The Cold War

True or False
1. 2. 3. Immediately following WW II the Soviet Union and the US, who had been allied during the war became enemies in the cold war Canada joined the Soviet Unions (USSR) side of the cold war. Immediately following the WW II the United Nations (UN) was formed to try to create a lasting peace. The Soviet Union, China, France, Great Britain and the USA were the most powerful countries in the UN because they could veto (prevent from happening) any decision Russia, China, France, Great Britain and the USA still have veto power at the UN.

4.

True and False Quiz

5. Canada was involved in the Vietnam war. 6. The Cuban missile crisis was the closest the world has ever come to all out nuclear war. 7. After WW II Canada was considered a middle power. 8. The first Iraq war was sanctioned by the UN 9. The second Iraq war was sanctioned by the UN 10. Rwanda was the place of a horrific genocide

Does this change your mind about moving back to Canada? Write a letter to your wife summarizing whats going on and outlining your level of concern. 1945 Joseph Stalin USSR (Soviet Union/ Russia) Leader Franklin Roosevelt US Leader Winston Churchill British Leader Espionage = the act of spying Congress = part of the US government Insidiousness =stealthy, subtle, cunning, or treacherous Symbol of Russian Communism Document 5

Canada and the World after WW II 1945-2000

Big Questions
1.

2.

Evaluate Canadas contributions to the UN and its record on Human rights. Should we be proud to be Canadian? To what extent was Canadas relationship with the US positive from 1945-2000?

The Cold War

The ideological struggle between the two new superpowers in the bi-polar world after WW II was called the cold war: The US (capitalist/ democratic) and the Soviet Union (communist/ dictatorship). It was called the cold war because the two countries never actually fought each other. Instead they used espionage, propaganda, economic and political pressures. Also they supported other countries on their side in wars (ex. North

Containment in the Cold War

Both sides feared the other. The US worried about worldwide communist revolution while the USSR worried about encirclement by capitalist countries leading to its collapse. The US believed in the domino theory (if one country in a region falls to communism the others will too) and used containment (dont let any new countries become communist so it doesnt spread) to prevent communism from spreading. This belief developed because right after WW II the USSR established Soviet style communist governments in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. These countries were considered Soviet Satellite States and said to be behind the iron curtain.

Containment
The US practiced containment by promising to support democratic countries, especially those threatened by communism. They also gave billions of dollars in the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe to prevent communism from advancing.

The United Nations

The United Nations

UN created in 1945 by 50 countries to keep world peace, encourage cooperation among nations, defend human rights and help promote equality, to improve the standard of living for all nations.

Structure of the UN
General Assembly Deals with all UN business. Includes all member countries (192 today) and requires a 2/3 majority for important decisions.

UN Security Council
Security Council focused on world peace and has the power to force the members of the UN to carry out its decisions. Includes 5 permanent members (France, Britain, Russian Federation, China, United States) and 10 non-permanent members elected to two year terms. The permanent members have veto power (if one disagrees with something it doesnt happen).

Canada Early in the Cold War

The Gouzenko Affair In 1945 a clerk at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa provided the Canadian govt clear evidence that two Soviet spy rings were operating in Canada. This lead to the Red Scare, a massive fear of communism. Lots of people were paranoid of the Reds or Commis or Bolsheviks.

Germany After a War

The Division of Germany (1945) - After the war, Germany was divided into four zones (Soviet, French, English, American). The French, English and American zone was joined to form independent and democratic West Germany while the Soviet zone became Russian controlled Communist East Germany.

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift (1948) Berlin was inside the Soviet Zone and was also divided into an east and west section. The west was an island in the middle of communist East Germany and you had to travel by special roads to the get to West Germany. The Russians tried to take over all of Berlin by preventing supplies from getting in but the Allies airlifted them in for 15 months until the Russians gave in.

NATO (1948) and the Warsaw Pact (1955)

The Berlin situation led the Allies to form NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). This was a defensive alliance in case of attack on any member. In response the Russians formed the Warsaw Pact with all of its Satellite States.

Nato and the Warsaw Pact

The Arms Race

A major part of the cold war was the US and its allies (Western bloc) engaging in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union and its allies (Eastern bloc). Both sides were racing to develop more and better weapons and to keep up with the other. Some believe that as long as both sides had roughly equal power, MAD (mutually assured destruction) would prevent war from breaking out since it didnt make sense for anyone.

The Korean War (1950-1953)

The communist North invaded the democratic South of Korea in 1950 supported by Soviet build weapons. The UN sent a force to defend South Korea and 32 countries led by the US and including Canada fought to push the North Koreans back. This showed that the UN was willing to act to support world peace (unlike its predecessor, the League of Nations which idly stood by as Germany and Japan took over places).

DEW Line (1954)

In 1954, Canada and the US agreed to build a line of radar stations in the arctic to provide early warning of a possible Soviet attack. The US paid for the line and for the most part Canada administered it.

Map showing Distant Early Warning (DEW) line; DEW station, Point Lay, AK

Canada and the World after WW II 1945-2000

Big Questions
1. To what extent has the UN been successful in meeting its mandate? 2. Evaluate Canadas contributions to the UN and its record on Human rights. Should we be proud to be Canadian. 3. To what extent was Canadas relationship with the US positive from 1945-2000?

The Suez Crisis 1956

In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser seized the Suez canal (a vital trade route) from Britain and France. Britain and France joined with Israel to attack Egypt. The Soviet Union sided with Egypt and it started looking scary. Lester B. Pearson, then Canadas Minister of External Affairs suggested the UN send a United Nations Emergency Force to act as peacekeepers while the two sides worked out a deal. This new idea worked out so well that Lester B. Pearson became the only Canadian so far to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.

