unit 4: The Cold War Vocabulary & Important People 1. Cold War: the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990. 2. Harry Truman: the President of the United states at the beginning of the cold war; his term in office ended in 1953 when he was followed. 3. George Marshall: Secretary of State in the United States. Creator of the Marshall Plan [see Vocab #7]. 4. The Soviet Bloc [Seven Soviet Satellites]: 7 countries that were occupied by the Soviets that, together, cut Russia off from the rest of Europe. 5. Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech: a speech given in Missouri, USA in March, 1946, by the leader of Britain that described how the Soviets were, basically, up to no good, as they had invaded the Seven Soviet Satellites. This speech had a great impact on America as the people were shocked that their former ally (from WWII - they joined to stop Hitler) was now becoming an enemy, and that Truman's "get tough" approach was the right one to take. It was this speech, along with Stalin's "Two Hostile Camps" Speech that is argued to have begun the tensions that led to the Cold War as they revealed the deterioration of the relationship between the two powers. 6. Stalin's "Two Hostile Camps" Speech: a speech given by the leader of communist Russia to voters in Moscow in February, 1946, stating that the world had now divided into two distinct groups; the Communists, and the Democratic Capitalists. He felt that because of the distinctiveness of these two groups, war was inevitable. This had an impact on the Soviets, as they now saw the other group as an enemy, and American's were worried that war may indeed be inevitable. It was this speech, along with Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech that is argued to have begun the tensions that led to the Cold War as they revealed the deterioration of the relationship between the two powers. 7. Containment (1947): this was the defensive American policy with the goal to contain communism (not allow it to spread to other countries); it was hoped that perhaps communism may fall with the loss of support from the super-country (USA), or, at the very least, would stay where it was and not interfere with the democratic capitalist progression. America believed in the domino effect - if one small country is taken over by communists, then so will another, and 28
another, and soon communism will try and take the world. There were many movements and groups formed that relate to the policy of containment: o Trading and Treaties: The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan: a plan developed by George Marshall in 1947 that offered to aid all countries (including those in the Soviet Bloc at the time) that were devastated by war. America would agree to trade with these countries through import and export, and exchange these countries would have to agree to NEVER consider practising communism (although they did NOT necessarily have to practice democracy or capitalism - for example, some were dictatorships - as long as they weren't communist). This plan was created in order to prevent the spread of communism by lending a hand to these struggling countries before they had a chance to turn to communism. Between 1948 and 1952, European countries accepted over $13 billion in aid, which resulted in political and economic stability for both Europe and the USA. Truman Doctrine: overall, it is the policy of fighting communism around the world as was introduced by Truman in 1947. Similar to the Marshall Plan, however includes a military agreement. If any countries were in need of military aid to fight off communism, it would be provided to them both in finances, and in soldiers. Truman gave a speech that was designed to get support for an American pledge of hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent the spread of communism in Europe. Molotov Plan: in response to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, this system was created by the Soviet Union in 1947 in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union. Like America, they also offered aid to countries who agree to practice communism. o Alliances: NATO and the Warsaw Pact. NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization]: In April 1949 was established, led by the United States it brought 12 countries together to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet bloc countries. An attack on one country would be an attack against all. NATO indicated the West s intent to meet Soviet expansion with collective resistance. Warsaw Pact: in reaction to the formation of NATO, a treaty of mutual defense and military aid was signed at Warsaw on May 14, 1955, by communist states of Europe under Soviet influence, in response to the admission of West Germany to NATO. The pact was dissolved in 1991. o Germany (Berlin) Conflicts: Splitting of Germany and Berlin (Airlift, Blockade and Wall) Splitting of Germany & Berlin: after World War II, Germany was taken under control by four powers: France, America, Britain, and Russia (The first three later joining to create West Germany [The Federal Republic of Germany] in May 1948; Russia then becoming East Germany [German Democratic Republic] in October 1948). While Berlin was located completely within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi 29
