NUCLEAR AGE
AND COLD WAR
INCREASING TENSION BETWEEN THE
ALLIES AFTER WWII IN EUROPE
1. Soviet Union vs the West
• Before WWII, USA depicted the Soviet Union as an evil, oppressive
nation
• USSR depicted USA in the same way
• “Friendship” during the war was only because of their mutual enemy
– Nazi Germany
• When the war ended these foes went to their pre-war attitudes
towards each other
• Respected ideologies – communism(USSR) and capitalism(USA)
increased the tension between them.
EUROPE IN 1945
Yalta Conference
• Took place while WW2 was still taking place in Europe
• Here the Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) were discussing how Europe will look like post WW2
• Key issue at Yalta – how to treat those nations that was under Nazi occupation – was clear that Allies and
Stalin’s ideas of a free and democratic government was very different from theirs.
• Stalin felt that a free and democratic German government should be subordinate to Moscow
• Stalin wanted to control German-controlled nations – so he sent in his army to occupy these countries(Austria,
Czechoslovakia, Poland and Serbia)
• Allies couldn’t do any thing as the red army advanced towards Berlin
• Red army – communist – workers and peasants- red associated with communism
• Red symbolise courage, toughness and revolutionary political views
• By 1945 red army was well-equipped and well-led
• When Germany surrendered in 1945 the Red Army controlled most of Eastern Europe
• Death of Roosevelt led to Harry Truman becoming president in USA – he was not sympathetic to Russia – and
was armed with the atomic bomb
• https://youtu.be/CGCGdpu_FTU
EUROPE IN 1945
Potsdam Conference
• Took place after Germany’s surrender in 1945
• During this conference the Allies decided how Germany would be divided
• During this conference it became very clear there were a lot of tensions between the Allies – USA and UK
vs USSR
• Postsdam (17 Jul 1945- 2 Aug 1945) – failed to have free and democratic elections and establish a new
border between Germany and Poland
• During this conference the USA issued a warning to Japan that if they don’t surrender there will be dire
consequences
• Here Stalin learned about atomic bomb – but did not get all information about it – when USA used it on
Japan(6 Aug and 9 Aug) Stalin realised that USA was years behind USA in terms of modern weapons
• End of 1945 seed for Cold War was sown: USA + Russia had no common enemy and Russia no atomic
bombs
• https://youtu.be/bu17c_3OTHw
MAP OF EUROPE AFTER WW2
USSR(COMMUNISM) VS USA(CAPITALISM)
USSR
• Great change occurred in Russia after WW1
• In the Russian Revolution of 1917 the King, Tsar Nicolas II, was overthrown and a
communist government took over under the leadership of Lenin
• Before the Russian Revolution famine and poverty was rife in Russia – Lenin offered the
Russian People an alternative with his promise of Peace, Land and bread
• The Soviet Union was formed in 30 December 1922
• After Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin became the new leader of the Soviet Union
• Stalin was a ruthless dictator who created a mighty military and industrial power in the
USSR
• The USSR followed the communist ideology - Communism is a type of government as
well as an economic system (a way of creating and sharing wealth). In
a Communist system, individual people do not own land, factories, or machinery. Instead,
the government or the whole community owns these things. Everyone is supposed to share
the wealth that they create.
USSR(COMMUNISM) VS USA(CAPITALISM)
USA
• USA fought for its independence from Britain and declared independence on July 4, 1776.
• The founding fathers wanted all people to be equal and rejected the monarchy which was
the way Britain was ruled.
• The USA adapted the capitalist system with a democracy
• Capitalism is an economic system in which private individuals own and control most of
the factors of production—the resources used to produce goods and services. Individuals
also own and run most companies, which compete with other companies for business.
• The word democracy describes a form of government. The word comes from two Greek
words that mean “rule by the people.” In a democracy the people have a say in how the
government is run. They do this by voting, though there are usually rules about who can
vote. Democracies are different from dictatorships.
