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Yalta Conference (Political)
The Yalta Conference was an event similar to the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI. This was an end to WWII, and the U.S., Great Britain, and Russia agreed to govern Germany jointly, leading to the root of the conflict that sparked the Cold War. This event is political because leaders of the large countries met to discuss the well being of the rest of the world. -
"Domino Effect" (Social)
The domino effect is a way of describing how communism spreads. The domino effect is that once one country becomes communist, other countries will follow until they are all "knocked down". The U.S. was afraid of this happening, so they imposed plans like the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. This event connects to the theme of social because countries provided civilians with money and buildings; things that they didn't have, to make them want to chose capitalism. -
Truman Doctrine (Economic)
The Truman Doctrine was a way President Truman of the U.S. prevented communism from spreading. Greece and Turkey were in danger of turning to communism. In a final effort, Truman got $400 million from Congress to aid both countries fighting the communist influence. This plan ending up working. This event relates to economic because Truman took a large slice of the U.S.'s money to prevent this spread of communism. -
Berlin Blockade (Geographic)
Germany was split into West and East Germany at the end of WWII, and the Soviet Union took control of East Germany. East Germany was communist, and separated themselves from the rest of Germany by constructing a huge blockade, preventing anyone from leaving or coming into Berlin, the capital of Germany. This event connects to the theme of geographic because it changed the landscape of Germany, it also redrew the lines of the country when it split into West and East Germany. -
Comecon (Cultural)
Comecon was the Soviet response to the Marshall Plan by the U.S. It was designed to provide the nations who were considering communism with Russia's money so they wouldn't accept the money from the U.S. This event relates to the theme of cultural because it showed the world the ideals and how the USSR operated. -
Formation of NATO (Political)
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in 1949. Some key members included the U.S., Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. All of the countries involved with NATO were against the communists, and fought to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the world. This event is political because it is an alliance between several powerful countries in the world. -
M.A.D. (Psychological)
M.A.D. stands for Mutually Assured Destruction. This concept implies that whoever shoots first, dies second. Since nuclear weapons can't be fired stealthily without the other country noticing, the bombed country would fire back as soon as they saw a nuke incoming. This prevented conflict in the Cold War, because if there was any nukes fired, it would end all life on Earth, making this psychological. -
Nuclear Weapons (Intellectual)
The nuclear arms race in the Cold War was a competition for military supremacy between the U,S, and the USSR. While other countries did develop nuclear weapons, their production wasn't even close to how many the two superpowers of the war produced. Nuclear weapons were a large part of the Cold War, and ironically, prevented most of the fighting due to M.A.D., or Mutually Assured Destruction. This simply translates into: if you nuke us, we nuke you, and everyone dies. -
Warsaw Pact (Psychological)
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance made in 1955. The alliance included the Soviet Union, Hungary, and East Germany. Leaving the pact would be seen as disloyal, and the USSR would most likely attack anyone who left. This understanding makes this event psychological, because it psychologically affected the countries in the alliance, because they couldn't leave without fighting Russia. -
Non-Violent Fighting (Psychological)
Although there was no direct fighting between the U.S. and the USSR in the Cold War, there was definitely conflict. The space race and Olympics are examples of this. The two countries competed heavily for dominance and proving superiority over the other in any way. This event relates to the GASPIRE theme of psychological because it effected how the people of the country thought of each other, there was no direct fighting, but there was heavy conflict. -
Cuban Missile Crisis (Psychological)
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the scariest moments of the Cold War for the U.S. At this time, Cuba was sent nukes by Russia. Cuba is much closer to the U.S. than the USSR is, and much closer to our capitol. The event relates to the theme of psychological because it caused immense unrest in the U.S., and left civilians wondering if a nuke was about to be dropped on them. -
Break in Tensions (Political)
The tension of the Cold War was broken with strategic arms limitations talks; or SALT. During this time period both Nixon and Brezhnev met to discuss relations between the two global superpowers. This event relates to political because the two leaders of the countries met to discuss the army and weapon size of their country. -
Communist War on Religion (Religious)
Some of the basic ideals of communism included intolerance of religion. Karl Marx dubbed religion to be the "opiate of the masses,", and also claimed "Communism begins where atheism begins.". The USSR carried out a comprehensive war on religion. During this time, churches were torn down, clergymen were arrested, and sometimes killed. The Communists did not want people believing in god, because they wanted the people to feel like the only path to survival is working together, not through a god. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall/Murals (Artistic)
At the end of the war, the Berlin Wall was taken down in an event that involved citizens from both East and West Germany. The wall was smashed through, and people from both sides met in the space between, finally reunited with any loved ones once separated by the wall. This is artistic because of how big of an event this turned into. -
Interview With Dad
Question: Can you give me your definition for the Cold War and tell me what images come to mind when you hear that term?
Answer: I would define the Cold War as a time of stress, and lots of fear. Everyone was afraid of communism spreading, but more worried about potential nuclear war.
Question: Were you afraid during the Cold War?
Answer: I was definitely afraid. I remember hearing the news every day and being worried about going to war.
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