- government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into the same sectors that later came down to West Berlin (capitalist) and East Berlin (communist). Berlin Blockade: when, in 1948, the Soviets cut off all links from East Berlin (communist) to West Berlin (capitalist). This included the railway, canal, and roads. The hope of the Soviets was to make West Berlin desperate enough to join with the East under communism. The Western Powers then responded with the Berlin Airlift. Berlin Airlift: Britain and the U.S. responded to the blockade with a massive airlift, meaning, they flew in all the supplies needed by West Germany by plane. 24 hours a day for 11 months thousands of tonnes of supplies were flown into West Germany until the Soviets lifted the Blockade, as it was pointless - the Americans had found a way around it. By standing up to the Soviets in reacting this way during the Blockade, the West demonstrated their resolve to stand up to the Soviets. The blockade strengthened the West s ties to West Germany, however heightened tensions towards the East - the Soviets then left the United Nations in 1950. Berlin Wall: A fortified and heavily guarded wall built on the boundary between East and West Berlin in 1961 by the communist authorities, chiefly to curb the flow of East Germans to the West. It was opened in November 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime in East Germany and subsequently was dismantled (as a result with the collapse of Communist Russia - Vocab #15). 8. Uniting for Peace Resolution: a resolution from the U.N. (United Nations) that gave the General Assembly power to deal with issues of international aggression if the security Council is deadlocked. - 9. Veto: The right to reject a proposal or forbid an action by a law-making body (ie. a government). - 30
10. Korean War: a war between North and South Korea; South Korea was aided by the United States and other members of the United Nations from 1950-1953. o General MacArthur: a celebrated General in the American Army from WWI and WWI; however, his reputation diminished in Korea as he pushed past the 38th parallel after successfully restoring Southern Korea to its original state. He was relieved of his duties in 1951 by Truman for this act. Below are the main points of the History of the Korean War: After WWII, the once Japanese controlled Korea was divided into North Korea (of the Soviets) and South Korea (Americans), divided at the 38th parallel. It was planned to later reunite them, however, like Vietnam and Germany, that never happened, and the nations instead adopted the political systems of those with control over them. Both Korean governments claimed to speak for all Korea as each leader wanted to unify the country under his rule. Neither country could gain admission into the UN because each was vetoed by the opposing superpower. The North and the South became more deeply divided and increasingly hostile. War broke out in June 1950 when Northern forces crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the South. Truman promised American military support against any act of communist expansion in Asia. The U.S introduced the Uniting for Peace Resolution at the U.N., demanding that the North withdraw from the South. It was agreed that something should be done about this, and the Soviets couldn't argue with it because they had drawn out of the U.N. (because of an issue concerning U.N. representatives from China). With the Soviets out the U.N., the Security Council approved military action against the North ONLY to restore the South. This marked the first time the U.N. ever fought as one united force - an army united from all U.N. countries, led by the United States. Early in the war the North had many successes, but then the American led UN forces successfully counter-attacked in a risky manoeuvre developed by MacArthur. MacArthur pursued the North Koreans across the 38th parallel, and wanted to go further, even into China. However, President Truman (not wanting a WWIII) ordered him to halt as the UN resolution only gave them authority to restore South Korea. For the rest of the war the battle lines shifted back and forth as a stalemate developed. In July 1953 a truce was reached the country remained divided at the 38th parallel. To this day, the nations are still technically at war, although there is no fighting. 31
The Korean War demonstrated the United Nations strength and limitations as a peacekeeping organization. It was involved in Korea because the U.S. decided it should be and the Soviets were not in a position to use its veto. Finally we saw how effective the U.N. could be when collective action is taken. The Korean War is a better example of American containment, rather than U.N. peacekeeping, for FIVE reasons: 1. If it was for peacekeeping, they would have stopped at the 38th parallel 2. MacArthur was heavily in charge and he was an American concerned about containment. 3. Truman was also heavily in charge, and he was also an American concerned about containment. 4. All troops were either American, or allies of the Americans. 5. The equipment was almost all American. 