Early Crises of the Cold War The Berlin Crisis, the “Twin Shocks,” and spread of the Cold War to Asia

Soviet-American clash over organization of Germany Anglo-American decision to facilitate economic recovery of Germany: - treatment of Germany as a single entity. - fusion of British, French and American zones of occupation into one economic unit. Soviet insistence on exaction of reparations. Struggle to win over German public opinion: -Byrnes’s proposal for demilitarization of Germany. - Soviet populist measures in the zone of occupation. Failure of the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in March of 1947.

West German State and the Berlin Blockade, Currency reform in the Western zones of Germany and Berlin, June of Plans for convocation of a constitutional assembly. Imposition of Soviet blockade on Western access to West Berlin to attempt to slow down emergence of the West German state. American Airlift, June 1948-May 1949

Berlin Airlift, June May 1949

Formation of NATO, 1949 Proclamation of the Federal Republic of Germany, May 1949 Treaty of Brussels, 1948: military alliance of Great Britain, France, and Benelux countries over growing fears of war Introduction of American forces and nuclear capabilities to Europe -NSC-30: American reliance on nuclear weapons against Soviet conventional forces Formation of NATO, April of 1949: mutual defense guarantees, integrated military structure

Dean Acheson, Secretary of State

The Twin Shocks of 1949: the Soviet Atom Bomb Soviet atomic project received high priority in Public relations campaign for control of atomic energy: - The Baruch Plan Prior reliance on a conventional strike group of armies to counter the danger of American nuclear strike. Secret Soviet nuclear test: August of 1949; elimination of American monopoly on atomic bombs.

The Twin Shocks of 1949: Chinese Communist Revolution Two decades of civil war between communists and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists. American diplomatic and financial support for nationalists, but no military involvement Little Soviet aid to Mao Zedong; Soviet preference for weak and divided China Stalin’s agreement with Chiang Kai-shek: Sino- Soviet treaty of friendship (1945) in exchange for recognition of Soviet gains in China at Japanese expense

Chiang Kai-shek, Nationalist leader of China

The Twin Shocks of 1949: Chinese Communist Revolution (cont.) Some American diplomats discounted importance of China; expectation of Sino- Soviet tensions Chinese policy of “leaning to one side:” ideological commitment to the Soviet Union and hostility toward the Western powers -Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and alliance, 1950

Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance, 1950

Paul Nitze, author of NSC-68

NSC-68 and Revision of Containment NSC-68 premises about Soviet foreign policy: -Soviet challenge is ideological and military, not strictly political -communist camp is ideologically united and irrevocably hostile to American interests and way of life -Soviet policies must be judged by Soviet capabilities, not psychological analysis -commitment to expansion, world revolution and subversion

NSC-68 and Revision of Containment (cont.) NSC-68 policy recommendations: -adoption of symmetrical containment -expansion of American armed forces, nuclear arsenal, and increase in defense budget -avoidance of all-out nuclear war with the Soviet Union, but: -fighting of limited regional/proxy wars even with nuclear weapons and push back aggressively

Conclusion Crises of made the Cold War global. The United States and the Soviet Union began shifting from political competition to ideological militarized confrontation. The conflict still remained “cold,” but there was much uncertainty over how it would develop further.