Chapter 27: The Cold War, 1945–1963

TIMELINE

1943	Tehran Conference takes place
1945	Yalta and Potsdam Conferences take place
1947	Truman Doctrine implemented  •  Marshall Plan implemented  •  National Security Act passed, creating the Department of Defense
1949	Berlin Airlift established  •  NATO created
1950	Korean War begins
1953	Ethel and Julius Rosenberg executed
1954	SEATO created
1955	Warsaw Pact created  •  Geneva Summit takes place
1956	War erupts over the Suez Canal
1957	Sputnik is launched
1960	Russia captures U.S. U-2 spy plane
1961	Berlin Wall erected  •  Unites States invades Cuba’s Bay of Pigs
1962	Cuban Missile Crisis occurs

IMPORTANT PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS, AND CONCEPTS

Bay of Pigs

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Eisenhower Doctrine

John F. Kennedy

Marshall Plan

Potsdam Conference

Soviet bloc

Tehran Conference

Yalta Conference

Berlin airlift

Cuban missile crisis

Geneva Summit

Korean War

Joseph McCarthy

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Soviet satellite nations

Harry Truman

Berlin Wall

Dennis v. United States

Alger Hiss

Nikita Khrushchev

National Security Act

Smith Act

Sputnik

Truman Doctrine

Fidel Castro

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Iron Curtain

Douglas MacArthur

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

Suez Canal

Warsaw Pact

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent…. I am convinced that there is nothing they [the Communists] so much admire as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than weakness, especially military weakness.”

—Winston Churchill, 1946

INTRODUCTION

In 1945, the Allied victors sought to create a lasting peace, but mistrust between the Soviet Union and the Western nations made this goal difficult to achieve. Although this mistrust grew into hostility, it never resulted in a widespread tragedy such as World War II. Yet this “cold” struggle between East and West was no friendly rivalry. The Cold War was a battle of words and propaganda, involving competition in weaponry, science, and culture and in obtaining influence among nations—both old and new—in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Indeed, it was a war in many ways. The two new superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, had very different philosophies about human rights, economics, and politics. Each superpower had friends in Europe. Much of the rest of the world became a “battleground” in which each would compete for prestige, favors, and control.

AGREEMENTS DURING WORLD WAR II (1943–1945)

Although the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union were allies during the war, much mistrust among them made them uneasy partners. The reasons were primarily philosophical, political, and historical:

•  Communist theory held that capitalist nations were enemies and asserted that communism would one day spread over the earth.

•  Ever since the communists came to power in Russia in 1917, leaders of the Western capitalist democracies, such as the United States and Britain, viewed them as threats and said as much.

•  There had been Allied support of the anti-Communist White Army during the Russian Civil War (1918–1921). The United States and Great Britain landed troops on Russian soil during this conflict, prompting ongoing fears of an invasion.

•  The United States did not officially recognize the USSR until 1933.

•  The dictatorial, police-state policies of the USSR were in sharp contrast with the democratic ideals of Western nations.

The only real bond that held these three nations together was their opposition to Nazi Germany. Once that bond dissolved, old suspicions and fears resurfaced. Decisions made in three conferences during the closing years of the war, as well as those made shortly thereafter, laid the groundwork for the Cold War by dividing Europe into two spheres of political influence: communist and democratic.

The Teheran Conference (1943)

The first conference took place in Tehran, Iran, in 1943. Participants were Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At that meeting, Stalin agreed to bring the USSR into the war against Japan once Germany was defeated. In return, the United States and Britain agreed to open a second front in France, thus forcing the Nazis to divide their army. Stalin, however, rejected the proposal to open another front in Eastern Europe, as he feared that this would give America and Britain greater influence in the region.