• The USA became very strong during WW1 and is still the strongest Country in the West
THE END OF WW2 IN THE PACIFIC: ATOMIC
BOMBS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NUCLEAR
AGE
Albert Einstein’s ideas:
• He is one of the best-known scientists
• He grew up in Germany and developed the scientific ideas that changed
our understanding of the Universe
• He was not directly involved in the making of the nuclear bomb
• When Hitler bean to gain power in Germany, Einstein (being a Jew)
escaped Europe and lived in the USA
• He encouraged the USA to invent the atomic bomb to stop the Nazi ideas
from spreading
• https://youtu.be/mUZrsCNBY_U
THE END OF WW2 IN THE PACIFIC: ATOMIC
BOMBS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NUCLEAR
AGE
Manhattan Project:
• 1939, the USA started this top secret research project to research and produce
an atomic bomb
• From 1939 to 1945 the USA’s best scientists work on this Project
• The bomb was named “the gadget”
• On 16 July 1945, “the gadget” was successfully exploded in the desert in the state
of New Mexico
• The heat this bomb generated was so severe, it turned the sand into glass
• After years of hard work, Robert Oppenheimer, was relieved about the success of
the explosion, but he also realised the destructive power of this bomb
• https://youtu.be/w4q1fG1vh5I
DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC
BOMBS
• During the Potsdam conference the USA warned
Japan to surrender
• Japan only chose to surrender after the dropping of
the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• https://youtu.be/3wxWNAM8Cso
• https://youtu.be/ncq_Wye43TM?list=TLPQMDYwNTI
wMjA9iGE0xXsUIQ
WHY DID USA DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS
• Controversial
American’s view:
❖ First reason: Saving lives
➢ Forcing Japan to surrender saved soldiers as well as civilians lives
➢ Japan was deploying up to 2 million soldiers + civilians that was prepared
to fight with sticks, pitchforks and rocks to keep away the enemy
➢ Fighting in Iwo Jima and Okinawa cost over 100 000 lives
➢ Invasion on Japan would have resulted in as many as 1 million American
lives
➢ Atomic bombs ended the war + saved lives
➢ Japan was already weakened , so blockade and intense bombing could
have ended the war without the Atomic bomb
WHY DID USA DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS
USSR’s view:
➢ By dropping the atomic bomb USA prevented the USSR to establish
influence over the region
➢ Japan was negotiating peace through the USSR – Japan would ended the
war under more favourable terms
➢ Bomb forced the Japanese to surrender unconditionally to USA and USA
could dictate peace terms
WHY DID USA DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS
Third reason: Strength of USA
➢ USA as leader of democracy could not be opposed – atomic bomb
➢ Hope would make countries like USSR more manageable
➢ Had the opposite effect – made them more determined to get their
own atomic bombs
• Dropping of the atomic bomb usurer in the time of the Cold War and
the Nuclear age
SUPERPOWER
• Country with a dominant position in the world
• Country that has the ability to:
1. Influence world events
2. Further its own interests
3. Project power over the rest of the world
4. Large country with a large population
5. Strong economy
SUPERPOWER
6. Ample supply of natural resource
• USA and Soviet Union were the two superpowers of the cold war
• When Soviet Union collapsed USA was left as the sole superpower
• Characteristics of the superpowers
a) Political
b) Military
c) Economy
d) Geographic
e) Cultural
MEANING OF THE WORLD WAR
• Hot war – war is happening – soldiers fighting
• Warm war – talks are continuing – chance of peace
• Cold war – no fighting, but countries are promoting
their ideologies through several things:
1. Proxy wars - a war instigated by a major power
which does not itself become involved.
2. Client states - A client state is a state that is
economically, politically, or militarily subordinate to
another more powerful state in international affairs.
ARMS RACE
• The Nuclear arms race started when the USA dropped the atomic bomb
• Stalin realised that the USSR was behind the USA when it comes to military
technology
• Truman hoped that this would contain the USSR, but it had the opposite effect –
Stalin put a lot of pressure on Scientists in the USSR to develop an atomic bomb
• In 1949 – the USSR tested its first atomic bomb
• This ushered in the Nuclear age and also re-affirmed the two Superpowers
• The USA and the USSR competed with each other to see who could build up the
most nuclear weapons during the Cold War
• This policy became known as MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) – this meant that if
one side would attack with nuclear weapons, the other side would respond with
Nuclear weapons
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
Starter Activity – Take a double page in your book and
write the above heading. Label one page the USA and
the other the USSR. Stick your map of Cuba in the
middle of the 2 pages.
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
Draw the flags on your pages, with the Cuban flag in the middle
USA USSR
CUBA
John F Kennedy – Nikita Khrushchev –
President of the USA President of the USSR
Fidel Castro – President of
The Significance of Cuba
Cuba is a large island in the Caribbean, about 90 miles from
Miami, Florida, USA. Illustrate this on your map.
Before 1959, the USA had many troops stationed in Cuba and
had vast sums of money invested in the country. The Cuban
government was seen by many as corrupt.
In 1959, the anti-capitalist Fidel Castro lead a revolution and
took power by force.
He asked for economic assistance. When the USA refused,
Castro made a deal with the USSR.
What Happened?
October
1962
On 15 October 1962, a U-2 spy plane
took photographs of Cuba.
These showed the construction of
long-range Soviet missile launching
sites. No actual missiles were
identified.
Further spy photographs revealed
Just how serious was this?
