Cold War Flashcards
a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare, such as what existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the U.S. - led western powers from 1945-1990
Definition of the Cold War
- 50 million people killed
- starvation
- homlessness
- Germans who had been placed in conquered territories kicked out
WWII Aftermath
- Disagreement between the allies during WWII
- Differing U.S. and Soviet political & economic system
- Differing goals for postwar Germany and Eastern Europe
- Soviet expansion of communism
- U.S. resistance to Soviet aggression
- Soviets fear capitalism; U.S. fears communism
- Suspicious of eachother
- U.S. and S.U. - Superpowers
Causes of the Cold War
countries with military power & political influence
Superpowers
July 1945 - Stalin, Truman, Churchill, Attlee
1. Agreed to divide Germany into 4 zones. Soviet Union gets 1/3; U.S. G.B. and France get 2/3
2. Divided capital (Berlin) which was in the Soviet controlled region
3. Nuremburg Trials
4. Plan for Germany to pay reparations - currency & industrial equipment. Soviets got the larges spare because it experienced the most destruction.
Potsdam
Disagreement of what to do with Eastern Europe (held by USSR). Soviets want a buffer zone –> no attacks. Stalin promised to protect rights and allow self-determination of the people living in Europe. U.S. & G.B. worried he would establish a pro-soviet & communist government. It ended up happening but Yugoslavia is an independent communist country.
Areas of Contention
countries under the influence of others. economically/politically dependent
Satellite States
- 193 nation members.
- Votes on membership, budgets, & pass recommendations & resolutions but these have no force
UN (General Assembly)
- Organ of UN with power to take action.
- 5 permanent members (Russia, China, U.S., France, and G.B.) along w/ 10 other rotating members
- Goal: Keep peace in the world
- Tools: diplomacy, economic sanctions, military (last resolve)
- Military sent from membership countries
UN (Security Council)
all 5 security council members have the ability to shut down a vote on an issue
UN (Veto Power)
- AKA World Court
- Judicial organ of U.N.
- 15 judges that settle disputes
UN (International Court of Justice)
- 1946 - Winston Curchill
- Describes the sharp division of Europe that was the result of the Soviets actions
Iron Curtain
1946 - George Kennan - U.S. wants to stop the spread of communism. This doctrine expanded U.S. involvement in Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere
Containment
American diplomat that came up with containment
George Kennan
- 1947
- Soviet-backed communist threatening the gov. in Greece & Turkey.
- U.S. gives economic and military aid
Truman Doctrine
- 1947 - George Marshall
- 13 billion dollars to rebuild Europe
- Truman thought if conditions worsen, countries would turn to communism
- Helped Western Europe recovery quick and get political stability
Marshall Plan
- Soviets see U.S. attempt to buy countries support.
- The Soviet’s answer - try to give money also
- fails because lack of finance
COMECON
- 1947 Central Intelligence Agency established
- mainly focuses on overseas intelligence gathering for the President and Cabinet.
CIA
- 1933-1939
- Hitler came to power
- Nazi project develops
- Isolates Jews
- Rearms Germany for conquest
German Phase
- Sept 1939-June 1941
- Nazi violence spreads to Western Europe
- Mass violence
- Ghettoization
- Go into Poland, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Soviet Union
- Go after Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled
Expansion and Violence
- mobile killing squads that would follow the military & kill Jews
Einsatzgruppen
- 1941-1944
- Final Solution
- Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor were death camps
Dedication to Mass Killings
- The plan for dealing with the Jews.
- Called for complete annihilation & extermination
- Sent to Auschwitz to be starved and killed
Final Solution
- Jan 1945-May 1945
- Death marches
Liberation of Auschwitz
- New method of killing.
- Marched all prisoners.
- Some shot along the way.
- Disease. Some escaped.
- 1/4 million people died.
Death Marches
Nazi genocide of Jews during WWII. 40,000 concentration camps established. 10 extermination camps. Mass murder and torture (6 mill Jews, 10 mill total)
Holocaust
Trying to strip the Jews of their rights
- Not German citizen - can’t vote
- fired from jobs
- banned from German schools
- Forbidden marriage between Jews & Aryas
- Carry IDs
- Passports stamped with “J”
- Must wear arm band w/ yellow Star of David
- Jewish synagogues destroyed
- Forced to pay income tax
Nuremberg Laws
- Jews forced to live in ghettos - isolated
- 356 ghettos in Poland, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary.
