Cold War

Deadly Political Contest

The Cold War (end of World War II to 1989) was a deadly political contest between Western powers and the Communist bloc. The ensuing battle for influence knew no bounds, escalating to the very brink of nuclear war. Following a series of high stakes challenges from the Cuban Missile Crisis to Vietnam, U.S. President Ronald Reagan successfully intimidated the "evil empire" through a massive nuclear arms buildup. Sensing the ineffectiveness of communist rule, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev allowed his weakened communist state to collapse along with those around the world

Causes

Throughout World War II, the communist Soviets and democratic Western allies were bound together by a shared strategic concept, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." But as the war came to a close and a mutual enemy ceased to exist, their innate differences became irreconcilable.

The 1945 Yalta Conference signaled the beginning of an epic Cold War power struggle. A compromise could not be reached on how to divide and manage post-war Europe, especially Germany. Western allies failed to comprehend why the Soviet Union demanded a buffer of Eastern European countries between itself and the West. To the Russians, who had lost one in seven people during World War II, the answer was simple—they wanted protection against potential Western aggression. World War II had left much of Europe and Asia in ruins—physically, politically and economically. In this unstable environment, communism and its promise of equality held mass appeal. The relatively resilient Western powers, on the other hand, viewed communism as a threat to their democratic governments.

Fighting Communism

To fight the spread of communism, the United States unleashed the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan in 1947. The Truman Doctrine provided U.S. aid to anticommunist movements in Turkey and Greece. It became known as the "containment doctrine" as it expanded to include any country threatened by communism. Under the Marshall Plan, the U.S. pledged monetary support to rebuild Europe's war-torn economy, making communism a tough sell.

Warsaw Pact

When Western powers unified their half of Germany under democratic rule, the Soviets defiantly blockaded Berlin, Germany's capital. In response, Western allies launched the 11-month Berlin Airlift (1948-1949). It was a smashing success. After non-stop allied supply flights swooped into Berlin, the Soviets begrudgingly ended their futile blockade. To protect against an increasingly belligerent Soviet Union, Americans and allied Europeans proceeded to form NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Fearing this mighty Western union, the Soviets and their Eastern European cohorts reacted by signing the Warsaw Pact.

Cold War Turns Hot

The Cold War turned hot in 1949 when communists gained control of China. Encouraged by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the Chinese supported North Koreans in a bold attempt to forcibly unite Korea under communist rule. The Korean War (1950-1953) ended in United Nations victory and reestablishment of the pre-war Korean border between communist North Korea and the democratic South.
NATO concluded from the Korean conflict, that if Stalin considered distant Asia ripe for expansion, he must have plans for neighboring Europe. As a result, NATO recognized West Germany as a nation in 1955, allowed its rearmament, and admitted it as a member. Almost overnight, East Germans began to flee to West Germany. By 1961, the East German government became so embarrassed by this mass exodus that they erected the Berlin Wall to stop citizens from escaping.