Transcript Chapter 10 Europe – Modern History

Chapter 10
Europe – Modern
History
Section 2
A Continent Divided
Introduction
 After World War II much of Europe was in
ruins.
 The defeat of Germany, Italy, and Japan left a
power gap that was filled by the United States
and the Soviet Union.
The Cold War
 The competition between democratic United
States and the communist Soviet Union was
called the Cold War.
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This was dangerous because by 1948 both
nations had nuclear weapons.
It was a “Cold War” because countries never
mobilized armies in an official war.
The Cold War
 The Cold War:
 Began in Europe.
 1948 – United States began a loan program
called the Marshall Plan.
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This plan was designed to help rebuild Europe
and try to stop the spread of communism.
Under the plan factories were rebuilt, mines
reopened, and roads repaired and replaced.
The countries liberated and occupied by the
United States and Great Britain during World War
II began to grow.
West European Nations
Cooperate
 1948 – Truman Doctrine was created. It was
named after U.S. President Harry Truman.

It offered military aid to countries that were
engaged in fighting communism in their
borders.

Greece and Turkey
West European Nations
Cooperate
 1949 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) was formed.

This organization would respond to possible
attacks by the Soviet Union.

Being a member of this organization meant that
you treated on attack on other countries like an
attack on yourself.
 As a result, they felt the Soviet Union would not
attack because of fear of the United States. This
was known as deterrence.
West European Nations
Cooperate
 1948 – The Netherlands and Luxembourg
joined together to form the Benelux trade
union.
 1958 – West Germany and Italy joined this
union. It became known as the European
Economic Community.
 Between 1958 – 1986 Denmark, Great
Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Greece
joined the union. It was then known as the
European Union.

This lead to greater cooperation and economic
development among these nations.
The Soviet Union
 The Soviet Union made the countries
surrounding it satellite nations.
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Satellite nations were dependent on a stronger
power.
Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
and Poland became communist.

These countries along with the Soviet Union
created the COMECON (Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance.)
The Soviet Union
 1958 – Soviet Union formed its satellite
nations into an alliance known as the Warsaw
Pact.

Named after capital city of Warsaw.
A Clash Between
Superpowers
 During the Cold War there were many “hot
spots” – areas of tension and conflict.
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China, Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam. The most
important was Berlin.
A Clash Between
Superpowers
 Divided Berlin:
 1945 – United States, Soviet Union, Great
Britain, and France occupied Germany.
 1948 – United States, Great Britain, and
France decided to unite their occupation zone
to promote peace and German recovery.
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Soviet Union was against this plan to strengthen
Germany.
Soviet Union placed a blockade that closed all
land and water traffic into Berlin.
In response The United States and Great Britain
began to airlift supplies into Berlin by airplane.
A Clash Between Superpowers
 The Berlin Wall:
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3 million people fled to West Berlin in search
of political freedom and better living
conditions.
1961 – the government built a wall between
East and West Berlin to stop people fleeing.
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Soldiers guarded the wall.
It was a symbol of split between Western and
Eastern Europe.
A Clash Between Superpowers
 The Race to Space:
 Was a part of the Cold War between the Soviet Union
and the United States.
 1957 – Soviet Union pulled ahead of the United
States when they launched Sputnik I – the first space
craft to orbit the earth.

Four years later Soviet Union astronaut Yuri Gagarin
became the first human to circle the earth.
 1969 – United States took the lead when Neil
Armstrong became the first person to walk on the
moon.
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1970s – first landing on Venus and Mars were made by
the U.S.
Later space crafts explored Jupiter, Saturn, and more.
 Today the U.S. and Russia are partners in the
international space station project.
The End of the Cold War
 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader
of the Soviet Union. He introduced plans to
help the economy.
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Glasnost – openness, people could criticize
the system without fear of being punished.
Perestroika – reconstruction, loosened
government control and moved the economy
into capitalism.
 With these reforms the Cold War was coming
to an end.