- Filthy, poor sanitation, overcrowding, disease
- Food shortage - starved to death
- Warsaw, Poland - largest ghetto. Held. 500,000
Ghettos
- Built along railroad lines for efficient transportation - cattle cars
- Essential to Nazi systemic oppression & mass murder
- Slave labor - “annihilation by work”
- Prisoners starved
Concentration Camps
- possesions confiscated
- heads shaved
- arms tattooed
- prison uniforms
- men, women, children separated
- survival based on skill/strength
- unsanitary - disease, lice
- inhumane medical experiments
Life in Camps
- Nazi policy to eliminate “life unworthy of life” - mentally/physically challenged
- promote Aryan “racial integrity”
Euthanasia Program
- Prisoners sent to gas chambers disguised as showers
- Zyklon B gas used. Took 3-15 mins
- Up to 8,000 people gassed per day at Auschwitz - 4 gas chambers
Gas Chambers
- Gold fillings from victims’ teeth melted down –> gold bars
- Prisoners moved dead bodies to crematoriums
- 4-6 weeks until those prisoners were shot so they couldn’t tell anyone
Crematoriums
- 1945-1949
- Plan to get rid of Nazi Party
- Trials of war crimes of Nazi Officials
- 24 tried
Nuremburg Trials
- April 1, 1948 - May 12, 1949
- one of the first major international crises of the Cold War.
- the Soviet Union blocked the Western Ally’s railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under western control
- Goal: starve people of East Berlin and try to get the allies out. The Allies must find a way to get supplies to them without starting WWIII.
Berlin Blockade
- Response to Berlin Blockade
- Truman decided to hold on to West Berlin and he chose an airlift.
- The airlift kept the city supplied with food, fuel, and consumer goods.
- One main source: coal.
Berlin Airlift
- The name of the operation that took place during the Berlin Airlift
- What does it mean?
Operation Vittles “Food”
- Began in 1947 with allied planning an independent German democratic nation. The Soviet Union disagreed which led to the Berlin Blockade.
- 1949 - formal establishment of two German Nations: East and West Germany
- East Germany ruled by _____
- West Germany ______________
- Makes a definite split - “iron curtain”
East and West Germany
- 1949 “North Atlantic Treaty Organization”
- Eisenhower was the first leader
- April 1949, ten West European countries along with the U.S. and Canada sign the Washington Treaty to create the organization
- Brings together free & sovereign countries to create a collective security system
- If a country goes to war against one of them, all the others are involved
NATO
- 1955
- Soviet Union and communist countries of Eastern Europe form their own alliance
Warsaw Pact
- Communists v Nationalists
- Communists win - allied by USSR
Chinese Civil War
- U.S. supported Nationalist Chiang Kai Shek (forced to flee to Taiwan) v Soviet supported Communist Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong vs. Chiang Kai Shek
- After Japan lost, the allies gained Korea and it was divided by the 38th parallel into North (communist - USSR) and South (not communist - U.S.)
- North invades South because they want total communism
- U.S. asked the UN for support. 17 nations sent soldiers to defend South Korea
- MacArthur led Inchon invasion that drove the North to Chinese border. Chinese forces pushed back.
- 1951 - stalemate
- 1953 - armistice
Korean War
- 1952 Truman approves the development of ____________ bomb
- Soviets tested theirs the next year
- 100x more powerful than atomic bomb
- Results:
- Worldwide political & military struggles
- Increased military spending –> arms race
- Danger of nuclear war
Hydrogen Bomb
- New Soviet leader after Stalin
- Denounced Stalin’s crimes 1956 speech
- Set to reform USSR
- Advocated “peaceful coexistance” but said “We (USSR) will bury you (US)”
- Led during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Nikitia Khrushchev
- the development of maintenance of military power to prevent an attack. neither side goes first because both will suffer.
- U.S. builds as many nuclear weapons as possible
Deterrence
- Mutually Assured Destruction
- If either side starts nuclear war, both will be destroyed
MAD
- Struggle between nations to gain an advantage in weapons,
- Nuclear attack would lead to destruction
Arms Race
- October 4, 1957 - USSR launches first artificial satellite to orbit
- Americans were shocked that USSR got to space first
- Space race begins
- Didn’t get an object into orbit until January 1958
Sputnik
- Development of NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
- Goal: return US to forefront of space research.
