Cold War Beginnings

Cold War

• Period of tension between the USA and USSR (1945–1991).

• No direct war, but conflicts, arms race, and influence battles.

Denazification

• Process after WWII to remove Nazi ideas and leaders from Germany.

• Nazis were punished, removed from jobs, and re-educated.

Truman Doctrine

• Policy by Harry S. Truman (1947).

• The USA would help countries stop communism.

Iron Curtain

• Term by Winston Churchill.

• Describes the division between Western (free) and Eastern (communist) Europe.

Marshall Plan

• U.S. program to give money to rebuild Europe after WWII.

• Aimed to stop the spread of communism.

Berlin Airlift (Berlin Crisis)

• 1948–49: USSR blocked West Berlin.

• The USA and allies flew in supplies to keep the city alive.

NATO

• Military alliance of the USA, Canada, and Western Europe (1949).

• Members agreed to defend each other.

Warsaw Pact

• Military alliance of the USSR and Eastern Europe (1955).

• Created to counter NATO.

United Nations

• International organization (founded 1945) to keep peace and cooperation.

• Countries work together to solve global problems.

Mao Zedong

• Leader of communist China.

• Established the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Great Leap Forward

• Mao’s plan to rapidly industrialize China (late 1950s).

• Failed → caused famine and millions of deaths.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

• Mao’s campaign (1966–1976) to remove opposition and enforce communism.

• Led to chaos, violence, and destruction of culture.

Little Red Book

• Book of sayings by Mao Zedong.

• Used to spread communist ideas, especially among young people.