The Cold War Begins
A Quick Review In 1917, there was a REVOLUTION in Russia And the Russian Tsar was overthrown and executed by communist revolutionaries led by Vladimir Lenin And NEW NATION The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Was established And Josef Stalin became the dictator in 1922 If I refer to Soviets, Russians, or the people of the USSR I am referring to the SAME PEOPLE.
The Nazi Retreat from the East At the height of Nazi domination of Europe, Hitler s forces had taken control of much of Eastern Europe This is largely were the HOLOCAUST occurred. After Hitler s failed attack on the Soviet Union, his forces retreated from Eastern Europe And those nations were said to be liberated by the Red Army What really happened, however, is that all of those countries Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, etc. Went from Nazi domination to Soviet domination.
The Yalta Conference In the closing months of the war, Roosevelt, Stalin & Churchill had their final meeting To discuss the shape of postwar Europe. Two countries dominated the discussion: Germany and Poland. It was agreed that Germany would be divided into four zones: A British, French and American zone WEST GERMANY And a Soviet zone EAST GERMANY. It was also agreed that free and fair elections be allowed in Poland Which at the time was currently occupied by the Soviet Red Army.
West Germany East Germany
West Berlin East Berlin
The United Nations The final development of the Yalta Conference was the establishment of the United Nations And unlike the old League of Nations, the US agreed to join. The UN seeks to PREVENT CONFLICT And to END CONFLICTS that do break out. All member nations belong to the General Assembly And the US, the USSR, Great Britain, France & China were given seats on the Security Council Whose members hold permanent VETO power.
What is the primary purpose of the United Nations? A.) to oversee the US military. B.) to promote world peace. C.) to fight communism. D.) to feed the hungry.
These nations had formed an alliance to defeat Nazi Germany And when the war ended, found themselves to be the only two great powers left standing. Unfortunately, it was almost immediately clear that they would be ENEMIES from that point forward. The US is committed to free enterprise DEMOCRACY Free speech Freedom of religion & freedom of the press RULE OF LAW The USSR was COMMUNIST; it opposed free enterprise It was a DICTATORSHIP News was controlled by the government Religion was essentially illegal And criticism of the government was DEADLY. And the Soviets were quite clear: They wished to spread this system to every nation in the world. The US and the USSR
Back to Eastern Europe When the Red Army liberated Eastern Europe from Nazi occupation It STAYED in Eastern Europe Which made Soviet domination of that part of the world very EASY to accomplish. The nations of Eastern Europe became known as SATELLITE STATES Technically free, with their own borders, governments, money, etc., But also under the TOTAL CONTROL of Josef Stalin.
During the Cold War era, the socalled "satellite" nations of the Soviet Union... A.) were free and independent. B.) were united against the threat of communist takeover. C.) were controlled by the Soviet Union. D.) were primarily in Western Europe.
Poland At the Yalta Conference, Stalin had agreed to allow elections in Poland But the elections were delayed for two years During which time, he took control of Poland using the same tactics that Hitler and Mussolini had used to take over Germany and Italy With a savage secret police force, all opposition was SILENCED And when elections finally did take place A communist government was elected in Poland.
And the Rest Bulgaria fell under the control of the communists in 1944 Albania in 1944 East Germany in 1945 Hungary in 1947 Romania in 1947 Czechoslovakia in 1948.
The Iron Curtain In March, 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at Fulton College in St. Louis He declared An iron curtain has descended across the European continent The term Iron Curtain was used for the rest of the COLD WAR Which is defined as: The struggle between the US and the USSR to PROMOTE and SPREAD their EXACTLY OPPOSITE ideas about the nature of government and the importance of human freedom.
Winston Churchill's use of the phrase "iron curtain" was meant to describe... A.) the geographic isolation of Great Britain. B.) the Berlin Wall. C.) United States foreign policy. D.) the division between communism and freedom in Europe.
Turkey and Greece The first Cold War hotspot occurred simultaneously in Turkey and Greece Where Soviet-supported communist revolutions broke out in 1947. Both nations were then under the control of the MIGHTY BRITISH EMPIRE Britain responded by EVACUATING And on their way out, suggested that the US take over. This was end of Great Britain as a SUPERPOWER And the BEGINNING for the United States of America.
The Truman Doctrine In response to communist aggression against Greece and Turkey President Truman announced a new foreign policy: CONTAINMENT. The US would allow the Soviet Union to KEEP the nations it took over after World War Two But the US would devote the full strength of its ECONOMY and its MILITARY To PREVENTING further communist expansion ANYWHERE in the world.
The "Truman Doctrine" of "containment" was issued with the purpose of... A.) preventing the spread of communism. B.) eliminating communism. C.) promoting communism. D.) ignoring communism.
The first place that containment was strongly tested was in Western Europe. Which had been largely DESTROYED in WW2 Factories, hospitals, highways, bridges GONE. Farmland: RUINED. 20 million people: HOMELESS. Food & medicine: IN SEVERE SHORTAGE. And American leaders were concerned that if we did not offer help in rebuilding The Soviets WOULD And in the process TAKE OVER THE REST OF THE CONTINENT. Rebuilding Europe
In response to the DIRE SITUATION in Europe Congress approved the MARSHALL PLAN Which involved $15 billion in loans and grants to the nations of Western Europe. Money was also offered to communistcontrolled Eastern Europe But Stalin refused to allow those nations to accept it. The Marshall Plan
The Effects of the Marshall Plan Western Europe was WILDLY GRATEFUL for the money And US assistance had the effect of turning those nations AGAINST COMMUNISM. Also, most of the money was SPENT IN THE UNITED STATES Which kickstarted a TREMENDOUS ECONOMIC EXPANSION in this county. The plan was a SMASHING SUCCESS.
The MOST IMPORTANT aim of the Marshall Plan was to... A.) rebuild Europe. B.) prevent Soviet takeover of Western Europe. C.) prevent Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe. D.) promote Soviet-American peace.
By 1948, Berlin had become an ESCAPE TUNNEL for anybody wanting to flee Stalin s murderous communist regime If you were living in Poland or Hungary or Romania Any of the SATELLITE STATES under Russia s control You could travel to EAST BERLIN Sneak into WEST BERLIN Which was the FREE WORLD And then you could get on a plane and fly anywhere you wanted to go. Tens of thousands of people took this step. But this made communism and the worker s paradise look bad And so Stalin had to act. Germany
The Berlin Blockade Stalin s plan to shut down the escape route was to order a surface blockade of West Berlin Cutting off West Berliners from supplies. This caused immediate SHORTAGES And shortages cause shortages to GET WORSE And so the West Berliners began to STARVE And Stalin promised West Berliners ALL THE SUPPLIES THEY COULD POSSIBLY NEED If only the US agreed to turn West Berlin over to the USSR.
The US could have smashed through the Soviet blockade And attempted to enter West Berlin by force Thereby starting World War THREE So Truman ordered supplies into West Berlin by AIR Which delivered 13,000 tons of food per day And Stalin could have ordered the planes SHOT DOWN Thereby starting World War THREE And so the deliveries went on for TEN MONTHS Until Stalin, admitting defeat, lifted the blockade. The Berlin Airlift