📍Topic 8.3 Effects of the Cold War

📖 AMSCO p.167 - p.176

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Julia

Things to Know

Germany after World War II

• After World War II, the Allies partitioned Germany between themselves.
  • The United States (U.S.), Great Britain, and France combined the Western zones under democracy.
  • The Soviet Union (USSR) remained separated and ruled the Eastern zone under communism.
• Berlin Blockade: Lying in the middle of the Eastern zone was the capital of Germany, Berlin, which was also divided into four zones. The Soviets created the Blockade to stop Western Allies from bringing supplies into the capital.
• Berlin Airlift: The Allies flew supplies into the Western zone from February 1948 to May 1948, when the USSR lifted the Blockade. They used the airlift to avoid military interaction with the Soviets. 🛩️
• The end of the Blockade signified the split of Germany into two states, which marked the division of Europe into East and West.
  • Western Germany → Federal Republic of Germany
  • Eastern Germany → German Democratic Republic
• Berlin Wall: the Soviets built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to prevent Eastern Germans from fleeing to the West.
  • Eastern Germans wished to flee after seeing how prosperous Western Germany was due to democracy.
  • The Soviets built a wall, as they felt that the desire to flee reflected badly on communism and negatively impacted their economy.

🤝 Alliances of the Cold War

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): Western countries allied together to prepare for any potential threats as a result of Soviet control of Eastern Europe.
  • This treaty pledged support and cooperation against war and conflicts.
  • Notable members include France, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, and Canada.
• Warsaw Pact: Soviet Response to the creation of NATO, created in 1955.
  • Members: USSR, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungry, Poland, and other Eastern European countries.
  • The countries combined their forces and based their armies in Moscow, creating what became known as the communist bloc.
  • Resisting Soviet Control
    • Albania: joined the Warsaw Pact and then withdrew, creating an alliance with China instead.
    • Yugoslavia: Under the leadership of Marshall Tito, the country never joined the pact. In the 1990s, after ethnic divisions, Yugoslavia was broken down into various countries.
• Other Alliances
  • Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO): Created in 1954, included Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the U.S.
  • Central Treaty Organization (CENTO): An anti-Soviet treaty formed by Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey to prevent the spread of Communism throughout the Middle East—the U.S. was not an official member.

Proxy Wars

• Proxy Wars: armies of small countries acted as stand-ins for the USSR or the U.S., the two superpowers. A combination of internal issues and the communism versus democracy debate caused these wars.
• Korean War (1950 - 1953):
  • After World War II, Korea was divided into two sections with the Soviets occupying the North and the Allies occupying the South.
  • North Korea invaded South Korea attempting to reunite the country. However, the UN voted to defend South Korea to prevent the section from falling to communism.
  • The UN pushed the North Koreans back across the border and towards China. China, an ally of North Korea, entered the war to aid North Korea in fear that the UN would attempt to invade China as well.
  • The war ended in a stalemate after three years, as Korea remains divided today with a demilitarized zone separating the two countries.
• Vietnam War (1955-1975):
  • President Eisenhower, and subsequent President Kennedy, sent military advisors to South Vietnam to train the Vietnamese army, hoping to prevent a communist takeover by North Vietnam.
  • The United States supported the undemocratic ruler, Ngo Dinh Diem, and then supported the military coup that would overthrow Diem.
  • Kennedy’s successor, President Johnson sent more troops as he believed in the domino theory, the idea that once one country was taken by communism, other countries in the region would fall to communism shortly after.
  • North Vietnam won the war and created a communist Vietnam.
• Angola
  • Angola, a Portuguese Colony in Africa, won its independence in 1975 after much ethnic conflict due to European powers creating countries with no regard for traditional regions.
  • Each of the three cultural groups fought for control of the diamond minds: 💎
    • The Mbundu tribe was backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba.
    • The Ovimbundu tribe was backed by South Africa.
    • The Bankongo tribe was backed by the United States.
  • Once independent, a civil war broke out and ended 27 years later in a cease-fire.
• Contra War
  • In Nicaragua, The Sandistisa, a group of rebels, ended a dictatorship and began ruling.
  • Contra, a conservative opponent, attempted to overthrow them. This led to the Contra War where the U.S. backed the Contras.
  • The war ended with the Tela Accord and the demobilization of both Contra and Sandinistas’ armies.

Crisis in Cuba

• The Bay of Pigs Invasion
  • Fidel Castro, a communist revolutionary, set up a dictatorship in Cuba and nationalized foreign-owned businesses.
  • As a result, many U.S.-owned businesses were suffering economically, so the U.S. ended trade and diplomacy with Cuba.
  • Castro, then, aligned with the Soviet Union and accepted Soviet Aid. ✅
  • In 1961, President Kennedy, worried about the proximity of communist Cuba to the United States, backed a group of Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. However, the invasion was a failure and only led to a permanent Cuban alliance with the Soviet Union.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
  • As a result of the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union armed Cuba with weapons. Soviet Premier Khrushchev sent nuclear missiles to be stored in Cuba with the justification that since the United States had placed nuclear missiles in Turkey, they could do the same in Cuba.
  • In 1962, President Kennedy ordered the Navy to prevent these missiles from being shipped and started a blockade around Cuba.
  • This almost led to nuclear war between the Soviets and the United States, however, both leaders pulled back. Khrushchev stopped the delivery of the missiles and the United States removed their missiles from Cuba.
  • After this, the leaders realized communication was needed and set up a HotLine, a telegraph link between the two countries in 1963. ☎️

📝 The Threats of Nuclear War

• Test-Ban Treaty: Treaty signed in 1963 by the U.S., the USSR, and other countries outlawing the testing of nuclear weapons above ground, underwater, and in space to lessen radiation exposure. Underground testing remained legal.
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Signed in 1968, preventing nuclear powers from spreading their nuclear technology to non-nuclear countries.
• Anti-Nuclear Weapons Movement: Resulting from the nuclear arms races, first developed in Japan as an opposition to U.S. testing of weapons in the Pacific Ocean. A third of Japan’s population signed a petition against nuclear weapons and in the late 1970s, the movement expanded to other countries.

Terms to Remember