Modern World History Ch. 17, Section 1 The Beginning of the Cold War

Nuremburg Trials – high-ranking Nazis put on trial for “crimes against humanity” in November 1945 by Allied leaders 19 Nazi leaders were found guilty and 12 were sentenced to death Another set of war crimes trials took place in Japan and their wartime leader, Hideki Tojo, was convicted and sentenced to death with 7 others War Crimes Trials

Principle Establish by War Crimes Trials The trials in Germany and Japan helped establish the principle that individuals must be held responsible for committing war crimes, even when acting on behalf of a government Hideki Tojo on trial in Japan →

Sources of Distrust between US and USSR that led to the Cold War (#1) Different political and economic systems (US democratic and capitalist and USSR communist) U.S. upset with Soviet Union for signing the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany Disagreement in WWII over when the US would start a second front against Germany US didn’t tell USSR about our atomic bomb program Soviet Union broke Yalta Conference pledge to allow free elections in Eastern Europe Truman Stalin

The “Big Three” leaders at the Yalta Conference near the end of WWII Winston Churchill (GB), Franklin Roosevelt (US), and Joseph Stalin (USSR) February 1945

Three things agreed upon by the Allied leaders at the Yalta Conference (#2) Free elections in Eastern Europe The Soviet Union would help with the defeat of Japan after Germany defeated An international organization to solve world problems would be created (would become known as the United Nations)

United Nations (#3) As agreed to at the Yalta Conference an international organization dedicated to resolving international conflicts was created – the U.N. 5 Security Council nations with a veto power were: United States Great Britain France Soviet Union China U.N. Meets in New York

U.N. in Cold War and Today U.N. was unable to resolve problems of the Cold War as either the U.S. or the Soviet Union would veto any related action Today the U.N. works to avoid wars and provides disaster relief, prevents hunger and disease, and combats international terrorism

Superpower Aims in Europe (#4) Soviet Union United States Encourage democracy in other countries to help prevent the rise of communist governments Gain access to raw materials and markets to fuel booming industries Rebuild European governments to promote stability and create new markets for U.S. goods Reunite Germany to stabilize it and increase the security of Europe Encourage communism in other countries as part of a world wide workers’ revolution Rebuild its war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe’s industrial equipment and raw materials Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet borders and balance the U.S. influence in Western Europe Keep Germany divided so it can’t wage war again

Potsdam Conference in July 1945 (Near Berlin) LEADERS PRESENT: Winston Churchill and Clement Atlee (Great Britain) Harry S Truman (US) Joseph Stalin (USSR)

Potsdam Conference in July 1945 (Near Berlin) The leaders agreed Germany and the city of Berlin would be divided into 4 zones of occupation The US, USSR, Great Britain and France each would control one of the zones Berlin

Iron Curtain (#5) A term originated by Winston Churchill which refers to the line in Europe following WWII separating the communist nations in Eastern Europe from the democratic nations of Western Europe In the same speech Churchill warns of Soviet ambitions to keep control of the nations of Eastern Europe and to force them to submit to Soviet control Winston Churchill giving his “Iron Curtain” speech when visiting the US in 1946

Iron Curtain “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent” -- Winston Churchill U.S.S.R. ◄ BALTIC SEA ◄ Stettin ◄ Trieste ADRIATIC SEA ►

The nations on the eastern side of the “Iron Curtain” were known as the Eastern Bloc

Fence alone the East/West Border in Germany

Preserved section of the border between East Germany and West Germany called the "Little Berlin Wall" at Mödlareuth

Containment (#5) U.S. foreign policy under Pres. Truman to stop the spread of communism to any places that were not already communist during the Cold War It meant that the U.S. would stop the spread of communism even if it meant going to war (which it did in places like Korea and Vietnam) Telegram from a U.S. State Dept. official in Moscow, George Kennan, which described the need to contain the spread of Soviet influence

Truman Doctrine (#5) Policy of the U.S. under Pres. Truman which promised aid to people resisting threats to their democratic freedom U.S. aid helped defeat communist overthrow attempts in Greece and Turkey Showed other nations that we would back up our containment policy President Truman giving the speech before Congress in 1947 that outlined his Truman Doctrine and asked for aid to help Greece and Turkey

Marshall Plan (#5) Plan created by U.S. Secretary of State, George Marshall, which sent $13 billion in aid to western and southern Europe to help them rebuild after WWII The plan was to help our democratic allies to handle post-war problems before communism could threaten to take over in their nations Green nations received aid, and the red bars show how much in comparison to other nations

