Aftermath of WW2 & The Cold War

Aftermath of WW2 & The Cold War Ch 29 Sec 5 May 15&16

Key Terms for Today • The Holocaust • Cold War: • United Nations • Why was the Berlin Wall built? • Arms Race • Containment • Cuban Missile Crisis • Korean War (1950-53) • Vietnam War (1964-73)

During the war, Hitler tried to annihilate all the Jews in Europe. Entire families were wiped out in a genocide known today as the Holocaust. The Nazis also killed millions of Poles, Slavs, Roma, communists, people with physical and mental disabilities, and others.

The Nazis built six death camps in Poland and transported millions of people to them in railway cattle cars. • Hundreds at a time were killed in gas chambers. • Others were subjected to torture or horrifying medical experiments.

As Allied soldiers liberated the death camps, they were shocked by the piles of corpses. The survivors were living skeletons.

For the first time in history, war victors prosecuted leaders of the losing side for war crimes. In Nuremberg, Germany, Allied judges tried prominent Nazis for starting World War II and for the horrors of the death camps. Similar trials were held in Manila and Tokyo to try leaders of the Japanese war machine.

To meet this crisis, the United States developed the Marshall Plan. The U.S. loaned 16 European countries more than $12 billion. The plan was a success. It helped France, West Germany, and Italy recover from the war.

The focus of the Cold War next shifted to Germany. The Allies had split Germany into four zonesafter the war. Germany Germany’s capital, Berlin, lay inside Soviet territory. American Zone Soviet Zone French Zone British Zone In 1948, the Western Allies wanted to reunite Germany.

Germany was partially reunified in May 1949. The Western Allies combined their zones to form West Germany. The Soviet zone became East Germany. Berlin was also divided. The Soviets kept control of East Berlin.

A divided Germany and Berlin remained a focus of Cold War tensions. Thousands of East Germans fledto West Germany. In 1961, the East German government built a wall around West Berlin. The Berlin Wallstood for 28 years.

The United States played a leading role in creating the United Nations, or UN. Maintain peace. The UN had two main goals. Settle international disputes. The UN has two parts: the General Assemblyand the Security Council. Each country in the General Assembly gets one vote.

In 1949, the U.S. and other Western nations established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO nations agreed to protect one another against a Soviet attack. The Soviets and their satellites formed their own alliance, the Warsaw Pact.

In 1949, two events shook America’s confidence. The Soviet Union exploded its own atomic bomb. China fell under the control of the Communists. Now, the Cold War seemed much more deadly. The most populous nation was now Communist. Americans were haunted by Cold War fears, but held hopes for a better life.

In 1962, American leaders discovered that theSoviets were building nuclear missile bases in Cuba. The location of missile bases in Cuba posed an immediate threat to several major American cities. Kennedy insisted that Khrushchev remove the missiles. When Khrushchev refused, the U.S. placed a naval blockade on Cuba.

The standoff lasted for 13 daysand became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Soviet shipscarrying more missiles headed to Cuba. TheU.S. Navyprepared to stop them. At the last moment, the Soviet ships turned back. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles. The U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba.

Aftermath of WW2 & The Cold War