Lesson 1: The Beginning of the Cold War

Question 1

Berlin Airlift Definition

Answer 1

an American and British relief effort to airlift supplies to West Berliners from 1948 to 1949

Question 2

Berlin Wall Definition

Answer 2

the wall built by the communist East German government in 1961 to seal off East Berlin from West Berlin

Question 3

Cold War Definition

Answer 3

after World War II, the long period of intense rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States

Question 4

Containment Definition

Answer 4

the policy of trying to prevent the spread of Soviet influence beyond where it already existed

Question 5

Iron Curtain Definition

Answer 5

a term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the border between the Soviet satellite states and Western Europe

Question 6

Marshall Plan Definition

Answer 6

an American plan to help European nations rebuild their economies after World War II

Question 7

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Definition

Answer 7

an alliance formed in 1949 by the United States and Western European nations to fight Soviet aggression

Question 8

Satellite Nation Definition

Answer 8

a nation that is dominated politically and economically by a more powerful nation

Question 9

Truman Doctrine Definition

Answer 9

President Truman’s policy of giving American aid to nations threatened by communist expansion

Question 10

United Nations (UN) Definition

Answer 10

(UN) a world organization established in 1945 to provide peaceful resolutions to international conflicts

Question 11

Warsaw Pact Definition

Answer 11

a military alliance, established in 1955, of the Soviet Union and other communist states in Europe

Question 12

After WWII, who were the only two countries strong enough to exert global influence? How did the differences between these two countries lead to a new type of war?

Answer 12

The devastation of World War II left a different world in its wake, leaving only the United States and the Soviet Union strong enough to exert global influence. However, the differences between the two countries led to a new kind of war. They did not clash directly in battle. Instead, they competed for power and influence around the world.

Question 13

What was the intense rivalry between America and the Soviet Union known as? How long did it last? What were the opposing sides in the Cold War? Did it involve armed conflict? What did the Cold War for globally? What role did the United States take in the post-WWII world? What did both the Soviet Union and United States do?

Answer 13

This intense rivalry became known as the Cold War. It lasted for nearly 50 years. The Cold War pitted the West (the United States and its allies) against the East (the Soviet Union and its allies). The Cold War did not involve an actual armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the rivalry between the two countries led to conflict around the globe. The United States quickly assumed a leadership role in the post-World War II world as it attempted to stop the further spread of communism. Both nations moved to build up their military and weapons.

Question 14

How did distrust between Britain and America and the Soviet Union serve as a cause of the Cold War?

Answer 14

The United States and Britain distrusted the Soviet Union. They disliked the communist rejection of religion and private property. They were angered by Soviet efforts to overthrow noncommunist governments. In fact, Soviet leaders boasted that communism would soon destroy free enterprise systems around the world. The Soviets, in turn, distrusted the Western powers. They feared that the United States, now the world’s most powerful nation, would use its military power to attack the Soviet Union. They feared that the United States would try to rebuild Germany in order to challenge the Soviet Union.

Question 15

Why did Soviet troops occupy most of Eastern Europe? What did Stalin promise to do in these Eastern European nations? Why did he break this promise? By 1948, what was the extent of Communism in Eastern Europe? What are satellite nations? Who were the rulers in Soviet satellite nations? In these nations, what happened to citizens who protested?

Answer 15

Before World War II ended, Soviet armies drove German forces out of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and back into Germany. As a result, Soviet troops occupied much of Eastern Europe. Stalin promised to hold free elections “as soon as possible” in these Eastern European nations. He soon broke that promise. “A freely elected government in any of the Eastern European countries would be anti-Soviet,” he said, “and that we cannot allow.” By 1948, Communists controlled the government of every Eastern European country. Except for Yugoslavia, these countries became satellite nations of the Soviet Union. A satellite nation is one that is dominated politically and economically by a more powerful nation. In each satellite nation, the Soviets backed harsh dictators. Citizens who protested were imprisoned or killed.

Question 16

In 1946, what did Winston Churchill describe as the iron curtain?

Answer 16

As early as 1946, the British statesman Winston Churchill had warned against Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe. Naming two cities that were located in the north and south of Europe, he said: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” The iron curtain cut off Soviet-run Eastern Europe from the democratic governments of the West.

Question 17

How did Western fears deepen as communist parties achieved success in other parts of Europe? Who supported these parties? What did Italian communists do in Italy? What did communist rebels do in Greece? What did communist-led unions do across Europe?

Answer 17

Western fears of communism deepened as communist parties, backed by Stalin, achieved success in other parts of Europe. Italian Communists won many seats in the Italian parliament. In Greece, communist rebels waged a civil war to topple the Greek government. Communist-led unions conducted strikes that paralyzed the weak economies.

Question 18

What were the three causes of the Cold War?

Answer 18

Distrust on both sides, Eastern Europe falling to communism, and communism gaining ground and spreading around Europe

Question 19

What was President Harry S. Truman’s Cold War Policy known as? Why?

Answer 19

President Harry S. Truman was determined to keep Soviet influence contained within existing boundaries. Thus, his Cold War policy was known as containment.

Question 20

In March 1947, how much did President Truman ask for Congress to provide in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey? With this aid, what were both of these countries able to do? What did this program to encourage nations to resist communism become known as?

Answer 20

In March 1947, President Truman asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey. Eventually, with American aid, both countries held off communist threats. This program to encourage nations to resist communist expansion became known as the Truman Doctrine.

Question 21

What state was Europe in after WWII? What did Secretary of State George Marshall see when he toured Europe? What did he fear? How did this fear lead to him proposing the Marshall plan in June 1947? Between 1948 and 1952, how much monetary aid did the Marshall Plan provide? How did the Marshall reduce the threat of communist revolutions in Western Europe?