11. Vietnam War: a prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States. o Viet Cong: communists in South Vietnam who opposed the Diem (capitalist) government of the South. They were like an underground army fighting for the North, hidden amongst everyday people. o Viet Minh: Vietnamese nationalists who fought against the Japanese and French for Vietnam s independence. o Ho Chi Minh: leader of communist North Vietnam during the war. o Ho Chi Minh Trail: a trail, named after the nation s leader, whereby the Viet Cong and other communist fights could travel through neutral countries to enter South Korea at many points the entire length of the nation. This trail was patrolled by the American's, and was considered extremely dangerous as the Viet Cong looked like ordinary people, but yet would try and kill the soldiers unexpectedly. Below are the main points of the History of the Vietnam War: In 1953 a rebel group led by Ho Chi Minh overthrew the French dictator in control at the time, forcing France to lose control of the region. It was agreed at a peace conference to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel until elections could be held to reunite the country. Ho Chi Minh established communism in the North. Diem (emerging leader in South Vietnam) established an anti-communist government with the help of America. Diem would not allow free elections, so a Southern underground communist group that was currently not in power started receiving support from the North to try and overthrow the Southern government (Viet Cong). 32
The U.S. became involved following the policy of containment. From 1960 to 1965, the U.S. sent 500 000 troops to Vietnam. After the U.S. became involved, the communists were pushed back into the North. However, after they left in 1975 (because the war extremely unpopular in the public opinion of the U.S.A.), North Vietnam occupied the South, uniting the country under communism. More than a million Vietnamese were killed. The economies of the North and South were drained from the fighting, and the Americans failed in containing communism. The war proved that containment through military force was unworkable and that American military power was not invincible. Americans were divided over the war: anti-war protests, demonstrations often became violent, public burning of draft cards and American flags, and tens of thousands of Americans fled to Canada. The Vietnam War undermined the trust of Americans in their government, politicians and country. 57,000 Americans were killed; another 300,000 were wounded, and 2500 were listed as Missing in Action. Another 50,000 have committed suicide and larger numbers have battled substance abuse since returning home. Financially the U.S. spent $150 billion on the war effort. American prestige, popularity and support were diminished in many nations. 12. Cuban Missile Crisis: An international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the US and the Soviet Union. When the US discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island; the Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the US demands a week later. Below is an excerpt from Mr. Cowley's notes, listing the events that took place in Cuba: o The island of Cuba, 150 Km off the coast of Florida, had long been in the American sphere of influence; most of the wealth in Cuba belonged to American businesses. The U.S. supported Cuba s corrupt dictator, Batista, while the people lived in poverty. o In 1959 a young socialist named Fidel Castro overthrew Batista and took. Castro wanted to regain control of Cuba s economy, for Cubans; therefore he nationalized all privately owned businesses. o American investors were outraged (having lost approximately 1 billion dollars), and as a result President Eisenhower imposed a trade ban that continues to this day. o Castro succeeded in creating a first class health care and public education system. However his socialist policies pitted him against the United States. 33
o Castro s nationalization of American businesses resulted in souring Cuban-American relations. In need of economic and military support Castro found a friend in the Soviets who bought huge quantities of Cuban sugar and shipped military weapons to Cuba. o Threats from the U.S. and economic pressure pushed Cuba closer to the Soviets. o In April 1961 a small army of Cuban exiles, trained by the American CIA invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed as the invaders were quickly defeated, more importantly the invasion strengthened Cuba s ties to the Soviets. o In October 1962 American spy planes revealed that the Soviets were building missile bases in Cuba that could be used to launch nuclear weapons at the U.S. A nuclear war seemed likely. o President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba in order to keep supplies needed to complete the missile bases from reaching Cuba. Kennedy secretly sent his brother to meet with the Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. to present an ultimatum to the Soviets. o Remove the missiles by the following day or the U.S. would remove them by force. In return Kennedy guaranteed that the U.S. would not invade Cuba and that the U.S. would remove missiles, aimed at the USSR, in Turkey. o The crisis was over and both sides realized there could be no victory in a nuclear war. The crisis also demonstrated the need for better communication between the two countries as a result the famous hotline was established. 13. Détente: the relaxation of international tensions, specifically between the Soviets and Americans in the 1970's. 14. Ronald Reagan: Reagan: 40th President of the United States, who became president in 1981 in the middle of the Cold War. Star Wars: Strategic Defence Initiative, U.S. plan to destroy Soviet satellites and missiles while in flight. The US wanted to arm their satellites, which made because wonder, "Isn't that kind of like that movie that just came out, Star Wars?" 15. Gorbachev: became leader of the soviet Union in 1985. That same year, he introduced a large number of peace reforms with the rest of Europe which lead to the restoration of peace (ie. began the restoration of Germany [The Berlin Wall]); considered younger, better educated and open minded compared to previous Soviet leaders. He introduced the following two policie s which led to the downfall of collapse of Communist Russia and the Seven Soviet Satellites: Perestroika ("Restructuring"): the policy or practice of restructuring or reforming the economic and political system. 34
