How Did the Cold War Happen?

Summary

This script explores the complex history of the Cold War, detailing the uneasy alliance between the US and the USSR during WWII, the ideological divide that led to the 'iron curtain', and the subsequent era of political maneuvering, espionage, and proxy wars. It highlights pivotal events like the Berlin Blockade, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the economic strategies that contributed to the Soviet Union's collapse, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Takeaways

• 😐 The US and the Soviet Union formed an uneasy alliance during WWII due to opposing ideologies but united against the common enemy, Hitler.
• 🔄 Post-WWII cooperation between the US and the USSR broke down, leading to the start of the Cold War characterized by political maneuvering and proxy wars.
• 🏰 Winston Churchill's 'iron curtain' speech in 1946 highlighted the deepening mistrust and division in Europe post-WWII.
• 🛂 Stalin created a 'buffer zone' by installing communist regimes in Eastern European countries, breaking the Yalta Conference agreement.
• 🛡 US President Harry Truman introduced the policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism, including the Marshall Plan and NATO formation.
• 🚫 The Berlin Blockade by the Soviets was met with the Berlin Airlift, a successful counteraction by the Western allies to provide supplies to West Berlin.
• 💣 The Cold War saw the US and the USSR involved in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, with significant financial and human costs.
• 🛑 The construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany was a response to the migration problem and heightened tensions during the Cold War.
• 🗺 The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major confrontation between the US and the USSR, averted by negotiations and mutual concessions.
• 📉 Economic pressures, including an arms race and isolation from global economy, contributed to the weakening and eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.
• 🏁 The end of the Cold War is marked by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but questions remain about its lasting effects.

Q & A

What was the nature of the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II?

The alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II was uneasy. Both countries had opposing ideologies and aims, with the US supporting capitalism and democracy, and the USSR supporting communism and totalitarianism. They set aside their differences to face the common enemy, Hitler, who posed a great danger to the world.

How did the United States assist the Soviet Union after the Nazi Germany's attack in 1941?

The United States offered assistance to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease Act passed in 1941, providing them with weapons and supplies.

What was the 'iron curtain' mentioned by Winston Churchill in 1946?

The 'iron curtain' was a term used by Winston Churchill to describe the deep mistrust and division in Europe after World War II, particularly between the Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the Western countries, marking the beginning of the Cold War.

What is the Cold War, and why was it called so?

The Cold War was a period of political and military tension between the US and the Soviet Union without direct confrontation or 'hot war'. It was characterized by political maneuvering, military coalitions, espionage, propaganda, arms buildups, economic aid, and proxy wars between other nations.

What was the policy of containment implemented by US President Harry Truman?

The policy of containment was a strategy to prevent the Soviets from using force to export their ideology abroad, which involved military intervention if necessary.

How did the Soviet Union respond to the formation of West Germany and NATO?

In response to the formation of West Germany and NATO, Stalin initiated the Berlin Blockade, cutting off highway and railroad traffic to West Berlin, which was located deep in Soviet territory, in an attempt to force the Western allies out.

What was the Berlin Airlift, and why was it significant?

The Berlin Airlift was a countermeasure to the Berlin Blockade, where the Western allies delivered approximately 13,000 tons of supplies a day for 324 days to West Berlin by air, preventing the city from starvation and shortages. It was significant as it was a peaceful yet effective response to Soviet aggression.

What were the outcomes of the Korean War and the Vietnam War in terms of the spread of communism?

The Korean War ended with an armistice that divided North Korea and South Korea with a demilitarized zone between them. The Vietnam War resulted in a communist victory, with North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, supported by the USSR and China, overrunning South Vietnam in 1975.

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how was it resolved?

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was resolved when Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for Kennedy's pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret deal to remove US missiles in Turkey.

How did US President Ronald Reagan's policies contribute to the end of the Cold War?

Reagan's policies aimed to weaken the Soviet Union economically by engaging them in an expensive arms race, increasing military spending, and isolating them from the world economy, which contributed to the Soviet Union's economic stagnation and eventual collapse.

What was the significance of the Berlin Wall's fall in 1989, and how did it relate to the end of the Cold War?

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized the end of the division between East and West Germany and marked a significant step towards the end of the Cold War. It was followed by the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, which officially ended the Cold War.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 The Origins and Early Tensions of the Cold War

This paragraph delves into the uneasy alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II, marked by ideological differences and mistrust. Despite their collaboration against the common threat of Hitler's Nazi Germany, the post-war period saw a breakdown in cooperation, leading to the beginning of the Cold War. The Soviet Union's establishment of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the US's policy of containment are highlighted, along with the significant events such as the Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Airlift, which exemplify the superpowers' antagonism without direct conflict.

