WWII: Bell Ringers - April 21 What were the Nuremburg Trials? Trials set up by the Allies (International Military Tribunal) to make sure the NAZIs were punished for their crimes for waging a war of aggression and crimes against humanity. What does Demilitarization mean? General MacArthur was determined to ensure fighting would end. So he began a process of disbanding the Japanese armed forces, leaving the Japanese with only a small police force. Cold War: What did the Truman Doctrine state? March 1947 It said that the U.S. would aid any nation trying to avoid becoming communist. The aid could be economic or military in nature. Explain the Berlin Blockade & Airlift of 1948-49. In an effort to force West Berlin to be turned over to East Germany, a Soviet Economic blockade of West Berlin was enacted. In response, the U.S., French & British conducted a massive airlift of supplies to West Berlin over many months. Conditions were difficult in West Berlin, but the blockade became increasingly ineffective in light of the Western response. Soviets called it off in 1949.
The Cold War (1945-1991)
The United Nations (1945) U.S. & Soviet Union temporarily set aside their differences to join 48 other countries in forming the United Nations International org aimed at protecting the members against aggression Based in New York 50 nations that signed pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war UN charter established the General Assembly Each UN member could cast its vote on a broad range of issues 11-member body called the Security Council had the real power to solve & investigate disputes 5 permanent members of the Security Council =Britain, China, France, U.S. & USSR.
The Cold War represented an ideological conflict between the U.S. & its allies on the one side & the Soviet Union & its allies on the other. This conflict spanned the globe & involved many proxy wars. Post WWII Stalin & the Soviets wanted a strong Communist state & protection against renewed invasion from the west FDR & the U.S. wanted a democratic world led by his country
Winston Churchill s Iron Curtain Speech 1946 At the end of WWII Soviet forces occupied ALL of Eastern Europe & much of the Balkans By 1947 Communist governments became established in E. Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria & Romania Tensions between East/West developed over Vienna, Berlin, & Czechoslovakia 1946 speech at Westminster College, former British PM Churchill said an iron curtain had fallen upon Europe, dividing communist countries in E. Europe from free countries in the west. The Grand Alliance was over; the Yalta system had broken down
The Division of Berlin into Eastern & Western Sectors At war s end, Berlin was divided into 4 sectors: 1) French sector 2) British sector 3) American sector 4) Russian Sector Although each of the 4 powers administered its own sector, movement between each sector was to be free, in keeping with agreements made at war s end.
The Truman Doctrine In response to communist insurgencies in Greece and Turkey, U.S. President Harry Truman said in March 1947 that the U.S. would aid any nation trying to avoid becoming communist This aid could be economic &/or military in nature Insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents (nations at war).
The Containment Theory This theory, 1 st articulated in the journal Foreign Affairs July 1947, stated that the best way to thwart communism in the world was toe keep it from spreading in the first place Former U.S. diplomat George Kennan was the main proponent of this theory
The Marshall Plan Aka European Recovery Plan 1 st articulated by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall in a speech given @ Harvard Uni. In 1947 Promised a massive economic aid program for western Europe Very successful! It went a long way towards helping West European nations recover from the destruction caused by WWII.
The Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49) In an effort to force West Berlin to be turned over to East Germany, the Soviets launched an economic blockade of West Berlin in 1948 In response, the U.S., French & British conducted a massive airlift of supplies to W. Berlin over many months Conditions were difficult in West Berlin, but the blockade became increasingly ineffective in light of the Western response As a result, the Soviets decided to call off the blockade in 1949
The Formation of NATO (1949) & The Warsaw Pact (1955) In order to protect western nations from possible Soviet aggression, Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (or NATO) in 1949 Several years later, the communist bloc in Eastern Europe formed the Warsaw Pact Both of these orgs were primarily military in nature, but they also had political ramifications as well The U.S. led NATO whereas the Soviet Union led the Warsaw Pact
Chinese Civil War: Mao & the Communists win by 1949 The Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong eventually defeated the Nationalists led by Jiang Jieshi & took control of the Chinese mainland The Nationalists fled to Taiwan, where they established a separate gov t For many years, the Nationalist gov t in Taiwan was recognized as China s sole legitimate gov t by the U.N.
Korean communists under Kim Il Jung invade South Korea in June 1950 U.S. comes to S. Korea s aid & pushes back the North Koreans back past the 38 th parallel up toward the Chinese border General Douglas MacArthur is overall commander of the U.S. forces in Korea at first MacArthur & Truman disagree about whether the U.S. & U.N. forces should go across the Yalu River (the border with China); Truman eventually relieves MacArthur of command The Korean War
The Chinese Communists come to N. Korea s aid & the U.S. & its U.N. allies are pushed back The Russians also assist N. Koreans, esp. with aircraft By July 1953 a stalemate has ensued & a ceasefire is agreed to by all parties From that time N. Korea has remained communist while the South has stayed anti-communist In the 1980s South Korea evolved into a democracy; it could also boast of a thriving economy The Korean War
The French defeat @ Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam (1954) After WWII France tried to reestablish its colony in Indochina Vietnamese forces led by Communist leader Ho Chi Minh were able to oust the French from northern Vietnam A key battle in this move toward independence was the epic battle of Dien Bien Phu, where the Vietnamese Gen. Giap was able to compel a determined French foe to surrender in a remote valley The Geneva Conference (1954) temporarily divided Vietnam South Vietnam remained anticommunist while the North was controlled by the Communists This event takes place in the First Indochina War
Khrushchev s De-Stalinization Speech (1956) After Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev took over as leader of the USSR He sought peaceful coexistence with the West 1956 speech at a Communist Party Congress, he denounced Stalin for his crimes A cultural thaw set in in Russia & the Eastern Bloc; Khrushchev seemed more tolerant than Stalin Later, in 1956, such hopes were dashed when Warsaw Pact nations, under Soviet leadership, crushed an uprising in Hungary
Sputnik & the Space Race In the late 1950s the Russians seemed to be leading the West in the Space Race The U.S.S.R. was the 1 st to launch 1 st an unmanned satellite (Sputnik), then a manned rocket (w/yuri Gargarin aboard) into space The U.S. became very concerned & tried to catch up In 1958 NASA is created!