- Formed by Eisenhower
- Construction of bomb shelters
- Air Raid Drills “Duck & Cover”
- NDEA (National Defense Education Act) School more rigorous - math and science
Major Results of Space Race
- May 1960
- A US U-2 spy plane shot down over USSR.
- Pilot Gary Powers captured and put on trial
- Khrushchev used it as propaganda to cancel and East/West summit in Paris
U-2 Incident
- Becomes president in 1961 after Eisenhower
- Inherits Bay of Pigs invasion from Eisenhower Administration
John F. Kennedy
- Leader of Cuban rebels in Cuban Revolution
- Overthrows dictator Batista (friends w/ U.S.) and installed a communist gov.
- Established central planning & ties with USSR
Fidel Castro
- 1960 all Cuban businesses were nationalized without compensation
- U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba & sees Castro as an enemy
- March 1960 - Eisenhower agrees with CIA plan for an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro
- Invasion failed and all Cuban exile invasion force was killed/captured by Castro’s army
Bay of Pigs Invasion
- August 13, 1961, East Germany prepares to construct Berlin Wall to keep people from fleeing to Austria
Berlin Wall
- Aug-Nov 1962 - The closest the world has gotten to full scale nuclear war
- U.S. intelligence spots missiles with the power of 50 Hiroshima atomic bombs in Cuba that can hit every state except for Washington
- JFK had two choices: airstrike or blockade. He chose blockade
- Khrushchev gave in and removed the missiles
- Hotline established for times of crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
- End of WWII, France wanted to reestablish former control of Southeast Asia
- American supported the French struggle and sent troops
- In Vietnam the communist fought back. France was defeated and was forced to give up control of Vietnam. Divided into North (communist) and South (anti communist)
- Eventually united communist country
Vietnam War
- 1978 - Soviets support communist gov. that was repressive
- The U.S. supports the Mujahideen (anti communists) which turned into the leaders of the Taliban which turned into Al Qaeda
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
- U.S. president 1981-1989
- His “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative helped bring the end of the Cold War
- Responsible for U.S. arming and training and training the Mujahideen in Afghanistan
- His relationship with Margaret Thatcher (G.B.) is well known
Ronald Reagan
Prime Minister of Great Britain who worked closely with Ronald Reagan to end the Cold War
Margaret Thatcher
- March 1985 became Soviet General Secretary and a new era of U.S.-Soviet Relations began
- Signed the INF Treaty along with Ronald Reagan to reduce ICBMs
- Created glasnost and perestroika that led to him being overthrown
Mikhail Gorbachev
- means “openness”
- this allowed open criticism of the Soviet government by individuals and media. people spoke out against Gorbachev
- people could speak their opinions without getting in trouble
Glasnost
- means “restructuring.”
- Begins with the restructure of the Soviet economy but then expands to the whole society. The Soviet Union isn’t quite ready for this change and collapses because of small military and stretched resources from the arms race, Afghanistan, and maintaining the Warsaw countries.
- in this bold move he sought to introduce democracy and some capitalism into Soviet government and society.
Perestroika
- Gorbachev visits in China
- People were brutally suppressed
- An example of communism being challenged
- China remains the most powerful communist country today
Tiananmen Square
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
ICBM
- September 1989
- Independent Labor Union in Poland
- Leader was Lech Walesa
- Ironic cuz the ones protesting communism were the working class
- Poland becomes first country to break away from communism and Warsaw Pact
Solidarity
- October 1989
- Peaceful transition away from communism
- Czechoslovakia would then follow
- In most countries, the reason was the economic failure of communism and the Soviet Union no longer being able to support them (COMECON)
Hungary 1989
- November 9, 1989 crowds begin dismantling it
- Signifies the fall of communism
- Shortly after, Germany becomes reunified
Fall of the Berlin Wall
- along with Gorbachev, oversees reunification in Germany
- Coup to overthrow Gorbachev in August 1991
George Bush Sr.
- The Soviet Union was abolished and became Russia
- Russia now has a president ________________
- Favored more radical changes which were the opposite of Gorbachev. Stood up to communist hard liners when they are looking to remove Gorbachev.
Boris Yeltsin
- Led the invasion of Inchon during the Korean War just south of the 38th parallel
- it was successful and drove the Koreans to the Chinese border
MacArthur
