10.4: The Cold War _ T _

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

AGE 10. The Time of Television and Computers

10.4: The Cold War (1945 - 1991)

THEORY

people in this lesson

Joseph Stalin: 

The leader of the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War. He wanted to spread communism and create a "buffer zone" in Eastern Europe.

Harry S. Truman: 

The US President who started the "containment" policy to stop communism from spreading.

Nikita Khrushchev: 

The Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.

John F. Kennedy: 

The US President who had to deal with the threat of nuclear war in 1962.

Mikhail Gorbachev: 

The last Soviet leader whose reforms eventually led to the end of the Soviet Union.

Ronald Reagan: 

The US President in the 1980s who increased military spending but also helped negotiate the end of the conflict.

Important dates in this lesson:

1945: The end of WWII and the start of tensions between the US and the USSR.

1949: NATO is founded and the Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.

1961: The Berlin Wall is built to stop people from fleeing to the West.

1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis—the world almost faces a nuclear war.

1985: New Soviet leader Gorbachev announces Perestroika and Glasnost

1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall.

1991: The official collapse of the Soviet Union.

1. The Great Divide: 
Why the US and the USSR became enemies after being allies.
2. Bloc Formation: 
How the world was split into two "blocks".
3. The Nuclear Threat: 

Living with the fear of the atomic bomb.
4. Wars in the Shadows: 

Understanding "Proxy Wars" in Korea and Vietnam.
5. The Space Race: 

How the Cold War moved from Earth into orbit.
6. The Fall of the Giant: 

Why the Soviet Union finally collapsed.

In this lesson :

Introduction

After the terrible destruction of World War II—which you studied in Age 9: The Time of World Wars —the world hoped for peace. However, a new kind of conflict soon began. This period is known as Age 10: The Time of Computers and Television, which covers the years 1950 to 2000. This era is also called "Contemporary History". Instead of soldiers fighting each other directly on a battlefield, the two new "Superpowers"—the United States and the Soviet Union—entered a "Cold War." This was a struggle of ideas, technology, and influence that divided the world into two opposing sides, or "blocks". In this lesson, we will explore how this global tension shaped the lives of millions and brought the world to the edge of destruction.

November 1989. The Fall of the Berlin Wall, symbol of the Cold War

1. The Great Divide: Capitalism vs. Communism

The Cold War was mainly a battle between two different ways of organizing society. On one side was the United States, which believed in Capitalism and democracy. In a capitalist system, individuals own businesses and compete for profit. On the other side was the Soviet Union (USSR), which followed Communism. In their system, the government owns almost everything, and the goal is to create a society where everyone is equal.

These two systems could not get along. After WWII, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin wanted to make sure Germany could never attack Russia again. He set up communist governments in Eastern European countries (see map), turning them into satellite states. To the Americans, this looked like the Soviet Union was trying to take over the world. This deep mistrust meant that the former allies became bitter enemies almost overnight.

although liberated by the Soviets, the new Yugoslav peresident Tito was able to break his country free from Stalin's control in 1948.

Explainer: Germany after World War 2.

Seeing that Hitler would lose, the leaders of the USA, UK and USSR met to plan the post-war world. They agreed to divide Germany into four occupation zones. Furthermore, they promised to establish democracies and hold free elections in all liberated European countries. Following the war, they divided Germany and Berlin. Look at the maps closely to see how both Germany and Berlin got divided into 3 capitalist and 1 communist zone.

2. Bloc Formation and the Iron Curtain

As tensions grew, the world was split into two groups, a process called bloc formation. The Western Block was led by the US, and the Eastern Block was led by the USSR. Winston Churchill, a famous British leader, said that an "Iron Curtain" had fallen across Europe. This wasn't a real curtain, but a border that was almost impossible to cross.

The city of Berlin in Germany became the center of this struggle. Although Berlin was deep inside the Soviet-controlled part of Germany, the city itself was divided. In 1948, Stalin tried to block all supplies from reaching West Berlin. The US responded with the Berlin Airlift, flying in food and coal for over a year! Eventually, in 1961, the Soviets built the Berlin Wall to physically stop people from escaping the communist East to the democratic West. This wall became the ultimate symbol of a divided world.

Red is eastern and blue is western. Little error in the map

West Berlin children cheering an American airplane bringing supplies as part of the Berlin airlift operation

Explainer: Two German States

In 1949, the Western Allies returned control to West Germans, establishing the Federal Republic of Germany (capital: Bonn). In response, the Soviets created the German Democratic Republic in the east (capital: East Berlin).

The two states contrasted sharply: West Germany thrived with a free market, whereas East Germany struggled under an inefficient communist planned economy, directly comparing both global systems.

West Berlin remained a capitalist "island" inside the communist state of East Germany. Much to the annoyance of the communist leaders.

West Germany: Bundes Republic Deutschland (BRD)

East Germany: Deutsche Democratische Republic (DDR)

1961: construction of the Berlin Wall begins.

Isolating, and walling in West Berlin

The famous Brandenburg Gate was just behind the Berlin wall, on the East side. 