The Cold War (Continued) Lets Review: Timeline 1945: The United Nations is formed 1946: Churchill s Iron Curtain Speech 1947: Communist governments became established in E. Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria & Romania 1947: The Truman Doctrine 1947: The Marshall Plan (aka. European Recovery Plan) 1948-49: The Soviet (economic) Blockade of Berlin and Airlift 1949: Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 1949: The Communists win the civil war in China & push the Nationalists to Taiwan 1950: The Korean War begins 1953: A stalemate has ensued & a ceasefire is agreed to by all parties in Korea 1953: Stalin dies and Nikita Khrushchev is the new leader of the U.S.S.R. 1954: The 1 st Indochina War (French defeat @ Dien Bien Phu) 1955: The Warsaw Pact 1956: Khrushchev's De-Stalinization Speech 1957: The Soviets launch Sputnik (unmanned satellite) into orbit (The Space Race) 1958: U.S. creates National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Fidel Castro and his Communist supporters seize power in Cuba Question: Where is Cuba located on a map? Directly below Florida -In the late 1950s Fidel Castro and his supporters ousted the dictator Batista from power in Cuba -Soon Castro began to change Cuban society dramatically and showed himself to be a Communist -The Soviet Union gave him aid -Cuban exiles in the U.S. esp. worked on plans to overthrow Castro
The Berlin Wall (built in 1961) -Concerned because of a continued exodus of its citizens to the West, particularly of a brain drain, the Communist East German government decided to erect a wall separating East and West Berlin -Despite Western protests, East German citizens were prevented from going to Western Europe through West Berlin; those that tried risked getting killed at the border Question: What does a brain drain mean? The young educated/smart people were emigrating from the east to the west and this concerned the Communist party.
Berlin Wall (continued) -For almost 30 years, the Berlin Wall (aka Die Mauer) would stand as a symbol of the divide between East and West -Troops in guard towers prevented East Germans from approaching no-man s land before the Wall while on the Western side tourists would go up on platforms where they could gawk at events on the other side; westerners could also go to East Berlin on daypasses -Within a few years, East German authorities tore down buildings near the border to make it harder for people to escape via tunnels and other methods
Checkpoint Charlie -One of the betterknown crossing points was at Checkpoint Charlie -Today, a Cold War museum is found at Checkpoint Charlie
The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1961) -Shortly after taking office, U.S. President John F. Kennedy backed an amphibious landing in the Bay of Pigs by Cuban exiles hoping to overthrow Castro -The landing & hoped-for insurrection fail; a few months later, the U.S.S.R. sends missiles to Cuba -The U.S. enforces a naval blockade of Cuba to force the Soviets to withdraw these missiles -The crisis is ended when the missiles are withdrawn
The Vietnam War (1965-1973) -After the French left Vietnam, the U.S. became drawn into the conflict -After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1963), the U.S. committed hundreds of thousands of men and millions of dollars towards fighting the North Vietnamese & their allies in the South, the Viet Cong -The U.S. had mixed results on the battlefield -By 1973 the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops and by 1975 the South had fallen to the Communists The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose government was considered to be jeopardized by communist aggression." The resolution served as Johnson's legal justification for deploying U.S. conventional forces and the commencement of open warfare against North Vietnam.
The Domino Theory -One of the reasons the U.S. became so involved in Vietnam was the belief of many American policymakers in the Domino Theory -This theory stated that if one country fell to communism, it was more likely that other countries would fall in turn -Belief in this theory largely overcame the fact that Vietnam was strategically not so important to the U.S.
An example of the Domino Theory in East Asia
The Soviets become mired in Afghanistan (1979-1989) Question: What is a war of attrition? A prolonged war or period of conflict during which each side seeks to gradually wear out the other by a series of small-scale actions. One side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and material. The war will usually be won by the side with greater such resources. -In the 1980s the Soviets fight a war of attrition in Afghanistan -We engage in covert action in support of the rebels, many of whom were Islamists -By the late 1980s the Soviets, exhausted and demoralized, withdraw
The Rise of the Solidarity Union in Poland -Communist control of Eastern Europe begins to crack in the early 1980s -One of the major forces behind this crumbling of support for the Soviet system is the Solidarity movement in Poland, led by Lech Walesa in Gdansk - It was the first non-communist Party controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. -Solidarity reached 9.5 million members before its September 1981 Congress that constituted one third of the total working age population of Poland. -In the 1980s, Solidarity was a broad antibureaucratic social movement, using the methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change. -In its clandestine years, the U.S. provided significant financial support for Solidarity, estimated to be as much as 50 million US dollars.
Gorbachev attempts to reform the U.S.S.R. -Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev attempts to reform the U.S.S.R. -The cornerstone of his reforms: Glasnost (political opening) and perestroika (economic restructuring) -These reforms are only partially successful
The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) -In 1989 East Germany collapses -The Berlin Wall is torn down -Within a couple of years, Germany is reunited
The Collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) -The Soviet system itself collapses in 1991 -The U.S.S.R. breaks up into Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc. -Boris Yeltsin takes over as the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. -The Cold War is over