Answer 21

Other European nations needed aid, too. The war had left Europe’s homes, roads, and factories in ruins. When Secretary of State George Marshall toured Europe, he saw millions of homeless, hungry refugees. Marshall feared that these conditions might encourage communist revolutions. So in June 1947, he proposed an ambitious plan to help Europe rebuild. The President and Congress accepted the Marshall Plan. Between 1948 and 1952, the Marshall Plan provided more than $12 billion in aid to Western European countries. By helping these nations rebuild their economies, the Marshall Plan reduced the threat of communist revolutions in Western Europe.

Question 22

In 1948, what was happening in Berlin? How many zones was Germany divided into after the war? Which counties owned zones? Which countries divided Berlin among themselves? By 1948, what did the United States, Britain, and France want to do with their zones? Why did Stalin oppose this plan? What did he do to show his opposition?

Answer 22

In 1948, a crisis developed in Berlin, Germany’s largest city. After the war, the Allies had divided Germany into four zones. American, British, French, and Soviet troops each occupied a zone. Berlin, too, was divided among the four Allies, even though it lay inside the Soviet zone. By 1948, the United States, Britain, and France wanted to reunite their zones in Berlin and the rest of Germany. Stalin opposed that plan. A reunited Germany, he felt, would again be a threat to the Soviet Union. To show his determination to prevent a united West Germany, Stalin closed all roads, railway lines, and river routes connecting West Berlin with West Germany. The blockade cut off West Berlin from American, British, and French aid.

Question 23

Why did Harry S. Truman not want to send troops in response to Stalin’s blockade? Instead, what did he do? What was the Berlin Airlift (1948-49)? What happened during it? In May 1949, what did Stalin do? What was the name of the newly merged American, British, and French zones in Germany? How about in Berlin?

Answer 23

President Truman would not let West Berlin fall into Soviet hands. At the same time, he did not want to order American troops to open a path to West Berlin through the Soviet-occupied zone. That move could trigger war. Instead, Truman approved a huge airlift. During the Berlin Airlift, hundreds of American and British planes carried tons of food, fuel, and other supplies to the two million West Berliners every day. The airlift lasted for almost a year. Stalin finally saw that the West would not abandon West Berlin. In May 1949, he lifted the blockade. After the blockade, the United States, Britain, and France merged their zones in the west into the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. They merged their zones in Berlin to form West Berlin, which was separate from but closely tied to West Germany.

Question 24

What state did Germany and Berlin stay in throughout the 1950s? With American aid, what did West Germany become? What did the Soviet zone become (name)? How did West Germany and East Germany compare? How did East Germans escape communism? How did this embarrass the communists? In 1961, what was built? What did the Berlin Wall come to signal?

Answer 24

Both Germany and Berlin remained divided throughout the 1950s. With American aid, West Germany rebuilt its economy and became a prosperous nation. In time, the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. East Germany was much poorer than West Germany, and it had a communist government. For years, East Germans fled communism by crossing into West Berlin. The flight of so many people embarrassed the communists. In 1961, the East German government built a huge concrete wall topped with barbed wire. It sealed off East Germany from West Berlin. East Germans who tried to scale the wall were shot by East German border guards. The Berlin Wall cut off contact between families and friends. It became a bitter symbol of the Cold War that divided Europe and the world.

Question 25

True or False: New military alliances emerged during the Cold War. A world peacekeeping organization was also established.

Answer 25

True

Question 26

In 1949, what was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO? What was a key goal of NATO?

Answer 26

To contain Soviet influences, the United States set up alliances with friendly nations. In 1949, it joined with many Western European countries to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A key NATO goal was to defend Western Europe against any Soviet threat.

Question 27

In 1955, what was the Warsaw Pact? How did the Soviet Union treat its allies?

Answer 27

In 1955, the Soviet Union formed its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union dominated its Warsaw Pact neighbors, forcing them to follow its policies.

Question 28

What are the United Nations or UN?

Answer 28

Many disputes were brought before a new world organization, the United Nations (UN). Fifty-one nations ratified the UN charter in October 1945. Over time, membership in the United Nations expanded as new nations were admitted. Under the UN charter, member nations agree to bring disputes before the body for peaceful settlement. Every member has a seat in the General Assembly, where problems can be discussed. A smaller Security Council also discusses conflicts that threaten peace. Over the years, the UN has succeeded best in fighting hunger and disease and in improving education. UN relief programs have provided food, medicine, and supplies to victims of famine, war, and other disasters. Preserving peace has proved more difficult. Some nations have rejected UN resolutions, which are formal recommendations for courses of action. Still, UN negotiators and peacekeeping forces have sometimes eased dangerous crises.

Question 29

What were communist advancements in 1949 that shocked the United States and the West?

Answer 29

Until 1949, most Americans felt that they had the upper hand in the Cold War. After all, the United States was the only country with the atomic bomb. Then in September 1949, the United States learned that the Soviet Union had tested an atomic bomb. A second shock followed. Communist forces, led by Mao Zedong (mow dzuh doong), gained power in China. The United States had long backed the Nationalists, led by Jiang Jieshi (jahng jeh shih), also known as Chiang Kai-shek. After a long civil war, Mao’s forces triumphed. In October 1949, Mao set up the People’s Republic of China. Jiang and his forces retreated to Taiwan, an island off the coast of China. Communist leaders in China and the Soviet Union often disagreed with each other. Yet together, the two nations controlled almost a quarter of the globe. Many Americans feared that communism would spread still farther.