Cold War Beginnings and Mao’s China

Cold War

A prolonged period of political and ideological tension between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II, marked by indirect conflict rather than direct warfare.

Denazification

The process led by Allied powers to remove Nazi influence from German society, government, and culture after World War II.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy established in 1947 promising support to countries resisting communism, especially Greece and Turkey.

Iron Curtain

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

Marshall Plan

A U.S.-funded program that provided economic aid to help rebuild Western European economies after World War II.

Berlin Airlift (Berlin Crisis)

An operation in which Western Allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded land access.

NATO

A military alliance formed in 1949 among Western nations to provide collective defense against potential aggression.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies in response to NATO.

United Nations

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

Mao Zedong

The founding leader of the People’s Republic of China who established communist rule in 1949.

Great Leap Forward

A campaign launched by Mao in 1958 to rapidly industrialize China, which led to widespread famine and economic failure

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

A movement initiated by Mao in 1966 to enforce communist ideology by purging perceived enemies, causing social and political chaos.

Little Red Book

A collection of Mao’s sayings used to promote communist ideology and loyalty during the Cultural Revolution.