The Cold War - Flocabulary

The Cold War was a different type of war than World War II, which had just ended in 1945. The difference between WWII and the Cold War is like the difference between a fistfight and giving someone the silent treatment. Both are ways that people show they are mad, but one is a lot more heated. Compared with the violence of World War II, the Cold War was far less violent and destructive. In fact, the superpowers of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, never actually had any direct battles (though there were some very close calls). Instead, they competed to see who could have the biggest and most lethal weapons. Both countries owned nuclear weapons powerful enough to create mutually assured destruction, or the end of all human life on Earth. This arms race lasted for over 40 years—from the end of World War II all the way until 1989.

Which of the following best describes the Cold War?

• a war with more battles than any other war before

• a long competition without any direct fighting

• a very long fistfight

• a short battle in which devastating weapons were used

The United States and the Soviet Union worked together, along with France and England, to defeat the Axis Powers during World War II. The democratic US and communist Soviet Union were able to get over their differences in beliefs to fight together against Hitler's Nazi regime. But when the war ended, the Allies had to divide up the land that the Axis Powers had controlled.

The United States helped set up democratic and capitalist governments in Western Europe, while the Soviet Union set up communist governments in Eastern Europe. In 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech in which he said, “an iron curtain has descended across" Europe. He considered the "iron curtain" a symbol for the extreme differences in beliefs that now separated the Soviets and their previous allies. He was among the first people to consider the Soviets enemies, rather than friends. Without the Nazis as a common enemy, the relationship between democratic and communist countries started to sour.

Which of these statements would Winston Churchill most likely agree with?

• The communist governments in Eastern Europe are a threat to democracy.

• An iron curtain is necessary to keep the Soviets safe.

• The United States and the Soviet Union should remain allies.

• Both Western Europe and Eastern Europe are in good hands.

During the Cold War, democratic countries were also called the Free World. Democratic countries joined together in 1949 to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more commonly known as NATO. NATO's mission was communist containment, or stopping the spread of communism. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union spread its communist ideas to nearby countries. These satellite states had governments but were controlled by the Soviets. They included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and East Germany. The Soviet Union and its satellite states were known as the Eastern Bloc.

One thing all satellite states had in common was that:

• they were all a part of NATO.

• they were all in favor of communist containment.

• they were all part of the Free World.

• they were all controlled by the Soviet Union.

After the terrible, devastating effects of World War I and World War II—and the invention of nuclear weapons—people knew that if another world war occurred, the planet might not survive to see the end of it. So in 1945, countries of the world joined together to found the United Nations (UN). The goal of the organization is to keep the peace between countries by holding dialogues rather than battles. The organization worked to prevent violent battles during the Cold War, and it still exists today.

The United Nations was formed as a result of:

• a common fear that another world war would destroy all of humanity.

• fear that communism would spread through all of Europe and beyond.

• the use of propaganda during World War I.

• countries avoiding destructive wars.