The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by

"The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. " Harry S. Truman In 1986, Russia had 45, 000 nuclear weapons.

The Cold War The Split Between the East and the West

Life After WWII: The U. N. n n n During the Yalta Conference, the Allies had agreed to replace the ineffective League of Nations with the much stronger United Nations to act as a permanent peace-keeping force in the world. The U. N. : Guaranteed the security of its member nations Foster good relations among nations through equal rights and self-determination It encouraged global coop. on econ. , cultural, and humanitarian problems. In the post-war years the U. N. resolved many crises, however, it was powerless to resolve disputes b/w Am. and the S. U. (permanent members w/ veto power).

Soviet Suspicions n n n Throughout WWII, the Soviets suspected that the other Allied powers had decided to let Russ. bear the brunt of the war effort and to become involved only at the last minute so they could influence the peace settlement and dominate Euro. The U. S. and the S. U. emerged from WWII as the world’s two superpowers. No other countries were equal to them in military power or political influence. Misconceptions b/w Russ. and Am. that began during the Potsdam Conference created tensions between the Allied powers and would eventually lead to a “Cold War. ”

Allies Turned Arch Enemies n n “Expand I say!” After WWII, the W. Allies felt the best way to achieve global peace/security was through strengthen demo. and the econs. in Euro. The Soviets, however, had a different perspective: Historically, Russ. had been a target for invasion and this fear led Stalin to: Est. pro-Soviet govs. in E. Euro. and expand his empire.

The Iron Curtain n n “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic and iron curtain has descended across the continent of Europe. ” Winston Churchill www. bbc. co. uk/schools/gc sebitesize/history/mwh/ir 2 /sovietexpansionineasterne

The Iron Curtain www. johndclare. net/Word%20 documents/Cribsheets_AC_P

The Iron Curtain n n In Albania and Yugoslavia, Communists came to power w/ little Soviet help. In Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria, where Soviet troops were in full command, the S. U. made sure that government ministries included Communists. By 1947, most of the nations in E. Euro had become Soviet satellites: controlled by the S. U. Stalin’s actions in E. Euro. convinced President Truman that the U. S. had to resist further Soviet moves and contain communism.

The Truman Doctrine n n Policy of Containment: holding back the spread of communism by keeping the S. U. w/in its existing borders. How? : The situation in Greece provided the opp. In Greece, local Communists were fighting a guerrilla war against the pro-W monarchy. The guerillas were aided by Communists from Albania and Yugoslavia.

The Truman Doctrine n n n Prior to this, Britain had historically been the protector of the Mediterranean, but due to war debt they were no longer able to do so. Truman asked Congress for the U. S. to assume this responsibility, this was approved this request along w/ $400, 000 dollars in aid for Greece and Turkey. This approval became known as the Truman Doctrine: The U. S. took on intl. responsibilities as the leaders of the W. world and Am. military aid would now be available to any nation threatened by Communism.

The Truman Doctrine n “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures…. We must assist free peoples to work out their own destiny in their own way. ”

The Marshall Plan n Conditions in Euro. posed immediate and long-term challenges for the U. S. : WWII had severely weakened Euro. econs. The Truman admin. feared that an econ. collapse would open Euro. to communism. It believed that the military and econ. security of the U. S. depended on a strong and democratic Euro.

The Marshall Plan n n n In order to combat Communism in Euro. , the U. S. gov. devised a new approach to aid Euro: The Marshall Plan. Its purpose was to restore “the confidence of Euro. people in the econ. future of their own countries. ” 1 With the help of the Euro. countries to determine where aid should go the Marshall Plan became a great success: 13 billion dollars from 1947 -1951: Euro. countries worked together to boost productivity Trade barriers were reduced Resources were used efficiently

The Marshall Plan n n By 1951, W. Euros econs. were prospering, and Communist prospects in these countries had declined. The Marshall Plan extended Am. influence in W. Euro. and helped to unite the region into a single econ. group to counter the Soviets. The S. U. had refused aid despite its great need for it and it forced its E. Euro. allies to do the same; as a result, the S. U. and its E. Euro. allies lagged economically behind the W. countries who accepted Am. aid. In 1949, the S. U. set up a rival plan known as the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON).

The Marshall Plan U. S. Sect. of State George C. Marshall

A Divided Germany

A Divided Germany n n n In 1945, Germ. and Berlin were divided into four zones of occupation among Fr. , Brit. , Am. , and the S. U. In the post-war years, the W. Allies and the Soviets could not reach an agreement on a final peace treaty for Germ. : The Soviets stripped their zone of industrial resources and equipment while the W. Allies aided their zones for econ. recovery and free elections for local govs. were held. The Result: The W. Allies agreed to combine their sectors of Germ. to create W. Germ. and they combined their sectors of Berlin to make W. Berlin.

The Berlin Blockade n n n In June 1948, the Soviets tried to block the planned merger of the W. Allies by cutting all land access from the W. into W. Berlin. 2 million Berliners depended on the W. allies for all their food, fuel, and other needs. Instead of using force, the U. S. and the other W. countries came up with a plan to airlift needed supplies to the isolated city: The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Blockade n n n To keep the city alive, at least 4, 000 tons of supplies were needed every day; airplanes surpassed this goal by landing every 3 minutes at W. Berlin’s 2 airports: 13, 000 tons were landed every day for the next 11 months. The success of the Berlin Airlift eventually forced the Soviets to lift the blockade in May 1949 In the same month, the W. Allies went ahead w/ their plans to create an independent W. Germ. state. Fall 1949: A constitution is approved for the 10 W. Germ. states – the Federal Republic of Germ. (W. Germ. ) is proclaimed. The Soviets countered by est. the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (E. Germany). Germ. is now divided into 2 separate countries.

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift n n U. S. Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen, who pioneered the idea of dropping candy bars and bubble gum with little handmade miniature parachutes to the Germ. children. This later became known as Operation Little Vittles

n Berlin Airlift

New Alliances n n n In Feb. 1948 (just before the Berlin blockade), Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Communists and incorporated into the Soviet system. With greater concerns for military defense the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by the U. S. , Brit. , Fr. , Belgium, the Neth. , Luxem. , It. , Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Can. in April of 1949. Greece and Turkey (1952); W. Germ. (1955). Members of this military alliance agreed that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all. In response to NATO, the S. U. and its E. Euro. allies singed a military agreement known as the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

NATO concise. britannica. com/ebc/art-54614/To-stren. . .

NATO Seal news. bbc. co. uk/. . . /newsid_2749000/2749323. stm

Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact Seal

NATO vs. Warsaw

America vs. Soviet Union n n n n Atomic bomb: Am. – 1945; S. U. – 1949 W/ the detonation of a Soviet A-bomb, the arms race begins. Hydrogen bomb: Am. – 1951; S. U. – 1953 Space: S. U. Sputnik – 1957, 1 st man in space April 12, 1961; Am. July 20, 1969 1 st man on the moon. Government and economy: Am. - Democracy and Capitalism; S. U. - Communism

Sputnik

n New Moon

Yuri Gagarin: 1 st Man in Space

n April 12, 1961

Neil Armstrong: 1 st Man on the Moon The Apollo 11 crew portrait. Left to right are Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.

n July 21, 1969