The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies from 1945 to 1991. While direct military conflict was avoided, both sides amassed large stockpiles of nuclear weapons and engaged in espionage and proxy wars. Key events that heightened tensions included the Berlin Blockade, the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and the Soviet Union developing nuclear weapons in 1949. The threat of nuclear war cast a shadow over international relations for decades.

1. THE COLD WAR

2.  The Cold War existed between the
USA and its allies, and the USSR
and its allies.
 While the war never went ‘hot’ the
fear and suspicion, combined with
nuclear weapons, kept the world on
edge for several decades.
 (1945-1991)

3. Igor Gouzenko



He was a clerk in the
Soviet Embassy in Canada
in 195
Asked for political asylum
In return would give
government documents
that proved Russia was
operating two spy rings in
Canada

4. Igor Gouzenko
 37 spies were caught from
his information
 Canadians were shocked at these claims
and for many, this is when the Cold War
started
 Gouzenko live in Ontario under police
protection until the day he died in 1985
 He published two books, one of which won
the Governor General’s Prize for Literature

5. After the War
 Europe was in ruins and the USA and
Soviet Union (USSR) became the two
major powers in the world
 Canada would side with the Americans
 Canada would come to evolve into a
middle power
 Would help contribute to the creation of
the United Nations

6. 1946 Iron Curtain


Russia set up communist governments in all the
countries they ‘liberated’ during WWII.
Churchill gave a speech in which he said: “From Stettin
in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has
descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all
the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern
Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest,
Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities
and the populations around them lie in what I must call
the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or
another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high
and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from
Moscow ”.

7. 1946 Iron Curtain
 Europe was
now divided
 West =
democracy
 East =
communism

8. Map: The Iron Curtain

9. 1947 Truman Doctrine


US President Truman
promised American
support to any
country where
communism was a
threat
Canada sided with
the US because they
didn’t feel the UN was
effective enough

10. 1947 Truman Doctrine

This was also
known as
‘containment’
because they
wanted to
contain
communism

11. 1947 Marshall Plan


The US gov’t sent
money and supplies
to rebuild war-torn
Europe
Reasons:
humanitarian,
beneficial to US
economy, prevent
spread of
communism

14. 1948 Berlin Blockade




After WWII, Germany and
Berlin were split into 4
sectors by the Allies
West Germany = French,
British, American sectors
and democracy
East Germany = Russian
sector and communism
Berlin was also divided,
even though it was in East
Germany

15. 1948 Berlin Blockade


Stalin decided to
close the roads and
rails from West
Germany to West
Berlin
He was determined to
starve West Berliners
into submission and
gain control of Berlin

16. 1948 Berlin Blockade


The Western
democracies decided
it was worth the effort
to save West Berlin
They flew in
EVERYTHING
needed in West Berlin
in the greatest airlift
ever seen

20. 1948 Berlin Blockade



Also known as the
Berlin Airlift
Stalin was furious, but
eventually gave in
and opened up the
roads and rails again
The West and
democracy had won
this time

21. 1949 USSR has the bomb
 Soviet spies
helped the
USSR build a
bomb just like
Fat Man, the
atomic bomb
the Americans
had dropped on
Japan.

22. •Now that both superpowers had the bomb, the Cold
War officially began. Nuclear war was now a real
threat.
•The West wondered how to protect themselves
from Russian atomic bombs.

23. 1949/1955 NATO and the
Warsaw Pact


In 1949, Western
Allies formed a
defensive alliance
known as the North
Atlantic Treaty
Organization
This was to protect
themselves against
the USSR and its
allies

24. 

In 1955, the
USSR
formed its
own
defensive
alliance
called the
Warsaw
Pact
Now Europe
was divided
into two
teams.

26. 1949 Chinese Revolution



After a long civil war,
the communists finally
took control of China
The world’s most
populated country
was now communist
The West now had a
new huge enemy to
worry about

28. Cold War Hysteria
 1950s and 60s were full of tension
between the Eastern and Western “Blocs”.
 West was scared that the communists
would continue to take land
 The spread of communism was seen as a
direct threat
 East was scared of the West’s intentions
and so they kept a ‘buffer’ between its
borders incase of invasion

29. Nuclear War



Hysteria came from
the possibility of
nuclear war
Any tension could rise
into a war that could
destroy most of the
world
All it took was one
push of the button!

30. Table of Global Nuclear Weapons
Stockpiles
1945-59