Cold War: Lesson 1

​Main ideas

1. After World War II, the Soviet Union and the other Allied powers became enemies.

2. Communism expanded as the Soviet Union took control of Eastern European countries.

3. The United States took several steps to stop the expansion of communism.

4. As the Cold War heated up, tensions between communist and capitalist countries increased.

​Key Terms and People

1) Cold War: nonmilitary conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States

2) containment: goal of preventing the Soviet Union from expanding its influence

3) Truman Doctrine: policy of providing aid to help foreign countries fight communism

4) Marshall Plan: program under which the U.S. gave aid to Western European countries to rebuild and stabilize their economies

5) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): defensive military alliance of the U.S., Canada, and ten Western European nations

6) Warsaw Pact: alliance between Soviet Union and Eastern European countries

7) arms race: competition between U.S. and Soviet Union for greater military might

​ALLIES BECOME ENEMIES

Allied leaders divided Germany and its capital into four parts after World War II. They were occupied by Britain, France, the U.S., and the Soviet Union. In 1945, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were the most powerful nations. The Soviet Union wanted to spread communism around the world. The U.S. was committed to democracy. These differences led to the Cold War, that lasted for about 50 years. a conflict in which no weapons were fired.

​BUILDING AN IRON CURTAIN

The Soviet Union occupied its western border and made Poland a communist government. It expanded to Eastern Europe and the Balkan countries. These countries became “satellite states.” They were cut off from contact with the rest of Europe. Winston Churchill described this division as “an iron curtain.”

EFFORTS TO HALT COMMUNIST EXPANSION

To try to prevent the spread of communism, the U.S. developed the policy of containment. This did not stop the Soviet Union, so Congress provided aid to help foreign countries fight communism. This policy was the Truman Doctrine. Also, under the Marshall Plan, help was provided to Western European countries to rebuild and stabilize their economies.

​COLD WAR HEATS UP

The U.S., France, and Britain withdrew their forces from Germany and West Berlin in 1948 so their areas could be reunified. This created a problem for West Berlin because East Berlin was held by the Soviets. They created a blockade to cut off West Berlin so the city had no way of getting supplies. Stalin thought the Allies would give up West Berlin. Instead, British and U.S. officials flew supplies into West Berlin in what was called the Berlin Airlift. The Soviets eventually ended the blockade.

​However, Soviet aggression worried Western Europeans. In 1949, ten Western European nations joined with the U.S. and Canada to form a military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). An attack on any NATO member would be met with armed force by all member nations. The Soviet Union saw NATO as a threat and formed its own alliance. It was the Warsaw Pact.

​Then in 1961, East Germans built the Berlin Wall. It separated East and West Berlin. The U.S. and the Soviet Union had atomic weapons. Both feared each side could destroy the other. So they entered into the arms race, a competition for greater military strength.