Cold War Key Terms

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Cold War

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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.

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Iron Curtain

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A term popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the division between the Western powers and the areas controlled by the Soviet Union.

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Marshall Plan

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An American initiative to provide foreign aid to Western Europe after the devastation of World War II.

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Molotov Plan

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A system created by the Soviet Union to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union.

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Potsdam Conference

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A meeting held in Potsdam, Germany in 1945 where Allied leaders discussed the postwar order in Europe.

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Truman Doctrine

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A U.S. policy, established in 1947, to provide economic and military aid to countries resisting communism.

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UN Atomic Energy Commission

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A commission established by the United Nations in 1946 to deal with problems related to atomic energy.

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Yalta Conference

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A meeting in 1945 between the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe.

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Berlin Blockade

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A Soviet attempt in 1948-1949 to limit the ability of the United States, Great Britain, and France to travel to their sectors of Berlin.

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H-bomb

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A hydrogen bomb, a weapon of mass destruction that uses nuclear fusion to release a large amount of energy.