MODERN HISTORY
The Cold War Part 1
The Cold war began after Europe was divided-up following World War II at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, but ideological differences between capitalism and communism alienated former allies. The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Blockade created greater distrust.
A communist victory in China and the subsequent Korean War moved the focus of The Cold War to Asia, and with it the fear of the domino effect. Added to these conflicts were the Space and Arms Races, as the superpowers vied for supremacy. The nuclear deterrent kept them from open conflict, although each side exerted influence worldwide. When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it seemed the threat of a world war would always exist.
Duration : 35 minutes
KEY LEARNING AREAS
Origins of The Cold War - The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan - Berlin Airlift 1948 - Chinese Civil War Korean War And Its Consequences - Impact of The Cold War in the USA - The Hungarian Uprising The Arms Race - The Space Race - The Berlin Wall
SUBJECT AREAS
SUBJECT AREAS: SENIOR Modern History, Society & Culture JUNIOR History, SOSE
STUDY AREAS
STUDY AREAS: SENIOR Peace & Conflict, 20th Century History 1945 - 2000, War & Society Power & Conflict JUNIOR History, Shaping of The Modern World, Post World War II
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:54 Origin of The Cold War
5:52 The Truman Doctrine & The Marshall Plan
7:45 Berlin Airlift 1948
11:56 Chinese Civil War
14:34 The Korean War and its consequences
19:49 Impact of the Cold War in the USA
21:50 The Hungarian Uprising
24:59 The Arms Race
29:39 The Space Race
32:18 The Berlin Wall
The Cold War Part 2
For 13 days during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the world faced the threat of a nuclear holocaust. A year later the Sino-Soviet Split reached it's lowest ebb, and the Vietnam War escalated after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
Political and military tension deminished in the late 1960s, during the period of Détente which lasted until 1979. Disarmament agreements were signed by the superpowers, but flash points threatened to destabilise any move towards a stability. The Red Army's intervention in Czechoslovakia during The Prague Spring of 1968, demonstrated that the Soviets were going to keep Eastern Europe firmly under control.
The Yom Kippor War of 1973 in the Middle East saw the USA and the Soviet Union again supporting opposing nations at war. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 signalled the end of Détente. Ronald Reagan was elected as the president of America in 1981, and his attitude and policies were extremely anti-Soviet.
However, upon forming a friendly relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, his attitude, and US-Soviet relations improved dramatically. A change swept through Eastern Europe, and in 1989 communism collapsed. The Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991 into fifteen independent republics. The Cold War was finally over.
Duration : 38 minutes
KEY LEARNING AREAS
The Cuban Missile Crisis - Sino-Soviet Split 1954-1963 - Vietnam War - The Prague Spring 1968 - Detente Afghanistan - The Reagan Era - Gorbachev, Perestroika and Glasnost - 1989 - THE 1990s
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:22 The Cuban Missile Crisis
5:49 Sino-Soviet Split 1954-1963
8:40 The Vietnam War
14:53 The Prague Spring
17:21 Detente
22:20 Afghanistan
26:36 The Reagan Era
29:24 Gorbachev Perestroika & Glasnost
31:49 1989
34:24 The 1990s