The Cold War AP World History

Superpowers Emerge From WWII United States – wanted to strengthen democracy & build prosperous economies Soviet Union – wanted to establish pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe to prevent future attacks & build an empire

Soviet Union Lost 20 million people in World War II U.S. and Allied view of Stalin changed at the end of World War II Stalin broke promise of free elections (Yalta) Eastern European nations become satellites of the Soviet Union Barrier splitting Europe called “iron curtain” by Churchill Explode 1st atomic bomb in 1949

United States Marshall Plan President Truman – wanted to resist Soviet moves 1947 - Policy of “containment” adopted to prevent the spread of communism Truman Doctrine (1947) – foreign policy to aid countries resisting communism (Greece & Turkey)

Germany & Austria Divided 1945 – Four zones of occupation by U.S., France, Britain, & Soviet Union Berlin also divided East & West Germany are formed

Cold War Grows Became global Alliances develop – NATO (formed by the U.S.) & Warsaw Pact (formed by the Soviets) Soviet Union provided Middle Eastern Nations with military supplies and advisors U.S. supports dictatorships in some Latin American and Middle Eastern countries; also help developing nations to overthrow communist regimes Hydrogen bomb developed (1000 times more powerful than A-bomb) in early 1950s Build up of military strength (traditional, biological & nuclear) & test of ideologies ICBMs developed to deliver nuclear warheads Military buildups with brinkmanship, space exploration, & local and regional conflicts were all part of the Cold War

Space Race Competition to develop technology to explore and ultimately control space beginning in the late 1950s 1957 – Soviets launch Sputnik 1958 – U.S. launches satellite 1961- First human orbits earth (Yuri Gagarin) 1962 – First American orbits earth (John Glenn) 1969 – Apollo 11 first manned moon landing 1975 – U.S. & Soviet Union launch first joint space mission

1948 - Berlin Blockade/Airlift Soviets block all land access to West Berlin 2 million West Berliners need food/supplies U.S. & Britain respond by airlifting supplies Every 3 minutes a plane lands carrying approximately 4,000 tons of supplies Continues for 11 months

1956 – Invasion of Hungary Harsh communist rule (purges, confiscation, executions) Stalin dies in 1953 – control eased & workers revolt Hungary’s leader (Nagy) proclaims neutrality & withdrawal from Warsaw Pact Soviets invade & crush revolt while Western countries do nothing in response

U2 Spy Plane Incident (1960) CIA started secret high altitude spy flights over Soviet territory Soviets shoot down Francis Gary Powers in May 1960 and captures him Heightened Cold War tensions & stops detente

1961- Bay of Pigs 1960 – CIA trains thousands of anti-Castro Cuban exiles 1961 – invades Cuba by landing at the Bay of Pigs Failed because the U.S. did not provide much needed air support Was a “black eye” for U.S.

1961 – Berlin Wall Large numbers of East Germans are fleeing to the West East Germans build a wall around West Berlin to stop flow Became a major symbol of the cold war

1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis Soviets secretly install missiles in Cuba Kennedy (U.S.) blockades Cuba Khrushchev removes missiles Kennedy agrees not to invade Cuba Helped lead to Khrushchev’s downfall

Prague Spring (Czechoslovakia) Public pressure for reform gains strength in the 1960s Alexander Dubček (liberal communist reformer) eases press censorship & allowed some political groups to meet (in the Spring of 1968) Brezhnev (Soviet leader) – responds by sending 500,000 Soviet & Warsaw Pact troops to occupy Czechoslovakia Soviet Union declares its right to intervene in Communist States

SALT (1972) Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev meet to limit the number of ICBMs & sub-launched missiles SALT II in 1979 fails due to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979) Soviets invade to stop a Muslim revolt that threatened to topple the communist regime there Rebel forces (mujahideen) fight using American made weapons Soviets withdraw in 1989 after spending vast amounts U.S. boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics and stopped selling grain to the U.S.S.R

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) East German leader (Egon Krenz) in November 1989 opened the Berlin Wall in an effort to save communism and restore order to East Germany – leads to the fall of the Berlin Wall Germany is reunified in 1990