The Yalta Conference (February 1945)

The second conference took place at Yalta (Crimea) in February of 1945. While they agreed on the establishment of the United Nations, the complete “de-Nazification” of Germany, and the creation of four occupation zones (United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR) within that nation, the Allies soon disagreed on the postwar fate of Eastern Europe. Stalin claimed that Eastern Europe, which was already occupied by Soviet troops, was vital to the USSR’s security, as Russia had been invaded through this region for centuries. He insisted that the Soviet Union be given some measure of control over the area. Both Roosevelt and Churchill objected. Finally, it was agreed that free general elections would be held in the region’s nations as soon as possible.

The Potsdam Conference (July 1945)

The last meeting of the three Allies took place in Potsdam, Germany, in July of 1945. At this meeting, the only original member present was Stalin; Roosevelt had died, and Churchill had lost that year’s election in Britain. The United States was represented by the new president, Harry Truman, and Great Britain by its new Prime Minister, Clement Atlee. Even though there was once again general agreement on matters concerning Germany, Eastern Europe was still a sensitive issue. Vague assurances about free elections there were all that Stalin would offer the Western Allies.

SOVIET SATELLITES IN EASTERN EUROPE

The Emergence of the Iron Curtain

With the spirit of cooperation slowly disappearing after the Potsdam Conference, Stalin ignored previous agreements. He forced communist dictatorships on the Eastern European nations of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, beginning in 1945. Independent local Communist regimes had established themselves in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Albania; they were friendly with the USSR. The Western Allies were infuriated with the creation of these Soviet satellite nations (smaller nations controlled by a larger one). Truman denounced the new governments, while Churchill added a new phrase to the world’s political vocabulary. He warned of an “Iron Curtain” dividing a free and democratic West from an East under totalitarian rule. Stalin thereupon labeled the Western democracies as the enemies of communism. While not all the Eastern European communist leaders were obedient to Stalin, their nations nevertheless became known as the Soviet Bloc, or Eastern Bloc. This grouping, also called the Communist Bloc, stood in contrast to the Western Bloc, or the “Free World” Bloc. At the United Nations, for example, the Western Bloc would usually support the United States on certain issues, while the Eastern Bloc would support issues promoted by the USSR.

The Division of Berlin

The breakdown of cooperation between the former World War II allies was felt most strongly in Germany, which was still divided into zones of occupation. Berlin, the former German capital city, was within the Soviet zone and was divided into four occupation sectors. Access to the individual sectors was possible only through the Soviet zone. In 1947, the British, French, and U.S. zones joined together for economic reasons. With this union, the Western powers took the first steps toward creating the nation that was to become known as West Germany.

The Policy of Containment

Shortly after World War II ended, communist rebels, with Soviet backing, captured northern Greece. This led to the Greek Civil War (1945–1948). Similar rebellions took place in Turkey and Iran. In response to these acts of Soviet-supported aggression and expansion of influence, President Truman announced a policy to be known as the Truman Doctrine. This policy aimed to support any free nation trying to resist being forcibly taken over by another power. As a result of this policy, the United States sent military and economic aid to assist those countries fighting communist forces. This Truman Doctrine was part of a new American policy known as containment. As stated in 1947 by an American diplomat, George Kennan, the Containment Theory claimed that only through determined and continued resistance could the advance of Soviet power and influence be stopped. Communism, Kennan believed, had to be contained where it already existed and not be allowed to spread. Communism and Soviet power were viewed, in a sense, as contagious diseases. These diseases had to be contained before they “infected” other parts of the globe.

This containment policy was further pursued with the Marshall Plan. As proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, this plan was a broad program of economic assistance that aimed to help Europe recover from the devastation of World War II. Marshall feared that if economic conditions became bad, particularly in Western Europe, successful Communist revolutions might occur there. Only Western European nations accepted Marshall Plan aid; Stalin did not permit any Soviet satellite nations to request such assistance. Both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were highly successful. By 1948, the Communist rebellions in Greece, Turkey, and Iran had been defeated, and the Western European nations underwent a remarkable economic recovery.