NORAD The North American Aerospace Defense System Created between Canada and the US in 1957 Fighter forces, missile bases and air defense radar all controlled by a central command station built deep inside a mountain in Colorado. Always a nuclear armed plane in the air. Significance: Shows the level of fear of the nuclear war and Canadian US cooperation.

AVRO Arrow (1953-1959)

A supersonic long range jet to defend the Northern Hemisphere developed by a Canadian company from 1953-1959. Six planes were completed and they were the fastest plane in the world at the time but because of cost overruns and American pressure, the Canadian govt cancelled the contract and destroyed the existing planes. This was a huge controversy as it dealt a huge blow to the Canadian aerospace industry and felt to many like a sell-out.

Bomarc Missiles 1963

Instead of the Avro Arrow, Canadians bought American Bomarc missiles for defense. In 1963 PM John Diefenbaker campaigned in the Federal election not to allow the Americans to arm these missiles with nuclear warheads. Lester B. Pearson, the Liberal leader campaigned for the opposite and narrowly won the election meaning that Canada became a nuclear power.

Vietnam War (1954-1975)

A civil war between North Vietnam (communist) and South Vietnam (anti-communist and partially democratic). The US fought on behalf of the South to contain communism. The Russians and Chinese supplied the North but didnt send troops. The US was not doing well because of the Norths effective guerrilla tactics. Eventually the US withdrew most of its troops and tried to bomb the North into submission and when this failed the US pulled out in 1973. By 1975 the North had taken over all of Vietnam under communist rule.

Vietnam War and Canada

This was the first TV War. Horrible images on the evening news led to the US public turning against the war which eventually forced them to pull out. This also led to draft dodgers many of whom escaped conscription to move to Canada which accepted them. Canada did not participate in this war. In 1965 Canadian PM Pearson actually criticized the US war in Vietnam and was seriously berated by US president Johnson (see page 145 in Counterpoints for a cartoon).

The End of the Cold War

During the 1970s the tensions between the superpowers relaxed. In 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. They left in 1988 (unsuccessful) and from 1989-1991 communism in the Warsaw pact countries collapsed because of economic stagnation, too much military spending, political corruption, loss of belief in communism and increased nationalism.

The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)

Iraqi president Sadam Hussein took over Kuwait in 1990. The UN imposed sanctions which failed. So, a multinational force, led by the US, and including Canada was sent by the UN and they drove Saddam from Kuwait by early 1991.

Yugoslavia 1991-1999
Yugoslavia was splitting into various countries because it was made of different ethnic groups who didnt get along and wanted their own countries for themselves. The Serbs (Othrodox), the Croats (Catholic), Bosnians (Muslim) and Kosvars (Muslim). UN in Bosnia From 1992-1995 a civil war broke out over Bosnia and the UN sent peacekeepers including Canadians. They succeeded in getting Croatians to leave but not before committing murder, rape and destruction.

The next 75 minutes of your life

Big Question (BQ) What was Canadas role in the world after the cold war ended in 1989? What you could learn About conflicts in Yugoslavia (Bosnia/ Kosovo) and Rwanda What youll do with what youve learned

NATO Bombing of Kosovo 1995

In 1989, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic abolished the Kosovo as an independent province within Serbia. Over 90% of Kosovo were Kosovars and only 8% were Serbian. After years of minor battles between the Serbs and the Kosovars, the Serbs took over much of Kosovo and displaced 300,000 Kosovars. By 1999 they massacred an entire town and were set to continue with their ethnic cleansing. NATO (including Canada using our own CF -18s) bombed Serbia (a UN member) into submission and freed Kosovo and then handed the situation over to the UN.

Somalia (1992)
900 soldiers from the Canadian Airborne Regiment were sent to Somalia to keep peace during a civil war. Some of these soldiers beat and tortured a Somali teenager to death and tried to cover it up only to be caught. In the end the whole regiment was disbanded and the event brought shame on Canada

Rwanda 1994
Historically, the Tutsi ethnic group ruled brutally over the Hutu ethnic group (the Belgian colonizers set it up so they had all the power even though they made up only.

Rwandan Genocide
15% of the population). When Rwanda gained independence in 1960, Hutus won the election and turned the tables leading to civil war. Ultimately, a small group of Hutus used propaganda (mostly through radio) and machetes to systematically murder 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus..

The UN in Rwanda
The UN sent 3000 peacekeepers under Canadian general Romeo Delaire. He could see the genocide coming and asked for 2000 more men telling the UN what would happen if he didnt have a stronger force. Instead after 10 Belgian peacekeepers were killed, the force was cut to 500 This was an extreme failure of the international community to protect innocent people. The UN, the US, Belgium and the Anglican Church have even apologized for their failure to stop the genocide in Rwanda.

Land Mines
When wars end, often the terror continues because Antipersonal land mines are left in the ground. Theyre hard to remove and over 100,000,000 are buried in former war zones. In 1996, Canada hosted an international conference which lead to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Land Mines Treaty. 120 countries signed on to ban the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of land mines. The worlds biggest producers of land mines, the US, China and Russia didnt sign the treaty.

Canada and the World after WW II 1945-2000

Big Questions
1. 2.

3.

To what extent has the UN been successful in meeting its mandate? Evaluate Canadas contributions to the UN and its record on Human rights. Should we be proud to be Canadian. To what extent was Canadas relationship with the US positive from 1945-2000?

Relative Manpower in Armed Forces During WWII