Cold War Origins & Early Tensions (1945–1955) N otes

National Security Act (1947)

Created the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and the CIA; the Pentagon became the DoD headquarters.

Marshall Plan

U.S. economic aid program led by George C. Marshall that gave billions to rebuild Western Europe.

Marshall Plan refusal

Stalin rejected the plan and forced Soviet-controlled countries to refuse it.

Zones of Occupation

Germany was divided into East and West: the U.S., Britain, and France controlled the West; the USSR controlled the East.

Berlin division

Berlin was also split into sectors even though it sat inside the Soviet zone.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Berlin Blockade (1948)

Stalin blocked access to West Berlin to pressure the Allies out.

Berlin Airlift

The U.S. and Allies flew food and supplies into West Berlin for 321 days.

Gail Halvorsen

The “Candy Bomber” who dropped candy to children in Berlin.

NATO (1949)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; military alliance of the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe.

West Germany / East Germany

West Germany was the FRG; East Germany was the GDR.

Soviet atomic bomb (1949)

The USSR successfully tested its first nuclear weapon.

Arms Race

Competition between the U.S. and USSR to build more powerful nuclear weapons.

Hydrogen Bomb

Far more powerful nuclear weapon; U.S. developed it in 1952 and the USSR copied it in 1953.

Warsaw Pact (1955)

Communist military alliance created by the USSR as the counterpart to NATO.

Postwar Japan

MacArthur helped rebuild Japan and turn it into a democracy.

Indochina

Region including Vietnam; France tried to take control again after WWII.

Ho Chi Minh

Leaders of Vietnamese resistance against French rule.

Chinese Civil War

Communists led by Mao Zedong defeated Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists.

Taiwan

Also called Formosa; where the Nationalists fled after losing the Chinese Civil War.

Korean War key line

38th Parallel divided North and South Korea.

GI Bill

Helped returning soldiers with education, housing, and job benefits.

Baby Boom

Large rise in births after WWII.

Strategic Air Command (SAC)

U.S. command for long-range bombers and nuclear deterrence.

MAD

Mutually Assured Destruction; both sides could be destroyed in a nuclear war.

Red Scare

Fear of communist infiltration in the U.S.

HUAC

House Un-American Activities Committee; investigated suspected communists.

Loyalty Review Board

Checked federal employees for possible communist ties.

National Security Act purpose

Strengthened U.S. defense and intelligence during the Cold War.