8.3 - Effects of the Cold War

Berlin Blockade:

• Berlin was divided into four zones, with the three Western zones forming a free city within the Soviet zone. The Soviets blocked Western access to these zones to control all of Berlin, leading to the Berlin Airlift, where supplies were flown into the Western zones from February 1948 to May 1949 when the Soviets lifted the blockade.

Two Germanys:

• After the blockade, Germany split into West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (German Democratic Republic).

Berlin Wall:

• To stop East Germans from fleeing to West Germany, the East German and Soviet governments built the Berlin Wall in 1961, which stood until 1989. Approximately 150 people were killed trying to escape over it.

NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and Other Alliances

Formation of NATO:

• Western nations formed NATO in 1949 to coordinate defense against the Soviet threat. Its original members included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States.

Warsaw Pact:

• In response to NATO, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact in 1955 with Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact combined armed forces and centralized leadership in Moscow.

Proxy Wars

The Cold War led to proxy wars in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, combining local issues with the global conflict over communism.

Korean War (1950-1953):

• North Korea invaded South Korea, leading to UN intervention. The war ended in a stalemate, with Korea remaining divided.

Vietnam War:

• The U.S. sent military advisers to South Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover. The war escalated under President Lyndon Johnson, who feared the domino effect of communist expansion.

Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis:

• In 1961, the U.S. supported a failed invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles. In 1962, the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba led to a standoff, resolved by the Soviets removing the missiles in exchange for the U.S. removing its missiles from Turkey.

Test-Ban Treaty and Non-Proliferation:

• In 1963, the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty banned nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Angola:

• Angola faced civil war post-independence in 1975, with factions backed by the USSR, Cuba, South Africa, and the U.S. The war ended in 2002, but threats of violence remained.

Contra War:

• In Nicaragua, the U.S. backed the Contras against the Sandinista government from 1981 to 1988. The war ended with the Tela Accord in 1989.