The Division of Germany

As tensions in Germany grew more severe, the Soviets cut off all access routes between Berlin and the Western occupation zones in June 1948. This trapped the Westerners living in the city. In response, the United States established the Berlin airlift, wherein food, fuel, and supplies were flown into the Western sector of the city. With the Berlin airlift making the Soviet blockade ineffectual, Russia decided not to escalate the crisis and reopened the access routes in May 1949. A month later, the Western Allies established the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, as it came to be known. The Soviets responded by creating an East Germany, or German Democratic Republic, in their zone.

The Creation of NATO

The mounting antagonism in Europe between the East and West gradually led to military alliances. In April of 1949, representatives of 12 Western nations signed the North Atlantic Pact. This was a mutual defense agreement—if one nation is attacked, the others will come to its aid—among the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Canada, Italy, and Portugal. In 1952, Greece and Turkey joined, followed by West Germany in 1955. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established to coordinate the activities of the alliance and to counter any acts of Soviet expansionism in Europe.

The Creation of the Warsaw Pact

The Soviets responded to West Germany’s joining NATO with the creation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955. This was a military alliance of the Soviet Union with Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Yugoslavia, under independent communist leader Tito, refused to join.

THE ARMS RACE

Both alliances now began to stockpile huge quantities of arms. They enlarged their armed forces, increased military spending, and sent spies into each other’s member nations. Thus, as the 1950s came to a close, it appeared that a frightening repetition of history was happening. The two military alliances were reminders of the “two armed camps” that had existed before World War I. Both the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente had claimed to be merely defensive in nature—that is, each would fight only if attacked by the other. A similar policy was stated by NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations. Yet the existence of these two groupings made the world more alarmed than was the case with the earlier alliances, for these reasons:

•  NATO and the Warsaw Pact had many more member nations.

•  Their armed forces were larger.

•  Their weapons were newer and more deadly. Air forces, intercontinental missiles, and atomic power came to be possessed by both sides.

•  Fear and distrust on both sides were enormous. The West was upset with the USSR’s post–World War II expansion into Eastern Europe, Stalin’s treachery, and the messianic belief of the communists that spoke of inevitable world domination. The Soviets claimed that the Western powers were “ganging up” on them. NATO was seen as a threat to the Soviets, reminiscent of two previous invasions of Russia from the West (Napoleon in 1812 and Hitler in 1941).

The Korean War and the Creation of SEATO

The Cold War was not confined to Europe. The East versus West, Communism versus Free World division was also evident in Asia. The rise of communist regimes under Mao Zedong in China (1949) and Kim Il-Sung in North Korea (1949) created panic in the West. These nations were friendly with the USSR, taking similar anti-Western and anti-American stances. When North Korea attacked South Korea in 1950, United Nations forces led by the United States went to war. The conflict became known as the Korean War(1950–1953). Initially, the North Korean army overran much of South Korea. Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River and inflicted heavy casualties upon the anticommunist forces. However, General Douglas MacArthur, who was in command of the U.S. troops, engineered a brilliant amphibious attack at Inchon. The success of this attack forced a retreat by the communist armies and resulted in a stalemate in the fighting. Nevertheless, major disagreements broke out between MacArthur and President Truman. One of these concerned MacArthur’s wish to take the war into China. Ultimately, Truman, in his constitutional capacity as commander-in-chief of U.S. armed forces, dismissed MacArthur. In 1953, near the village of Panmunjoun, an armistice agreement was signed that brought a temporary halt to the fighting. No formal peace treaty has ever been signed.

North Korea had received weapons from the USSR as well as from communist China. Even with such help, North Korea failed to conquer the South. Therefore, the United States and its allies considered this failure a result of the successful application of the containment policy. They had stopped communist expansion and re-established the status quo (existing state of affairs) that had existed before the war.

The United States, having successfully protected a nation from communist domination, became more convinced of the importance of practicing containment. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower expanded the Western anti-communist alliance system with the creation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). This included the United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan. Modeled after NATO, it was justified by what Eisenhower termed the “domino theory.” Akin to a row of dominoes, Asian nations could fall, one by one, to communist expansion.

