Conflict and Tension

Conflict and Tension between East and West, 1945–1972 Glossary:

Cold War: A period of political hostility, proxy conflicts, and ideological confrontation between the USA and USSR without direct military conflict.

Capitalism: An economic and political system based on private property, free enterprise, and democratic governance.

Communism: A political and economic system based on state ownership of resources, single-party control, and a classless society.

Yalta Conference (1945): Meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to plan post-war Europe and the division of Germany.

Potsdam Conference (1945): Post-war conference where growing ideological divisions surfaced between Truman and Stalin.

Iron Curtain: Term popularized by Winston Churchill describing the ideological divide separating communist Eastern Europe from democraticWestern Europe.

Truman Doctrine (1947): US foreign policy pledging economic and military aid to stop the spread of communism.

Marshall Plan: Massive US financial assistance scheme to rebuild Western European economies and prevent communist influence.

Cominform: Soviet organisation set up in 1947 to coordinate communist parties across Europe under Moscow's direction.

Comecon: Soviet economic council formed in 1949 to facilitate trade and development within Eastern Bloc communist nations.

Berlin Blockade / Airlift: Stalin's 1948 blockade of West Berlin land routes, bypassed by Western Allies flying in vital supplies.

NATO: A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by Western nations against potential Soviet aggression.

Warsaw Pact: A military alliance formed in 1955 uniting the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe.

Arms Race: The competitive accumulation and technological escalation of nuclear weapons between the USA and USSR.

ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile): Long-range guided missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads across continents.

De-Stalinization: Khrushchev's policy of condemning Stalin's brutal methods and softening strict domestic controls.

Hungarian Uprising (1956): Anti-Soviet rebellion in Hungary led by Imre Nagy, crushed by Soviet military intervention.

U2 Crisis (1960): Incident where an American spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory, torpedoing the Paris Peace Summit.

Berlin Wall: Concrete barrier erected in 1961 by East Germany to prevent citizens escaping to West Berlin.

Bay of Pigs (1961): Failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles, humiliating the US and deepening Soviet-Cuban ties.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): Dangerous 13-day standoff triggered by Soviet nuclear missiles installed in Cuba.

Prague Spring (1968): A period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia under Alexander Dubček, ended by Warsaw Pact invasion.

Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet foreign policy asserting the right to intervene in any Warsaw Pact nation where communist rule was threatened.

Détente: A period of relaxed tensions and improved diplomacy between the USA and USSR in the late 1960s and 1970s.

SALT I (1972): Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty placing caps on nuclear missile launch pads and anti-ballistic missile systems.