The Cold War

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

Sting - Russians

THE COLD WAR

How did the ideological confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War influence world ?

Summary

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979) III. The end of the Cold War and its consequences (1980-1991)

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)A. Ideological foundations: capitalism vs. communism

United States

- promoted an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, free enterprise and political democracy. - guarantee of freedom, prosperity and justice.

VS

Soviet Union

- represented communism (collective ownership of production) - its model eliminated the exploitation of workers and guaranteed social equality.

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)A. Ideological foundations: capitalism vs. communism

United States

- fear of Communism => Cold War -> the witch-hunt and the arms race- creation of the Marshall Plan

VS

Soviet Union

- strict control over society and the economy - surveillance of the population and the suppression of all opposition - encourage creation of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and Asia

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)A. Ideological foundations: capitalism vs. communism

Fun Fact

- condemnation of communismbut quickly turn to criticism of government spending, rising debt and high taxes in the US

Lulu Belle & Scotty - I'm No Communist

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)B. Geopolitical tensions: from Yalta to the Truman Doctrine

Yalta and Potsdam conferences (1945)

- division of Germany and Eastern Europe into zones of influence

The Truman Doctrine (1947)

- support countries threatened by communism, providing political, economic and military assistance to counter Soviet influence

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)C. The first direct confrontations: the Berlin crisis and the Korean War

Berlin crisis(1948-1949)

-> the Soviet Union blocked land access to West Berlin-> an air bridge was established to supply the city

-> communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea-> the United States and its allies responded by sending troops to defend the South

Korean War (1950-1953)

The Cold War was not only an ideological war, but also an intense geopolitical confrontation

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979) A. The arms race and nuclear deterrence

The United States and the Soviet Union competed to develop massive nuclear arsenals

nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)

intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)A. The arms race and nuclear deterrence

Fun Fact

- Area 51 was created during the Cold War-> development of the Lockheed U-2 -> Oxcart project => development of the Lockheed A-12 -> conspiracy theories concerning unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and extraterrestrials.

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)A. The arms race and nuclear deterrence

Fun Facts

- the CIA wanted to create spy cats => Operation Accoustic Kitty

- Stalin sent 6,000 people to "Cannibal Island" -> To survive : eat the corpses or make people die faster than expected so that they could be eaten

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)B. Indirect conflicts: the Vietnam War and Cuba

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

- involved the communist government of North Vietnam and the non-communist government of South Vietnam- the United States became deeply involved in Vietnam to contain the spread of communism - proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Unionet

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)B. Indirect conflicts: the Vietnam War and Cuba

Fun Fact

- American troops believed that in ancient Vietnamese traditions, the spade signified death and bad luck, and that it would frighten Viet Cong fighters away

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)B. Indirect conflicts: the Vietnam War and Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

- 1st invasion on 17 April 1961 - Soviet missiles on Cuban territory were pointing towards the United States - Kennedy deployed 15 nuclear missiles in Turkey and 30 more in Italy - the US embargo against Cuba also began on 7 February 1962.

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)B. Indirect conflicts: the Vietnam War and Cuba

Fun Facts

- JF. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars before the embargo on the island was imposed

- The Coca-Cola brand is not sold on the island Paradoxically, Cuba was one of the producers of Coca-Cola bottles until the presence of cocaine in the drink was banned in 1903 Fidel Castro was the only person on the island who could drink Coca-Cola

- The only McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Cuba is surrounded by barbed wire and is reserved for the US army based at Guantánamo Bay.

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)C. Space as a new arena for competition

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth (1961)

launch of Sputnik 1 (1957)

II. The Cold War worldwide (1953-1979)C. Space as a new arena for competition

Apollo 11 mission (1969) => Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1972)

III. The end of the Cold War and its consequences (1980-1991)A. Gorbachev's reforms and the fall of the Berlin Wall

perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness)

- establishment of a new legislative body, the Congress of People's Deputies, and the election of a new Soviet presidency. - peaceful revolution (1989) - the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9, 1989.

I. The roots of the Cold War (1945-1953)A. Ideological foundations: capitalism vs. communism

Fun Fact

- warned of the dangers of Cold War paranoia and military preparedness- In the English version, balloons released into the air trigger military warning systems, leading to a devastating response.

Nena - 99 Luftballoons

III. The end of the Cold War and its consequences (1980-1991)B. The dissolution of the Soviet Union

On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time => he dissolution of the Soviet Union became official

III. The end of the Cold War and its consequences (1980-1991)C. Global repercussions: new world order, economy and technology

- disappearance of bipolarity => the United States as the sole superpower - wave of democratization in many regions of the world - new players emerged on the world stage (China, India) - negotiations on nuclear disarmament - NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) - technological advancements - global issues such as climate change, cybersecurity, international terrorism, and pandemics

Sources

- wikipedia.com- Arte - (our history lessons - highscools)

Thanks for listening !

Do you have any questions ?

Can we consider that the USA won the Cold War ?

Can we also see the war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a continuation of the Cold War?

Lockead A-12

Lockead U-2