Checkpoint Charlie. The most famous border gate between the American and East German section.

source A

The brother of the deceased is standing with his family on a ladder in West Berlin and, in this way, takes part in the funeral. The widow, who lives in East Berlin, has chosen a plot near the control strip. Dated 31st May 1963.

'On what became known as "Barbed Wire Sunday", some awoke to find themselves suddenly trapped in the Soviet sectors, seperated overnight from family, friends and loved ones who happened to live on the other side of the Wall.'

source B

 Article in the Sydney Morning Herald. Date unknown.

3. The Nuclear Threat and M.A.D.

One reason the Cold War stayed "cold" was the invention of the atomic bomb. By 1949, both the US and the USSR had nuclear weapons. This led to an Arms Race, where both sides tried to build more and bigger bombs than the other.

People lived in constant fear of a nuclear war. Schools practiced "duck and cover" drills, and some families even built bomb shelters in their backyards. Military leaders followed a policy called M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction). This meant that if one side attacked with nuclear weapons, the other side would retaliate, and both countries would be completely destroyed. Because nobody could win a nuclear war, neither side was willing to start one. The closest the world ever came to this disaster was during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the USSR put missiles on the island of Cuba, right next to the US.

Missiles at a Soviet Military Parade in Moscow. These missiles had nuclear warheads and a range of 1,100 miles. Dated 1961.

Explainer: The Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, the US and the Soviet Union narrowly avoided nuclear war during the thirteen-day Cuban Missile Crisis.

Following a failed US invasion, Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro, sought Soviet protection. Consequently, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev secretly deployed nuclear missiles to Cuba, countering US missiles located in Turkey.

On October 14, an American spy plane discovered these sites. Recognizing the immediate threat, President John F. Kennedy initiated a naval blockade on October 22, stopping further Soviet shipments and demanding the weapons' removal.

As Soviet ships approached the blockade, global tensions soared. Fortunately, secret negotiations averted World War III. On October 28, the Soviets agreed to withdraw their missiles. In exchange, the US publicly promised not to invade Cuba and secretly removed its own missiles from Turkey, ultimately establishing a direct communication "hotline" to prevent future conflicts.

A picture, taken by an American spy plane, clearly shows rocket installations being constructed on the Island of Cuba.

This evidence led to the Cuba Crisis.

 The end of the Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet cargo ship ‘Anesov’, escorted by a US Navy plane and the destroyer ‘USS Barry’, as it leaves Cuba loaded with missiles. October 1962.

This newspaper map from the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows the distances from Cuba to various cities on the North American continent.

4. Wars in the Shadows: Proxy Wars

Even though the US and the USSR never fought each other directly, they fought through other countries. These are called Proxy Wars. When a civil war or conflict broke out in a smaller country, the superpowers would take sides. The US would support the anti-communist side, and the USSR would support the communist side.

Two major examples were the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In Vietnam, the US sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to stop a communist takeover. It was a long, painful war that the US eventually lost. Later, in the 1980s, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and the US provided weapons to the Afghan fighters (the Mujahedeen) to help them fight the Soviets. These wars were "hot" and caused millions of deaths, even though the Cold War was "cold" in Europe.

Beginning of a university students' Anti-Vietnam War march, September 20, 1969.

Explainer: The Domino Theory

This was a theory that suggested if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a "domino effect." This belief was the primary justification for American intervention in foreign conflicts like the Vietnam War, as they feared a chain reaction across Southeast Asia.

An abiding image of the Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Kim Phuc, burned by napalm dropped accidentally by South Vietnamese air force. The damage caused by napalm was more immediate compared to the slow long-term havoc wreaked by Special Agent Orange.

Sputnik 1 was the first satellite that was sent into orbit by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Laika the dog was the first living creature into orbit, launched by the Russians in 1957 in a capsule called Sputnik 2. She was commemorated with statues and, as you can see, on stamps.

5. The Space Race and Propaganda

The Cold War was also a competition to see which country had the best technology and culture. In 1957, the Soviets shocked the world by launching Sputnik, the first satellite, into space. This started the Space Race. Americans felt they were falling behind, so they invested heavily in science and education. This race ended in 1969 when the US successfully landed the first humans on the moon.

Both sides also used propaganda to convince their citizens that their way of life was better. In American movies and TV shows, communists were often portrayed as villains or spies. In the Soviet Union, the government controlled all the news and told people that Americans were greedy and suffered from poverty and racism. This "battle for hearts and minds" was just as important as the battle for territory.

Yuri Gagarin, first man in space

"One small step for man, 

but a giant leap for mankind"

Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon.

6. The Fall of the Giant

By the 1980s, the Soviet Union was in trouble. Their economy was failing because they spent too much money on the military and not enough on making goods for their people. A new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, tried to save the system by giving people more freedom (Glasnost) and trying to fix the economy (Perestroika).

