The Cold War

Do you agree that the Marshall Plan and Korean War are the most important crisis of the beginning of
the Cold War?

Marshall Plan 1947-1951 European Recovery Program

Created by George C. MArshall to restore Europe after World War 2
$13 billion dollars poured into Europe 16 European states
Aim was to stop the spread of communism, to help Europe get out of their war debts, and
to provide a market for American goods
Soviet Union and its allies in eastern Europe refused to participate. Stalin saw the plan as a
significant threat to the Soviets control of Eastern Europe.
By 1953 US gave $13 billion to Europe -> standing on its feet again. (included West
Germany-> reintegrated into the European community)
Reduced poverty and Communism never got popular
Implication on cold war: T
he United States had their own vision of a united Europe. This
led not only to tensions with the Soviet Union, but also to disagreements between the
Western Powers.

Berlin crisis
24 June 1948: Stalin cut off all rail and road links to west Berlin = TheBerlin Crisis (or
Blockade).
The west saw this as an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender, so they decided to supply
west Berlin by air.
The Berlin Blockade lasted 3
18 days. During this time, 275,000 planes transported 1
.5
million tons of supplies and a plane landed every three minutes at Berlin's Templehof
airport.
On M
ay 12, 1949, the Soviets, concluding that the blockade had failed, reopened the
borders.
The blockade is said to be one of the f irst major crisis of the Cold War.

Korean War
June 25, 1950, the Korean War began
75,000 soldiers from the North Korean Peoples Army poured across the 38th parallel
It was the first military action of the Cold War
United States readied its troops for a war against c
ommunism itself because they feared a
wider war with Russia and Chinaor even World War III
The fight on the Korean peninsula was a symbol of the global struggle between east and
west, good and evil.
July 1953, the Korean War came to an end.
5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war
The Korean peninsula is still d
ivided today

Chinas civil war

Mao Zedong (communism) supported by USA vs Chiang Kai-Shek (nationalist) supported
by URSS
C. Marshall went to China to try to broker a peace agreement but He failed
In 1949, the Communists won. And on the 1 October 1950 Mao declared the existence of
the P
eoples Republic of China
Mao and Stalin didnt like each other but they had to collaborate
Mao's policies formed the foundation of modern-day China. However the number of lives,
dreams, and aspirations that were lost as he brought his will down upon the people can
never be recovered.

Conclusion
End of WWII highlighted differences between USA and USSR.
Beginning of the Cold War: Marshall Plan that separated E
urope BUT not neglect B
erlin
Crisis
Asia: Korean war but also M
ao in power. Mao had a major influence in Asia, later on with
Vietnam war, Korea, tried to influence India and others after decolonisation.
As a result: Korean war and Marshall Plan played central role but was not the only
major event in the beginning of Cold War.