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Key Events of the

Cold War Era

1945-1995

Berlin Airlift

� 1948: the Soviets blockade the East

German border

� Caused the people of West Berlin to face

starvation

� Western nations react with an organized

airlift of supplies West Berlin

� Soviets lift the blockade in 1949

Berlin Wall

� Germany was divided into two nations – east and west.

� The city of Berlin was also divided into two parts.

� A wall was built around West Berlin to prevent East Germans from fleeing to freedom in the west.

� This wall became a symbol of the Cold War.� Over 5000 escaped anyway,

but over 200 were killed while attempting.

Anticommunist Hysteria in the US

� Some Americans sympathetic to

communists – causes others to be overly concerned (mainly because of the nuclear

threat)

� Joseph McCarthy – Wisconsin Senator

�Claimed to have evidence of 205 communist

party members working to shape government policy

�Lasted about 5 years – claims proved baseless

� http://www.c-span.org/video/?299445-

1/senator-joseph-mccarthy-interview

Cuba in the Cold War

� Fidel Castro comes to power after leading

a revolution against Fulgencio Batista in 1959

� Soon Castro’s government took a turn towards communism

� US President Eisenhower responded by cutting off trade – drove them to sign

treaty with Russia. (July 1960)

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Bay of Pigs

� Background: Cuba wants US-owned oil

companies to process Soviet supplied fuel and seizes refineries when companies

refuse

� CIA trains Cuban exiles for an uprising

against Castro, but when invasion began

in April 1961, US support never shows and the mission fails

Cuban Missile Crisis

� Fall of 1962

� Castro is nervous following the attempted overthrow at the Bay of Pigs

� Allows the Soviet Union to build nuclear missile sites on Cuba

� President Kennedy sends Navy to blockade the island

� Sites eventually removed after the US promises to not invade Cuba again

Arms and Space Race� The development of nuclear

weapons at the end of WWII created a rivalry and competition between the USA and the USSR for military superiority.

� Missiles, airplanes, submarines, were all created to deliver nuclear weapons to their targets.

� A by-product of the arms race was the Space Race.

� Russian satellite Sputnik I – 1957

� Russian Yuri Gagarin –1961

� American Alan Shepard –1961

� American Apollo 11 – 1969� These technological

achievements helped to move us forward the modern age.

Korean War

� Korean peninsula was divided after WWII.

� Tensions increased as the northern half became communist and the southern half was supported by the USA.

� North Korean armies crossed the 38th parallel in July 1950 and invaded South Korea.

� The United Nations agreed to send soldiers to support the South Koreans.� 88% were Americans� Domino theory

� Pushed all the way into NK, but then the Chinese entered the war and forced the UN armies to retreat.

� July 1953 treaty ends the conflict and redrew the border at the 38th parallel again.

Korean War

� Korea had been controlled by Japan

during WWII

� After Japan’s loss in

WWII, the Korean Peninsula divided

Korean War

� How did North Korea end up favoring

communism?

� Soviets invade North Korea following the bombing of Hiroshima

� Plan had been agreed upon at the Yalta Conference

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Korean War� North Korean armies

cross the 38th Parallel

– the dividing line between communist North Korea and

noncommunist South Korea

� The United Nations sends troop to support South Korea

� 88% US

Korean War

� UN forces are able to push all the way into

North Korea

� China, a fellow

communist country, enters the war and forces a retreat by UN

forces

Korean War

� July 1953, an

armistice (cease fire) is reached

� Establishes a demilitarized zone

around the 38th

parallel

� No treaty ever

ends the war

Vietnam War

� Background

�Became a French colony in the late 1800s (French Indo-China)

�Controlled by Japanese during WWII

�French try to regain control after WWII

� Resistance led by Viet Minh – communist guerilla fighters led by Ho Chi Minh

� Geneva Accord ended war with France and divided Vietnam in two, North and South

Vietnam War

� After the Division

�Chinese and Soviets assist Ho Chi Minh in building a communist state in N. Vietnam

�Viet Minh forms National Liberation Front, later Viet Cong (communists) in 1950s

� Goal to unite Vietnam by overthrowing S. Vietnamese government

� Guerilla Warfare

� Assassinate S. Vietnamese leader in 1963

Vietnam War

� After the Division (continued)

�Ngo Dinh Diem serves as president of noncommunist South Vietnam

� Not the greatest situation – much corruption in the government

� Elections never held and made no effort at reforms

� Assassinated in 1963 by Viet Cong

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Vietnam War

� American Involvement

�DOMINO THEORY: if Vietnam falls to communism, the remainder of Southeast Asia

will follow

�President Lyndon Johnson orders air attacks on North Vietnam in 1965

� By late 1960s around 500,000 US troops in Vietnam

Vietnam War

� American Involvement (continued)

�Opposition to US involvment begins after seeing images of Tet Offensive on TV in 1968

� Americans and South Vietnamese push communists back, but despite success, visions of brutality led to the call to end US involvement

�Paris Peace Accords in 1973 end US involvement in Vietnam – 58, 000 lost

� South cannot hold on after US leaves, Saigon falls in 1975 and South surrenders to the North

Vietnam in Pictures

� http://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/iconic-

images-vietnam-20658104/image-20658524

� http://goo.gl/0HI9F4

Vietnam War� French-Indochina was occupied by

the Japanese during WWII and then split between the Chinese and British until the French could take over.

� The Viet-Minh under Ho Chi Minh attempted to win their independence by opposing the new European influence.

� For a short while Vietnam was divided, but soon rebellion by the Viet-Cong in the south was increased in an effort to push out the foreigners.

� The United States military faced an enemy army and armed guerillas who blended into the population.

� Advisors were sent in in 1950, and fighting lasted past the peace treaties in 1973.� Saigon fell in 1975

Communism in China� Mao Zedong was able to win the

support of the Chinese people.

� Had stayed to fight the Japanese instead of fleeing.

� Chiang Kai-Shek had retreated to the mountains and was eventually confined to Taiwan.

� Communist China industrialized slowly but eventually began to exert control over other weaker nations in East Asia.

� Korea

� Different than Russian communism in that the economy is not as strictly controlled and there is some religious influence allowed.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

� In a 1987, Ronald Reagan made a speech

asking Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev to “Tear Down that Wall!”

� Finally, Russian guards allowed Berliners to move through the gates freely and the

wall was torn down in 1990.