Transcript File

Pursuing Peace & Prosperity
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WWII Ends
Berlin Divided
Germany Divided
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
WWII Ends
• April 30, 1945 – Soviet troops enter Berlin
• Western allies decide not to take Berlin
• Hilter shoots himself on April 30, 1945 and Germany
surrenders on May 7, 1945
• Soviet occupation of Berlin is brutal – mass rape,
pillaging ensues for many days
• July 1945 – Soviets hand over the American & British
sectors of Berlin to the Allies occording to the terms of
the London Protocol 1944
• France later assumes control of a sector – Berlin is
divided into 4 occupied zones
A devastated street in Berlin
Women washing clothes by an
open fire-hydrant with
German scout car in
backgroud
33% of Berlin was destroyed
Berlin: The 4 occupied zones
Occupied Germany
• Originally Germany was to be administered
through a joint Allied Control Council
• As tensions between the Soviet Union and
western allies grew this became impracticle
• Germany was divided into 4 occupation zones
(Soviet, American, British & French)
Post WWII Occupation Zones
• Berlin
The Berlin Blockade & Airlift
• Soviet Union wanted full control over Berlin and
eventually all of Germany
• June 1948 - Soviet’s block all rail, road & canal access
to west Berlin
• Allies begin supplying west Berlin via the air
• Allies (including the Royal Canadian Air Force) fly over
200,000 missions in one year
• Airlift is a success and Soviet’s lift their blockade in
1949
• This is the first serious crisis of the post-war era and
signals the beginnings of the Cold War
Map showing the 3 air
corridors permitted by the
Soviet Union
Berliners watching the landing of a
transport plane (1948)
Two German Republics
• The three western allies eventually develop a
uniform administration forming the Federal
Republic of Germany in 1949
• The Soviet sector creates the German
Democratic Republic in 1949 (but under close
Soviet control)
Map Showing East & West Germany
The Cold War Era
1948-1989
The United Nations
• August 1941: Winston Churchill & F. D. Roosevelt
meet off the shore of Newfoundland and
establish the Atlantic Charter – basis of United
Nations
• Februrary 1945: Yalta Conference – Chruchill,
Roosevelt & Stalin declare their intent to
establish an international organization to
maintain peace
• October 24, 1945 United Nations established
with 51 member states, including Canada
• Now 193 member states
The U. N. General Assembly
U.N. Headquarters New York City
Basic Structure of U. N.
The Cold War
• Cold War - primarily a political conflict between the two
superpowers: The United States and its democratic allies (including
Canada), and the Soviet Union and its communist allies
• 1948-1949 tensions between USSR and western allies over the
occupation of Germany and the blockade of Berlin were high
• Soviet Union distrusts western allies – claims it needs a buffer zone
of friendly communist states on its border to protect it from future
invasions
• Boundary between the countries under Soviet influence and
Western Europe is known as the Iron Curtain
– Virtually no free movement of people, products or information
between Soviet bloc and rest of world
Europe and the Iron Curtain
Igor Gouzenko
• Worked in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa
• Decided to defect to Canada – informed Canadian
government of a vast spy network operating in
Canada and other western countries –gathered
intelligence for making atomic bomb
• Gouzenko offered permanent protection for his
efforts – Soviet agents would assassinate him if
they could find him
• Marked the turning point in relationship between
Allies and Soviet Union – Cold War begins
Igor Gouzenko
NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
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1949 – Obvious that Soviet Union wishes to spread communist revolution
throughout western Europe
The countries of western Europe form a new military alliance – North Atlantic
Treaty Organization – to protect members from Soviet aggression
The Warsaw Pact
• To counter NATO the Soviet Union organized the
Warsaw Pact – a military alliance of all the
communist countries behind the iron curtain
Polar Projection: Note Canada’s
Position between USSR & USA
The Nuclear Arms Race
• Atomic bomb first used by USA on Japan
– USA dropped the A-Bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
• By 1950 both superpowers had developed the Hydrogen bomb – far
more powerful than the first atomic bomb
• Both sides began stockpiling nuclear arms – enough to destroy the
enemy many times over
• Strategy is known as deterrence – showing your opponent that you
are prepared to retaliate will discourage attacks
• Both sides try to achieve first strike capability – the ability to take
out the other side before they can retaliate
• This leads to a massive build-up of nuclear war heads throughout
the Cold War
• By 1980s there were enough nuclear war heads to destroy all
human life!
Nuclear Arms Proliferation Today
North American Air Defence
• The development of long range nuclear missiles
(ICBMs) meant that North America needed to
develop an air defence system
• The North American Air Defence (NORAD)
agreement was signed in 1958 between Canada
& USA – jointly administered
• Installed Distant Early Warning system (DEW Line)
across the arctic – a series of radar stations
• Today NORAD monitors ALL air traffic in North
America – first to note that the 911 aircraft were
off course
The DEW Line
DEW Line Radar Stations
International Conflict
The Korean War (1950-1953):
• 1950 – Communist North Korea attacks South Korea –
supported by communist China
• Western democracies feared a “domino effect” – if South
korea falls, the rest of Asia will fall too
• U. N. Security Council calls on member nations to render aid
• Canada ranked 3rd in total aid to South Korea
• Over 25,000 Canadians served in the Korean War: 1000
wounded & 406 killed
• Collective action of UN preserved the independence of South
Korea
The Suez Crisis (1956)
• 1948 the UN recognizes the state of Israel
• Middle East becomes a significant region → oil and location – the
Suez Canal links Europe with Africa and Asia
• 1956 Egypt takes over control of canal
• Britain France and Israel secretly conspire to regain control → attack
Egypt
• Canada and USA are allies of BR, FR, & IS, but agree with Soviets that
attack on Egypt was wrong
• Lester Pearson (Canada’s Secretary of State for External Affairs)
proposes a plan → cease fire and a special U.N. Peacekeeping force
would monitor the withdrawal of all invading forces
• Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts
Canada in the 1950s
• 1948 After 22 years William Lyon Mackenzie King resigns
• Louis St. Laurent becomes the next PM – called “Uncle Louis”
– transform war economy to peace time economy
– Building of the St. Lawrence Seaway – cargo ships could now reach half
way into Canada
• In Quebec Maurice Duplessis keeps Quebec society isolated from Anglo
influences
• Canada and most of the western world experiences a “Baby Boom” after
WWII – population expands rapidly
• By the mid 1950s the teenager had become a significant demographic
group – rebelled against what they saw as formal, conformist society
• This “Baby Boom” generation would go on to affect trends in western
society even to this day