05:00

🔫 Proxy Wars and Escalating Tensions of the Cold War

The second paragraph explores the proxy wars and crises that characterized the Cold War, including the Korean War and the Vietnam War, where the US and the Soviet Union supported opposing sides, resulting in significant financial and human costs. The Berlin Wall's construction and the Cuban Missile Crisis are also discussed as key moments of heightened tensions between the superpowers. The paragraph further examines the strategies employed by US Presidents, such as containment and economic pressure, which contributed to the eventual weakening and collapse of the Soviet Union.

10:01

🏁 The End of the Cold War and Its Legacy

The final paragraph summarizes the eventual end of the Cold War with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, following a period of détente, economic struggles, and political reforms. It mentions the role of US policies in hastening the Soviet collapse and the symbolic fall of the Berlin Wall. The paragraph concludes with a reflection on whether the Cold War is truly over and invites viewers to engage in discussion, also promoting related content for further viewing.

Keywords

💡World War II

World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, involving many of the world's nations, including the major powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. In the context of the video, it refers to the period during which the United States and the Soviet Union formed an uneasy alliance against a common enemy, Hitler, despite their ideological differences.

💡ideologies

Ideologies in this script refer to the fundamental beliefs and values that guide the political and economic systems of a nation. The United States and its Western allies were aligned with capitalism and democracy, while the Soviet Union was a proponent of communism and totalitarianism. These opposing ideologies were a source of tension during their alliance in World War II and a driving force behind the Cold War.

💡Lend-Lease Act

The Lend-Lease Act was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1941 that allowed the United States to provide military aid to foreign nations during World War II, including the Soviet Union. It is mentioned in the script as a form of assistance the U.S. offered to the Soviet Union, highlighting the pragmatic cooperation despite ideological differences.

💡Cold War

The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies, the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc, after World War II. Characterized by indirect conflict through proxy wars, espionage, and propaganda, the term 'Cold War' itself signifies the absence of direct large-scale warfare. The video script uses this term to describe the prolonged state of hostility that emerged after World War II.

💡containment

Containment was a foreign policy adopted by the United States during the Cold War, aimed at preventing the spread of communism. The script refers to President Harry Truman's policy of containment, which sought to counter Soviet expansionism by supporting democratic governments and using military force if necessary, as exemplified by the Marshall Plan and the formation of NATO.

💡Berlin Blockade

The Berlin Blockade was an act of economic warfare by the Soviet Union against the Western Allies and the city of West Berlin from June 24, 1948, to May 12, 1949. The script describes it as a move by Stalin to pressure the Western Allies, which was countered by the Berlin Airlift, a significant event in the early stages of the Cold War.

💡Korean War

The Korean War was a conflict that took place from 1950 to 1953, involving North Korea (backed by the Soviet Union and China) and South Korea (supported by the United States and other Western powers). The video script mentions the war as one of the proxy wars of the Cold War, highlighting the U.S. financial and military investment and the resulting division of the Korean Peninsula.

💡Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It is mentioned in the script as another proxy war in which the Soviet Union supported the communist North Vietnam, contributing to a communist victory and the unification of Vietnam under communist control.

💡Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), it was intended to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. The script refers to the wall as a symbol of division during the Cold War and the eventual dismantling of the wall as a sign of the Cold War's end.

💡Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. It is highlighted in the script as the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war, and its resolution marked a significant turning point in the relationship between the two superpowers.

💡glasnost and perestroika

Glasnost and perestroika were policies introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev aimed at increasing openness and transparency in government (glasnost) and economic restructuring (perestroika). The script mentions these policies as contributing factors to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, signaling a shift towards more liberal reforms that ultimately led to the end of the Cold War.

Highlights

The United States and the Soviet Union formed an uneasy alliance during World War II due to opposing ideologies and aims.

The US and its Western allies supported capitalism and democracy, while the Soviet Union supported communism and totalitarianism.

The Soviet Union faced an unexpected attack from Nazi Germany after Hitler broke his non-aggression pact with Stalin in 1941.

The US provided assistance to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease Act in 1941.

Cooperation between the US and USSR broke down after Nazi Germany was defeated, leading to the start of the Cold War.

The Cold War began due to deepening mistrust and disagreements over postwar issues, particularly the fate of Poland.

The Cold War was characterized by political maneuvering, military coalitions, espionage, propaganda, arms buildups, economic aid, and proxy wars.

Stalin created a 'buffer zone' of communist regimes in Eastern European countries between 1945 and 1948, breaking the Yalta agreement.

US President Harry Truman countered Soviet expansion with a policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism.

