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8. Cold War and Decolonization

1900-2001

8.1-8.3 Cold War

Beginnings

superpowers disagreed about fate of Europe after World War II

democracy (USA)

communism (USSR)

Cold War (1945-1991)

period of competition and hostility between USA and USSR

“cold”: no direct fighting (proxy wars in other nations and areas)

Stalin wanted “buffer zone” to protect USSR from future invasion

Iron Curtain: dividing line separating communist East from democratic West

USA reacted by initiating policy of containment to keep communism from spreading

Truman Doctrine: military help for countries that rejected communism

Marshall Plan: financial aid to rebuild western Europe

Opposing alliances

1949: USA created North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

USA, Canada, Europe

promised to protect each other if attacked

1955: Stalin created Warsaw Pact (USSR and 7 Eastern Europe communist nations)

non-aligned nations

many nations refused to pick sides

played both sides against each other for their benefit

In Germany

Two Germanies, two Berlins

Germany and Berlin divided into four zones (USA, Britain, France, USSR)

east: communist

west: democratic

island of democracy surrounded by communist control

Stalin tried to starve democracy out

blockaded all roads into West Berlin (Jun. 1948)

Berlin Airlift (Jun. 1948 - May 1949): 24/7 planes to airlift supplies to West Berlin

considered first “battle” of Cold War

Berlin Wall (1961)

West Berlin was more prosperous than East Berlin; many Germans fled to West

USSR built wall around West Berlin to stop people from leaving communist East

became bigger, more security, more deadly over decades

stood for 28 years; fell in 1989

Intensification

Arms race

USA had nuclear monopoly after WWII until USSR tested its first atomic bomb (1949)

USA created hydrogen bomb (1952) that was 1000x more powerful; USSR developed too (1953)

arms race: each side raced to build more bombs and bigger bombs

Brinkmanship: each side willing to go to the brink (edge) of war

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): attacking first did not guarantee safety

Space Race

Oct. 1957: USSR launched Sputnik (first satellite in orbit)

Americans fell behind

created NASA

increased education in math/science

Nov. 1957: USSR launched Sputnik 2 with Laika on board (first living organism sent into space)

Jan. 1961: USA sent Ham (chimpanzee)

Apr. 1961: USSR sent Yuri Gagarin (first man into space)

Jun. 1963: USSR sent Valentina Tereshkova (first woman) for three days in orbit

1965: USSR did first space walk; USA sent first satellite to Mars

1968: USA was first to reach the moon (orbit and return)

1969: USA sent Neil Armstrong (first man to walk on the moon)

8.4 Cold War in Asia

China

History review

1800s: Century of Humiliation

Opium War

unequal treaties

Boxers

1911: Xinhai Revolution

imperial rule ended

China became republic

Kuomintang (KMT) Nationalist Party took control of China

1919: May 4th Movement

protests against Japanese control of China

led to creation of Communist Party in China

Chinese Civil War (1927-1949)

nationalists (Chiang Kai-shek) vs. communists (Mao Zedong)

communists losing badly

1934: Mao Zedong led Long March

retreated 6,000 miles over 368 days

Mao became undisputed leader of Communist Party

1937: Japan invaded China; KMT and communists allied to fight Japan

1945: Japan defeated; Civil War resumed

1949: communists won Civil War

Mao became dictator of China

KMT nationalists fled to Taiwan

created two Chinas

People’s Republic of China

communist

Mao Zedong

Republic of China (Taiwan)

nationalist

Chiang Kai-shek

Compared to USSR

China attempted to copy USSR

1950: Land Reform

Mao returned land to peasants to rid China of landlord class

peasants sought retribution through Speak Bitterness campaigns

pubic hearings; peasants confronted landlords

1953-1957: First Five Year Plan

aided by USSR

rapid industrialization

heavy industries

urban factories

led to impressive economic growth and rapid urbanization

improvements in literacy, education created technically-trained workforce

growth of privileged bureaucratic elite that favored urban over rural

collectivization of agriculture

Soviet Union

sparked internal rebellion

millions of people died because of famine

China

relatively peaceful process

communist party built up trust with peasants during civil war period

China split with USSR

by late 1950s, Mao believed copying USSR was leading China away from socialism

Soviet communism created inequality

Soviets favored cities at expense of rural

Mao began to chart new path for communist China

Great Leap Forward (1958)

goal: increase farm and industrial output but not at the expense of the countryside

collectivization of agriculture: “people’s communes”

mobilize population for rapid development

create true communist society

backyard furnaces in rural areas to produce steel and other products

practical, technological education for all, not just elite workforce

massive failure

famine killed 30 million

bad weather

poor incentives

food shortages

steel produced in backyard furnaces was poor-quality

backyard furnaces required massive amounts of wood → deforestation

Cultural Revolution (1966)

goal: purge China of bourgeois/capitalist tendencies; let young experience revolution

