8.3: Effects of the Cold War

• Due to mutually assured destruction, the US and USSR never directly went to war, but instead fought through a series of proxy wars

• With the start of the Cold War, new military alliances propped up

• Both countries had immense military, economic, and nuclear influence

Allied Occupation of Germany

• Conflict over how to split up Germany after WWII

• Germany was split into 4 parts: each part given to US, France, Britain, and USSR

• US, France, Britain combined their parts into one state under democratic principles

Berlin Blockade

• When Germany was being split into four, Berlin too was split in four

• Britain, France, US combined their parts of Berlin and planned to make it democratic

• USSR didn’t want this to happen, and instead wanted all of Berlin for themselves

• So USSR sets up a blockade to prevent the West from moving supplies into the area by land

• Instead the Allies began the Berlin Airlift
• In this, Allies flew supplies into Western zones

• Blockade lasted from February 1948 to May 1949

Two Germanys

• After the blockade, Germany was split in two: East and West

Berlin Wall

• West Germany much more prosperous than East Germany, so around 2.5 million Germans went from East to West

• To prevent people from leaving, USSR and East German government built Berlin Wall in 1961

• Reason they wanted to keep people in East Germany as the exodus looked bad internationally and the exodus was hard on their economy

NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and Other Alliances

• NATO, a military alliance, created in 1949
• Primary purpose was providing mutual support and cooperation in case a conflict with the Soviet Union occurred

• Soviet’s response to NATO was the Warsaw Pact
• Warsaw Pact nations combined their armed forces and based their army leaders in Moscow

• Other alliances created to stop the spread of communism include:
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
• Consisted of Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States
• Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
• Purpose was to prevent spread of communism in Middle East
• Consisted of Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey

Proxy Wars

• Proxy war = conflict between two or more countries where they support opposing sides with resources, but do not directly engage in combat themselves.

• Proxy wars took place Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean

Korean War

• Like Germany, after WWII, Korea was divided between the winners

• Soviets got the north; US got south

• Korean War (1950-1953) began when North Korea invaded South Korea in an effort to reunite the peninsula

• UN voted to defend South Korea militarily

• UN forces pushed back the North Koreans across the inter-Korean border and drove toward North Korea’s border with China

• Concerned the UN forces would invade China, China sent troops to push back the UN troops

• War ended with a stalemate: the two sides would continue to be divided with a demilitarized zone in between

Vietnam War

• In 1954, French controlled Vietnam was split in two: North and South
• This division was supposed to be temporary
• Elections were supposed to take place to determine who would president for the entire Vietnam
• US doesn’t hold the elections because they knew Ho Chi Minh would be elected as he was the most popular

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower, following Truman’s policy of containment, sent military advisers to South Vietnam to train the South Vietnamese army and to prevent a communist takeover by North Vietnam

• Leader of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, was supported by US but was very unpopular
• Ho Chi Minh very popular

• US slowly and slowly increases its troop count in South Vietnam

• Eventually South Vietnam falls in 1975, and Vietnam is united as one

The Bay of Pigs Crisis

• In 1959, Fidel Castro and other communist revolutionaries overthrew the Cuban dictator at the time, who was considered a puppet of the US

• New government started doing communist stuff, like nationalizing foreign-owned industries
• Properties of American oil companies like Texaco and Sinclair and 36 sugar mills owned by U.S. firms were seized
• Made the US mad, who decided to break off trade with Cuba and cut diplomatic ties
• Cuba turned to USSR for aid

• To try to overthrow the communist government,Kennedy and CIA send 1,500 Cubans into Bay of Pigs to spur revolution

• Complete failure and embarrasses US on global stage

• Also solidified the Cuban-Soviet alliance for good

The Cuban Missile Crisis

• After Bay of Pigs Crisis, Soviet Union started to provide military support to Cuba

• In 1962, Nikita Khrushchev (who came in power after Stalin) shipped nuclear missiles to Cuba
• Felt justified as US placed nukes in Turkey in 1961

• When finding out about this, Kennedy ordered the U.S. Navy to prevent the missiles from reaching Cuba

• Almost sparked nuclear war, but was avoided as USSR agreed to remove its nukes from Cuba and US removed its nukes from Turkey

• Also made both sides realize that they needed better communication as better communication could have prevented the crisis

• In 1963, the two countries set up a Hot Line, a direct telegraph/teleprinter link between the U.S. and Soviet leaders’ offices

Test-Ban Treaty

• In 1963, the Soviet Union, the United States, and more than 100 other states signed the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
• outlawed testing nuclear weapons above ground, underwater, and in space

• Goal was environmental
• Specifically, goal was to cut down the amount of radiation that people would be exposed to as a result of weapons testing

• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 called for nuclear countries to not spread military nuclear technology and materials to non-nuclear countries

Angolan Civil War

• Angola, a former Portuguese colony in southwest Africa, won independence in 1975

• However, rival ethnic groups were thrown together under one government and this created conflicts
• In particular, each wanted to control the country’s lucrative diamond mines

• Angolan Civil War began immediately after its independence in 1975 till 2022
• USSR and Cuba backed the Mbundu tribe
• South Africa backed the Ovimbundu tribe
• United States backed the Bankongo tribe

• USSR saw it as a way to expand their influence and promote communism in Africa

• US and South Africa saw Angola as a way to counter Soviet and Cuban influence in the region and promote anti-communist forces

Contra War

• Lasted from 1981 to 1988 in Nicaragua

• In 1947, dictatorship in Nicaragua was overthrown by socialists called Sandinistas

• US funded a right-wing rebel group called the Contras to take power away from the Sandinistas

• Contra War was characterized by violence, human rights abuses, and political repression on both sides

Antinuclear Weapon Movement

• People protest against nuclear weapons

• Ex: On June 6, 1982, some one million people demonstrated in New York City against the creation, buildup, and possible use of nuclear weapons