the cold war

the new superpowers

Rise of Superpowers Post-WWII:

• The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers after WWII.

• Despite being wartime allies, their relationship was tense:

  • US Concerns: Fear of Soviet communism and Stalin’s authoritarian rule.

  • Soviet Resentment: Anger over US delaying entry into WWII and not recognizing the USSR as an equal global power.

the cold war overview

The tension between the Soviet Union and the United States became known as the ‘Cold War’, because the two superpowers never came into direct conflict with each other

(although clashed indirectly through proxy wars such as Korea and Vietnam).

The conflict was characterized mainly by espionage, propaganda and fear of nuclear destruction.

differences between the us and ussr

The United States was a democratic, capitalist country where private ownership was encouraged.

The Soviet Union was a communist country under the leadership of a dictator, where the government owned most things and attempted to eliminate class distinctions.

what is “make mine freedom” 1948

An American propaganda film from early in the Cold War. Communism is represented by a shady salesperson attempting to lure the American people into signing over their freedom on a false promise.

the iron curtain

In 1946, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a famous speech in which he described how an imaginary iron curtain divided Western and Eastern Europe.

Churchill’s image became part of the vocabulary of the time. The countries in the Soviet camp were often referred to as ‘Iron Curtain countries’.

domino theory

The domino theory stated that if one country were to fall to the influence of Communism, then others would soon follow.

As a result of this fear of Communism spreading, the US followed a policy known as containment.

berlin in july 1945 - what happened

The division of germany

After WWII Germany was split into four ‘allied occupation zones’.

Eastern part of Germany went to the Soviet Union, while the Western part went to the US, Britain and France.

Even though Berlin was located entirely within the Soviet part of the country, it was split into similar sectors.

Soviets took the Eastern half of Berlin while the other western allies took the Western half.

blockade of west germ

- In 1948, the Soviets blockaded West Berlin to force the Western Allies out.

- The US and allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, supplying West Berlin by air for over a year.

- More than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel, and goods were delivered.

- The Soviets ended the blockade in 1949.

the candy bomber

Berlin Airlift & Candy Bomber:

- When the Soviets blocked food to West Berlin, the Allies supplied the city through air deliveries.

- Supplies included essentials like flour, milk, meat, and coal.

- American pilot Gail Halvorsen became known as the ‘Candy Bomber’ for dropping his chocolate rations to East Berlin children.

- American citizens donated candy, which was later dropped as part of the effort.

- The candy drops also served as a US propaganda tool during the Cold War.

The berlin wall

During the early years of the Cold War, thousands of East Germans fled to the democratic West.

In response the Communist East German authorities built a wall that totally encircled East Berlin in 1961.

The official purpose of the wall was to stop fascists from entering East Germany and undermining the Communist state, but in reality the purpose was to stop defectors from leaving the East.

nato

• NATO was formed in 1949 by Western Europe and North America to counter the Soviet military threat.

• Members agreed that an attack on one country would be considered an attack on all.

• In 1955, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance with seven European communist countries.

norad

NORAD and Ballistic Missiles (1958):

- By 1958, the Soviet Union developed:

- Long-range bombers.

- Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching North America via the Arctic Ocean.

- To respond, the US built its own ballistic missiles.

- Canada and the US formed NORAD (North American Air Defence Command) in 1958:

- Tracks objects in space.

- Issues warnings to intercept enemy aircraft and missiles before they reach their target.

The avro arrow

Avro Arrow Program:

- A supersonic interceptor jet designed to intercept and destroy enemy bombers, considered 20 years ahead of its time.

- The program was canceled due to skyrocketing costs.

- Canada purchased 66 second-hand F-101 Voodoo fighters from the US instead.

- Over 15,000 skilled workers were laid off, many of whom later joined NASA in the US.

- Completed Avro Arrows were scrapped, and all blueprints/plans were destroyed, dealing a significant blow to Canada’s aircraft industry.

