The Cold War 1945-The Cold War 1945-19911991

What was the Cold War?

• Cold War was a time of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union

• It was called “Cold” because there was no actual battles between the two superpowers.

YALTA (in the USSR)YALTA (in the USSR)Date: Feb 1945Date: Feb 1945

Present: Churchill, Present: Churchill, Roosevelt and StalinRoosevelt and Stalin

• Discussed Germany’s terms of surrender

• Split Germany into 4 zones

• Discussed war trials

POTSDAM (Germany)POTSDAM (Germany)Date: July 1945Date: July 1945

Present: Churchill, Present: Churchill, Truman and StalinTruman and Stalin

• Finalized plans from Yalta conference

• Transferred power to Allied Power generals

Iron CurtainIron Curtain – – A term used by A term used by Winston Winston

Churchill Churchill to describe the to describe the separating of separating of Those Those

communistcommunistlands of East lands of East Europe from Europe from

the the West. West.

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• 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.

• Divided East and West Berlin

• Became a symbol of the Cold War

Truman

Doctrine

US Foreign PolicyContainment: The

Policy of preventing

The spread of

communism

Helped struggling nations like

Greece and Turkey that

are threatened by communist

expansion Marshall

Plan

Provided

aid to

help rebuild

Europe

What were the Soviets doing?

The Same Thing!!!!

Berlin Blockade• Stalin blocked off all

roads, railways and rivers connecting Berlin and West

Germany

What are Truman’s

options?

Berlin Airlift!!!

• Over 5,000 supplies

Were carried into West

Berlin.

• Lasted almost a year

• May 1949, Stalin

lifted the blockade

Communist China

• 1949 Mao Zedong set up the People’s Republic of China

• Between China and Soviet Union, almost ¼ of Earth’s surface was communist

Deadliest dictator

in history

1949: Soviets test their own atomic weapon

Cold War Alliances

Warsaw Pact

• Alliance with the Soviet Union

• Promote and spread the ideals of communism

North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)

• Alliance with the United States

• Prevent the spread of communism and spread ideals of democracy

Korean War

• After WWII, Korea is divided at the 38th parallel

• North Korea controlled by Communist government

• June 1950, North Koreans cross the 38th parallel.

• Truman asks UN to step in

• U.N. troops (made up of 90% Americans)

defend South Korea• Under General

MacArthur, UN able to push North Koreans back…but is this enough?

• MacArthur wanted to punish North Koreans for their aggression and pushed troops up through North Korea.

• Who is this going to upset?

Truman vs. MacArthur

• MacArthur wanted to invade China

• Truman feared this would start another World war

• MacArthur spoke out against Truman and is later “fired”

• What role of the President allows this?

Commander

In

Chief!!!

Cease Fire

• Under President Eisenhower a cease-fire was signed in July 1953.

• 54,000 Americans die• Billions of Dollars

spent• North and South

Korea would remain divided at 38th parallel

THE COST IN HUMAN LIFE

Casualties in the Korean War

780,000500,000

70,000

30,000

4,500

NK & Chinese soldiersand civilians

SK civilians

SK soldiers

USA soldiers

Other UN soldiers

US & North Korean Relations• North Korea still remains threat today• April 13th, 2012: Rocket launch deemed a huge failure for new

dictator Kim Jong-un• Has one of the world’s largest standing armies, but relies on outside

sources to feed its people• 2010: North Korea shelled a South Korean island, killing civilians• DMZ considered “Scariest place on Earth” but still attracts

approximately 6.5 million tourists a year

Kim Jong II

Fashion Icon or raging lunatic?

Korean War Memorial

• The memorial includes 19 various statues that are over 7 feet tall. • These statues commemorate the branches of the military and

include the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. • They also include most ethnicities such as African American,

Caucasian, Native American, Hispanic, and Asian.• The southern area of the memorial is lined with rows of Rose of

Sharon hibiscus plants because this is the national flower of South Korea.

• Representing the difficult terrain that the soldiers encountered are the juniper bushes and representing the many obstacles that the soldiers had to conquer are the granite stripes.

Struggle over Countries

• US and Soviet Union struggled over nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America

• Both the Soviets and the US gave aid to these nations, hoping to influence them

Philippines

• Philippines granted independence on July 4, 1946

• Communist rebels attempted to gain power, but were defeated

• In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos became President

India and Southeast Asia

• In 1947, India gained independence from Britain

• India divided into two nations; India and Pakistan

• Pakistan became an ally of the US

• India remained neutral but accepted money from both superpowers

African Nations

• More than 30 nations gained independence in the 50’s and 60’s

• US and Soviet Union competed for allies, providing economic and military support

• Superpowers fueled many civil wars in Africa

Latin America

• Throughout the Cold War, American Presidents supported dictators because they were anti-communist

• Latin America were angry with the US for using the “Big Stick Policy”

Domino Theory

• The idea that if one country in Southeast Asia falls to communism, neighboring nations will too.