Red Guard: student paramilitary

used to attack “enemies of socialism”

targeted:

local government

intellectuals

factory managers

teachers

Struggle Sessions

public rallies where “class enemies” were beaten/tortured

1.5 million killed; Mao called in military to restore order

Korea

Spread of communism

divided at end of World War II

north of 38th parallel: Japanese troops surrendered to USSR

became communist

controlled by dictator Kim Il-sung

south of 38th parallel: Japanese troops surrendered to U.S.

Korean conflict

Jun. 25, 1950: North Korea launched surprise attack on South Korea

supplied by USSR

pushed deep into South Korea to Pusan perimeter

UN sent troops to defend South Korea (mostly American forces)

Sep. 1950: UN attacked at Inchon; forced half of North Korean army to surrender

Nov. 1950: UN troops forced North Korean army to retreat to Chinese border

Mao threatened by UN troops

sent Chinese troops to help North Korea

UN troops forced to retreat past 38th parallel

Korean War became stalemate

Jul. 1953: armistice (truce) but no peace treaty

Today

Korean Peninsula still divided at 38th parallel; separated by Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

South Korea became democracy (1987); economic “Asian Tiger”

North Korea stagnated under communist dictatorship and totalitarian state

Kim Jong-il took over (1994), then Kim Jong-un (2011)

Juche ideology (self-reliance) left North Korea isolated from world

extreme poverty; chronic food shortages (e.g. Great Famine in late 1990s)

8.5-8.7 Decolonization in Asia

Vietnam

Rise of Ho Chi Minh

petitioned Versailles Peace Conference (1919) for Vietnamese independence

inspired by Bolshevik Revolution; founded Indochinese Communist Party (1930)

saw opportunity to gain independence during World War II

Viet Minh seized Hanoi

defeated French at Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954)

Geneva Accords (peace negotiations) divided Vietnam at 17th parallel

north communist under Ho Chi Minh

south non-communist under Ngo Dinh Diem

elections to be held within two years to unite country (never happened)

Ho Chi Minh Trail: North Vietnam launched guerrilla warfare against South Vietnamese government (through Laos and Cambodia)

U.S. entered Vietnam War

Eisenhower (1955) and Kennedy (1961) sent money, advisors to train South Vietnamese army

Kennedy authorized use of Agent Orange

herbicide to kill crops and forest cover

caused serious health issues among Vietnamese and U.S. servicement

Johnson sent increasing numbers of U.S> troops to fight in Vietnam War (1965)

authorized bombing of Cambodia, Laos

used napalm (liquid fire)

Tet Offensive

1968

Viet Cong launched surprise attack on U.S. forces during celebration of Lunar New Year

turning point of war

war expanded into Laos and Cambodia

American anti-war sentiments began to build

Mai Lai Massacre

1968

Charlie Company informed that Viet Cong had taken village of Mai Lai (mee lye)

no Viet Cong; just women, children, older men

killed 504 Vietnamese

opened fire on villagers

slaughtered livestock

raped women

Two Germanies, two Berlins

Chinese Civil War (1927-1949)

Compared to USSR

Great Leap Forward (1958)

Cultural Revolution (1966)

Korea

Spread of communism

Today

8.5-8.7 Decolonization in Asia

Vietnam

Rise of Ho Chi Minh

U.S. entered Vietnam War

8.5-8.7 Decolonization of India

History review

Indian National Congress (INC)

Effects of World War I

Creation of Bangladesh

Post-independence

8.5-8.7 Creation of Israel

Palestine

Zionism

Creation of Israel

UN Partition Plan (1947)

Arab-Israeli Wars

First Arab-Israeli War (1948)

Suez Crisis (1956)

Six-Day War (1967)

Yom Kippur War (1973)

Ongoing conflict

Terrorism against Israel

Push for peace

Separation Wall

8.5-8.7 Decolonization in Latin America

Cuba

Cuban Revolution (1959)

Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

8.5-8.7 Decolonization in Africa

Algeria

Angola

Groups in Angolan Civil War

Poznan Protests (1956)

Hungarian Revolution (1956)

Prague Spring (1968)

Stalemate in Afghanistan (1979-89)

Iranian Revolution (1979)

USSR and China (cools down)

Deng Xiaoping in China (1976)

Mikhail Gorbachev in USSR (1985)

Revolutions of 1989

End of Cold War

End of USSR

New frontiers in communism

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