It was in Southeast Asia where fear of “falling dominoes” amidst Cold War tensions erupted into another “hot war.” This was in Vietnam. (See chapter 31 for details.)

The Policy of Peaceful Coexistence

In 1953, Stalin died, and control of the USSR went to a more moderate leadership. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, adopted a policy labeled “peaceful coexistence.” This was a policy of peaceful competition between the East and the West that would be based on greater achievement as a means of influencing nonallied nations (“third-world” nations). In 1955, President Eisenhower and the leaders of Great Britain and France held a summit with Khrushchev in Geneva, Switzerland. Known as the Geneva Summit, it was a breakthrough in trying to resolve the East-West tensions that had existed since the start of the Cold War in 1945.

Continued Tension over Berlin

In November of 1958, Berlin once again became a source of tension. Khrushchev started a campaign to change the status of Western involvement in the city by demanding that the Western powers remove all military equipment and personnel in six months; otherwise, he would turn over the city to East Germany. He was aware that the East German government was not recognized by the Western nations. When these nations refused to comply, Khrushchev did nothing to carry out his threat. A scheduled 1960 summit meeting in Paris between Eisenhower and Khrushchev was cancelled due to Russia’s capture of an American U-2 spy surveillance plane while it flew over Soviet territory. Khrushchev was furious and demanded an apology. Eisenhower refused but promised to suspend such spy missions.

Soviet pressure concerning West Berlin resumed in 1961. This was seen dramatically in the construction of a wall between West and East Berlin. The Berlin Wall closed off the border between the free area and the communist area and aimed to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. Although the wall was viewed as a stark symbol of communist oppression, the Western powers did nothing to impede its construction. Until its destruction in 1989, the wall was often the scene of both successful and unsuccessful escapes into West Berlin.

OTHER GLOBAL EVENTS IN THE COLD WAR

Europe

Events elsewhere in Europe, and in 1956 in particular, cooled U.S. and Soviet relations. In Hungary, the nation’s communist rulers sought to reduce their connection with the Soviet Union. Angered by such action, the USSR sent in troops to quell any activity that was deemed anti-Soviet. Many Hungarians were killed in what became known as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Although the Western powers condemned this Russian invasion, they sent no aid to Hungary. In Poland, workers’ resentments resulted in rioting. Stability was restored when the communist rulers gave in to some of the demands.

The Middle East

The Middle East was also an area of concern in The Cold War. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sought assistance from both the United States and the Soviet Union to construct a large dam on the Nile River at Aswan. As a “third-world” nation, Egypt supposedly claimed to be in neither the Free World bloc nor the Communist bloc, but it also shrewdly recognized the competition by both blocs to win favor in third-world countries. It ultimately accepted Soviet aid for the dam in 1956. In that same year, Nasser’s attempt to nationalize the Suez Canal led to war. Britain and France, owners of the canal, attacked Egypt. Israel, which had suffered repeated terrorist raids by Egypt along its borders, joined them. President Eisenhower was angered by this action, since the United States was not consulted beforehand by Britain and France, America’s two main allies. In addition, Eisenhower feared that the Soviets would send military help to Egypt, especially since Egypt was crushed during the fighting. Pressure from the United States and from the United Nations brought about a cease-fire and the removal of foreign forces from Egypt.

Worried about expanding Russian influence in the Middle East, President Eisenhower announced in 1957 that the United States would send armed forces to any nation there that asked for help against communist threats. Labeled as the Eisenhower Doctrine, it was applied successfully in Lebanon in 1958.