Division of Germany after WWII The division of Germany was first agreed to by Allied leaders at the Yalta Conference, and the exact borders were set at the Potsdam Conference after Nazi Germany was defeated Later the British, French, and American zones would combine to become the democratic nation of West Germany British zone Soviet zone U.S. zone French zone

Division of Berlin The German capitol city of Berlin was also divided into 4 occupied zones The French, British, and American sectors of the city combined and became known as West Berlin West Berlin became a democratic zone in the middle of communist East Germany

Berlin Airlift (#5) After the Soviet Union blocked access to West Berlin in 1948, Truman responded by airlifting food, fuel, and equipment to West Berlin for nearly a year with non-stop flights until the Soviet Union called off its blockade Prevented WWIII and showed U.S. would uphold containment Flight paths to West Berlin during airlift

◄ C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin ◄ C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. Up to 102 of these planes were flying during the first three months of the Berlin Airlift West Berlin citizens watch ► a plane take off from Tempelhof Airport, which was the central point of a massive U.S.-led airlift in 1948 of the city. 

The Cold War (#5) A conflict between the US and the Soviet Union, without direct confrontation on the battlefield, that lasted from after WWII until 1991 It began as Soviet leader Joseph Stalin broke his promise from the Yalta Conference to have free elections in Eastern Europe and instead set up communist dictatorships in these nations It caused nations of the world to choose what side they would be on, and led to the fear of nuclear war Churchill, Truman, and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (#6) N.A.T.O. was the defense alliance created in 1948 by the democratic nations of Western Europe and North America to prevent against Soviet or communist threats As United Nations couldn’t solve Cold War problems (as the Soviet Union would veto any U.S.-backed proposals) this alliance was necessary

Warsaw Pact (#6) A Treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland in 1955 that set up an organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe The treaty was an initiative of the Soviet Union and was in direct response to West Germany joining NATO in 1955 As such, it was the Soviet-sponsored communist counterpart to NATO The nations in red above were members of the Warsaw Pact communist alliance

The Building of the Berlin Wall (#7) between the years of 1954 - 1960, East Germany suffered a “brain drain” the following people left East Germany for West Germany 4,600 doctors 15,885 teachers 738 university teachers 15,536 engineers and technicians 11,705 students by 1961, 3 million people had left for West Germany

Building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 Soviet leader Khrushchev threatens to take over West Berlin Kennedy vowed to defend the city East Germany had fortified border with West Germany, but not between East & West Berlin Aug. 12-13, 1961 – Soviets & East Germans closed the border off with barbed wire US sends troops to West Berlin, but no shots fired Building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 Aug. 16 - barbed wire replaced with concrete blocks By end of August, the wall was about 12 feet high

Soviets Explode Atomic Bomb On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb US experts claim that the USSR couldn’t have developed this weapon on their own without having stolen US atomic secrets Picture of the 1st Soviet atomic bomb, nicknamed the “Joe I” by the U.S.

Ethel & Julius Rosenberg Members of the U.S. scientific community who were also members of the communist party, who were convicted (1951) and executed (1953) for passing secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union This ended the U.S. status of being the only nation to have the atomic bomb, denying the U.S. the ability to use it during the Cold War The Rosenbergs during their trial The Rosenberg’s two young sons read the newspaper before the execution of their parents

Hydrogen Bombs In 1952 the United States successfully detonated the world's first hydrogen bomb, on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The 10.4-megaton thermonuclear device instantly vaporized an entire island and left behind a crater more than a mile wide. Three years later, on November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb on the same principle of radiation implosion. Both superpowers were now in possession of the so-called "superbomb," and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time in history.

Sputnik (#7) The Soviet Union successfully launched the satellite Sputnik using an ICBM missile This scared the US as it proved the Soviet Union’s rocket program was more advanced than the US, and they had a rocket that could deliver a nuclear warhead to the other side of the planet

Effects of Sputnik Arms race between USSR and US begins as both powers stockpile nuclear weapons School children trained to duck and cover Families built backyard bomb shelters NASA space program begins US increases research and spending on education in math and science

U-2 spy plane similar to the one U-2 Incident (#7) U.S.’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) started secret high-altitude U-2 plane flights over Soviet territory to guard against a surprise nuclear attack In May 1960 the Soviets shot down a U-2 plane, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured This incident heightened Cold war tensions U-2 spy plane similar to the one shot down over the U.S.S.R. Francis Gary Powers