The Early Cold War 1947 1970 Yalta February

The Early Cold War: 1947 -1970

Yalta- February 1945 • Russia Agrees to help us end the war with Japan • Germany is divided up (berlin too) • Eastern European countries “ given” to Stalin ( he has to allow them to have free elections- we call these areas BUFFER STATES • Korea is divided among the 38 th parallel

Potsdam Conference: July, 1945 y FDR dead, Churchill out of office as Prime Minister during conference. y Stalin only original. y The United States has the A-bomb. y Allies agree Germany is to be divided into occupation zones y Poland moved around to suit the Soviets. P. M. Clement Atlee President Truman Joseph Stalin

What is the point of these meetings? • We start to see USA and USSR emerge as the superpowers • We see them both making decisions for post war Europe • We see post war Easter Europe and North Korea under Soviet Control • We see the US has nuclear weapons and USSR doesn’t

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 © 70, 000 killed immediately. © 48, 000 buildings. destroyed. © 100, 000 s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later.

Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 © 40, 000 killed immediately. © 60, 000 injured. © 100, 000 s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later.

The De-Colonization of European Empires

The Emergence of Third World Nationalist Movements

• While the 1 st world countries ( Europe, USSR and USA) were fighting the World Wars their colonies were fighting to get free • The result was lots of brand new baby countries… • What do you need when you start off as a country?

The Creation of the U. N.

The U. S. & the U. S. S. R. Emerged as the Two Superpowers of the later 20 c

The Ideological Struggle Soviet & Eastern Bloc Nations [“Iron Curtain”] US & the Western Democracies GOAL “Containment” of GOAL spread world. Communism & the eventual wide Communism collapse of the Communist world. This guy coined the term Here is how it went down: [George Kennan] « Espionage [KGB vs. CIA] « Arms Race [nuclear escalation] « Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars” « Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

The Bipolarization of Europe

The “Iron Curtain” From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe. -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

George Kennan [“X Article”]: CONTAINMENT Goals 1. Restoration of the balance of power to the West- making Europe strong again 2. Reduction of Soviet ability influence other countries

Truman Doctrine [1947] The U. S. should support free peoples throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by armed minorities or outside pressures…We must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. Which means?

Marshall Plan [1948] 1. The U. S. should provide aid to all European nations that need it. This move is not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. 1. $12. 5 billion of US aid to Western Europe

Post-War Germany

Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948 -49)

The Arms Race: A “Missile Gap? ” } The Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949. } Now there were two nuclear superpowers!

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) v United States v Luxemburg v Belgium v Netherlands v Britain v Norway v Canada v Portugal v Denmark v 1952: Greece & v France v Iceland v Italy Turkey v 1955: West Germany v 1983: Spain

Warsaw Pact (1955) } } U. S. S. R. Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia } } East Germany Hungary Poland Rumania

Premier Nikita Khrushchev About the capitalist states, it doesn't depend on you whether we (Soviet Union) exist. If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations, and don't De-Stalinization invite us to come Program to see you. Whether you like it our not, history is on our side. We will bury you. -- 1956

Mao’s Revolution: 1949 Who lost China? – A 2 nd } Power!

Korean War [1950 -1953]

The Korean War: A “Police Action” (1950 -1953) Kim Il-Sung Syngman Rhee “Domino Theory”

The Shifting Map of Korea [1950 -1953]

Sputnik I (1957) The Russians have beaten America in space—they have the technological edge!

U-2 Spy Incident (1960) Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was shot down over Soviet airspace.

Paris, 1961 Khrushchev & JFK meet to discuss Berlin and nuclear proliferation. Khrushchev thinks that JFK is young, inexperienced, and can be rolled.

The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961) Checkpoint Charlie

Ich bin ein Berliner! (1963) President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them!

Khruschev Embraces Castro, 1961

Bay of Pigs Debacle (1961)

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and the other man blinked!

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Vietnam War: 1965 -1973

Gulf of Tonkin August 4, 1964 ish • Vietnam War? Never happened

US Troops

The Ground War 1965 -1968 • • Viet Cong supplies over the Ho Chi Minh Trail List difficulties with a jungle war

Air War Ø 1965: Sustained bombing of North Vietnam Ø Operation Rolling Thunder (March 2, 1965) Ø 1966 -68: Ongoing bombing of Hanoi nonstop for 3 years! Esp. targets the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Ø Downed Pilots: P. O. W. s Ø Carpet Bombing – napalm

Napalm • Burning vegetation and children

Tet Offensive Jan 31, 1968 • What did it prove?