Transcript Mrs Williams Origins of the Cold War ppt

The Origins of the Cold war
The Origins of the Cold war: what do
we need to know?
• Why did the USA and
USSR become rivals in
the years 1945-49?
• Yalta and Potsdam
Conferences.
• Dropping of the atomic
bomb.
• Iron Curtain: Soviet
expansion into the East.
• Truman Doctrine.
• Marshall Plan
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift
• How did the Cold War
develop in the years
1949-1955?
• NATO
• Nuclear Arms Race
• The Korean War: 1950-53
• The Death of Stalin and
peaceful co-existence.
• Formation of the Warsaw
Pact.
 Yalta Conference
 Potsdam Conference
 United States first used atomic bomb in
war
 Winston Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain"
Speech
 Truman Doctrine
 Marshall Plan is announced
 Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
 Berlin Blockade begins
 NATO ratified
 The Arms Race
 Korean War
 Death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin
 Warsaw Pact
Do you know what
happened in each event?
Which event
was the most
important in
causing the
Cold War?
 1945: February 4-11- Yalta Conference Cold War Begins – working together, Stalin, FDR
and Churchill. But underlining tension.
 1945: July Potsdam Conference – tension developing, Stalin still in eastern lands, FDR
replaced by Truman, Allies tested the atomic bomb – disagreements over what to do with
Germany, reparations and Soviet policy in the East.
 1945: August 6 -- United States first used atomic bomb in war - Devastation; Stalin saw
it as a message to him.
 1946: March Winston Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" Speech – Europe divided central
and eastern: Communist parties ensuring totalitarian rule.
 1947: March Truman Doctrine USA would protect any country threatened by a
Communist take over.
 1947: June Marshall Plan is announced $17 billion made available for four years to
Europe to help it recover from war and ‘against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.’
Plus to stop them turning to Communism!!
 1948: February Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
 1948: June 24 Berlin Blockade begins – In retaliation to the introduction of a new
currency to Trizonia (FR, GB and US West Germany) Stalin cut supply lines to West Berlin
in an attempt to force the allies out of Berlin. Allies dropped supplies by air. Stalin was
forced to reopen communications. May 1949 Germany is divided into 2 nations: West
and East Germany.
 1949: July NATO ratified - Agreement of the Western Powers to work together: NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
 The Arms Race The two most important areas of tension were known as the
Arms and Space Races. In 1945 the USA had detonated two nuclear bombs
over Japan to help bring an end to the Second World War. Japan was very
nearly at the point of defeat before the nuclear bombs were used, so some
historians believe that the USA wanted to use their atomic weapons in order
to warn the USSR that they had weapons of mass destruction and were
prepared to use them. The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened just
as the Cold War began. The USSR challenged the West’s lead in nuclear
weapons. By 1949 the USSR also had nuclear weapons. The Cold War became
very much more serious in the 1950s as each of the superpowers built more
and more atomic weapons. November 1952, US detonates the H-bomb 1,000
times more powerful than the atomic bomb, August 1953 USSR denotes it own
H bomb. By March 1954 the US develops an H bomb small enough to be
dropped from a bomber; in the September the USSR tests an H bomb dropped
from a bomber. The growth in the huge stockpile of weapons was known as
the Nuclear Arms Race.
 Korean War begins 1950-1953: Japan had occupied Korea between 1910-1945. Soviet forces in the
North and American forces in the south replaced Japanese soldiers. Korea became divided in two, in a
similar manner to the division of Germany. Stalin promised free elections in Korea at the Yalta, but he
broke his promise. Instead northern Korea became a communist satellite state under the control of
Kim Il Sung; in the south a capitalist state was set up under Syngman Rhee. It proved impossible to
reunite the country. In 1949 China became a communist state. The South Koreans were very nervous,
surrounded by communist states – the USSR, China and North Korea. Stalin and Mao (the Chinese
communist leader) encouraged Kim Il Sung to attack South Korea. They saw a perfect opportunity to
spread communism in the Far East, perhaps even to Japan. The USA was very worried by the so-called
domino effect; if one country fell to communism, others would fall also. When Kim Il Sung attacked
South Korea he had the financial support of Stalin, but not the direct military support of the USSR.
South Korea appealed to the United Nations for help. Sixteen nations, headed by the USA took part
immediately, another sixteen followed later. Under General MacArthur UN forces quickly pushed back
North Korean forces and approached China. The Chinese were very concerned especially as
MacArthur made it clear he was prepared to invade China and use nuclear weapons. Truman
dismissed MacArthur in 1951 and the North Koreans, with Chinese support, were able to push back
UN forces to the 38-degree N parallel, the same division between North and South Korea that had
existed in 1949. When Stalin died in 1953 both sides agreed to a cease-fire. The Korean War had been
a stalemate between the superpowers. Although both had been involved, the USA and the USSR had
not fought directly against each other. In 1954 SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organisation) was set
up as a copy of NATO. Communism had been prevented in South Korea and the UN was seen as a
success, it had stood up to major aggression, something the League of Nations had failed to achieve.
However, the war also revealed that China was no longer weak and was prepared to stand up to the
West. Was this the emergence of a third superpower.
 When Stalin died in 1953, it appeared that the relationship between the USA and the
USSR would improve. With the emergence of Khrushchev as Stalin’s successor in 1956,
this belief seemed to take effect. However, Khrushchev was an old-school communist,
with no wish to diminish the USSR’s status as a rival superpower to the USA.
 Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union’s response to West Germany joining NATO and came
into being in May 1955. The Warsaw Pact, officially the ‘Treaty of Friendship,
Cooperation and Mutual Assistance’, was obviously very much dominated by the Soviet
Union. Soviet made tanks, aircraft and guns were used throughout the Warsaw Pact
and the military command was dominated by decisions made in Moscow. Like NATO,
the Warsaw Pact had a political Consultative Committee with a civilian SecretaryGeneral. It also, like NATO, had a commander-in-chief who was the most senior military
figure in it. Each member of the Warsaw Pact had to pledge to defend other members if
they were attacked.
Link that will help:
BBC bitesize – click on link.