Soviet ships travelling towards
Label the missiles on your
Cuba carrying long-range nuclear
map- nuclear
weapons
How dangerous were missiles on Cuba?
https://youtu.be/5HRU5yonyK8
https://youtu.be/5HRU5yonyK8
What could the USA do?
President Kennedy organized ExComm (the Executive Committee). This
was group of political and military advisors including Robert Kennedy
and Theodore Sorensen. They debated what to do day and night for
nearly seven days!
❖ The wrong decision could lead to a nuclear war.
What did the USA do?
On 22 October, Kennedy announced a “strict quarantine on all
offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba”. If Soviet
vessels did not stop, US ships had orders to fire.
Why do you think Kennedy took this decision?
At the same time, Kennedy ordered his forces to be ready
for war. The world had never been closer to nuclear conflict.
Kennedy stated that if the blockade is ‘forced’, the USA will
be at war. The Soviet ships continued to sail towards Cuba.
The impact of the blockade
The impact of the crisis
Telephone hotline set Test-ban treaty Cold War never became as
up in 1963. signed in 1963 – ban serious again. Despite future
on testing nuclear
weapons. tensions, there was a major
Both superpowers change in attitude.
realized how close
they had come to
nuclear war. Impact of the Cuban
Missile Crisis, 1962 Is this fair? Why should
Khrushchev be
Turkey missile deal
praised?
remained secret
Kennedy appeared to have Khrushchev came out of the
stood up to communism – crisis badly – criticized both for
massive public opinion trying to place missiles in Cuba,
boost. and also for giving into the USA.
What do you think was the
most important consequence
of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
THE SPACE RACE: 1957 TO
1975
• A competitions of Space exploration
YURI GAGARIN
• Colonel Yuri A. Gagarin was born on a collective farm in a region west of
Moscow, Russia on March 9, 1934. His father was a carpenter. Yuri
attended the local school for six years and continued his education at
vocational and technical schools.
• Yuri Gagarin joined the Russian Air Force in 1955 and graduated with
honors from the Soviet Air Force Academy in 1957. Soon afterward, he
became a military fighter pilot. By 1959, he had been selected for
cosmonaut training as part of the first group of USSR cosmonauts.
• Yuri Gagarin flew only one space mission. On April 12, 1961 he became the
first human to orbit Earth. Gagarin's spacecraft, Vostok 1, circled Earth at
a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour. The flight lasted 108 minutes. At
the highest point, Gagarin was about 327 kilometers above Earth.
YURI GAGARIN
• Once in orbit, Yuri Gagarin had no control over his spacecraft. Vostok's
reentry was controlled by a computer program sending radio commands
to the space capsule. Although the controls were locked, a key had been
placed in a sealed envelope in case an emergency situation made it
necessary for Gagarin to take control. As was planned, Cosmonaut
Gagarin ejected after reentry into Earth’s atmosphere and landed by
parachute.
• Colonel Yuri Gagarin died on March 27, 1968 when the MiG-15 he was
piloting crashed near Moscow. At the time of his death, Yuri Gagarin
was in training for a second space mission.
believe the United States must sail on it and be in a position second to
none.”
• Follow this link to see the primary source
https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-
documents/sputnik/3-6-58.pdf
➢ April 1 1960 – Tiros 1 – the first successful low
orbital weather satellite launched by NASA
https://youtu.be/4IB72n22Qxk
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• The Berlin Airlift could be called the first battle of the Cold War.
• It was when western countries delivered much needed food and
supplies to the city of Berlin through the air because all other routes
were blocked by the Soviet Union.
• After World War II the country of Germany was divided by the Allies
into four zones. Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet
Union each controlled a different zone.
• The capital of Germany, Berlin, was located in the Soviet Union zone,
but control of this city was also split into four zones between the four
countries.
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• With the war over, tensions began to mount between the democratic
countries of the west and the communist countries controlled by the
Soviet Union of the east.
• The west was determined to stop the spread of communism and the
Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine made this clear.
• The west also wanted the country of Germany to be united under one
democratic government. The Soviet Union didn't want this.
• Soon the two sides were at odds over the future of Germany
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• The city of Berlin was an island in the middle of the Soviet controlled
zone.
• The west sent supplies there via railroads and roads.
• However, the Soviets wanted total control of Berlin.
• They figured if they cut off Berlin from their external supplies and food,
then it would fall under their control.
• On June 24, 1948 the Soviets blocked all rail and road traffic to Berlin.
They cut off the electricity coming from the Soviet part of the city.
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• They halted all traffic going in and out of the city.
• Running Out of Food
• When the blockade first started, the city of Berlin had around 36 days
worth of food.