However, once people were allowed to speak their minds, they demanded an end to communism. In 1989, peaceful revolutions broke out across Eastern Europe. The most famous moment was the fall of the Berlin Wall, when thousands of people from both sides of the city cheered as they tore the wall down with hammers and chisels. In 1991, the Soviet Union officially collapsed and broke into 15 separate countries, including Russia and Ukraine. The Cold War was finally over.

Time Magazine covered the Geneva Summit in 1985, where US president, Ronald Reagan, and the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time, during the " Cold War ".

When Gorbachev announced that the the Red Army would not crush demonstrations in Eastern Block countries, people in Poland, Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary went out into the streets to demonstrate fro more freedom.

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

Close Up: The Night the Wall Fell 

The fall of the Berlin Wall on the night of November 9, 1989, was triggered by one of the most famous accidents in history. For weeks, massive protests had been shaking East Germany, and the government decided to ease travel restrictions to calm the public. At a live, televised press conference, East German official Günter Schabowski was handed a note about the new rules. When a reporter asked when the regulations would take effect, Schabowski—who hadn't been fully briefed—shrugged and famously replied, "As far as I know, it takes effect... immediately, without delay". In reality, the rules were meant to start the next day with a proper visa process, but his words acted like a starting pistol.Thousands of East Berliners immediately rushed to the border crossings, overwhelming the confused guards who had received no orders to open the gates. Fearing a riot, the guards eventually stepped aside, and for the first time in 28 years, the city was united. People danced on top of the wall and began hacking at the concrete with hammers, marking the beginning of the end for the Soviet Bloc and the Cold War.

An otherwise dull press conference turned to drama when Günter Schabowski spoke of lifting travel restrictions

Thousands of East Germans cross the Berlin Wall border at Checkpoint Charlie into West Berlin. They are greeted enthusiastically by West Berliners.

East German boarder guards watch as people climb the Berlin Wall

Connecting to Today

Even though the Soviet Union is gone, the effects of the Cold War are still visible today. The modern tension between Russia and the West (NATO) often feels like a "New Cold War." Many of the borders and alliances created during the 20th century still dictate international politics. For example, the division between North and South Korea remains one of the most dangerous borders in the world. Furthermore, the technology we use every day—like the internet and satellite GPS—actually started as military projects during the Cold War. History shows us that even when a conflict ends, its shadow stays with us for a very long time.

Word Duty

KEY WORDS

superpower: A very powerful country that can influence events all over the world.

satellite state: a state that is officially independent but is under heavy political, economic and military control of another country

NATO: abbreviation of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; military alliance of the USA and its allies

Warsaw Pact: military alliance of the USSR and its satellite states

containment: The US policy of stopping the spread of communism to new countries.

Iron Curtain: The imaginary boundary dividing Europe into communist and non-communist halves.

arms race: A competition between nations to have the most powerful weapons.

space race: competition for supremacy in spaceflight capability especially during the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union.

proxy wars: indirect conflicts where superpowers like the US and the USSR fought each other by supporting opposing sides in the civil wars of smaller nations.

Domino Theory: 

glasnost: A Soviet policy of being more open and honest about government problems.

perestroika: policy from 1985 of Soviet leader Gorbachev to change the communist planned economy into a free market economy

Summary 10.4

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What you can do or explain after this lesson

• what a creation narrative is
• what the evolution theory is
• how both theories are used to explain where humans come from
• what the "Out of Africa" theory means
• how you can  read the family tree of   modern humans
• what paleontologists and archeologists do

TEST YOURSELF

What you can explain or do after this lesson:

1. What was the main ideological difference between the Western and Eastern blocks?
2. Why did the Soviet Union want to control Eastern European countries after WWII?
3. Explain what the "Iron Curtain" was.
4. Why was the Berlin Airlift necessary?
5. What does the acronym M.A.D. stand for, and how did it prevent war?
6. How did the Cuban Missile Crisis almost lead to a nuclear disaster?
7. Define a "Proxy War" and give one example.
8. Which event started the Space Race in 1957?
9. Why did Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms (Glasnost and Perestroika) lead to the end of the USSR?
10. What happened in 1989 that symbolized the end of communist control in Europe?

What you can do or explain after this lesson

• what a creation narrative is
• what the evolution theory is
• how both theories are used to explain where humans come from
• what the "Out of Africa" theory means
• how you can  read the family tree of   modern humans
• what paleontologists and archeologists do

TEST YOURSELF

KEY

KEY

1. The West believed in Capitalism/Democracy; the East believed in Communism.
2. To create a "buffer zone" to protect themselves from future invasions.
3. The political and physical division between democratic Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe.
4. Because Stalin blocked all ground routes into West Berlin; the city needed food and fuel to survive.
5. Mutually Assured Destruction; it meant attacking would result in both sides being destroyed, so no one attacked.
6. The USSR put nuclear missiles very close to the US; any mistake could have triggered a global nuclear war.
7. A war where superpowers support opposing sides instead of fighting directly (e.g., Vietnam or Korea).
8. The launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik.
9. They gave people enough freedom to protest against the government and exposed how weak the economy was.
10. The fall of the Berlin Wall.

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