Cold War: Key Events and Global Impact

Posted on Jan 5, 2025 in History

1. Creation of the United Nations

A system for peaceful international cooperation, to resolve differences between countries. Founded in October 1945, when the war ended. Signed in San Francisco by 50 countries.

2. Early Stages of the Cold War

  • NATO: Formed in 1949 by the USA and Western countries against the Soviet Union.
  • Warsaw Pact: Formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union.

3. Development of the Cold War

Proxy Wars: Two powers use third parties as a supplement or a substitute for fighting each other directly. Conflict between communism and capitalism. Because the USA and the Soviet Union didn’t fight each other face to face, they were represented by other countries.

Europe was divided into East and West, communist and capitalist, known as The Iron Curtain.

In 1949, the Soviets tested a nuclear device. The West was alarmed, and the Arms Race had begun.

Deterrence: You wouldn’t attack with nuclear weapons because you knew that the enemy would defend itself with nuclear weapons too. It was impossible to fight each other because of the massive destruction that nuclear weapons could cause.

Korea had been occupied by the Japanese since 1910. In 1945, Japan was obliged to leave. Korea was replaced by the Soviets (who supported North Korea) and America (who supported South Korea), an arrangement agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference in 1945.

4. Korean War

Two states:

  • North Korea: Communist, Kim Il Sung, Soviet Union
  • South Korea: Capitalist, Syngman Rhee, USA
  1. They hated each other; they wanted to preside over the entire peninsula.
  2. In 1949, Kim Il Sung visited Stalin and Mao Zedong to ask for permission to invade South Korea. They gave it.
  3. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea.
  4. The United Nations asked its members to intervene. 80% of the forces were American, led by General MacArthur.
  5. MacArthur asked Truman to use a nuclear bomb to stop the Chinese, but he refused.
  6. The USA began to win the war.
  7. Stalin died in 1953, and Truman was replaced by President Eisenhower; the two sides agreed to stop fighting.
  8. The war ended in July 1953 in a stalemate.
  9. The borders were returned to the same as in 1950.

5. Domino Theory

The most important consequence of the Korean War was that the USA (Eisenhower) believed that if one country fell into communism, the others would also (they would fall like dominoes).

6. Berlin Wall

Between 1949 and 1961, 2.5 million people left East Germany for the West (from communist to capitalist). Half of them were young people under 24 and professionals (doctors, teachers, scientists, engineers), leading to a “brain drain.”

In August 1961, a wall was built for 48 km across the city. Nobody was allowed to cross it, and people who tried to climb the wall were shot by East German soldiers. People who escaped were called defectors.

7. Cuban Missile Crisis

The USA had supported the Cuban dictator Batista since 1952 because American businessmen owned most of Cuba’s industry.

In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista and set up a new regime. He was pro-communist and immediately established friendly relations with the Soviet Union.

What caused the crisis with the USA?

  1. Castro nationalized hundreds of USA companies.
  2. Cuba began to sell its sugar to Russia instead of to the USA.
  3. Cuba began to buy weapons from Russia.
  4. The CIA began to train Cuban exiles in America to invade Cuba.

Kennedy became USA President in 1961. He authorized the invasion of Cuba by the exiles. They tried to invade the Bay of Pigs but were easily defeated by the Cubans.

In 1962, a USA spy plane (U2) took photos of nuclear missile bases being built in Cuba. It was only 100 miles from the USA coast.

The missiles would be brought in ships from Russia. Khrushchev had done this because the Americans had built a nuclear base in Turkey, close to the Soviet Union.

The USA began a naval blockade of Cuba and demanded that the missile bases be dismantled.

When Russian ships continued to sail towards Cuba in October 1962, people thought that a nuclear war was beginning.

Khrushchev promised to withdraw the missile bases from Cuba, and Kennedy promised to withdraw his from Turkey.

In 1963, the two countries signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which limited tests of these weapons.

In 1964, Khrushchev was replaced by Brezhnev.

8. Vietnam War (1964-1975)

A good example of the domino effect.

Vietnam was divided: North was communist, South was capitalist.

In 1956, there was an election to choose a government. The USA opposed it because they were afraid that the communists would win and the other states would follow (like dominoes). Many people in South Vietnam resented this, which led to the Vietcong of the NLF. This was a communist political organization and army formed by North Vietnamese that fought the USA and South Vietnamese during the war.

Lyndon Johnson, the USA President, sent troops, but the war was very difficult for the Americans.

It ended in 1975 when Saigon fell to the Vietcong, and the USA left Vietnam. It was very traumatic for both sides:

  • USA: Lost the war and experienced ideological divisions in their own country.
  • Vietnam: Was devastated by the war, with 4 million civilians killed. Many South Vietnamese were tortured and obliged to leave. These refugees became known as the “Boat People.”

9. Decolonization (1945-1975)

Colonies of European countries obtained their independence. It caused underdevelopment in many Southern countries (Africa, Asia). Local economic structures were destroyed to benefit the colonizers.

It started in Asia in 1947 with the independence of India and Pakistan. The process spread to Africa.

The independence process depended on:

  1. Economic interests of the powers.
  2. The percentage of white people who lived there.
  3. International policy.

Gandhi (1869-1948): Indian. Studied law in London. Helped India gain independence from Britain in 1947.

Nehru (1889-1964): 1st Prime Minister of India after independence from Britain.

Sukarno (1901-1970): 1st President of Indonesia. Helped Indonesia to obtain independence from the Dutch.

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969): Fought for Vietnamese independence from the French after WWII.