• They also needed tons of coal for energy and other items such as medical
supplies.
• The only option the western countries had was to try and fly in all the
supplies.
• This was a huge task as there were over two million people living in the
city at the time.
BERLIN AIRLIFT
• The army estimated that it would take over 1500 tons of food each day to
keep them alive.
• The Soviets did not believe that an airlift would work.
• They felt that the people of Berlin would eventually give up.
• Over the next ten months the United States and Great Britain flew around
277,000 flights into Berlin.
• They carried over 2.3 million tons of supplies into the city.
• On May 12, 1949 the Soviet Union stopped the blockade and the airlift
was over.
BERLIN AIRLIFT – INTERESTING FACTS
• Around 65% of the cargo was coal.
• Coal was tough to airlift because of all the dust.
• After hauling coal for 1,000 hours, planes would weigh 100 pounds more just from all the
dust.
• To make the turnaround in Berlin more efficient, flight crews were not allowed to leave their
planes when they landed.
• Jeeps would drive out to the planes and bring them snacks.
• To help with moral in the city, pilots would drop candy attached to little parachutes over
Berlin. This was called "operation little vittles". Over three tons of candy was dropped by the
end of the airlift.
• Watch:
https://youtu.be/nwjFSQCrShM
DIVISION OF GERMANY IN 1946 AND THE
BERLIN WALL
• Division of Germany at the Potsdam Conference(16 July to 2 August 1945)
DIVISION OF GERMANY IN 1946
• Division of Berlin
THE BERLIN WALL 1961
• The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Berlin in 1961.
• The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin. It was built in order to prevent
people from fleeing East Berlin.
• In many ways it was the perfect symbol of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the
democratic western countries and the communist countries of Eastern Europe
throughout the Cold War
• Berlin was the capital of Germany.
• Even though it was located in the eastern half of the country,
• the city was controlled by all four major powers; the Soviet Union, the United
States, Britain, and France.
THE BERLIN WALL 1961
• As people in East Germany began to realize that they
did not want to live under the rule of the Soviet Union and communism,
they started to leave the eastern part of the country and move to the west.
These people were called defectors.
• Over time more and more people left. The Soviet and East German leaders
began to worry that they were losing too many people.
• Over the course of the years 1949 to 1959, over 2 million people left the
country. In 1960 alone, around 230,000 people defected.
• Although the East Germans tried to keep people from leaving, it was fairly easy
for people to leave the city of Berlin because the inside of the city was
controlled by all four major powers.
THE BERLIN WALL 1961
• Finally, the Soviets and the East German
leaders had had enough.
• On August 12th and 13th of 1961 under the
instruction of Nikita Khrushchev, they built a wall around Berlin to
prevent people from leaving.
• At first the wall was just a barbed wire fence.
• Later it would be rebuilt with concrete blocks 12 feet high and four
feet wide.
• This outraged the West, USA and USSR tanks faced each other and for
a while it looked like a hot war was possible
THE BERLIN WALL 1961
• The Eastern Germany government called the wall the Anti-Fascist Protection
Rampart. The Western Germans often referred to it as the Wall of Shame.
• Around 20% of the East German population left the country in the years leading up
to the building of the wall.
• The country of East Germany was officially called the German Democratic Republic
or GDR.
• There were also many guard towers along the wall. Guards were ordered to shoot
anyone attempting to escape.
• It is estimated that around 5000 people escaped over or through the wall during the
28 years it stood. Around 200 were killed trying to escape.
• https://youtu.be/oUpGwP0VBSo
END OF COLD WAR
1. Fall of Berlin Wall in 1989
• During 1989 there was civil unrest against repressive communist governments
• Unrest was fuelled by Regan’s challenge to Gorbachev to tear down the walls
• 23 August Hungary opened their borders with Austria – 13 000 Germans escaped to Austria via
Hungary
• Eastern German government clamped down on travel
• This led to more unrest and Eastern German’s head of state, Erich Honecker, resigned on 18
October 1989
• Demonstrations intensified and 7 pm 9 November 1989, travel restrictions on Eastern Germans
were lifted
• Thousands of East Berliners went to border crossings – 10:30 pm border crossings were opened
• Someone started to break down the wall and others followed this marked the fall of the Berlin
Wall
END OF COLD WAR
2. Fall of Soviet Union 1991
• USSR ended up as a totalitarian state led by a dictator
• Economy failed
• In the 1982’s Gorbachev introduced political and economic reforms( Glasnost +
Perestroika)
• These led to civil unrest as people wanted more freedom – this led to military
intervention
• Some Russian republics declared independence from USSR on 8 Dec 1991
• Gorbachev resigned on 25 Dec 1991 – ending existence of USSR(Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics)
