The Origins and Early Years of the Cold War Powerpoint Templates

The Cold War Definition The Cold War is a term used to describe the time period following WWII, in which a political hostility existed between the Soviet Union and the United States led Western powers. (1945-1990)

The Yalta Conference February 1945 Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Soviet resort Met to plan post-war world Agreements made play an important role in the Cold War

The Yalta Conference Poland Poland was first item discussed Soviet liberators in WWII had set up communist government FDR and Churchill said people should get choice of governments. Stalin argued that neighbor governments needed to be friendly to Soviet Union FDR and Churchill finally allowed Communist government to remain in power Stalin agreed that the government would include members of the pre-war Polish government, and free elections would be held as soon as possible

The Yalta Conference The Declaration of Liberated Europe Asserted the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they would live Allies agreed that the people would be allowed to “create democratic institutions of their own choice”

Tensions Begin to Rise Soviet violation of Yalta promises Two weeks after Yalta, Soviets pressured king of Romania to appoint a communist government Refused to allow more than three non-Communist Poles to serve on 18 member Polish government United States accused Soviet Union and Stalin of violating Declaration of Liberated Europe, and promises made

Truman Takes Control Truman becomes president when FDR dies in April 1945 Strongly anti-Communist Felt that WWII had been caused by appeasement of Hitler Refused to make the same mistake with Stalin Ten days after taking office demanded that Stalin hold free elections in Poland, as he had promised at Yalta Marked an important shift in Soviet-American relations

The United Nations Chartered in April 1945 Replaced the League of Nations as a mediator for international disputes 50 nations joined initially (today, UN has 192 members) For the UN to take any military action requires a unanimous vote of the Security Council Stalin was wary of this In the General Assembly, which decides general UN policies, each nation gets 1 vote (so all are equal) UN Security Council: US, Soviet Union, France, Great Britain, & China reserved the power to veto any action by the UN

The Potsdam Conference- July 16- Aug. 2 1945 Goal of meeting was to work out deal on Germany Stalin wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations- had already started stripping their zone of machinery and equipment and sending to USSR Truman insisted that heavy reparations had caused WWII- felt that German industry MUST be allowed to recover Suggested that Soviets use material from their zone (which was mainly agricultural) When Soviets refuse, Truman offers a little bit of machinery from other zones Truman also confronts Soviets about A-Bomb testing- hints US has bigger weapon Stalin reluctantly agrees to terms- unable to get reparations they wanted

Potsdam Dividing Germany Big Three agreed to divide Germany into four zones Great Britain, USA, Soviet Union, and France would each control one zone The German capital of Berlin would also be broken into four zones, also controlled by these four countries Berlin was located in the middle of the Soviet zone of Germany

Germany divided

Failures of Potsdam Soviets refuse to uphold the Declaration of Liberated Europe Pro-Soviet Communist governments will be set up in much of eastern Europe Become known as satellite nations because they were heavily controlled by the Soviets Winston Churchill coins the term Iron Curtain in 1946 speech

The Iron Curtain “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe … and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.” - Winston Churchill, 1946 Term “iron curtain” was meant to describe the ideological division that had risen between Communist Eastern Europe and Democratic Western Europe

Containment Policy US had little choice but to accept communism in Eastern Europe or enter into an unpopular war with the Soviets US instead focused on preventing communism from spreading into new areas and pledged to “contain” communism to the areas where it already existed

George Kennan 1904 – 2005 U.S. diplomat who is credited with devising the US policy of containment and who argued that Soviet communism was inherently flawed and weak in his “Long Telegram” Meant containment to be through political coercion rather than through military force, was ultimately disappointed with how the US responded to the Soviets

First Test of Containment Stalin supported communist rebels in Greece and Turkey in their efforts to overthrow US-backed governments The devastation of WWII had left these governments in a seriously weakened state and they were in serious danger of falling without US intervention

The Truman Doctrine Mar. 12, 1947: Truman declared that US foreign policy would be to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” Truman essentially declared war on the spread of communism, launching a “Cold War” that would last into the 1990s After Truman’s speech, Congress approved $400 million in economic aid to Greece and Turkey, enough to defeat the communist threat in that region

The Marshall Plan In support of the Truman Doctrine, Sec. of State George Marshall developed a plan to provide US financial aid to war-torn Europe, to help with rebuilding both physically and economically The economic prosperity in Western Europe that followed minimized the potential for any further spread of communism in that region The US would send $25 billion in aid to Europe in the 6 years following the end of WWII

Stalin rejects the Marshall Plan The US even offered economic assistance to countries behind the “iron curtain,” including the Soviet Union, but Stalin would not allow any communist state to accept US assistance, believing it would weaken his control

The Berlin Blockade June 1948 – May 1949 Frustrated with US efforts to restore a unified Germany (now a W. Germany), Stalin tried to push the US and its allies out of West Berlin by blocking all overland access to the city through East Germany All road and rail lines were cut and no supplies could be brought into the western half of the city

The Berlin Airlift Allies decided to fly supplies into Berlin instead Soviets were unwilling to be the aggressor by shooting down Allied aircraft 1500 flights a day delivered 5000 tons of supplies a day – everything from food to coal to gasoline to cloth to machinery After nearly a year, the Soviets lifted the unsuccessful blockade

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Founded April 4, 1949 Mutual defense treaty against the Soviets Military Alliance US, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, & Iceland were the original members Today, includes most of Europe + US & Canada

Russians Develop Atomic Bombs August 29, 1949: Soviets tested their first atomic bomb (technology they had largely stolen from the US through espionage) Soviets had become a much more serious threat in the eyes of the US