Transcript Cold War. - TeacherWeb

Cold War
Cold vs. Hot War
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‘Hot wars’ = actual fighting
‘Cold wars’ = no fighting but a lot of tension and
high risk of war.
The conflict was between the “West” vs. “East”
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West: USA, Britain, France, Canada (democratic
countries).
East: Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland
(communist countries).
East vs. West
Iron Curtain: term used to describe the division between Democratic &
Communist countries in Europe (1945-1989) – invisible line begins
in Germany
Berlin Wall: concrete wall constructed by E.Germany to divide them
from W.Germany
 prevented people from leaving the East and entering the West
 1961-1989
 Guard towers built & armed with soldiers to shoot anyone trying to
leave
 E.Germany claimed the Wall was built to protect them against
“Fascist beliefs” because W.Germany had NOT fully denazified…lie
 Talks to destroy the Wall began Oct.3, 1989, actually fell Nov.9,
1989
 Fall of the Berlin Wall led to the reunification of Germany under
Democracy
Berlin Blockade
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June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949
First international issue of Cold War – created tensions & risk of
nuclear war escalated
Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to
the sectors of Berlin under Allied control
aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to
start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets
practical control over the entire city
Response - Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry
supplies to the people in West Berlin.
blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two
separate German states - Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany) and German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Cold War Defences
NATO
 In 1949, Canada and the United States joined with ten
western European countries to form the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO).
 Its purpose was to defend Europe and the North Atlantic
from Soviet aggression.
 NATO had an economic advantage for Canada as well,
since it bound together all of Canada's trading partners.
 In 1955, the Soviets formed their own alliance, the
Warsaw Pact, with the Soviet satellite countries of
Eastern Europe.
 In the event of attack by NATO countries, the Warsaw
Pact members agreed to come to each other's defence.
NORAD
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In 1957, Canada signed a treaty with the United
Sates that created the North American Air
Defence System (NORAD).
Aimed at protecting North American from Soviet
attack - NORAD joined Canadians and American
fighter, missile and radar units under a single
command center.
NORAD headquarters are located deep inside a
mountain in Colorado.
DEW Lines
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Canada's geographical position between the United
States and the Soviet Union makes it vital to North
American's defence.
In 1957, the United States and Canada built a line of
long-range warning stations, known as Distant Early
Warning (DEW) stations, to monitor airspace activity.
If any station - there were fifty in total - detected
missiles or aircraft of unknown origin, it sent a message
to NORAD headquarters in Colorado.
Although both Canada and the United States were
involved in the creation of DEW stations,
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the $250 million cost of building these radar stations was paid
for solely by the United States.
The Debate of Nuclear Warheads
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After the NORAD agreement, the United States moved 56
Bomarc B anti-aircraft missiles to Canadian NORAD sites.
The missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads.
In 1960, when Canadians became aware that there were
nuclear warheads in the country, there was an uproar;
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should Canada adopt nuclear weapons and was this a result of
the United States' domination of Canadian defence policy?
Both the Canadian and American governments had to
agree to put the armed forces on any alert, however the
NORAD forces were clearly under an American
commander.
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The atmosphere became even more tense when
federal Civil Defence authorities distributed
pamphlets with plans for making underground
shelters.
These shelters were to protect people from
nuclear fallout.
While experts debated on whether these
shelters would serve any purpose, about 2400
were built in Toronto alone, at a cost of about
$4000 each.
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Anti-nuclear protesters were convinced that the arms
build-up would not stop the Soviets from attacking the
West.
People understood that a nuclear war could mean
complete and utter destruction.
The controversy over nuclear weapons in Canada led
John Diefenbaker, who had become prime minister in
1957, to refuse arming nuclear warheads for the
Bomarc missiles.
He felt that arming the Bomarcs with nuclear
warheads would set back the hopes for nuclear
disarmament in the world.
He preferred storing nuclear warheads south of the
border until they were needed. His opponents argued
that Bomarc missiles without nuclear warheads were
useless.
Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis
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The question became critical during the Cuban Missile
Crisis in 1962, when the world came dangerously close to
nuclear war.
Cuba was a communist country and the Soviet Union had
installed missiles in Cuba.
From the Cuban launch sites, missiles could attack most
major American and Canadian cities.
The United States demanded the Soviet missiles be
removed and blockaded the shipment of Soviet military
equipment to Cuba.
The United States asked Canada to put all Canadian forces
on alert as war could be on the horizon.
Canada hesitated, causing deep rift between the American
and Canadian governments.
Prime Minister Diefenbaker accused the United
States of pressuring Canada.
 He also accused Liberal leader Pearson of flipflopping on the issue of nuclear arms. Pearson
had opposed nuclear missiles in Canada,
 After Pearson was elected as Prime Minister in
1963, the Bomarc missiles were armed with
nuclear warheads.
 The issue highlights the controversy in Canada
over fears of nuclear attack on the one hand,
and the desire for a strong anti-nuclear policy on
the other.