WWII's End and the Dawn of the Cold War

The End of World War II

Allied Victory

1. In 1943, British forces gained control of North Africa and Italy, forcing Mussolini to surrender.
2. In June 1944, Allied forces landed on Normandy, France, in the event known as D-Day.
3. In May 1945, Germany surrendered. In August 1945, the United States used the atomic bomb on Japan. World War II was over.

Results of the War

1. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the most powerful countries in the world.
2. In 1945, some 50 nations formed the United Nations, an international peacekeeping organization.

The Cold War Era

Defining the Cold War

The Cold War was a period of tense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Causes and Effects

• Cause: Rivalry developed between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.
  Effect: Alliances divided Europe between Communist and non-Communist countries.
• Cause: Hostilities between democratic and Communist governments increased.
  Effect: Germany was divided into two separate countries.
• Cause: The superpowers disputed the division of Germany after World War II.
  Effect: The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race.

The Rise of Superpowers

Superpowers are strong and influential countries, a term used to describe the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

The Nuclear Arms Race

The arms race was a competition between countries, particularly the US and USSR, to build superior weapons.

European Integration

The Common Market

A Common Market is a group of nations that cooperates to make trade among members easier.

The European Union

The European Union is an organization that promotes political and economic cooperation in Europe.

Key Cold War Concepts

The Iron Curtain

The Iron Curtain was the imaginary line separating Europe into two parts: the democratic West and the Communist East.

Communism vs. Democracy

Communism: A political system in which the government owns all property and controls all aspects of life in a country.

Democracy: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

The 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 (GDR, East Germany), starting on August 13, 1961, the wall cut off West Berlin by land from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989.