Cold War Beginnings and Mao’s China

Cold War

A period of political and ideological tension between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II, marked by rivalry but no direct large-scale war.

Denazification

The process of removing Nazism and its influence from Germany after World War II.

Truman Doctarine

A U.S. policy announced by Harry S. Truman to contain communism by supporting countries resisting it.

Iron Curtain

A term popularized by Winston Churchill describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. economic aid program to rebuild Western European economies after World War II and prevent the spread of communism.

Berlin Airlift (Berlin Crisis)

A 1948–49 operation in which Western Allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet blockade.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance formed in 1949 for mutual defense against potential Soviet aggression.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries created in response to NATO.

United Nations

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

Mao Zedong

A Chinese communist leader who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Great Leap Forward

A campaign led by Mao Zedong to rapidly industrialize China, which resulted in widespread famine.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

A movement launched by Mao Zedong to enforce communist ideology by removing capitalist and traditional elements from society.

Little Red Book

A collection of quotes from Mao Zedong used as a guide to communist ideology in China.