Transcript Cold War Presentation

The Cold War Era
1945-1989
The Soviet Union
The United States
Communism
Capitalism & Democracy
VS
Comprehension Questions

What is the purpose of the United Nations?
 What happened in Eastern Europe?
 Who controlled Germany after the war?
 What was containment?
The United Nations
1945-Present

Was created in April of
1945, when
representatives from 50
nations met in San
Francisco, California.
 Its purpose is to provide
peaceful resolutions to
the world’s problems.
United Nations (cont.)
Security
Council of
the United
Nations
Beginning of the Cold War

The Cold War was a struggle for power
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

The U.S. wanted to spread democracy and
capitalism while the Soviet Union wanted to
spread communism.
Beginning of the Cold War
(cont.)

After WWII, the Soviet Union forced the countries
in Eastern Europe to become communist.

Winston Churchill called Stalin’s communist
Eastern Europe an “Iron Curtain.” It described the
invisible wall that surrounded these communist
countries. It divided Europe.
Communist Eastern Europe
Although he
had promised
the Allies free
elections in
Eastern
Europe,
Joseph Stalin
decided to
install
communist
governments.
The Berlin Airlift

After WWII, Germany
was divided into four
parts each one
controlled by a
different superpower:
the U.S., Great Britain,
France and the Soviet
Union.

In 1948, the U.S.,
Britain and France united
their part of Germany
into one nation: West
Germany.
Berlin: Division of the City

Germany’s
capital, Berlin,
which was in
the Sovietcontrolled part
of Germany,
had also been
divided into
four parts.
The Berlin Airlift (cont.)

The Soviet Union decided to NOT allow supplies going to
West Berlin from West Germany to cross their part of the
country by trucks or trains.
 The U.S. and Britain decided to fly in all the supplies
needed into West Berlin. They did this for one year until
the Soviet Union gave up their blockade.
 West Berlin remained a democratic city inside of
communist East Germany.
The Berlin Airlift (cont.)

Planes
flew in
and out
of West
Berlin
every
minute
of the
day.
The Berlin Airlift
U.S.’ Policy Against
Communism

The U.S. policy against communism was outlined
in the Truman Doctrine; it was called
“containment” (to stop something from
spreading).
 Containment meant that the U.S. would help
nations that were fighting to remain free from
communism.
 The U.S. decided to help the rest of Europe
reconstruct so that they would have strong
economies and they would not turn to
communism.
Comprehension Questions

What two events happened in 1949?
 What was the arms race?
 What were the two major wars the United
States fought during the Cold War?
 What was the Cuban missile Crisis?
Arms Race

In 1949, the Soviet
Union exploded its first
nuclear bomb. This
began a race between the
USSR and the US to
make the most amount
of bombs.
 While the US led the
race the entire time, by
the 1970s both countries
had made more nuclear
bombs than what they
could really use.
Arms Race (cont.)
Arms Race (cont.)
Red China

In 1949, after a civil war,
the communist party won
in China.
 China became an ally of
the USSR and helped
spread communism.
 The US did not work
with or recognize the
communist Chinese
government until 1978.
The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization

NATO was an alliance started
in 1949 by the United States
and Western European
countries to protect
themselves, mainly from
communism.
 In 1955, the Soviet Union
formed an alliance with the
communist Eastern European
countries called The Warsaw
Pact.
NATO and The Warsaw Pact
The Wars of the Cold War

While the United States and the Soviet
Union never actually fought, many wars did
happen over spread of democracy and
capitalism.
 The United States fought two major wars in
the name of containing communism:
The Korean War, 1950-1953
Vietnam War, mid-1950s to 1975
The Korean War, 1950-1953

The Korean War started
when communist North
Korea invaded South
Korea. The United States
and The U.N. sent troops to
help South Korea.
 In the end, the North
Koreans were forced to
retreat and South Korea
remained democratic. Over
38,000 U.S. soldiers died in
this war.
Pictures of the Korean War
Vietnam War, 1950s-1975

In the 1950s, a struggle
happened between communists
and non-communists in South
Vietnam. The United States
slowly began helping the noncommunists.
 By the mid to late 1960s, the
US had thousands of troops in
Vietnam fighting communist
North Vietnamese.
Vietnam War (cont.)

The U.S lost the
fight in Vietnam.
By 1975 Americans
were tired of the
war. Vietnam
became communist.
Over 58,000
Americans were
killed in this war.
Vietnam War Map
Vienam War Pictures
Vietnam War Protest
Many
Americans
disagreed with
the war because
they didn’t think
we needed to be
there: much like
the war in Iraq
today.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
This was the closest the
US and the USSR came to
war. The USSR was
attempting to install
nuclear weapons in Cuba.
The US quarantined the
island threatening to to
destroy any Soviet ships
that tried to enter Cuba.
The USSR finally agreed
to remove them.
President Nixon’s Détente



President Richard Nixon’s
Cold War policy was
called détente, a French
word meaning “relaxation
of tension”.
1972 SALT (Strategic
Arms Limitation Talks):
an agreement between the
US and the USSR that
limited their offensive
weapons to those they
already had or were
producing.
1979 SALT II: limited the
number of missiles and
long-range bombers each
nation could build.
SDI (Strategic Missile Defense)
SDI (Strategic Defense
Initiative): In 1983,
President Ronald
Reagan increased
military spending and
proposed SDI as the
next step in defense. It
would use satellites and
lasers to shoot down
incoming missiles. It
would cost billions of
dollars and many
scientists were
skeptical about it
working.
End of the Cold War

Several events in the 1980s began unraveling
the Cold War in 1989, one major event was
when Germans in Berlin began taking down
the wall and the Soviet army did not stop
them.
 Soon after, former Soviet countries had free
elections and became democratic, including
Russia.
Modern European Map
Berlin Wall