APWH CH 32 - Cold War

cold war

struggle from 1945 to 1989 between the communist and democratic worlds; ended with the collapse of Russia.

eastern bloc

the eastern European countries of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Eastern Germany dominated by the Soviet Union during the cold war.

Harry Truman

United States president who presided over the end of World War II and the beginnings of the cold war.

iron curtain

term coined by Churchill to describe the division between the Western and communist nations.

Marshall Plan

1947 United States program to rebuild Europe and defeat domestic communist movements.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

formed in 1949 under U.S. leadership to group Canada and western Europe against the Soviets.

Warsaw Pact

the Soviet response to NATO; made up of Soviets and their European satellites.

welfare state

Great Depression-inspired system that increased government spending to provide social insurance and stimulate the economy.

Green movement

rise during the 1970s in Europe of groups hostile to uncontrolled economic growth.

European Union

began by six nations as the European Economic Community (Common Market); by the 21st century incorporated most western European states and was expanding eastward.

new feminism

a wave of agitation for women’s rights dating from about 1949; emphasized equality between sexes.

Berlin Wall

built in 1961 to prevent the flight of East Germans to the West; dismantled in 1990.

Solidarity

Polish labor movement beginning in the 1970s, taking control of the country from the Soviet Union.

Socialist realism

Soviet effort to replace Western literature and arts with works glorifying state-approved achievements by the masses.

Nikita Khrushchev

leader of the Soviet Union from 1956; attacked Stalinist methods of rule; lost power because of conservative opposition.