The US offered economic recovery assistance to Western Europe through the Marshall Plan in 1948 and formed NATO.

Stalin initiated the Berlin Blockade in response to the formation of West Germany, cutting off supplies to West Berlin.

The Western allies countered the Berlin Blockade with the Berlin Airlift, delivering 13,000 tons of supplies a day for 324 days.

The US and the Soviet Union were involved in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, contributing to the conflicts with military and economic aid.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a major Cold War showdown where the US and the Soviet Union nearly went to war over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

US President Ronald Reagan took an aggressive approach in the 1980s, aiming to cripple the Soviet economy through an arms race and other economic strategies.

The Soviet Union's economy began to crumble due to economic pressure from the US and internal factors, leading to its eventual collapse in 1991.

The Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, symbolizing the end of the Cold War with the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Transcripts

The United States and the Soviet Union worked together during World War II, but it was an

uneasy alliance.

There was mistrust on both sides because each country had opposing ideologies and aims.

The United States and its Western allies supported capitalism and democracy, while the Soviet

Union supported communism and totalitarianism.

However, they set aside their differences because they faced an enemy who was a great

danger to the entire world – Hitler.

The Soviet Union soon found itself repelling an unexpected attack from Nazi Germany after

Hitler broke his non-aggression pact with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1941.

The United States offered assistance to the Soviet Union in the form of weapons and supplies

through the Lend-Lease Act passed that same year, and the Soviet Union accepted it.

However, cooperation between the US and the USSR broke down after Nazi Germany was defeated.

Disputes emerged over various postwar issues, particularly over the fate of Poland.

According to a BBC article, the mistrust deepened because of these disagreements, leading British

Prime Minister Winston Churchill to warn in 1946 that an “iron curtain” was descending

through the middle of Europe.

The Cold War had begun.

The Cold War received its name because the US and the Soviet Union were not involved

in a direct confrontation or what The History Learning Site describes as a “hot war”

with each other.

Instead, as the JFK Presidential Library and Museum states, the “two superpowers continually

antagonized each other through political maneuvering, military coalitions, espionage, propaganda,

arms buildups, economic aid, and proxy wars between other nations.”

Striking examples of this mutual antagonism occurred in the late 1940s.

This is when Stalin created what biography.com describes as “a vast ‘buffer zone’ between

Western Europe and ‘Mother Russia.’”

This buffer zone consisted of Eastern European countries that were supposed to have free

elections under an agreement Stalin made with the US and Great Britain at the Yalta Conference

in 1945.

Breaking this agreement, Stalin installed communist regimes in these countries between

1945 and 1948.

US President Harry Truman countered Stalin’s expansionist move with a policy of containment.

One educational website defines containment as a strategy “in which the Soviets would

be prevented – militarily if necessary – from using force to export their ideology abroad.”

Containment resulted in a wide range of actions, including the US offering economic recovery

assistance to Western Europe through the Marshall Plan in 1948 and the formation of the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) between the US, Canada, and other Western European

countries.

Stalin in turn attempted his own form of containment in response to what he perceived as a threatening

Western takeover of Germany in 1948.

He could not stop the US, Great Britain, and France from merging the zones of occupation

they acquired after World War II into the single economic entity of West Germany, but

he could make them suffer for it.

Berlin became his pawn in the famous Berlin Blockade.

The Soviets halted highway and railroad traffic between the newly merged zones and Berlin,

which was located deep in Soviet territory.

Like Germany, Berlin was also divided into four zones of occupation held by the Western

allies and the Soviet Union.

With their supplies cut off, West Berliners faced starvation and shortages of basic necessities.

As Stalin intended, the Berlin Blockade placed the Western allies in an awkward situation.

They would look weak if they gave in to Stalin.

They would look heartless if they simply abandoned Berlin.

However, they did not want to go to war over Berlin.

They found another option.

They countered the Berlin Blockade with the Berlin Airlift.

The Cold War Museum notes that “this airlift lasted for 324 days, and approximately 13,000

tons of supplies a day were delivered.”

The airlift was a success, and Stalin called the blockade off in 1949.

The Cold War waged on in the decades that followed.

The US mission to stop the spread of communism and the Soviet mission to expand it led to

their involvement in the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, and the Vietnam

War, which ran from the 1950s to the 1970s.

According to CNN, the US spent about $67 billion on the Korean War, and it resulted in the

deaths of 36,574 US troops.

Most Soviet aid to the North Koreans and their Chinese allies came in the form of military

weapons, including Soviet PPSh-41 submachine guns, T-34/85 medium tanks, and MiG-15 jet

fighters.

What did both superpowers get for all this money, blood, and weaponry?

