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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

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The Cold War Part 2

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

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