The Cold War Begins What can happen when powerful friends become enemies? Pgs

Superpowers Superpower - A very powerful nation with great influence in world events. After WWII the United States and the Soviet Union became the two most powerful nations in the world. However, the two nations were quite different from one another, so there were many conflicts between them.

The Cold War Although the two nations never went to war, the threat of war was great between the years of These years were frightening for citizens in both countries.

The Berlin Crisis After WWII ended, the Allies divided Germany into four parts. Each major ally took charge of one part. The United States, France, and Britain worked together to build a strong West Germany. The Soviet Union took control of East Germany and formed a Communist country there.

East Germany With the formation of a Communist government in East Germany, the government took over land and businesses. The people had little freedom to make decisions about how their society should be run.

Berlin The capital of Germany, Berlin, was in East Germany. It was divided into four parts, too. West Berlin was controlled by the Allies. East Berlin was controlled by the Soviets. You could not get to West Berlin without traveling through East Berlin.

Berlin The Soviet Union would not let the Western Allies send supplies through East Germany to West Berlin. They blocked highways, railroads, and water routes so that no food or fuel could get to the city. They hoped to drive the Western Allies out of West Berlin.

Berlin To avoid the blockade, the Allies airlifted supplies for more than 11 months. Pilots made more than 272,000 flights into West Berlin. The planes carried about 2 million tons of food and supplies to the people of West Berlin. Eventually, the Soviets backed down and allowed supplies to be delivered over land.

The Berlin Wall After the blockade ended, many living in East Germany tried to escape communist rule. In 1961, the East German government, built a concrete wall with barbed wire on top to keep people from leaving. The wall was guarded by soldiers ready to shoot anyone who tried to cross it.

“The Iron Curtain” Communist countries were said to be “behind an iron curtain.” The iron curtain was an idea to show how people in communist countries were cut off from the rest of the world. Many viewed communism as a threat to freedom and worried about its spread to other countries.

“The Iron Curtain” East Germany Poland Czechoslovakia Hungary Romania Yugoslavia Albania Bulgaria Soviet Union