history cold war

superpowers

Nations, especially the USA and USSR, with dominant influence over global affairs, military strength, and economic power during the Cold War.

welfare state

a country with a market economy but with increased government responsibility for the social and economic needs of its people.

nikita Khrushchev

The leader of the USSR during the cold war

Cuban missile crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba, which brought the two superpowers close to nuclear war.

detente

a relaxation of tensions

arms race

a competition between nations for nuclear weapons.

marshall plan

a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe after World War II to rebuild the damage of world war II

Truman doctrine

the plan to aid financially to help resist communist expansion.

mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet union who implemented significant reforms like glasnost and perestroika.

Glasnost

the ability to criticize the government.

perestroika

reconstructing the Soviet economy

NATO

a defensive military alliance formed to fight against the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Warsaw pact

an alliance of the Soviet union and its Eastern European states controlled by the Soviet union.

european community

an economic association aimed at fostering economic cooperation among European nations, which later evolved into the European Union.

Soviet invasion of Afganistan

a military intervention by the Soviet Union in 1979, aimed at supporting the communist government of Afghanistan against insurgent groups.

The cold war

The cold war was a state of tension after world war 2.

Division of germany

Germany was divided into four zones after World War II, controlled by the Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union.

Berlin wall

A concrete barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989, constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to prevent emigration and defection to West Berlin. It became a symbol of the Cold War and the division of Europe.

Berlin airlift

A military operation in 1948-1949 by the Western Allies to supply West Berlin, which was blockaded by the Soviet Union. The airlift delivered food, fuel

Leonid Brezhnev

Followed Khrushchev and brought back Stalin’s harsh ways

Iron Curtain

The ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe after World War II into communist Eastern Bloc and democratic Western countries.

Mutually Assured Destruction

Mutually Assured Destruction is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy based on the belief that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

Red Scare

Fear of communism in the U.S. after both World Wars

The Vietnam war

The Vietnam War was a major war in the Cold War, pitting the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies against the government of South Vietnam and its primary ally, the United States.

Yugoslavia

a socialist state that maintained a neutral stance, neither aligning with the Soviet Union nor the Western powers

what were some differences between the west and the east

West (Cold War): Led by the U.S., it championed liberal democracy, capitalism, NATO, and individual freedoms, promoting global influence through economic aid and proxy wars.

East (Cold War): Led by the Soviet Union, it enforced communist authoritarianism, centrally planned economies, the Warsaw Pact, and collectivism, spreading influence through socialist movements.

How did the cold war begin

because the U.S. and Soviet Union disagreed on ideas (freedom and capitalism vs. communism) and wanted control after World War II. The Soviets took over Eastern Europe, and events like U.S. aid plans and a blockade in Berlin made tensions grow.

how did the soviets gain influence over Eastern europe

The Soviets took control of Eastern Europe after World War II (1945–1947) by keeping their army in countries like Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, setting up communist governments with force, fake elections, or takeovers, and making sure those countries followed their rules.

What aspect of the cold war arms race made it so terrifying

due to the massive buildup of nuclear weapons by the U.S. and Soviet Union, capable of destroying the world many times over, with the constant threat of mutually assured destruction if either side launched an attack.

why did Britain abandon its colonial empire

due to economic exhaustion, weakened military power, growing nationalist movements in colonies, and pressure from the U.S. and global opinion to end imperialism.

Where did the cold war “get hot”

in proxy wars where the U.S. and Soviet Union indirectly fought by supporting opposing sides in conflicts.

How did Japan rebuild following World war 2

through U.S. occupation aid, economic reforms, and rapid industrialization.

what role did the arms race play in the downfall of the Soviet union

it hurt the Soviet Union's economy by spending too much on weapons and the military instead of things people needed, causing money problems and helping lead to its collapse in 1991.

what happened in eastern Europe following the fall of the Soviet union

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Eastern European countries got rid of communism, started free governments and economies, dealt with money struggles, and many joined Western groups like NATO and the EU.

Who won the Vietnam war

North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet union and China