1. Review
What had Stalin agreed to at the Yalta Conference but never followed through on, creating tension between the US and Soviet Union?
What caused suspicions between the US and the Soviet Union during World War 2?
How are communism and capitalism different ideologies?

2. Who is ultimately responsible for the start of the Cold War? VS
Essential Question
Who is ultimately responsible for the start of the Cold War? VS

3. United Nations
April 25th, 1945 – Representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco to establish a new peacekeeping body, known as the United Nations

4. US Aims Versus Soviet Aims in Europe
The US Wanted to…
The Soviets Wanted to…
Create a new world order in which all nations had the right of self-determination
Gain access to raw materials and markets for its industries
Rebuild European governments to ensure stability and to create new markets for American goods
Reunite Germany, believing that Europe would be more secure if Germany were productive
Encourage Communism in other countries as part of the worldwide struggle between workers and the wealthy
Rebuild its war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe’s industrial equipment and raw materials
Control Eastern Europe to balance US influence in Western Europe
Keep Germany divided and weak so that it would never again threaten the Soviet Union

5. Soviet Union Tightens Its Grip
Stalin installed communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland
These countries became known as satellite nations and were dominated by the Soviet Union

6. US Establishes a Policy of Containment
Containment – measures taken to prevent any extension of communist rule to other countries
This became the Truman administration’s guiding policy and divided Europe into two political regions

7. An “Iron Curtain” Has Fallen
“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory…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…All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in…the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and…increasing measure of control from Moscow.”
Winston Churchill – March 1946
What is Churchill referring to as an “iron curtain”?

8. An “Iron Curtain” Has Fallen
“Iron Curtain” – came to stand for the division of Europe

9. Cold War in Europe
Cold War – a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union in which neither nation directly confronted the other on the battlefield
The Cold War would dominate global affairs and US foreign policy from 1945 until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991

10. Truman Doctrine
March 12th, 1947, Truman asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey
The principle that the United States should give support to countries threatened by Soviet influence or communist insurrection

11. The Marshall Plan
Postwar western Europe was in chaos, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed that the US provide aid to all European nations that needed it, which came to be known as the Marshall Plan
Over the next 4 years, 16 countries received around $13 billion in aid

12. Superpowers Struggle Over Germany
After World War 2, Germany was divided into 4 zones
In 1948, Great Britain, France, and the US decided to combine their 3 zones into 1 nation
Stalin took advantage of Berlin being in his zone and closed all highway and rail routes into West Berlin

13. The Berlin Airlift
As a result of Stalin closing all routes into West Berlin, the 2.1 million residents only had enough food for five weeks
Berlin Airlift – for 327 days, US and British planes flew 277,000 flights delivering 2.3 million tons of supplies to West Berlin

14. East Germany VS West Germany
The western part of Germany officially became the Federal Republic of Germany – West Germany – included West Berlin
The eastern part of Germany officially became the German Democratic Republic – East Germany – included East Berlin

15. The NATO Alliance
Fearful of Soviet aggression, ten Western European nations, along with the US and Canada, formed a defensive military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

16. Who Started the Cold War?
In pairs, you are going to analyze Cold War-era documents, answer the guided questions, and decide who started the Cold War.

17. Class Discussion
Who was primarily responsible for the start of the Cold War? What evidence do you have to support your claim?
Which of these documents do you believe is most trustworthy? Why?
Did anyone’s hypothesis change? How and why?
What other evidence would you need to strengthen your claim?