The Cold War, 1947–1991: Causes, Phases, Détente and Crises

25 min

A sign that lost its meaning

In November 1989 crowds climbed onto the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Look at the white sign in the photograph. It warns, in German, "Attention! You are now leaving West Berlin". Someone has sprayed two words across it: "Wie denn?", "How, then?" For 28 years the Wall had made the warning deadly serious. Now people were standing on it. To understand why that moment mattered so much, you need the story of the Cold War.

Definition

Cold War: the rivalry from about 1947 to 1991 between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. It was "cold" because the two superpowers never fought each other directly, though they armed, spied, competed and backed opposite sides in many "hot" wars.

Containment: the US policy of stopping the spread of communism beyond where it already ruled.

Détente: an easing of tension through talks and agreements, especially from the late 1960s to 1979.

Proxy war: a war in which the superpowers supported opposing local sides instead of fighting each other.

Non-alignment: refusing to join either bloc, the position of the Non-Aligned Movement founded in 1961.

Causes

Ideology: liberal democracy and capitalism against one-party communism and a state-run economy; each side believed the other wanted to spread its system worldwide.
Old suspicion: Western intervention against the Bolsheviks after 1917; Stalin's anger that the second front came only in 1944; the US keeping the atomic bomb secret from its ally.
Disputes over the post-war settlement: at Yalta and Potsdam (1945) the Allies argued over Germany and Poland; Soviet-backed communist governments took power across eastern Europe. In March 1946 Winston Churchill spoke of an "iron curtain" across the continent.
American answers in 1947: the Truman Doctrine (March) promised support to peoples resisting communist pressure, and the Marshall Plan (June) offered aid to rebuild Europe, which Stalin forbade eastern Europe to accept.
Germany and the bomb: the Berlin Blockade (1948 to 1949) led to two German states in 1949, and the Soviet atomic test of August 1949 began the nuclear arms race.

Phases and crises

Figure 1. Five phases of the Cold War. The climate changed, but crises could break out in any phase.

Crisis	What happened	Outcome
Berlin Blockade, 1948 to 1949	The USSR cut land routes to West Berlin; the Western allies supplied the city by air	Blockade lifted; NATO founded (1949); Germany divided
Korean War, 1950 to 1953	Communist North Korea invaded the South; UN forces led by the US fought North Korean and Chinese troops	Armistice near the old border, 38th parallel; Korea still divided
Berlin Wall, 1961	East Germany built a wall to stop its people escaping to the West	A symbol of division until 9 November 1989
Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962	The USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; the US blockaded the island	Missiles withdrawn; US promised not to invade Cuba; a hotline set up in 1963
Afghanistan, 1979 to 1989	Soviet invasion; the US armed the Afghan resistance	End of détente; Soviet withdrawal in 1989

Détente

The Cuban crisis frightened both sides. A hotline (1963), the Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963), the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), the SALT I arms limits (1972) and the Helsinki Final Act (1975) marked an era of détente. It ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.

The end

From 1985 the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev opened up debate (glasnost) and tried to reform the economy (perestroika). He signed arms reductions with the US and refused to use force to save eastern Europe's communist governments, which fell in 1989. Germany reunited in October 1990, and the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991.

Africa in the Cold War

Africa was a battleground of proxy wars and rival aid. In the Congo crisis (1960 to 1965) both blocs took sides; in Angola after 1975 Cuban troops backed one side while South Africa and the US backed others; the Soviet Union and the US switched sides in the Horn of Africa in the late 1970s. Many African leaders answered with non-alignment, from the Bandung Conference (1955) to the Non-Aligned Movement (1961).

TED-Ed, "The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Matthew A. Jordan (animated, about 5 minutes). Watch for the choices each leader faced in October 1962 and why both sides finally stepped back.

Warning

"Cold" does not mean peaceful. Millions died in the Korean and Vietnam wars and in proxy wars in Africa and Asia. The war was cold only in that the two superpowers never fought each other directly.

Tip

Crisis, then calm. Each great scare was followed by a step back: the Cuban crisis led to the hotline and test-ban treaty. When asked about détente, start from the fear that produced it.

Important

Discuss. Did non-alignment protect African states from the Cold War, or was it impossible to stay outside it? Use the Congo or Angola as evidence.

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Practice

Define the Cold War and explain why it was called "cold".
Give three causes of the Cold War.
What were the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan?
Describe the Cuban Missile Crisis and its outcome.
Define détente and name two agreements from that period.
"Gorbachev ended the Cold War." To what extent do you agree?

Show answersHide answers

The rivalry from about 1947 to 1991 between the US-led and Soviet-led blocs; "cold" because the superpowers never fought each other directly.
Any three: rival ideologies; wartime suspicion; disputes over Germany and Poland at Yalta and Potsdam; Soviet control of eastern Europe; the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan; the nuclear arms race.
The Truman Doctrine (March 1947) promised US support to peoples resisting communism; the Marshall Plan (June 1947) gave economic aid to rebuild Europe.
In October 1962 the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; the US blockaded Cuba; after thirteen days the USSR withdrew the missiles and the US promised not to invade Cuba.
An easing of tension through talks and agreements. Any two: hotline (1963), Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963), Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), SALT I (1972), Helsinki Final Act (1975).
A balanced answer: Gorbachev's reforms and refusal to use force in 1989 were decisive. But Soviet economic stagnation, the cost of the arms race and Afghanistan, US pressure, and the people of eastern Europe who took to the streets also mattered. Conclude with a judgement.

1A sign that lost its meaning

2Causes

3Phases and crises

4Détente

5The end

6Africa in the Cold War