The bomarc missile crisis

- Canada, under Prime Minister Diefenbaker, agreed to host 56 American Bomarc missiles to meet NORAD's terms.

- These missiles could intercept Soviet planes carrying nuclear bombs but needed nuclear warheads to be effective.

- Diefenbaker refused to allow nuclear warheads on Canadian soil.

- An election was held over this issue, and Diefenbaker’s Conservatives lost.

- The new Liberal government approved the delivery of nuclear warheads.

The red scare

Fear that communists would work as spies and pose a threat to North American security

Hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the US (and to a lesser extent Canada) became known as the Red Scare.

Communists were often referred to as ‘Reds’, due to their allegiance to the red Soviet flag.

Government employees were analyzed to determine if they were sufficiently loyal to their country.

First lightning test

- In 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb, called "First Lightning."

- Shortly after, a German-born physicist from the Manhattan Project was arrested for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets.

- The loss of US atomic supremacy and Soviet espionage prompted the US President to initiate the development of the hydrogen bomb,

which was a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs used on Japan.

hydrogen bomb

- In 1952, the US detonated "Mike," the first hydrogen bomb, in the South Pacific, vaporizing a small island and creating a crater over a mile wide.

- In 1955, the Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb.

- Both superpowers now had "superbombs," leading to global fear of nuclear war.

Tsar bomba (The tsar’s bomb)

In order to pull ahead of the US in the nuclear arms race, the Soviets developed a massive hydrogen bomb, known by most Western countries as Tsar Bomba.

Delivered a 50 megaton yield- still the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created.

Damaged houses hundreds of miles from the blast zone.

1500 times more powerful than ‘Fat Man’ and ‘Little Boy’ bombs combined. 10 times more powerful than all the explosives used during WWII.

Mutually assured destruction (M.A.D.)

An arms race began between the Soviet Union and the United States, with both countries trying to develop more nuclear weapons than the other.

The United States and Soviet Union could destroy each other several times over if they fought a nuclear war.

Both sides knew this and it became a military strategy known as mutually assured destruction.

This form of nuclear deterrence meant that neither side would use their nuclear weapons because they knew it would inevitably lead to their own destruction.

Fear of nuclear war

A new era of fear was born, with citizens knowing they could be annihilated within minutes from the touch of a button thousands of kilometers away.

Public constantly feared nuclear war caused by problems between political decision makers, or even through accident.

Fear of an impending attack became part of daily life, for example ducking and covering

The Korean war

At the end of WWII, Korea was divided:

North Korea occupied by the Soviet Union.

South Korea occupied by the United States.

Negotiations to unify Korea failed.

In 1950, North Korea (backed by the Soviet Union and China) invaded South Korea.

The United States supported South Korea to stop the spread of communism in Asia.

The UN Security Council voted to help South Korea, and Canada sent troops:

22,000 Canadians fought, and 516 were killed.

By 1953, the war stopped the North Korean invasion but did not unite Korea, which remains divided today.

Cuban missile crisis (1962)


the closest the world came to nuclear war

A US spy plane observed signs of nuclear weapons in Cuba, which is just 90 miles from US shores. Realized the weapons must be from the Soviet Union.

US established a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear they would use military force against the Soviets if the weapons were not removed.

A tense 13 day standoff followed, with both countries refusing to back down.

Disaster was avoided when the Soviets agreed to pull the missiles out if the US agreed to not invade Cuba (and to remove US missiles from Turkey).

End of cold war

US/Soviet relationship improved significantly during the middle 1980s, with both sides agreeing to reduce their nuclear arsenal.

In November, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.

By 1991 many of the Soviet republics had declared their independence and the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

Nuclear weapons today

The number of nuclear weapons in the world is significantly decreased from the peak of the Cold War however, there are still approximately 15,000 nuclear warheads around the world, with the majority still pointing back and forth between Russia and the US.

The public is less concerned about mutually assured destruction, but it is still a very real possibility.