrate
– Released in 1986 after 9 years in a concentration
camp
• Afghanistan
– Long, drawn-out war against local nationals
– Tied up large numbers of forces and soldier deaths
– USSR’s “Vietnam”
The Gorbachev Years (1985-1991)
• In March 1985, communist party leaders chose
Mikhail Gorbachev to lead the Soviet Union.
– He implemented economical and political
reforms known as perestroika
– Glasnost: greater openness of Soviet society,
released dissidents, eased restrictions on
Jews and others, began elections
– New Directions in foreign policy: withdrew
troops from Afghanistan, entered into talks
with President Reagan, permitted democratic
elections in Eastern Europe
Detente
• A relaxation of tensions between the U.S.
and Soviets
• 1972
FALL OF THE IRON CURTAIN
IN EASTERN EUROPE
• Poland led the way in the demand for
change
– Pope John Paul II (1st non-Italian Pope in 400
years) inspired other Poles to challenge the
status quo
– Lech Walesa organized an independent trade
union named Solidarity and led a strike of
workers which spread throughout Poland
– Poland became the first Eastern European
nation to elect a non-Communist government
Continued…
• This promoted a lifting of the “Iron Curtain”
in other places (East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, etc.)
• November 1989 – The Berlin Wall fell
• Free elections were held throughout
Eastern Europe which brought nonCommunist governments to power
Changes, continued
• Gorbachev resigned on December 15, 1991,
and turned over responsibility to Boris Yeltsin
who became the new president of Russia (the
Soviet Union had ceased to exist when a
number of Soviet republics voted for
independence).
• Yeltsin resigned at the end of 1999 and was
replaced by Vladimir Putin who was elected
president in 2000. The economy greatly
improved due to his reforms.
CHANGES TO GERMANY AND CHINA
• Germany was reunited
– Helmut Kohl (West German leader) helped
negotiate the reunification
• China introduced free enterprise gradually
without abandoning their monopoly of
political power
– Deng Xiaoping took over after Mao’s death
– His goal was to modernize China