Started by Gorbachev, perestroika originally referred to increased automation and labor efficiency. Gorbachev identified the fact that the greatest threat to the Soviets was not an attack from the west, but rather the deterioration of their economy within the communist system. In the attempts to spread communism, the economy had been drained in military efforts. Gorbachev tried to combat this by leaning the economy towards a free market, however it backfired. Without the government support of communism, the prices of food and good sky-rocketed and supply levels depleted by 1990; as the economy worsened, so did living conditions: crime swept the country, health care unraveled, infant mortality rates rose and life expectancy declined, pollution levels created health hazards, alcoholism became the third most common cause of death. Glasnost ("Openness"): a policy of the Soviet government allowing freer discussion of social problems, initiated by Gorbachev. However, this also backfired: with the freedom glasnost, people who felt Gorbachev was not moving fast enough to bring changes to the USSR began to criticize him. At the same time old hard line communists opposed Gorbachev feeling he had already gone to far with reforms. Gorbachev feel from power, and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 (end of Communism in Russia) into it's original nations. By this time, as well, the Seven Soviet Satellites had already thrown over their communist leaders. THIS MARKED THE END OF THE COLD WAR. 35
Important Points Much of this is explained or can be assumed from the vocabulary, but below are summaries of key causes of the end of the Cold War that should be reviewed. End Of The Cold War o The two main factors that ended the Cold War are: The Soviet Union s withdrawal from Eastern Europe led to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The reunification of Germany in 1990 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ended the Cold War. o It ended quietly, rather than with nuclear war (as many had feared). However the new world order would bring new threats such as international terrorism. Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe Until 1985 the typical Soviet-American approach to international security was to talk about peace while continuing to increase their nuclear stockpile of weapons. Gorbachev changed this in 1985 with a series of peace initiatives: - He challenged the West to stop the arms race - At the U.N. he announced a reduction in Soviet armed forces, including a substantial number in Eastern Europe. - In 1988 the Soviets began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. - Arms talks that began with U.S. in 1986 led to agreements to destroy intermediate & short range nuclear missiles. - In 1989 he had FREE elections in the Soviet Union. For the satellite states in Eastern Europe, events in the Soviet Union led to the destruction of the communist system. Eager to seize the opportunity, countries in Eastern Europe began to claim their independence after 40 years of Soviet control. Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland rejected communism and introduced democracy and capitalism. Romania*, Bulgaria* and Albania* have all retained communism. Yugoslavia* rejected communism but plunged into civil war. *Each of these countries has either changed to democracy and capitalism or is in the process. Re-Unification of Germany The Berlin Wall symbolized the division of the world into opposing Cold War camps. On November 10, 1989 the world watched as East and West Berliners using sledgehammers demolished this wall. This event (more than any other) signified the end of the Cold War. The division of Germany had always been a central issue of the Cold War. When Gorbachev withdrew Soviet support from the East German communist government, in 1985, hopes of reunification grew. East Germans demonstrated for reform and as discontent grew the hard-line Communist leader was forced out of office for a more reform minded leader. This lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The leader of West 36
Germany, Helmut Kohl, proposed unification on the condition that East Germany holds free elections. The East German government was lukewarm in its response, however realizing they could no longer maintain power, free elections were held the next year. The East German people voted for a government that supported reunification. In July 1990, Kohl met with Gorbachev to remove Soviet objections to German reunification (Germany agreed to pay $9.5 billion to remove Soviet troops). On Sept. 12 the four nations that divided Germany at the end of WWII (France, USA, Britain, and the Soviets) signed a reunification treaty. East and West Germany were reunited on October 3, 1990. 37