Latin America

Cold War tensions in Latin America led to the most potentially dangerous U.S.-Soviet military confrontation outside of Europe. In 1959, Fidel Castro led a successful revolution against the government headed by General Fulgencio Batista. Initially, the United States welcomed Castro’s victory and recognized his government. Soon, however, this friendly attitude began to change. Castro’s undemocratic policies (i.e., restricting civil liberties), economic actions (i.e., nationalizing industries), and foreign relations conduct (i.e., aligning with the USSR and Communist China) greatly disturbed the Eisenhower administration. Many Cubans fled the island, settling mainly in Florida and vowing to depose Castro one day. The United States began to see Cuba as a base for communist operations and as a security threat to the Western Hemisphere and, thus, formed a force of Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. They landed in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April of 1961, during the presidency of John F. Kennedy, and were soundly defeated by Cuba.

Consequently, Castro’s anti-American stance grew stronger, as did his ties with the Soviet Union. Russia gave him vast quantities of conventional arms and sent many military and technical advisers. They also began to build missile-launching pads for intermediate-range missiles. President Kennedy called on Khrushchev to dismantle the missile bases and warned that any nuclear attack from Cuban soil would result in a full-scale U.S. retaliation on the Soviet Union itself. Furthermore, Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to prevent Russian ships from bringing any more weapons to Cuba. The U.S. policy was successful, as Khrushchev had the missile bases torn down. In turn, Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and to remove American missile bases in Turkey. The world was spared a nuclear catastrophe.

SUMMARY

The Cold War split the post–World War II globe into two antagonistic groupings. The struggle between these two camps created an arms race marked by hatred and fear. The world stood on the brink of a third world war.

•  Cold War: The conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States from the end of World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991); characterized by harsh rhetoric, technological rivalry, an arms buildup, and proxy wars in developing countries

•  Containment: The post–World War II U.S. policy that sought to prevent the spread of Communism

•  Domino Theory: The Eisenhower-era theory that one communist country would infiltrate or influence its neighbors, supporting insurrection there and causing them to become communist too. They would fall like a series of dominoes standing close together. Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon also subscribed to this theory, a version of containment.

•  Summit meeting: A conference attended by leaders of two or more nations

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.   NATO was formed primarily to stop the spread of Communism in

(A)    Asia.

(B)    Europe.

(C)    South America.

(D)    Africa.

(E)    the Middle East.

2.   In the years after World War II, President Truman’s foreign policy was focused chiefly on

(A)    nuclear testing.

(B)    economic growth in underdeveloped countries.

(C)    containment of international communism.

(D)    diplomatic relations with Eastern European nations.

(E)    creation of cultural links with Red China.

3.   The reaction by Western Europe to the Berlin blockade was the

(A)    invasion of East Germany.

(B)    threat to increase nuclear arms.

(C)    use of spy satellites.

(D)    boycott of Soviet goods.

(E)    Berlin airlift.

4.   For Western Europe, the Marshall Plan provided

(A)    military assistance.

(B)    cultural links.

(C)    technology.

(D)    economic aid.

(E)    medical goods and equipment.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

1.    B

NATO stood for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was signed by the United States and 11 Western European nations. It was a defensive alliance that aimed to counter an “armed attack … in Europe or North America.”

2.    C

The greatest external fear of the United States after World War II was the spread of communism, and Truman took appropriate measures. These included signing the NATO treaty, pledging economic and military aid to nations facing the threat of communism (Truman Doctrine), and sending troops to fight in Korea. Issues regarding nuclear testing and underdeveloped countries, although important, did not receive as much attention as did the threat of communism. Given the tensions of the Cold War and anti-American attitudes in Eastern Europe and Red China, the United States did little to promote ties with them.

3.    E

The purpose of the Berlin airlift was to fly food and supplies into West Berlin. This was the sector (part) of Berlin to which the Soviets had cut off all land access. The Allies did not attempt to pursue any of the actions described in the other choices.

4.    D

The Marshall Plan was designed to prevent the spread of communism. It realized that communism often grew in areas experiencing poverty, hunger, and wartime devastation. Accordingly, the Plan provided over $12 billion in U.S. economic aid to Europe. It was not designed to do anything else, although other programs provided U.S. military assistance to Western European nations and established cultural links between the United States and Europe.