The conflict ended with an armistice that kept North Korea and South Korea divided into

two separate regions with a demilitarized zone between them.

The USSR contributed to a communist victory in the Vietnam War.

It provided North Vietnam with arms and economic aid.

Globalsecurity.org states that “estimates of the total cost of the Soviet Union's support

to the North Vietnam government range from $3.6 billion to $8 billion [in then-year U.S.

dollars].”

With Soviet and Chinese assistance, the North Vietnamese and communist guerilla fighters

known as the Viet Cong were motivated to continue fighting despite suffering heavy troop losses.

As history.com notes, they “refused to stop fighting, encouraged by the fact that they

could easily reoccupy lost territory with manpower and supplies delivered via the Ho

Chi Minh Trail through Cambodia and Laos.”

Their determination to fight to the finish played an important role in their victory.

While the US had a formidable force of 2,594,000 soldiers in South Vietnam according to CNN,

troop morale and public support waned in the later years of the Vietnam War.

History.com notes that a “robust anti-war movement” took hold, leading to the desertions

of “more than 503,000 U.S. military personnel” and widespread anti-war protests in the US.

In 1973, the US entered a peace agreement with North Vietnam.

However, South Vietnam continued to battle the North Vietnamese until communist fighters

overran Saigon on April 30, 1975.

With the fall of Saigon, the South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam, and South Vietnam

has remained under communist control ever since.

Another Cold War crisis began in 1958.

The Soviet leader at the time, Nikita Khrushchev, did not like West Berlin because of its capitalism

and because of the large scale exodus of skilled East Germans into West Berlin.

He wanted to oust the US, Great Britain, and France out of West Berlin and turn Berlin

into what one source describes as a “free, demilitarized city” controlled by the Soviet

Union.

The three countries refused to leave, so he decided to address the migration problem another

way.

East Germany attempted to stop East German migration with the construction of a barrier,

the infamous Berlin Wall.

The US made no attempt to stop the construction of the wall, but tensions rose when East German

border guards attempted to block Allied officials’ access to East Berlin.

Checkpoint Charlie became famous as the setting of a 16-hour tank standoff between the US

and the USSR.

Fortunately, back channel negotiations between US President John Kennedy and Khrushchev resolved

the crisis, and the tanks left the following day.

One year later, Kennedy and Khrushchev faced off again in another Cold War showdown: the

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Kennedy did not want Khrushchev positioning nuclear missiles so close to the US mainland

in Cuba.

He told Khrushchev to move them away, and he ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to

persuade Khrushchev to do so.

Khrushchev sent Soviet ships near the US ships forming the blockade.

The two superpowers were playing a dangerous game of chicken, and “many people feared

the world was on the brink of nuclear war” according to history.com.

Khrushchev backed down, with Soviet ships falling short of breaking the US blockade.

An agreement involving Khrushchev’s removal of the missiles, Kennedy’s pledge not to

invade Cuba, and a secret deal for the removal of US missiles in Turkey resolved the crisis.

After a period of détente or improved relations between the two superpowers in the 1970s,

Cold War tensions reemerged in the 1980s under US President Ronald Reagan.

Reagan took a more aggressive approach toward dealing with the Soviet Union than his predecessors

did.

To weaken the USSR, he would hit it in its weak spot.

He planned to cripple the Soviets economically.

The economy of the Soviet Union was already stagnant, “with productivity growth falling

below zero by the early 1980s” according to one source.

He kept the economic pressure on them by drawing them into an expensive arms race.

The US dramatically boosted its military spending.

For instance, the Cato Institute reports that defense spending rose “from $214 billion

in 1982 to $258 billion in 1983.”

The Soviet Union could not keep spending money to keep up with US development of new weapons

such as the stealth bomber.

International relations expert Harry Papasotiriou argues that US plans for the high-tech Strategic

Defense Initiative (SDI) persuaded the Soviet Union to “bid for a de-escalation of the

arms race.”

The US found other ways to hurt the Soviet Union economically.

For example, Norwich University Online describes this strategy: “The United States isolated

the Soviets from the rest of the world economy, and helped drive oil prices to their lowest

levels in decades.

Without oil revenue to keep their economy solvent, the Soviet Union began to crumble.”

And crumble it did.

Reagan’s policies combined with other factors noted by the BBC, including growing “opposition

to Soviet policies” in Eastern Europe and Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika policies,

led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In his famous 1987 Berlin Wall speech, Reagan urged Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall!”

In 1989, others actually did, using picks, hammers, bulldozers, and cranes.

With the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War officially came

to an end.

Do you think the Cold War is really over?

Let us know in the comments!

Also, be sure to check out our other video called The Deadliest Submarine the USSR Ever

Built!

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