Cold War Beginnings and Mao’s China

Cold War

A period of tension (about 1947–1991) between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union, marked by rivalry but no direct large-scale war.

Denazification

The process after World War II of removing Nazi influence from Germany’s government, society, and institutions.

Truman Doctrine

American policy of helping countries under the threat of Communism

Iron Curtain

A term describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe during the Cold War.

Marshall Plan

Developed to help aid European countries after WWII

Berlin Airlift (Berlin Crisis)

A 1948–1949 operation in which the U.S. and its allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blocked land access.

NATO

A group of Western, non-communist countries that pledged to defend one another if any of them should be attacked

Warsaw Pact

A 1955 military alliance of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist countries, created in response to NATO.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among countries.

Mao Zedong

Founder of the Communist Party in China

Great Leap Forward

A campaign (1958–1962) led by Mao to rapidly industrialize China, which resulted in economic failure and widespread famine.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

A movement (1966–1976) led by Mao to reinforce communist ideology, which caused social chaos and persecution of millions.

Little Red Book

A collection of quotations from Mao Zedong that was widely distributed and used for propaganda during the Cultural Revolution.

Ronald Reagan

President of the United States in the 1980s

Glasnost

A period of openness in the Soviet Union